A display device includes a flexible substrate, a display layer and a plurality of bending sensor units. The display layer is disposed on the flexible substrate and includes a plurality of light emitting units. The plurality of bending sensor units are disposed on the display layer, wherein at least one of the plurality of bending sensor units is disposed between and does not overlap at least two adjacent light emitting units of the plurality of light emitting units in a top view of the display device.

A capacitive sensor includes a first electrode structure; a second electrode structure that is counter to the first electrode structure, wherein the second electrode structure is movable relative to the first electrode structure and is capacitively coupled to the first electrode structure to form a capacitor having a capacitance that changes with a change in a distance between the first electrode structure and second electrode structure; a signal generator configured to apply an electrical signal at an input or at an output of the capacitor to induce a voltage transient response at the output of capacitor; and a diagnostic circuit configured to detect a fault in the capacitive sensor by measuring a time constant of the first voltage transient response and detecting the fault based on the time constant and based on whether the first electrical signal is the pull-in signal or the non-pull-in signal.

There is a method for measuring a deviation amount of a measuring device, comprising: transferring, by using a transfer device, the measuring device to a position in an area specified by transfer position data; acquiring measurement values using four or more sensor electrodes of the measuring device; identifying two or more sensor electrodes among the four or more sensor electrodes, the two or more sensor electrodes outputting, as the measurement values, capacitances that satisfy a reliability standard; and calculating the deviation amount based on the measurement values of the identified two or more sensor electrodes.

An occupant or object sensing system in a vehicle includes electrical circuits for capacitive sensing and corresponding circuits shielding the sensing system from interference. A sensing circuit and a shielding circuit may be printed by screen printing with conductive ink on opposite sides of a non-conductive substrate. The substrate is a plastic film or other fabric that has an elastic memory structure that is resilient to stretching. The conductive inks used to print circuits onto the substrate have a similar resilience to stretching such that the substrate and the circuits thereon can be subject to deforming forces without breaking the printed circuits. The substrate may be covered with a carbon polymer layer to provide alternative conductive paths that enable fast recovery for conduction in the presence of any break in the printed conductive traces on the substrate.

A detection mechanism includes: a detection unit that is provided on a contact body and detects contact with the contact body by a person; a conductive cloth provided in the detection unit, the conductive cloth being configured by weaving together two elements of a yarn to form an intersection point, the conductive cloth having conductivity; and a recess that is provided on an outer periphery of the conductive cloth and that severs the yarn.

A composite detection sensor includes a sensor cable including not less than three conductive electrode wires and a resilient insulation covering collectively the electrode wires and holding the electrode wires that are circumferentially spaced from each other, and a capacitance measurement unit for measuring capacitance between each two electrode wires and between each electrode wire and the ground. The capacitance measurement unit may include plural inter-wire capacitance measuring portions for measuring capacitance between the electrode wires, a wire-ground capacitance measuring portion for measuring capacitance between the electrode wires and the ground, and a switching means switchable between a first connection state and a second connection state, the first connection state being a state in which the electrode wires are connected to the inter-wire capacitance measuring portions, and the second connection state being a state in which the electrode wires are connected to the wire-ground capacitance measuring portion.

A capacitive sensor comprising: a first electrode; a displacement element moveably mounted relative to the first electrode; and a second electrode coupled to the displacement element so that displacement of the displacement element along a displacement direction changes a separation between the first electrode and the second electrode; and a controller element configured to selectively operate in a displacement sensing mode and in a proximity sensing mode, wherein in the displacement sensing mode, the controller element is configured to electrically couple the second electrode to a reference potential and to electrically couple the first electrode to capacitance measurement circuitry to measure a capacitance characteristic of the first electrode to determine a displacement of the displacement element relative to the reference electrode; and in the proximity sensing mode, the controller element is configured to electrically couple the second electrode to capacitance measurement circuitry to measure a capacitance characteristic associated with the second electrode to detect the presence of an object in proximity to the second electrode; and in the displacement sensing mode, the controller element is configured to electrically couple the second electrode to a reference potential signal.

A device for detecting steering wheel contact comprises at least a first electrode (12) which is provided in a steering wheel (10) and which forms, together with a human body acting as a second electrode and a dielectric situated therebetween, at least one sensor capacitor (26). The device also comprises an evaluation circuit (24) having a reference capacitor (30) of known capacitance which can be connected parallel to the sensor capacitor (26), a direct current voltage source (34) which can be connected to the reference capacitor (30), and a measuring device for measuring the voltage at the reference capacitor (30). A method for detecting steering wheel contact using such a device comprises the following successive steps: charging the reference capacitor (30) by applying a known reference voltage, or charging the reference capacitor (30) and subsequently measuring a first voltage at the reference capacitor (30); connecting, in parallel, the sensor capacitor (26) to the reference capacitor (30) so that a portion of the charge of the reference capacitor (30) is transmitted to the sensor capacitor (26); measuring a second voltage at the reference capacitor (26); end determining the capacitance of the sensor capacitor (26) from the known capacitance of the reference capacitor (30), the reference voltage or the first voltage and the second voltage.

This application relates to methods and apparatus for operating MEMS sensors, in particular MEMS capacitive sensors (C.sub.MEMS) such as a microphones. An amplifier apparatus (300) is arranged to amplify an input signal (V.sub.INP) received at a sense node (104) from the MEMS capacitive sensor. An antiphase signal generator (201; 304) generates a second signal (V.sub.INN) which is in antiphase with the input signal (V.sub.INP) and an amplifier arrangement (105; 305) is configured to receive the input signal (V.sub.INP) at a first input and the second signal (V.sub.INN) at a second input and to output corresponding amplified first and second output signals. This converts a single ended input signal effectively into a differential input signal.

The invention relates to sensor for use as a pressure and/or a force sensor. The sensor comprises an elastic and stretchable layer with material having a first Young's modulus and a first yield strain, at least a first stretchable electrode and a second stretchable electrode attached to the elastic and stretchable layer and arranged a first distance apart from each other, a flexible foil having a second Young's modulus, and electrically conductive wiring attached to the flexible foil. At least a part of the electrically conductive wiring is coupled to the stretchable electrodes in an electrically conductive manner, the first yield strain is at least 10 percent; the first Young's modulus is less than the second Young's modulus, and the thickness of the flexible foils is at most 0.5 mm.