The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 15, 1999
Filed:
Jul. 28, 1997
Khaled Karrai, Munich, DE;
Abstract
An inertial positioner comprising a base plate and a carriage plate (2) slidably connected to one another via a bearing assembly (3) so as to allow relative movement of the plates in a positioning direction. The bearing assembly (3) comprises two sets of caged ball bearings seated in respective pairs of V-grooves (25 and 26) formed in the facing surfaces of the base and carriage plates, the V-groove pairs extending spaced apart in the positioning direction. An actuator comprising a piezoelectric element (4) and a rod (5) extends between the plates (1 and 2), the piezoelectric element (4) being secured to the carriage plate (2) and the rod (5) forming a frictional engagement characterized by a force F with the base plate via a collar (20) fastened to the base plate via biasing means (not shown). In operation, a periodic saw-tooth voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element (4) to produce motion.