Patent attributes
A force measuring apparatus includes first fixed electrodes disposed in one direction in one plane so as to be distant from each other; second fixed electrodes disposed in the one direction in a plane opposed to the one plane, so as to be distant from each other and opposed to the respective first fixed electrodes; and movable electrodes movable in the one direction. The apparatus further includes a force receiving portion to receive an external force and thereby move the movable electrodes in the one direction so as to change the overlapped area between each first fixed electrode and the corresponding movable electrode and the overlapped area between each second fixed electrode and the corresponding movable electrode. The apparatus measures the magnitude of the force applied to the force receiving portion based on the changes in the capacitance values of the capacitance elements.