Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Stichting Imec Nederland

Keiji Onishi

Hiroshi Nakatsuka

Takehiko Yamakawa

Yutaka Taguchi

Hiroyuki Nakamura

Kazuo Eda

Tomohiro Iwasaki

Shun-ichi Seki

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Hiroki Sato

Akihiko Namba

Shunichi Seki

Osamu Kawasaki

Kunihiko Nakamura

Tomohide Kamiyama

Yoshihiro Bessho

Yasuhiro Sugaya

Yasuyuki Naito

Katsunori Moritoki

Toshio Ishizaki

Shigeru Tsuzuki

Akio Tsunekawa

Seiichi Nakatani

Toru Yamada

Yoshihiro Tomita

Katsu Takeda

Hiroki Takeuchi

Koji Nomura

Hideki Iwaki

Tsukasa Shiraishi

Toshiyuki Okajima

Yosihiro Tomita

Takashi Inoue

Masaaki Kuranuki

Kazuhide Uriu

Naohiro Tsurumi

Kunihiro Fujii

Tetsuyosi Ogura

Yasunobu Tsuji

Kouzou Murakami

Katsuyuki Miyauchi

Michael Renaud

Robertus T F Van Schaijk

Akihiro Nanba

A vibration power generator comprises: a fixed substrate; a vibrating body having a surface opposed to the fixed substrate, the vibrating body being vibratable to the fixed substrate; electret electrodes aligned in a vibration direction on one of the surface of the fixed substrate and the surface of the vibrating body; and first fixed electrodes and second fixed electrodes alternately aligned in the vibration direction on the other thereof, wherein when the vibrating body is at a resting position, each of the electret electrodes overlaps with both electrodes of a corresponding fixed electrode pair, the corresponding fixed electrode pair being one of the first fixed electrodes and one of the second fixed electrodes that are opposed to the electret electrode, and when the vibrating body is not at a resting position, each of the electret electrodes always overlaps with at least one electrode of the corresponding fixed electrode pair.

Vibration power generator

Provided is a tire sensing system that reduces the power consumption, size, weight, and cost, while suppressing an increase in fuel consumption of moving means. The tire sensing system is adapted to monitor state of a tire or a road surface from vibration information to perform safety control of the moving means having the tire. The tire sensing system includes a sensor disposed in a position of an inner surface of the tire where the sensor can sense the vibration, a receiver for receiving the information sent from the sensor, and a control means for controlling the moving means on the basis of the information from the receiver. The state is estimated from first vibration applied to the sensor upon contact with the road surface via the tire, second vibration applied to the sensor upon departure from the road surface, and a contact time from the contact to the departure.

Tire sensing system

Electricity generated by a vibration power generatorcan be extracted efficiently by providing the vibration power generator, a rectifier circuit bridge, an output controlling circuit, a load detecting circuitand a frequency detecting circuitand detecting a frequency of the vibration power generatorand then controlling an impedance of an output controlling circuitdepending on the frequency.

Vibration power generator, vibration power generating device and communication device having vibration power generating device mounted thereon

A vibration power generator includes a first substrate, a first electrode on the first substrate, a second substrate spaced from and opposite the first substrate, and a second electrode on the second substrate. The first electrode vibrates with respect to the second substrate, and the first electrode and the second electrode include a film retaining electric charges. The vibration generator includes a third electrode with a film retaining electric charges on the first substrate, and a fourth electrode with a film retaining electric charges on the second substrate. The third electrode and the fourth electrode are arranged so that the first substrate is retained in a predetermined position when an external force does not act on the first substrate, while an electrostatic force for returning the first substrate to a predetermined position acts on the first substrate and the first substrate moves with respect to the second substrate.

Vibration power generator, vibration power generating device, and electronic device and communication device that have the vibration power generating device installed

In a MEMS device having a substrate, a sealing membrane, and a movable portionof beam and an electrodewhich have a region wherein they overlap with a gap in perpendicular to a substratesurface, a first cavityis on the side of the movable portionin the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, and a second cavity is the other cavity, and an inner surface a of a side wall A in contact with the electrode, of the first cavity, is positioned more inside than an inner surface b of a side wall B in contact with the electrode, of the second cavity, in the direction parallel to the substrate surface, such that the movable portiondoes not collide with the electrodewhen mechanical stress is applied from outside to the sealing membrane

MEMS element, and manufacturing method of MEMS element

A vibration power generator including a first substrate; first electrodes disposed over one surface of the first substrate; a second substrate spaced from the first substrate and opposed to the one surface of the first substrate; and second electrodes disposed over one surface of the second substrate so as to be opposed to the first electrodes, wherein one of the first and second electrodes includes a film holding a charge; one of the first and second substrates is a vibratory substrate; and an overlapped area between the first and second electrodes becomes minimum and then maximum, or becomes maximum and minimum, and an electrostatic capacity Cp formed between the first and second electrodes when the overlapped area becomes maximum changes, and the change of Cp comprises an increase of Cp, while the vibratory substrate is displaced from the vibration center to the vibration end.

Vibration generator, vibration generation device, and electronic equipment and communication device provided with vibration generation device

A vibration power generator is provided that increases output power by improving the electrostatic capacitance when the area of the overlap between electret electrodes and counter electrodes is maximum while having the function of limiting the spread of the electric field from the electret electrodes. The vibration power generator is provided with: a first substrate and a second substrate configured so as to be relatively movable while keeping a condition of being separated so as to be opposed to each other; a first electrode formed on the first substrate; a second electrode formed on the second substrate so as to be opposed to the first electrode; and a third electrode formed in a region different from the first electrode on the first substrate, either one of the first electrode and the second electrode includes a film holding a charge, and when an overlap between the first electrode and the second electrode is minimum, the third electrode is grounded, and when the overlap between the first electrode and the second electrode is maximum, the third electrode is open.

