Latching microaccelerometer
US6130464A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 8, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 10, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 8, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H2001/0047
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A surface micromachined microaccelerometer includes a substrate which has a surface plane, and a cantilever formed on the substrate with a fixed end and a free end, the fixed end being anchored to the substrate. The cantilever includes a mass fixed along the length of the cantilever. A cooperating device reads out the occurrence of an acceleration event when the free end of the cantilever has moved to a predetermined position. The cooperating device may be fixed or an opposing co-aligned cantilever structure. In a first embodiment, the cooperating device takes the form of a fixed structure having slots in which the tip of the cantilever is selectively retained. A further embodiment configures the cooperating device as an overlapping opposed cantilever. A further feature of the invention enables a reset function of a latched cantilever and comprises a pair of layers which when energized cause a cantilever to be suitably deflected so as to return from the latched state back to the unlatched state.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.