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:
Sep. 23, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 31, 2001
Donald J. Coleman, Jr., late of Murphy, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A micromechanical memory element comprising a deflectable member located between a first member and a second member . The first member is biased at a first member voltage, and the second member is biased at a second member voltage. A bias voltage applied to the deflectable member will drive the deflectable member to either the first member or the second member . A first contact is positioned on the top, or end, of the first member . A second contact is positioned on the top, or end, of the second member . These contacts are biased through resistors and with a first and second contact voltage sufficient to hold the deflectable member in place even after removal of the bias voltage applied to the deflectable member. The state of the micromechanical memory element can be determined by sensing the voltage of the deflectable member