7340 results about "Strain gauge" patented technology

According to the invention, a finger-operated switch for activating and operating an ultrasonic surgical handpiece is provided. The power output of the surgical handpiece is responsive and proportional to the pressure applied to the finger-operated switch. The finger-operated switch includes, but not limited to, force sensitive resistors whose resistance is proportional to the force applied by the finger of the human operator of the surgical handpiece, force sensitive capacitors whose capacitance is proportional to the pressure, deflection or compression of the insulation layer between two electrodes or is proportional to the spacing between the two conductive layers, strain gauges mounted underneath or integral to the housing of the surgical handpiece such that the pressure applied thereto results in an output change in the strain gauges, magnets or ferromagnets encased or embedded in an elastomer with a sensor inside the surgical handpiece that detects the field strength of the magnet and monitors changes relative to the force applied to the handpiece housing, and piezo film or piezo ceramic whose charge or voltage is proportional to the force applied.

A surgical instrument for applying fasteners includes a drive motor, a replaceable loading unit having an end-effector assembly, and an adapter configured to releasably couple a replaceable loading unit to the drive motor. The adapter includes a strain gauge having a drive circuit coupled thereto. The strain gauge and the drive circuit are configured to directly measure a driving force in the adapter.

Systems for optimizing anchoring force are described herein. In securing tissue folds, over-compression of the tissue directly underlying the anchors is avoided by utilizing tissue anchors having expandable arms configured to minimize contact area between the anchor and tissue. When the anchor is in its expanded configuration, a load is applied to the anchor until it is optimally configured to accommodate a range of deflections while the anchor itself exerts a substantially constant force against the tissue. Various devices, e.g., stops, spring members, fuses, strain gauges, etc., can be used to indicate when the anchor has been deflected to a predetermined level within the optimal range. Moreover, other factors to affect the anchor characteristics include, e.g., varying the number of arms or struts of the anchor, positioning of the arms, configuration of the arms, the length of the collars, etc.

An artificial intervertebral disc and disc nucleus are described herein having chambers and dampening members. The dampening members may be within or outside of the main body of the device. The chambers may be filled with a suitable liquid, gas, or both, and separated by valves to regulate flow of fluid between chambers, within a dampening member, between the main body and dampening member, or all of the above. Chambers may be filled with responsive hydrogels, EPAM, or other suitable materials, and the device may have activation plates or members, a strain gauge, a pressure sensor, or other means for detecting changes in the materials and / or triggering desired changes in the materials in order to mimic the behavior of a healthy native disc or disc nucleus. A control system may be in communication with the device for receiving feedback and delivering stimuli to initiate desired changes in the fluids or other materials. Membranes may be of variable permeability and may be metallized to ensure as low permeability as possible. Dampening members may be filled during manufacture with carbon dioxide or other suitable gas which may be in a supercritical state and allowed to return to ambient temperature and gaseous state or by other means. Methods of manufacture, delivery of the artificial disc and related structures, and methods of treatment are also described.

Systems, methods, devices, and computer programming products useful for the gathering and use of data relating to structural loading and other operational use of transit and other vehicles, and their systems. Systems according to the invention can, for example, comprise one or more data acquisition devices such as strain gauges, accelerometers, or other sensors; data processors; memories; and communications systems. Such systems, methods, and programming are useful in a wide variety of ways, including, for example, monitoring the structural status and use of vehicles and their systems, including fatigue other operational analyses; gathering and applying data useful in the maintenance of such vehicles and the routes they travel; monitoring the use / abuse of such vehicles by operators and other individuals; reporting traffic events or anomalies; and routing transit and other vehicles around such events or anomalies. Rainflow, level-crossing and other peak-counting or event-counting algorithms are applied to advantage, such that required data storage is greatly reduced, and life-long monitoring is feasible.

