Silmach

Etat Francais Represente Par Le Delegue General Pour L'armement

Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique

Université De Franche Comte

Patrice Minotti

Gilles Bourbon

Patrice Le Moal

Eric Joseph

Pierre-Francois Louvigne

Vianney Sadoulet

Paul Vescovo

Vincent Walter

Pascal Girardin

Hiroyuki Fujita

Charles Haye

Thierry Cote

Philippe Langlet

Takahisa Masuzawa

Cyrille Hibert

Thierry Côte

Moal Patrice Le

Pierre-François LouvignÉ

Louvigné Pierre-François

Philippe Hélin

Pierre-François Louvigné

A deformation passive sensor includes a system for detecting a variation in the distance between two points or regions of a structure, and a carrier having first and second parts configured to be fixed to the points or regions. The system includes a measuring assembly carried by the first part and actuatable only in one measurement direction in order to measure and store a measurement associated with at least one deformation in a measurement direction, and an actuating device including an intermediary assembly having an actuating member for actuating the measuring assembly, and an actuating assembly having a push part facing the intermediary assembly and configured such that the actuating member is moved with respect to the measuring assembly only when the second part moves in the measurement direction.

Strain sensor with measurement discrimination according to the deformation direction

Disclosed is a method for counting events occurring during a period T carried out by a mechanical counter including two toothed wheels with the same pitch, the occurrence of an event causing the rotation of each wheel by an angle corresponding to the pitch of the teeth thereof, the method including: counting or calculating, for each wheel at the end of T, the difference in the number of teeth between the initial and final position thereof, the step being at least partially carried out either by an optical unit, requiring the presence on each wheel of at least one marker, or by a unit for measuring the angular displacement of each wheel and associated calculation unit; and calculating the number of occurred events N in accordance with the difference between the values counted or measured and in accordance with the number of teeth of the wheels.

Method for counting events occurring during a duration T and associated mechanical event counters

The disclosed micro-sensor includes: a substrate including a first portion and a second portion; a third portion and fourth portion provided between the portions and connected to the first portion and the second portion respectively by an elastic member; detection and a counter including: a counting gear, a third beam capable of meshing with the gear, an amplifier for the value of a relative movement between the portions and including: a first beam attached at one end thereof to the third portion and at the other end thereof to a plate, a second beam attached at one end thereof to the fourth portion and at the other end thereof to the plate, the third beam being attached on one side to the plate and including a tooth capable of meshing with the gear.

Amplified passive and reversible micro-sensor of deformations

The invention relates to a device including: a movable element () comprising teeth (, i,); a driving element () for engaging with the teeth () of the movable element () so as to set the movable element () in motion in a direction of movement; an actuator element () capable of generating an alternating movement so as to move the driving element () according to at least two phases, i.e. a driving phase, during which the driving element () is engaged with a tooth () of the movable element (), and a return phase without driving, during which the driving element () is shifted with respect to the movable element (); and a first indexing element (), which includes a first indexing finger () to be positioned between two teeth () of the movable element (), and which is connected to the actuator element () in order to move the driving element () and the first indexing finger () simultaneously.

Passive indexing of a movable element having teeth

An actuation device () which includes an actuation element () with a fixed 10 portion () and a driving portion (); wherein the fixed portion () includes a crawling surface (). The driving portion () includes a flexible moveable blade () positioned in parallel and at a distance from the crawling surface (). When a power supply voltage is applied between the moveable blade () and the crawling surface (), the free end () comes into contact with the crawling surface (), and a contact area, between the moveable blade () and the crawling surface (), increases by propagation of the crawling front () along the moveable blade (). The propagation of the crawling front displaces the moveable blade () according to a first orientation.

Actuation device with a drive element actuated by crawling

The present invention relates to the field of microsensors, and particularly to a passive and reversible deformation sensor, specifically cycles of deformations in a direction OX of a structure, specifically during cycles of temperatures or mechanical stresses to which the structure is subjected, this sensor including elements () for detecting and, preferably, counting cycles of variations in the distance between two points or areas of a structure, these elements including a support having first and second portions () attachable to, respectively, either of the two points or areas of the structure, wherein the detecting elements are associated with each of the first and second portions of the support, sensor characterized by in that the detecting elements include elements () for distinguishing between at least two different thresholds of cycles of variations in distance.

Passive, reversible deformation sensor

The invention concerns an element to be driven, a driving element designed to be urged into engagement with the element to be driven and an actuating element adapted to move the driving element so that it drives the element to be driven in step-by-step displacement, the driving element and the actuating element being formed by etching in a semiconductor material wafer. The invention is characterized in that it comprises elastic prestressing means for maintaining the driving element in contact with the element to be driven.

Method and device for moving an element to be driven using an actuating element formed by etching in a semiconductor material

A device comprising an element to be driven and a driving element designed to be urged into engagement with the element to be driven and an actuating element adapted to generate a reciprocating movement to move the driving element, the driving element and the actuating element being formed by etching in a semiconductor material block, are provided. During a first alternation (a) of the movement generated by the actuating element, the driving element is urged into engagement with the element to be driven to pull the element to be driven. During a second alternation (b) in the opposite direction generated by the actuating element, the driving element slides on the element to be driven, such that the element to be driven is displaced in a step-by-step movement by the driving element.

A drive device formed by etching a wafer. The drive device includes a drive element that can sequentially mesh with a driven element and an actuating element that can displace the drive element according to a hysteresis movement thereby driving the driven element. Placement of the drive element on an outer edge of the wafer enables an interfacing of the drive element with a driven element placed opposite therefrom. A clockwork mechanism including a drive device of the aforementioned type and an input gear that can be rotationally driven by the drive device is also provided.

Drive device, particularly for a clockwork mechanism

A MEMS device is provided which includes a driven element having a series of teeth. The MEMS device includes a driving element operable to engage the driven element when the driving element is in a meshed position with the series of teeth. A driving actuator of the MEMS device is operable to (i) move the driving element with a hysteresis-type motion from an initial position into the meshed position to engage the driven element, (ii) move the driving element causing the driven element to move while the driving element is in the meshed position, (iii) move the driving element away from the meshed position, and (iv) cause the driving element to return to the initial position while the driving element is not in the meshed position.

MEMS device comprising an actuator generating a hysteresis driving motion

An electrostatic microactuator, known as a &ldquo;Scratch Drive Actuator&rdquo; or SDA, is based on a collective set of distributed elementary SDAs of small size that are associated with one another and that integrates a large number so as to allow the addition of the forces generated by each of the SDAs in the collective set. An external mechanical prestress, formed by a homogeneous external pressure in the form of a bias voltage applied at rest to the associated SDAs, is applied to the SDAs to allow a superposition of the forces generated by the associated SDAs. This is done while communicating to an external load the entire driving force emanating from the collective behavior of the SDAs. The electrostatic attraction forces established by the bias voltage are used to calibrate an individualized prestress for each actuator involved in the collective set. Such an electrostatic microactuator forms part of an active three-dimensional microcatheter, as one possible application, that can be used in a blood vessel.

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Gennes, France

Patrice Minotti