Tactile force and/or position feedback for cantilever-based force measurement instruments
AssigneeAsylum Research Corporation
InventorsRoger Proksch, Jason Cleveland, Dan Bocek, Todd Day
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for simulating a tactile interface with the relative position of the probe of a cantilever-based force measurement instrument, such as an atomic force microscope, molecular force probe or profilometer, or the force between the probe and a sample. The device can be easily incorporated into existing control electronics for such instruments or can be incorporated into a relatively small and simple hand-held device to be used with such instruments.
Claims1
In a cantilever-based force measurement instrument, such as an atomic force microscope, molecular force probe or profilometer, a device providing feedback to the instrument operator as to the relative position of the cantilever probe comprising:
- a knob;
- means, such as a rotary position encoder, by which a change in the position of said knob varies a performance parameter of said instrument, such as the voltage applied by the instrument's peizo or the setpoint of the instrument's closed loop positioner:
- and
- means, such as a motor, by which a torque may be applied to said knob that is a function of another performance parameter of said instrument, such as the deflection of the cantilever probe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.