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US 8,474,332 B2Granted
Sensor assembly and medical device incorporating same
AssigneeMedtronic MiniMed, Inc.
InventorsPaul F. Bente, IV, Pablo Vazquez, Ian B. Hanson, Afshin Bazargan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus are provided for sensor assemblies and related medical devices. An embodiment of a sensor assembly includes a beam and a sensing element disposed on the beam. The sensor assembly also includes a structure to prevent deflection of the beam when a force applied to the sensor assembly is greater than a threshold value.
Claims6
A sensor assembly, comprising:
- a beam structure comprising a plurality of beams, each beam having a sensing element disposed thereon;
- a loading element mechanically coupled to the plurality of beams;
- and
- a structure to prevent deflection of one or more beams of the plurality of beams when a force applied by the loading element towards the structure is greater than a threshold value, wherein:
- the beam structure comprises a first portion affixed to the structure;
- and
- each beam of the plurality of beams is freestanding with respect to the structure and comprises:
- an end portion separated from the structure by an airgap in the absence of a force applied by the loading element towards the structure;
- and
- an arm portion extending radially inward from the first portion to the end portion, the arm portion being separated from the structure by a distance that is greater than a separation distance provided by the airgap.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.