A sensor for measuring density of a liquid that comprises a float unit having a sealed hollow casing that contains a first magnet and a strain-gauge unit having a sealed hollow casing that contains a strain gauge and a second magnet arranged coaxially to the first magnet. Coaxiality of the magnets is provided by means of a guide rod installed on the casing of the strain-gauge unit and used to guide the float unit by inserting the guide rod into the central opening of the float unit casing. A characteristic feature of the sensor is that changes in the density of the liquid that cause displacement of the float cause detectable deformations of the strain gauge via forces of magnetic interaction between the first and second magnets without physical contact between the magnets. Since the elements of the sensor are located in sealed casings, they are not subject to damage and do not require maintenance.

The device comprises a rigid former reproducing the volume of a portion of the body and suitable for receiving the compressive orthosis. The former (10) incorporates a plurality of sensors (22) distributed over various points of the former and configured in such a manner as to avoid significantly modifying the surface profile of the former, the sensors essentially measuring the pressure applied locally on the former by the orthosis at the location of the sensor and perpendicularly to the surface of the former. Advantageously, at the location of the measurement point, each sensor comprises a thin wall capable of being subjected to microdeformation under the effect of the pressure applied by the orthosis, and means such as a strain gauge bridge, for example. The thin wall can constitute a portion of a support pellet which is fitted to the former in such a manner that its outside surface, which includes the thin wall, is flush with the outside surface of the former.

A system for determining the tongue weight and total weight of a towed vehicle and other parameters includes a drawbar transducer in one embodiment, a receiver hitch transducer in another embodiment, and a trailer tongue transducer in a further embodiment. Strain gauges are strategically located on the transducer and information regarding the towed vehicle are sent to a display. In one embodiment, a portable display unit, smartphone or the like has a receiver for receiving transmitted data from the transducer reflective of the towed vehicle measured and calculated parameter so that a user can view the tongue weight in practically real time as well as other parameters relating to loading and towing. In this manner, the user can adjust the contents of the towed vehicle to achieve proper tongue weight without the necessity of going back and forth between the trailer and the transducer. A method is also disclosed for determining a safe towing condition based on the trailer tongue weight, trailer pulling force, acceleration during towing, calculated trailer weight, and other factors.

Apparatus and methods for optimizing anchoring force are described herein. In securing tissue folds, over-compression of the tissue directly underlying the anchors is avoided by utilizing tissue anchors having expandable arms configured to minimize contact area between the anchor and tissue. When the anchor is in its expanded configuration, a load is applied to the anchor until it is optimally configured to accommodate a range of deflections while the anchor itself exerts a substantially constant force against the tissue. Various devices, e.g., stops, spring members, fuses, strain gauges, etc., can be used to indicate when the anchor has been deflected to a predetermined level within the optimal range. Moreover, other factors to affect the anchor characteristics include, e.g., varying the number of arms or struts of the anchor, positioning of the arms, configuration of the arms, the length of the collars, etc.

Apparatus & methods for optimizing anchoring force are described herein. In securing tissue folds, over-compression of the tissue directly underlying the anchors is avoided by utilizing tissue anchors having expandable arms configured to minimize contact area between the anchor and tissue. When the anchor is in its expanded configuration, a load is applied to the anchor until it is optimally configured to accommodate a range of deflections while the anchor itself exerts a substantially constant force against the tissue. Various devices, e.g., stops, spring members, fuses, strain gauges, etc., can be used to indicate when the anchor has been deflected to a predetermined level within the optimal range. Moreover, other factors to affect the anchor characteristics include, e.g., varying the number of arms or struts of the anchor, positioning of the arms, configuration of the arms, the length of the collars, etc.

Provided is a swing speed analyzer for mounting on a swinging implement and comprising a first accelerometer, a processor and a shock attenuator. The processor uses an output from the first accelerometer to compute a swing speed of the swinging implement. The shock attenuator is comprised of a material that is sized and dimensioned to dampen an impact shock wave by more than 50% at 125 Hz. The material is preferably sized and dimensioned to dampen the impact shock wave from more than 1000 g to less than 500 g. Suitable attenuators can include viscoelastomeric materials such as foam. The swing speed analyzer can advantageously include any of a releasable attachment mechanism, a liquid crystal or other visual display, a second accelerometer, and a strain gauge. The analyzer can advantageously be attached to a golf club, a tennis racket, a baseball bat, or a hockey stick.