Vibration power generator and vibration power generation device, and communication device and electronic equipment with vibration power generation device

A resonator using the MEMS technology is provided which improves the accuracy of a shape of electrodes so as avoid a short circuit that would otherwise be caused between input and output electrodes to thereby increase the reliability thereof. A resonator includes a substrate, an insulation layerformed selectively on the substrateas a sacrificial surface, a beamformed on the substratevia a space, a first support portionA formed on the insulation layerof the same material as that of the beam, and electrodes formed with a space defined between the beamand themselves for signals to be inputted thereinto and outputted therefrom. A sectional area of the beamand a sectional area of the first support portionA are substantially equal in a section which is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the beam

Resonator and production method thereof

A vibration power generating device includes a first substrate and a second substrate, a first electrode formed on the first substrate, a fixed structural body, elastic structural bodies which connect the first substrate and the fixed structural body with each other, and a second electrode formed on the second substrate. Since the overlapping area of the electrodes is increased by arranging rectangular or square conductor parts of the first electrode and rectangular or square conductor parts of the second electrode in a checkerboard pattern, a generation region where power is generated by vibration is increased.

A vibration power generator includes a first substrate, a first electrode disposed on a lower surface of the first substrate and including a film retaining electric charges, a second substrate opposing the lower surface of the first substrate, a second electrode disposed on an upper surface of the second substrate, a third electrode disposed on the upper surface of the first substrate and including a film retaining the electric charges, a third substrate opposing the upper surface of the first substrate, and a fourth electrode disposed on a lower surface of the third substrate and opposing the third electrode. The film of the first electrode has a polarity different from a polarity of the film of the third electrode, and the vibration power generator includes a restoring force generation member giving a restoring force when an external force is not exerted to the first substrate.

Vibration power generator, vibration power generating device, and electronic device and communication device having vibration power generating device mounted thereon

A MEMS oscillator having a feedback-type oscillation circuit including a MEMS resonator and an amplifier, a voltage control unit operable to control a bias voltage applied to an oscillating member of the MEMS resonator, and an auto gain control unit which receives an output from the amplifier and, based on a level of the output, to output an amplitude control signal for controlling a gain of the amplifier to the amplifier such that the level of the output from the amplifier comes to be a predetermined level, wherein the voltage control unit controls the bias voltage applied to the oscillating member based on an operating temperature of the MEMS resonator such that a peak gain of the MEMS resonator comes to have a predetermined value regardless of the operating temperature, and the voltage control unit derives the operating temperature of the MEMS resonator by monitoring the amplitude control signal.

Oscillator with MEMS resonator

A power generator comprises a first substrate, a second substrateopposed to the first substrate, first electrodesL andR and a first electrodewhich are formed on the first substrate, second electrodesL andR and a second electrodewhich are formed on the second substrate, wherein electric charge of the same polarity is held by the first electrode and the second electrode, and the first substrate vibrates such that an angle formed between a segment connecting a centroid of the first electrodeL (R) and a centroid of the second electrodeL (R), and a half line extending from the centroid of the second electrodeL (R) toward the first electrodeL (R) in a stationary state in parallel to the main surface of the second substrate does not exceed 55 degrees while the first substrateis stationary and vibrates.

Vibration power generator, vibration power generation apparatus, and electric device and communication device with vibration power generation apparatus mounted thereon

A MEMS oscillator including: an oscillator unit being capable of outputting an output from an amplifier as an original oscillator signal that includes a feedback type oscillator circuit including a MEMS resonator and an amplifier, and an automatic gain controller receiving the output from the amplifier and controlling a gain of the amplifier based on a level of the output to maintain a level of the output from the amplifier constant; and a corrector unit that receives the original oscillator signal, that generates from the original oscillator signal a signal of a predetermined set frequency, and that outputs the generated signal of the predetermined set frequency as an output signal. The corrector unit receives, separately from the original oscillator signal, an information signal that includes a signal having a correspondence relationship between a gain at a resonance frequency of the MEMS resonator from the oscillator unit, corrects a frequency of the original oscillator signal based on the information signal to generate the signal of the predetermined set frequency, and outputs the generated signal of the predetermined set frequency as the output signal.

Oscillator

A MEMS resonatorincluding a substrate; an vibratorincluding an mechanically vibrating part and a fixed part; at least one electrodethat is close to the vibrator and has an area overlapping with the vibrator across a gapin a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate; and a pressure transferring mechanism to displace the at least one electrode according to an externally applied pressure so as to change the gap; is connected to a detection circuit that detects transmission characteristics of an AC signal from an input electrode to an output electrode, the input and output electrodes being one and the other of the vibratorand the at least one electrode, and the pressure is detected based on the transmission characteristics of the AC signal that is detected by the detection circuit.

MEMS pressure sensor

A digital television broadcast receiving section () of a mobile telephone terminal includes an antenna (), a notch filter (), a low-pass filter (LPF) (), a low noise amplifier (LNA) (), a receiving IC (), a control section (), and an input section (). A passband for digital television broadcast is divided into several parts. The control section () switches a characteristic of each of the notch filter () and the LPF () so as to combine filters appropriate for a low-band channel or a high-band channel. Thus, frequencies in a mobile telephone transmission frequency band of the mobile telephone terminal, and frequencies in a band of other systems, the frequencies in these band being interfering waves, are largely attenuated, and at the same time, frequencies in the passband which is a frequency band for digital television broadcast are allowed to pass with low loss.

High-frequency filter

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Keiji Onishi