Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100284081 | INTEGRATED LENS BARREL - An integrated lens barrel for a miniature camera is disclosed. The lens barrel can include components such as a shutter, an autofocus mechanism, a zoom mechanism, and/or an image stabilization mechanism. These and/or components can define a portion of the lens barrel that increases the length of the lens barrel. An electrostatic MEMS actuator can be used to effect movement of the autofocus mechanism, zoom mechanism, and/or image stabilization mechanism. Integrating the shutter, autofocus mechanism, zoom mechanism, and/or image stabilization mechanism into the lens barrel facilitates the construction of a substantially smaller camera that is suitable for use in personal electronic devices, such as cellular telephones. | 11-11-2010 |
20110304914 | INTEGRATED LENS BARREL - An integrated lens barrel for a miniature camera is disclosed. The lens barrel can include components such as a shutter, an autofocus mechanism, a zoom mechanism, and/or an image stabilization mechanism. These and/or components can define a portion of the lens barrel that increases the length of the lens barrel. An electrostatic MEMS actuator can be used to effect movement of the autofocus mechanism, zoom mechanism, and/or image stabilization mechanism. Integrating the shutter, autofocus mechanism, zoom mechanism, and/or image stabilization mechanism into the lens barrel facilitates the construction of a substantially smaller camera that is suitable for use in personal electronic devices, such as cellular telephones. | 12-15-2011 |
20140362441 | INTEGRATED LENS BARREL - An integrated lens barrel for a miniature camera is disclosed. The lens barrel can include components such as a shutter, an autofocus mechanism, a zoom mechanism, and/or an image stabilization mechanism. These and/or components can define a portion of the lens barrel that increases the length of the lens barrel. An electrostatic MEMS actuator can be used to effect movement of the autofocus mechanism, zoom mechanism, and/or image stabilization mechanism. Integrating the shutter, autofocus mechanism, zoom mechanism, and/or image stabilization mechanism into the lens barrel facilitates the construction of a substantially smaller camera that is suitable for use in personal electronic devices, such as cellular telephones. | 12-11-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100308431 | Mechanical Isolation For MEMS Electrical Contacts - In accordance with the disclosure, a MEMS substrate is provided that includes: a central planar portion configured to support a MEMS device; and a first electrical pad coplanar with the central planar portion, the first pad being connected to the central planar portion through a first flexure, wherein the first flexure is configured to substantially mechanically isolate the first electrical pad from the central planar portion. | 12-09-2010 |
20110255182 | PLANAR FLEXURE SYSTEM WITH HIGH PITCH STIFFNESS - A flexure system for miniature camera and the like is disclosed. The flexure system can include a frame and a stage that is configured to move with respect to the frame. One or more flexures can interconnect the frame and the stage. Each flexure can have one or more film hinges formed thereon. The film hinges can be widely spaced and/or extended in length so as to substantially mitigate undesirable pitching of the stage. | 10-20-2011 |
20110317013 | AUTOFOCUS CAMERA SYSTEMS AND METHODS - In an example embodiment, a method for focusing a miniature camera includes applying a signal to an actuator in the camera, moving a MEMS stage movably supported by one or more flexures in response to the application of the signal, moving a lens in response to the moving of the MEMS stage, and limiting movement of the MEMS stage to substantially one degree of freedom corresponding to an optical axis of the lens. | 12-29-2011 |
20120081598 | MEMS ACTUATOR DEVICE DEPLOYMENT - A method for making an actuator device includes forming a substantially planar structure having a stage resiliently supported for movement within a plane of the structure, an actuator coupled to an outer periphery of the stage and operable to apply a force acting in the plane and tangentially to the stage when actuated, the actuator comprising a fixed frame and a moving frame resiliently supported for reciprocal movement relative to the fixed frame by a motion control flexure, and an outer frame surrounding and supporting the stage and the actuator. The moving frame is moved to a deployed position that is coplanar with, parallel to and spaced apart from the fixed frame at a selected distance, and the moving frame is then fixed at the deployed position for substantially rectilinear, perpendicular movement relative to the fixed frame. | 04-05-2012 |