Systems for optimizing anchoring force are described herein. In securing tissue folds, over-compression of the tissue directly underlying the anchors is avoided by utilizing tissue anchors having expandable arms configured to minimize contact area between the anchor and tissue. When the anchor is in its expanded configuration, a load is applied to the anchor until it is optimally configured to accommodate a range of deflections while the anchor itself exerts a substantially constant force against the tissue. Various devices, e.g., stops, spring members, fuses, strain gauges, etc., can be used to indicate when the anchor has been deflected to a predetermined level within the optimal range. Moreover, other factors to affect the anchor characteristics include, e.g., varying the number of arms or struts of the anchor, positioning of the arms, configuration of the arms, the length of the collars, etc.

A diagnostic golf club system having a diagnostic golf club, an interface means and a computing means is disclosed herein. The diagnostic golf club includes a plurality of strain gauges, an internal power supply, and a non-volatile memory for capturing data relating to a golf swing. The interface means is capable of transferring data from the diagnostic golf club to the computing means for processing the data and presenting the data in a useful and informative format. The data may be used to determine a shaft flex profile for a particular golfer.

Methods for evaluating motion of a cardiac tissue location, e.g., heart wall, are provided. In the subject methods, timing of a signal obtain from a strain gauge stably associated with the tissue location of interest is employed to evaluate movement of the cardiac tissue location. Also provided are systems, devices and related compositions for practicing the subject methods. The subject methods and devices find use in a variety of different applications, including cardiac resynchronization therapy.

A surgical instrument includes a force sensor apparatus that is immune to noise from arcing cautery without relying on fiber optic strain gauges, and that is autoclabable. The surgical instrument includes a housing, a shaft, the force sensor apparatus, a joint, and an end component. The force sensor apparatus includes at least one strain gauge that is enclosed in a Faraday cage. The Faraday cage includes a sensor capsule that includes one or more strain gauges, a cable shield tube connected to the sensor capsule, and an electronics enclosure connected to the cable shield tube. The sensor capsule is positioned between the joint and the shaft. The cable shield tube extends through the shaft to the electronics enclosure that is within the housing.

An apparatus for preventing occupant injury during accident has various features to ensure safety. A sensor 70, detecting seat belt engagement is provided. In addition, there is a means for varying the tension of a seatbelt 17, depending upon the weight of the occupant 110 and the speed of the vehicle carrying the occupant 110. When the occupant 110 seats on any of the seats 17, the load cell switch 18 will close, allowing the load cell output energy to energize the control module 25. The control module 25 will then enables the counter 50 to count the number of closed load cell switches 18. The control module 25 further enables an optoisolator switch configured with the sensor 70 to then energize a latching relay 80 operatively configured to check the seat belt latching of all occupied seats 10 with closed load cell switches 18, to assure occupants safety. The load cells are configured with strain gauges and temperature sensors to ensure human occupants. Such that, when the switch 18 for the occupied seat 10 is closed, the latching relay 80 circuit is energized so that the seat belt 17 for the occupied seat location is checked for buckling. The latching relay 80 circuit and the counter 50 circuit are operatively configured and closed only when an occupant 110 takes any of the seats 10. The latching relay switch 85 is only energized when the counter circuit 50 is closed.

A disc opener unit for an agricultural implement has a down pressure adjustment device that automatically adjusts the amount of down pressure applied on a furrowing disc based on strain measurements taken by a strain gauge or load cell. The strain gauge, which may be mounted to an arm that is used to set the position of a depth setting gauge wheel, provides feedback to a processor that in turn controls the amount of hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic cylinder to adjust the down force applied on the disc. The amount of down pressure is therefore adjusted in substantially real-time in response to changes in field conditions, which improves furrow depth consistency and reduces wear on the gauge wheel and its components.

