Active Control Experts, Inc.

Cymer, Inc.

Erik Saarmaa

Kenneth B Lazarus

Richard Perkins

Edward F Crawley

Jeffrey W Moore

Farla M Russo

Gerald F Caron

Mark Beauregard

Charles Van Hoy

James L Newman

Carl Prestia

Eric Fitch

An electrically driven signal unit is adapted for one-step assembly or injection molding with a device housing to vibrate, flex, beep or emit audio signals, or to sense and provide tactile feedback or control. The signal unit is a package with one or more active areas each containing a layer of ferroelectric or piezoelectric material, connected by inactive areas which may position, align and conduct electricity to the active areas. The active areas may be coupled over a region to transmit compressional, shear or flexural wave energy into the housing, or may contact at discrete regions while bending or displacing elsewhere to create inertial disturbances or impulses which are coupled to create a tactile vibration of the housing. The unit may be assembled such that the housing, the sheet or discrete areas thereof form a bender to provide tactile or sub-auditory signals to the user, or may be dimensioned, attached and actuated to produce audio vibration in the combined structure and constitute a speaker. In other embodiments one or more active regions of piezo material are attached to thin or movable wall regions of the unit to sense strain and, in conjunction with a conditioning circuit, produce electrical switching or control signals for the device. Other embodiments include devices having a tight tolerance between a housing wall and a signal module, and devices having one or more through-holes located on the housing wall. The invention also includes electroactive sheet structures having a polymer block, bracket or functional body formed therearound, which serves as a mounting, coupling or functional operating structure for the driven device.

Inertial/audio unit and construction

An electrically driven signal unit is adapted for one-step assembly or injection molding with a device housing to vibrate, flex, beep or emit audio signals, or to sense and provide tactile feedback or control. The signal unit is a package with one or more active areas each containing a layer of ferroelectric or piezoelectric material, connected by inactive areas which may position, align and conduct electricity to the active areas. The active areas may be coupled over a region to transmit compressional, shear or flexural wave energy into the housing, or may contact at discrete regions while bending or displacing elsewhere to create inertial disturbances or impulses which are coupled to create a tactile vibration of the housing. The unit may be assembled such that the housing, the sheet or discrete areas thereof form a bender to provide tactile or sub-auditory signals to the user, or may be dimensioned, attached and actuated to produce audio vibration in the combined structure and constitute a speaker. In other embodiments one or more active regions of piezo material are attached to thin or movable wall regions of the unit to sense strain and, in conjunction with a conditioning circuit, produce electrical switching or control signals for the device. The invention also includes electroactive sheet structures having a polymer block, bracket or functional body formed therearound, which serves as a mounting, coupling or functional operating structure for the driven device.

A hybrid actuator includes strain actuated elements that displace fluid to move a piston, with the elements forming a fluid housing, and being oriented and actuated to optimize force, stroke or bandwidth. In one preferred embodiment the elements are cylinders enclosing the fluid, with radial and axial components of strain-induced dimensional change adding together to enhance displacement. In another preferred embodiment, piezo bender elements produce large stroke, high bandwidth movements. Strokes of up to fifty percent of actuator length, and bandwidths above 500 Hz are achieved in light weight electrically actuated devices free of external piping or hydraulics. The actuator is readily integrated into a gate valve, sub-woofer, or other driven device.

High bandwidth, large stroke actuator

An electrically driven signal unit is adapted for one-step assembly or injection molding with a device housing to vibrate, flex, beep or emit audio signals, or to sense and provide tactile feedback or control. The signal unit is a package with one or more active areas each containing a layer of ferroelectric or piezoelectric material, connected by inactive areas which may position, align and conduct electricity to the active areas. The active areas may be coupled over a region to transmit compressional, shear or flxural wave energy into the housing, or may contact at discrete regions while bending or displacing elsewhere to create inertial disturbances or impulses which are coupled to create a tactile vibration of the housing. The unit may be assembled such that the housing, the sheet or discrete areas thereof form a bender to provide tactile or sub-auditory signals to the user, or may be dimensioned, attached and actuated to produce audio vibration in the combined structure and constitute a speaker. In other embodiments one or more active regions of piezo material are attached to thin or movable wall regions of the unit to sense strain and, in conjunction with a conditioning circuit, produce electrical switching or control signals for the device. The invention also includes electroactive sheet structures having a polymer block, bracket or functional body formed therearound, which serves as a mounting, coupling or functional operating structure for the driven device.

Hybrid motor

A valve assembly includes a flexible sheet actuator in which two piezo sheets are stacked and actuated in opposite senses to form a bending assembly. The inner faces of the first and second sheets of piezoelectric material are laminated to respective conductive lead paths on opposite sides of a two-sided flex circuit, and the outer faces of the sheets of material are each covered by and electrically contacted to another flex circuit to produce a totally enclosed flat bender. At least a portion of the flex circuits extend away from the bender to provide a flexible and robust conductive lead-in thereto. The electrical connection is a flat ribbon-like strip of lesser thickness than the bender, and may pass hermetically between a gasketed or sealed face and cover plate of the valve. The middle layer of the bender construction is an insulating film, and a narrow lead pattern on each side of the film provides an extended electrode contact path to each of the opposing piezo sheets while allowing the two sheets to act against each other through the film, achieving a high level of bending actuation. The actuator is an essentially planar assembly which both insulates the piezo electric elements and allows them to be cantilevered from a housing with a simple flat clamping plate. The electrode paths extending outside the clamped region may connect to one or more adjacent piezo elements, forming a multi-actuator strip assembly. Holes are punched through the assembly away from the piezo elements or lead paths to provide registration or to accommodate mounting bolts.

Growing community of inventors

Boston, MA, United States of America

Erik Saarmaa