20120119324 | MEMS ISOLATION STRUCTURES - A device may comprise a substrate formed of a first semiconductor material and a trench formed in the substrate. A second semiconductor material may be formed in the trench. The second semiconductor material may have first and second portions that are isolated with respect to one another and that are isolated with respect to the first semiconductor material. | 05-17-2012 |
20120119325 | GUARD TRENCH - A device may comprise a substrate formed of a first semiconductor material, a first trench formed in the substrate, a second trench formed in the substrate proximate the first trench, an oxide layer formed in the first trench and the second trench, and a second semiconductor material formed upon the oxide layer. The oxide layer in the second trench may be adapted to mitigate undercut of the oxide layer in the first trench during an etching process. | 05-17-2012 |
20120119425 | ACTUATOR MOTION CONTROL FEATURES - A method for making a motion control feature for an actuator device of a type that has a moveable component coupled to an opposing fixed component for out-of-plane rotational movement relative thereto includes forming first and second flaps respectively extending from the moveable and fixed components and toward the opposing component and operable to effect one or more of damping movement of the moveable component relative to the fixed component and/or restraining movement of the moveable component relative to the fixed component in a direction substantially perpendicular to the actuator device. | 05-17-2012 |
20120119612 | MOTION CONTROLLED ACTUATOR - A device can have an outer frame and an actuator. The actuator can have a movable frame and a fixed frame. At least one torsional flexure and at least one hinge flexure can cooperate to provide comparatively high lateral stiffness between the outer frame and the movable frame and can cooperate to provide comparatively low rotational stiffness between the outer frame and the movable frame. | 05-17-2012 |
20120119613 | MEMS ACTUATOR DEVICE - A method for making an actuator device includes providing a wafer comprising a layer of an electrically conductive material and forming a plurality of rotationally symmetrical dies in the electrically conductive material, each die including a plurality of radial tabs and complementarily sized radial recesses arranged in alternating fashion and at equal angular increments around the circumfery of the die. To maximize the use of available wafer space, the dies are arranged in a pattern on the wafer in which each die is rotated relative to adjacent dies through an angle of 360 degrees divided by twice the number of tabs or recesses on the die and, except for dies located at an outer periphery of the wafer, each die is disposed in edge-to-edge near abutment with an adjacent die and each tab of each die is nested within a complementary recess of an adjacent die. | 05-17-2012 |
20120120262 | ROTATIONALLY DEPLOYED ACTUATORS - A method for making an actuator includes forming, e.g., using photolithography techniques, a substantially planar actuator device of an electrically conductive material, e.g., a semiconductor, to include an outer frame, a fixed frame coupled to the outer frame for rotational movement relative thereto, a moveable frame coupled to the outer frame for rotational movement relative thereto, and an actuator incorporating a plurality of interdigitated teeth, a fixed portion of which is attached to the fixed frame and a moving portion of which is attached to the moveable frame. The fixed frame is then rotated to a deployed position relative to the outer frame such that the fixed portion of the actuator teeth is disposed at a selected angle relative to the moving portion of the actuator teeth, and the position of the fixed frame relative to the outer frame is then fixed at the deployed position. | 05-17-2012 |
20120120308 | CAPILLARY ACTUATOR DEPLOYMENT - A method for making an actuator includes forming a substantially planar actuator device of an electrically conductive material, the device incorporating an outer frame, a fixed frame attached to the outer frame, a moveable frame disposed parallel to the fixed frame, a motion control flexure coupling the moveable frame to the outer frame for coplanar, rectilinear movement relative to the outer frame and the fixed frame, an actuator incorporating a plurality of interdigitated teeth, a fixed portion of which is attached to the fixed frame and a moving portion of which is attached to the moveable frame, moving the moveable frame to a deployed position that is coplanar with, parallel to and spaced a selected distance apart from the fixed frame, and fixing the moveable frame at the deployed position for substantially rectilinear, perpendicular movement relative to the fixed frame. | 05-17-2012 |
