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:
Feb. 17, 2015
Filed:
Jul. 07, 2011
Stewart Sherrit, La Crescenta, CA (US);
Xiaoqi Bao, San Gabriel, CA (US);
Mircea Badescu, La Canada Flintridge, CA (US);
Yoseph Bar-cohen, Seal Beach, CA (US);
Phillip Grant Allen, Walnut, CA (US);
Stewart Sherrit, La Crescenta, CA (US);
Xiaoqi Bao, San Gabriel, CA (US);
Mircea Badescu, La Canada Flintridge, CA (US);
Yoseph Bar-Cohen, Seal Beach, CA (US);
Phillip Grant Allen, Walnut, CA (US);
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US);
Abstract
A monolithic ultrasonic horn where the horn, backing, and pre-stress structures are combined in a single monolithic piece is disclosed. Pre-stress is applied by external flexure structures. The provision of the external flexures has numerous advantages including the elimination of the need for a pre-stress bolt. The removal of the pre-stress bolt eliminates potential internal electric discharge points in the actuator. In addition, it reduces the chances of mechanical failure in the actuator stacks that result from the free surface in the hole of conventional ring stacks. In addition, the removal of the stress bolt and the corresponding reduction in the overall number of parts reduces the overall complexity of the resulting ultrasonic horn actuator and simplifies the ease of the design, fabrication and integration of the actuator of the present invention into other structures.