Patent ID: 7350415

Claim:
A comb drive device comprising: a position sensing device; a substrate; a force sensing device including first and second edges and first and second ends, the force sensing device being coupled to the substrate and being in electrical communication with the position sensing device; and four groups of at least one pair of teeth, wherein the at least one pair of teeth in a first group comprising: a first tooth extending from the substrate; and a second tooth extending from the first edge of the force sensing device near the first end to form a capacitive gap with the first tooth, the first tooth being closer to the first end than the second tooth along a longitudinal axis; wherein the at least one pair of teeth in a second group comprising: a first tooth extending from the substrate; and a second tooth extending from the second edge near the second end to form a capacitive gap with the first tooth, the second tooth being closer to the second end than the second tooth along the longitudinal axis; wherein the at least one pair of teeth in a third group comprising: a first tooth extending from the substrate; and a second tooth extending from the first edge near the second end to form a capacitive gap with the first tooth, the first tooth being closer to the second end than the second tooth along the longitudinal axis; wherein the at least one pair of teeth in a four group comprising: a first tooth extending from the substrate; and a second tooth extending from the second edge near the first end to form a capacitive gap with the first tooth, the second tooth being closer to the first end than the first tooth along the longitudinal axis; wherein the first teeth of the first and second group being electrically coupled to the position sensing device for receiving a substantially identical signal, and wherein the first teeth of the third and fourth group being electrically coupled to the position sensing device for receiving a substantially identical signal.