Large tilt angle MEM platform
First Claim
1. A microelectromechanical system comprising:
- a substrate;
a platform attached to said substrate in a manner permitting said platform to be elevated in its entirety from said substrate; and
a lever arm attached to said substrate and pivotable in at least a first direction with respect to said substrate;
said platform being and attached to and said lever arm in a manner providing for inclination of said platform in at least the first direction in response to pivoting of said lever arm in the first direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a MEM system (10) having a platform (14) that is both elevatable from the substrate (12) on which it is fabricated and tiltable with one, two or more degrees of freedom with respect to the substrate (12). In one embodiment, the MEM system (10) includes the platform (14), a pair of A-frame structures (40), and two pairs of actuators (30) formed on the substrate (12). Ends (46A) of rigid members (46) extending from apexes (40A) of the A-frame structures (40) are attached to the platform (14) by compliant members (48A, 48B). The platform (14) is also attached to the substrate (12) by a compliant member (48C). The A-frame structures (40) are separately pivotable about bases (40B) thereof. Each pair of actuators (30) is coupled through a yoke (32) and displacement multiplier (34) to one of the A-frame structures (40) and is separately operable to effect pivoting of the A-frame structures (40) with respect to the substrate (12) by equal or unequal angular amounts. Upon pivoting, the A-frame structures (40) act as lever arms to both lift the platform (14) and tilt the platform (14) with respect to the substrate (12) with at least one degree of freedom. Since the platform (14) lifts up from the surface of the substrate (12), it may be tilted at large angles with respect to the substrate (12).
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Citations
65 Claims
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1. A microelectromechanical system comprising:
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a substrate;
a platform attached to said substrate in a manner permitting said platform to be elevated in its entirety from said substrate; and
a lever arm attached to said substrate and pivotable in at least a first direction with respect to said substrate;
said platform being and attached to and said lever arm in a manner providing for inclination of said platform in at least the first direction in response to pivoting of said lever arm in the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A microelectromechanical system comprising:
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a substrate;
a platform including first, second and third attachment points, said platform being pivotably attached to said substrate at the first attachment point;
a first lever arm attached to said platform at the second attachment point of said platform and pivotably attached to said substrate at a first anchor point on said substrate; and
a second lever arm attached to said platform at the third attachment point of said platform and pivotably attached to said substrate at a second anchor point on said substrate;
said first attachment point being located on the same side of a line intersecting said second and third attachment points as a side of said line on which said first and second anchor points are located when said platform is in a non-tilted orientation with respect to said substrate;
said first and second lever arms being separately pivotable about said first and second anchor points, respectively, by unequal angular amounts to tilt said platform with respect to said substrate with at least two degrees of freedom. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A microelectromechanical system comprising:
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a substrate;
a platform;
at least one tether laterally moveable with respect to said substrate in a direction parallel with a lengthwise axis of said tether and coupled at one end thereof to said platform; and
at least one compliant member pivotably attaching said platform to said substrate such that in response to lateral movement of said tether away from said platform said platform swings upwardly and away from said substrate, said at least one compliant member being configured to permit said platform to be elevated in its entirety from said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A microelectromechanical system comprising:
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substrate means for fabricating microelectromechanical components thereon;
platform means, fabricated on said substrate means, for supporting a desired optical element thereon, said platform means being elevatable in their entirety from said substrate means; and
at least one rotatable lever means, fabricated on said substrate means, for applying force to said platform means to achieve inclination of said platform means in at least a first direction that is the same as a direction in which said lever means are rotatable. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A microelectromechanical system comprising:
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a substrate;
a platform;
a first lever arm attached to said platform by at least one compliant member and pivotably attached to said substrate at a first anchor point on said substrate; and
a second lever arm attached to said platform by at least one compliant member and pivotably attached to said substrate at a second anchor point on said substrate;
said first and second lever arms being pivotable about said first and second anchor points, respectively, in at least a first direction by equal angular amounts to tilt said platform with one degree of freedom in at least the first direction;
said first and second lever arms being pivotable about said first and second anchor points, respectively, in at least a first direction by unequal angular amounts to tilt said platform with respect to said substrate with at least two degrees of freedom. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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Specification