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. 30, 2009
Filed:
Oct. 19, 2007
Robert K. Messenger, Springville, UT (US);
Timothy W. Mclain, Provo, UT (US);
Jeffrey K. Anderson, Provo, UT (US);
Larry L. Howell, Orem, UT (US);
Robert K. Messenger, Springville, UT (US);
Timothy W. McLain, Provo, UT (US);
Jeffrey K. Anderson, Provo, UT (US);
Larry L. Howell, Orem, UT (US);
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT (US);
Abstract
A micromechanical device may include one or more piezoresistive elements whose electrical resistance changes in response to externally or internally induced strain. The present invention leverages the piezoresistive properties of such devices to sense the positional state of the device. A sensing circuit may be integrated into the device that senses an electrical resistance of at least a portion of the micromechanical device and provides information regarding the positional state of the micromechanical device. The micromechanical device may be a compliant device that includes relatively flexible members such as mechanical beams or ribbons. The positional states may be continuous positional states (such as the position of an actuator) or discreet positional states (such as the positional state of a bistable memory device). In certain embodiments, the micromechanical device is a threshold detector that latches to a particular stable configuration when an applied force exceeds a selected value.