20120121243 | MEMS ACTUATOR ALIGNMENT - A method for aligning an actuator device relative to an adjacent component, such as a rear cover of an actuator module or a stationary lens, includes disposing a plurality of radially extending tabs around an outer periphery of the actuator device, disposing a corresponding plurality of pairs of raised mounting features on a front surface of the adjacent component, each pair defining a slot having sidewalls that are complementary in configuration to respective sidewalls of corresponding ones of the tabs, and inserting respective ones of the tabs into corresponding ones of the slots. | 05-17-2012 |
20120133916 | WAFER LEVEL OPTICAL ELEMENTS AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF - In one aspect, the present invention provides a wafer level optical assembly comprising a first wafer level optical element, the first wafer level optical element comprising a first alignment structure and a second wafer level optical element, the second wafer level optical element comprising a second alignment structure, wherein the first alignment structure contacts the second alignment structure. | 05-31-2012 |
20130076919 | OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZATION USING TANGENTIALLY ACTUATED MEMS DEVICES - In one example, an actuator device useful in, e.g., a camera for, e.g., optical image stabilization (OIS), includes a stage resiliently supported for movement within a plane, three or more actuators, each coupled to an outer periphery of the stage and operable to apply a force acting in the plane and tangentially to the stage when actuated, and an outer frame surrounding and supporting the stage and the actuators. | 03-28-2013 |
20130077168 | MULTIPLE DEGREE OF FREEDOM ACTUATOR - A multiple degree of freedom actuator can have at least one first MEMS actuator configured to move a platform in translation and at least one second MEMS actuator configured to move the platform in a different direction, e.g., tangentially. The first MEMS actuator(s) can facilitate autofocus and/or zoom, for example. The second MEMS actuator(s) can facilitate optical image stabilization (OIS), for example. | 03-28-2013 |
20130077947 | ROTATIONALLY DEPLOYED ACTUATOR DEVICES - A method for making an actuator device includes forming a substantially planar structure, including an outer frame with a latch foot, a fixed frame coupled to the outer frame, a latch mass coupled to the fixed frame, a latch block coupled to the latch mass by a latch block flexure, a moveable frame coupled to the outer frame, and an actuator incorporating a plurality of interdigitated teeth alternately attached to the fixed and moving frames. For operation, the latch mass is rotated downward until an upper surface of the latch block is disposed below and held in latching contact with a lower surface of the latch foot by the latch block flexure. | 03-28-2013 |
20130128099 | AUTOFOCUS CAMERA SYSTEMS AND METHODS - A method for focusing a miniature camera includes providing a current through a coil, moving a lens of a camera based on the current to adjust a focus of the camera, and limiting movement of the lens along an optical path of the camera. | 05-23-2013 |
20130343740 | MEMS Actuator Alignment - A method for aligning an actuator device relative to an adjacent component, such as a rear cover of an actuator module or a stationary lens, includes disposing a plurality of radially extending tabs around an outer periphery of the actuator device, disposing a corresponding plurality of pairs of raised mounting features on a front surface of the adjacent component, each pair defining a slot having sidewalls that are complementary in configuration to respective sidewalls of corresponding ones of the tabs, and inserting respective ones of the tabs into corresponding ones of the slots. | 12-26-2013 |
20140104764 | CAPILLARY ACTUATOR DEPLOYMENT - A method for making an actuator includes forming a substantially planar actuator device of an electrically conductive material, the device incorporating an outer frame, a fixed frame attached to the outer frame, a moveable frame disposed parallel to the fixed frame, a motion control flexure coupling the moveable frame to the outer frame for coplanar, rectilinear movement relative to the outer frame and the fixed frame, an actuator incorporating a plurality of interdigitated teeth, a fixed portion of which is attached to the fixed frame and a moving portion of which is attached to the moveable frame, moving the moveable frame to a deployed position that is coplanar with, parallel to and spaced a selected distance apart from the fixed frame, and fixing the moveable frame at the deployed position for substantially rectilinear, perpendicular movement relative to the fixed frame. | 04-17-2014 |