Embodiments herein provide a non-invasive tracking system that accurately predicts the location of tumors, such as lung tumors, in real time, while allowing patients to breathe naturally. This is accomplished by using Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), in conjunction with spirometry, strain gauge and infrared sensors, and by using sophisticated patient-specific mathematical models that incorporate the dynamics of tumor motion. With the direction and speed of lung tumor movement successfully tracked, radiation may be effectively delivered to the lung tumor and not to the surrounding healthy tissue, thus increased radiation dosage may be directed to improving local tumor control without compromising functional parenchyma.

Strain gauges are mounted on each crank arm of the bicycle and provide a measure of the torque applied to each crank arm. In a preferred embodiment, strain gauges are mounted on opposite edges of each crank arm, which includes a self-contained power, electrical circuitry, and a wireless transmitter for transmitting the strain measurement information to a main controller. The main controller includes a wireless transceiver for transmitting and receiving data from both the left and right crank arms and external devices. Memory is also included for storing such data for subsequent analysis to determine the individual leg performance of a cyclist during a race or training session.

The invention relates to a lateral deviation full-bridge double-interdigital metal strain gauge capable of measuring surface strain lateral partial derivatives, which comprises a base and four sensitive grids, and is characterized in that both ends of each sensitive grid are respectively connected to an outgoing line, each sensitive grid comprises a sensitive section and a transition section, and axes of the sensitive sections are straight lines and parallelly arranged in the same plane; in the plane determined by the axes of the sensitive sections, the axis direction of the sensitive sections is an axial direction, and the direction perpendicular to the axial direction is a lateral direction; the four sensitive grids are consistent in resistance, the resistance variation amount is consistent under the same strain, the four sensitive grids are called as an upper-upper sensitive grid, an upper-lower sensitive grid, a lower-upper sensitive grid and a lower-lower sensitive grid from top to bottom along the lateral direction, the upper-upper sensitive grid and the upper-lower sensitive grid are arranged in an interdigital mode, and the lower-upper sensitive grid and the lower-lower sensitive grid are also arranged in the interdigital mode; and centers of the four sensitive grids have no deviation in the axial direction and have deviation in the lateral direction. The lateral deviation full-bridge double-interdigital metal strain gauge not only can measure the strain, but also can effectively detect a lateral first-order derivative and a lateral second-order derivative of the surface strain.

A touch sensor capable of specifying a touch position and / or a degree of a touch pressure by using graphene as an electrode and / or a strain gauge, and more particular, a touch sensor capable of simultaneously detecting a pressure and a position by means of change in resistance by using graphene is provided.

A game controller according tot the present invention employs scalable force-detecting sensors (e.g., strain gauges, etc.) to measure user manipulation of controller input devices (e.g., joysticks, etc.). The controller incorporates force sensing, rather than motion sensing, to provide the “analog” type inputs to a computer-interactive game. The force required to provide the controller output is adjustable by the user, while the mapping of sensor to game control is determined by user configuration of the controller.

The invention discloses an axial deviation double-sensitive grid interdigital metal strain plate capable of measuring axial deviation of surface strain. The metal strain plate comprises a substrate and two sensitive grids, wherein two ends of each sensitive grid are respectively connected with a leading-out line, the two sensitive grids are fixed on the substrate, each sensitive grid comprises a sensitive section and a transition section, and the axes of all the sensitive sections are linear, parallel and within the same plane; the direction perpendicular to the axial direction which is the direction of the axes of the sensitive sections in the plane determined by the axes of the sensitive sections is a transverse direction; the two sensitive grids are consistent in resistance variation under the same strain, and are respectively a left sensitive grid and a right sensitive grid in the axial direction from left to right; and on the plane determined by the axes of the sensitive sections, the left sensitive grid and the right sensitive grid are arranged in an interdigital mode. The metal strain plate can be used for measuring strain and effectively detecting axial first-order deviation of the surface strain.