Compounded AC driving signal for increased reliability and lifetime in touch-mode electrostatic actuators
US6351054B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 2000 |
| Grant date | Feb 26, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 9, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02N1/006
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electrostatic actuator device and method for actuating the device. The device includes a pair of actuator plates having electrodes for conducting a voltage potential thereto and at least one of the pair being movable with respect to the other. The plates are positioned to move upon application of a voltage potential through electrodes attached thereto. A driving means provides a voltage potential to the electrodes to cause the movement of the at least one plate. The driving means produces compound AC signal with rise/fall sections at least 10 to 100 times (preferably more than twenty times) the mechanical response time of the actuator. The preferred AC signals are selected from square-wave, sine wave, triangle wave and mixtures thereof. The preferred circuit produces rise/fall sections that are a quarter of a full period of the AC wave signal, and only the nominal section of the compound AC signal is used for driving the actuator. Preferred is an actuation cycle having a rise section with the signal amplitude increasing from zero to the desired final value through a plurality of individual periods of the a AC signal and a fall section with the signal amplitude decreasing from a …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.