Radial movement capacitive torque sensor

1. A radial movement capacitive torque sensor comprising:

a pair of concentric capacitor plate rings lying in a common plane;

a capacitor plate ring facing the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings; and

a paddle assembly disposed between the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and the capacitor plate ring, comprising:

a first rotor having a circular opening and having at least one pair of spaced apart bearings mounted thereon;

a second rotor having a circular opening and having at least one pivot point located thereon; and

at least one paddle having a dielectric head, a curved neck and a body, wherein the curved neck is disposed between a corresponding one of said at least one pair of spaced apart bearings, and the body is pivotally coupled to a corresponding one of said at least one pivot point.

2. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein the head moves in both radial and circumferential directions with respect to the second rotor when the first rotor is rotated with respect to the second rotor.

3. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein the second rotor has formed on its surface facing the first rotor, at least one depressed area corresponding to and engaging said at least one pair of spaced apart bearings, such that the rotational movement of the rotors are limited by engagement between said at least one pair of spaced apart bearings and said at least one depressed area.

4. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second rotors has a protrusion formed on a surface surrounding its circular opening, such that the protrusion can be used to engage a groove on a shaft.

5. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein the paddle assembly has four paddles, and the first rotor has four pairs of spaced apart bearings, each engaging one of the four paddles.

6. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 wherein at least one of the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and the capacitor plate ring is disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB).

7. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric head of said at least one paddle moves in a generally outward radial direction when the first rotor is rotated in a first direction with respect to the second rotor.

8. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 7 , wherein the dielectric head of said at least one paddle moves in a generally inward radial direction when the first rotor is rotated in a second direction with respect to the second rotor.

9. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein the second rotor has mounted thereon a pivot pin at said at least one pivot point, and the body has formed thereon an opening for pivotally coupling to the pivot pin.

10. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 1 , wherein the curved neck of said at least one paddle has a slot formed thereon to form an integral spring on the curved neck.

11. A radial movement capacitive torque sensor for a rotating shaft having an axis of rotation and having two shaft portions for which torque applied to one shaft portion causes an angular displacement with respect to the other shaft portion, said sensor comprising:

a pair of concentric capacitor plate rings lying in a common plane and encircling said one shaft portion;

a capacitor plate ring facing the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and encircling the other shaft portion; and

a paddle assembly disposed between the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and the capacitor plate ring, comprising:

a first rotor having a circular opening for engaging said one shaft portion and having at least one pair of spaced apart bearings mounted thereon;

a second rotor having a circular opening for engaging the other shaft portion and having at least one pivot point located thereon; and

at least one paddle having a dielectric head, a curved neck and a body, wherein the curved neck is disposed between a corresponding one of said at least one pair of spaced apart bearings, and the body is pivotally coupled to a corresponding one of said at least one pivot point.

12. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 11 , wherein the two shaft portions are interconnected to each other using a torsion rod.

13. The radial movement torque sensor of claim 11 , wherein the head moves in both radial and circumferential directions when the first rotor is rotated with respect to the second rotor.

14. The radial movement torque sensor of claim 11 , wherein the second rotor has formed on its surface facing the first rotor, at least one depressed area corresponding to and engaging said at least one pair of spaced apart bearings, such that the rotational movement of the rotors are limited by engagement between said at least one pair of spaced apart bearings and said at least one depressed area.

15. The radial movement torque sensor of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the first and second rotors has a protrusion formed on a surface surrounding its circular opening, such that the protrusion can be used to engage a groove on a corresponding one of the shaft portions.

16. The radial movement torque sensor of claim 11 wherein at least one of the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and the capacitor plate ring is disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB).

17. The radial movement torque sensor of claim 11 , wherein the dielectric head of said at least one paddle moves in a generally outward radial direction when the first rotor is rotated in a first direction with respect to the second rotor.

18. The radial movement torque sensor of claim 17 , wherein the dielectric head of said at least one paddle moves in a generally inward radial direction when the first rotor is rotated in a second direction with respect to the second rotor.

19. The radial movement capacitive torque sensor of claim 11 , wherein the curved neck of said at least one paddle has a slot formed thereon to form an integral spring on the curved neck.

20. A method of measuring torque between two shaft portions for which torque applied to one shaft portion causes an angular displacement with respect to the other shaft portion, the method comprising:

moving a dielectric head of a paddle in a generally radially outward direction between a pair of concentric capacitor plate rings lying in a common plane and encircling said one shaft portion and a capacitor plate ring facing the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and encircling the other shaft portion, when the one shaft portion is rotated in a first direction with respect to the other shaft portion; and

moving the dielectric head of a paddle in a generally radially inward direction between the pair of concentric capacitor plate rings and the capacitor plate ring, when the one shaft portion is rotated in a second direction with respect to the other shaft portion,

wherein the paddle has a body and a curved neck disposed between the body and the dielectric head, and

wherein the curved neck is disposed between a pair of spaced apart bearings substantially fixed with respect to the one shaft portion, and the body is pivotally coupled to a pivot point which is substantially fixed with respect to the other shaft portion.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein said moving the dielectric head in the generally radially outward direction or said moving the dielectric head in the generally radially inward direction comprises moving the dielectric head in both a generally radial direction and a generally circumferential direction.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the dielectric head is moved in both the generally radial direction and the generally circumferential direction as the curved neck rides on the pair of spaced apart bearings.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the shaft portions are interconnected with each other by a torsion rod embedded in the shaft portions.