Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090167034 | Appartus for Generating Power Responsive to Mechanical Vibration - A vibrational energy harvesting apparatus comprising: a substrate having a plurality of integral compliant regions; at least two ferromagnetic masses each coupled to a corresponding one or more of the integral compliant regions such that at least one of the ferromagnetic masses moves with respect to the substrate responsive to substrate acceleration, each ferromagnetic mass having an inner magnetic pole disposed such that the inner magnetic poles are separated by a gap, wherein the magnetic polarities of the inner magnetic poles on the opposing sides of the gap are similar; wherein the inner magnetic poles form a steep flux gradient region in and around the gap; and a coil coupled to the substrate and disposed within the steep flux gradient region where it is exposed to a changing magnetic flux arising from motion of at least one of the ferromagnetic masses with respect to the substrate. | 07-02-2009 |
20120326700 | Apparatus and Methods for Time Domain Measurement of Oscillation Perturbations - An oscillatory apparatus and methods of utilizing the same. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a force sensor having a proof mass, with one or more sensing electron tunneling electrodes disposed thereon, and a frame comprising one or more reference electron tunneling electrodes. Conductive plates disposed on the sensor base and capping wafers induce oscillations of the proof mass. The sensing and the reference electrode pairs are disposed in a face-to-face configuration, thus forming a digital switch characterized by one or more closed states. In the closed state, the switch generates triggering events, thereby enabling the sensing apparatus to generate a digital output indicative of the mass position. The time period between consecutive trigger events is used to obtain mass deflection due to external forcing. Time separation between the triggering events is based on the physical dimensions established during fabrication, thus not requiring ongoing sensor calibration. | 12-27-2012 |
20130104622 | Auto-Ranging for Time Domain Inertial Sensor | 05-02-2013 |
20130111990 | Oscillation Apparatus with Atomic-Layer Proximity Switch - An oscillation apparatus comprising: a frame; a first proof mass coupled to the frame via a spring; a driving circuit operatively coupled to the first proof mass and the frame, wherein the driving circuit is configured to induce oscillatory motion of the first proof mass relative to the frame at a resonant frequency in a first direction; a first electron-tunneling position switch operatively coupled to the first proof mass such that the first position switch is configured to pass through a closed state during each oscillation of the proof mass, wherein the position switch comprises first and second single-atom-thick tunneling electrodes; and a sensing circuit coupled to the position switch, the sensing circuit configured to output a signal whenever the position switch passes through the closed state. | 05-09-2013 |
20130180333 | Time Domain Switched Gyroscope - A gyroscope comprising: a support structure; a drive mass springedly coupled to the support structure such that movement of the drive mass with respect to the support structure is substantially restricted to movement in a first direction; a driver configured to cause the drive mass to oscillate with respect to the support structure in the first direction; a sense mass springedly coupled to the drive mass such that movement of the sense mass with respect to the drive mass is substantially restricted to movement in a second direction, which is orthogonal to the first direction; and a digital trigger comprising a proximity switch coupled between the drive mass and the sense mass, wherein the switch is configured to switch from an open state to a closed state each time the sense mass is in a reference position with respect to the drive mass. | 07-18-2013 |
20130247669 | Apparatus and Method for Providing an In-Plane Inertial Device with Integrated Clock - An in-plane, monolithically-integrated, inertial device comprising: a support structure and first and second spring mass systems springedly coupled to the support structure. The first spring mass system comprises first and second time domain digital triggers configured to measure rotation and displacement respectively of the support structure about a first axis and along an orthogonal second axis respectively. The second spring mass system comprises third and fourth time domain digital triggers configured to measure acceleration and displacement respectively of the support structure about the second axis and along the first axis respectively. | 09-26-2013 |
20140047918 | Inertial Sensor Using Sliding Plane Proximity Switches - A time-domain inertial sensor comprising: a support structure having an electrode plane parallel to an x-y plane of an x-y-z mutually orthogonal coordinate system, wherein the support structure's largest dimension lies within the x-y plane; a proof mass having a first surface parallel to the x-y plane; wherein the proof mass is springedly coupled to the support structure such that the first surface is separated from the electrode plane by a gap; a driver configured to drive the proof mass to oscillate with respect to the support structure in approximately only the x-direction such that, while oscillating, the gap does not vary significantly; and a first, time-domain, proximity switch disposed to switch from an open state to a closed state each time the proof mass is in a first reference position with respect to the support structure. | 02-20-2014 |
20140062567 | Auto-Ranging for Time Domain Extraction of Perturbations to Sinusoidal Oscillation - A method for increasing the accuracy of a time-domain apparatus comprising the following steps: initiating a periodic oscillation with the time-domain apparatus; measuring time intervals between trigger events during each oscillation, wherein the trigger events correspond to the oscillation passing known values; detecting a perturbation to the oscillation by monitoring changes in the time intervals between trigger events; and adjusting a parameter of the oscillation based on the perturbation such that measurement error is reduced. | 03-06-2014 |
20140069188 | Tuning Fork Gyroscope Time Domain Inertial Sensor - A gyroscope comprising: a frame; a tuning fork comprising a base and first and second prongs, wherein the base has proximal and distal ends, and wherein the proximal end is coupled to the frame and the distal end is coupled to the first and second prongs; first and second drivers configured to drive the first and second prongs respectively to oscillate with respect to the frame in a first direction, such that the prongs oscillate at their respective resonant frequencies and 180° out of phase with each other; and at least two digital position triggers operatively coupled to the frame and to the tuning fork, wherein each position trigger is configured to experience at least two trigger events during each oscillation of the tuning fork in a second direction, wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction. | 03-13-2014 |
20140305213 | Apparatus And Methods For Time Domain Measurement Using Phase Shifted Virtual Intervals - Systems and methods for perturbation analysis of harmonic oscillations in the time domain according to several embodiments can include a time domain switching sensor and a resonator for imposing a first oscillation and a second oscillation on the sensor. The first and second oscillations can have the same amplitude A and period P, but can have a known phase shift. The sensor can use a time interval, which can be defined by the time between when the sensor passes a reference point due to motion caused by the first oscillation and when the sensor passes the same reference point, but due to motion caused by the second oscillation. With this configuration an improved accuracy of measurement for the system can be realized. | 10-16-2014 |