Mechanical memory
US7046539B1 · kind B1 · utility
2Cited by
12References
11Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 2, 2004 |
| Grant date | May 16, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 5, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C19/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A first-in-first-out (FIFO) microelectromechanical memory apparatus (also termed a mechanical memory) is disclosed. The mechanical memory utilizes a plurality of memory cells, with each memory cell having a beam which can be bowed in either of two directions of curvature to indicate two different logic states for that memory cell. The memory cells can be arranged around a wheel which operates as a clocking actuator to serially shift data from one memory cell to the next. The mechanical memory can be formed using conventional surface micromachining, and can be formed as either a nonvolatile memory or as a volatile memory.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.