20140116163 | MOTION CONTROLLED ACTUATOR - A device can have an outer frame and an actuator. The actuator can have a movable frame and a fixed frame. At least one torsional flexure and at least one hinge flexure can cooperate to provide comparatively high lateral stiffness between the outer frame and the movable frame and can cooperate to provide comparatively low rotational stiffness between the outer frame and the movable frame. | 05-01-2014 |
20140184892 | AUTOFOCUS CAMERA SYSTEMS AND METHODS - A method for focusing a miniature camera includes providing a current through a coil, moving a lens of a camera based on the current to adjust a focus of the camera, and limiting movement of the lens along an optical path of the camera. | 07-03-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130036592 | MEMS Deployment Flexures - A flexure assembly can have a stage that is deployed to a desired position by attachment of the flexure assembly to a housing. For example, a frame can be configured to be held in position by one portion of the housing and a deployment pad can be configured to be held in position by another portion of the housing. A deployment flexure can be configured to facilitate positioning of the frame and the deployment pad out-of-plane with respect to one another. The deployment flexure and a motion control flexure can facilitate movement of the stage with respect to the housing. In this manner, the position of the stage and the preload of the stage are determined by the housing. | 02-14-2013 |
20130215325 | ARCUATE MOTION CONTROL IN ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATORS - In one embodiment, an actuator includes a moving frame coupled to a fixed frame by a plurality of elongated parallel motion flexures for generally parallel motion relative to the fixed frame and between an as-fabricated position and a deployed position. The flexures are disposed at a first angle relative to a line extending perpendicularly to both the moving frame and the fixed frame when the moving frame is disposed in the as-fabricated position, and at a second angle relative to that same line when the moving frame is disposed in the deployed position, Arcuate movement of the first frame relative to the second frame is controlled by constraining the first angle to a value of less than about half of the sum of the first and second angles. | 08-22-2013 |
20130271641 | THERMAL DESPACE COMPENSATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide thermal despace compensation for optics assemblies, such as devices including one or more lenses and/or optical devices. A thermal despace compensation system may include one or more interfaces substantially situated between optical devices that expand and contract with changing temperature according to their coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs). Each interface may be implemented with one or more shapes and/or interfaces adapted to provide a compensation despace to compensate for thermal expansion and contraction and/or reduce optical defects caused by changes in temperature of the various optical devices. | 10-17-2013 |
20130278108 | MEMS SHOCK CUSHION SPRING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide shock impact mitigation for MEMS structures. A MEMS structure may include one or more actuators. An actuator may include a first frame having a spine, where the spine includes a body and a tip. The actuator may include a second frame connected to the first frame and including a shock stop, where the shock stop includes a surface in proximity to the spine tip. An actuator may include a shock cushion spring fixed relative to the spine tip and situated substantially between the spine tip and the shock stop surface, where the shock cushion spring is adapted to protect the spine tip from contact with the shock stop surface. | 10-24-2013 |
20130279030 | MINIATURE MEMS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLIES - In one embodiment, an electrostatic actuator includes a generally planar fixed frame, a generally planar moving frame coupled to the fixed frame by a flexure for substantially coplanar, perpendicular movement relative to the fixed frame, a plurality of interdigitated teeth, a fixed portion of which is attached to the fixed frame and a moving portion of which is attached to the moving frame, and an elongated output shaft having opposite input and output ends, the input end being coupled to the moving frame. | 10-24-2013 |
20150070793 | MINIATURE MEMS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLIES - In one embodiment, an electrostatic actuator includes a generally planar fixed frame, a generally planar moving frame coupled to the fixed frame by a flexure for substantially coplanar, perpendicular movement relative to the fixed frame, a plurality of interdigitated teeth, a fixed portion of which is attached to the fixed frame and a moving portion of which is attached to the moving frame, and an elongated output shaft having opposite input and output ends, the input end being coupled to the moving frame. | 03-12-2015 |