Patents Examined by Derek J Rosenau
  • Patent number: 10763421
    Abstract: A composite article has 1) a dry piezoelectric layer comprising a piezoelectric material, 2) a dry dielectric layer arranged contiguously with at least one of the opposing surfaces of the dry piezoelectric layer, and 3) a pair of non-electrically-connected co-planar patterned electrodes. The dry dielectric layer has essentially (a?) a dielectric material; and (b) particles having a Young's modulus that is different from the Young's modulus of the (a?) dielectric material by at least 10%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
    Inventors: Roberta Dileo Benedict, Kurt D. Sieber, J. Lanny Tucker
  • Patent number: 10763423
    Abstract: A microelectro-mechanical system (MEMS) device includes a support structure formed of printed circuit board (PCB) materials; and a piezoelectric transducer formed at the support structure. Further, a MEMS assembly is described which shows such a MEMS device mounted at a component carrier. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing such a MEMS device is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jonathan Silvano De Sousa, Nick Renaud-Bezot
  • Patent number: 10756643
    Abstract: A flipping-capacitor rectifier circuit that enhances an output power of a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH). The flipping-capacitor rectifier circuit includes a flipping capacitor, a plurality of switches, and an active rectifier. The flipping capacitor is connected in parallel with the PEH and forms at least three reconfiguration phases by turning on one or more of the switches. The active rectifier connects with the flipping capacitor in parallel and rectifies an AC voltage of the PEH. The flipping capacitor flips a voltage across a capacitor of the PEH to enhance the output power of the PEH by extracting power from the capacitor of the PEH.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF MACAU
    Inventors: Zhiyuan Chen, Man-Kay Law, Pui-In Mak, Rui Paulo da Silva Martins
  • Patent number: 10756252
    Abstract: An electronic device that includes a housing and a piezoelectric sensor. The piezoelectric sensor is disposed in contact with an inner wall surface of the housing while in a bent state. The piezoelectric sensor includes a piezoelectric film, a coverlay, a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode, and a substrate having flexibility. The first electrode is disposed on a surface of the substrate. The first electrode includes a wide part and a narrow part. The coverlay covers a boundary between the wide part and the narrow part. The piezoelectric film covers a boundary between a part of the first electrode which is covered with the coverlay and a part of the first electrode which is not covered with the coverlay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Kihara, Yoshihiro Yamaguchi, Jun Endo
  • Patent number: 10751756
    Abstract: A piezoelectric film having a porosity between 20 and 40%, a thickness ranging from tens of microns to less than a few millimeters can be used to form an ultrasonic transducer UT for operation in elevated temperature ranges, that emit pulses having a high bandwidth. Such piezoelectric films exhibit greater flexibility allowing for conformation of the UT to a surface, and obviate the need for couplings or backings. Furthermore, a method of fabricating an UT having these advantages as well as better bonding between the piezoelectric film and electrodes involves controlling porosity within the piezoelectric film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Inventors: Makiko Kobayashi, Cheng-Kuei Jen
  • Patent number: 10756625
    Abstract: An integrated module of acoustic wave device with active thermal compensation comprises a substrate, an acoustic wave filter, an active adjustment circuit and at least one variable capacitance device. The acoustic wave filter comprises a plurality of series acoustic wave resonators formed on the substrate, at least one shunt acoustic wave resonator formed on the substrate and a thermal sensing acoustic wave resonator. Each of the variable capacitance device is connected in parallel to one of the series and shunt acoustic wave resonators. The active adjustment circuit outputs an active thermal compensation signal correlated to a thermal variation sensed by the thermal sensing acoustic wave resonator to the variable capacitance device. The active thermal compensation signal induces a capacitance variation of the variable capacitance device such that the impact of the thermal variation to the acoustic wave device is compensated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: WIN SEMICONDUCTORS CORP.
    Inventors: Re Ching Lin, Shu Hsiao Tsai, Cheng Kuo Lin, Chih-Feng Chiang, Fan Hsiu Huang, Tung-Yao Chou
  • Patent number: 10749101
    Abstract: A piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric body, a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode, and a first through hole conductor. The piezoelectric body includes first and second main surfaces opposing each other, and first and second end surfaces opposing each other. The first electrode is disposed on the first main surface. The second electrode is disposed apart from the first electrode on the first main surface. The third electrode is disposed in the piezoelectric body to oppose the first electrode. The first through hole conductor is connected to the second and third electrodes. The piezoelectric body includes an active region and an inactive region. The active region includes a region from the first electrode to the third electrode. The inactive region includes a region from the third electrode to the second main surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiki Ikeda, Kazuo Nagata, Shuto Ono, Syogo Saito
  • Patent number: 10730074
    Abstract: A piezoelectric transducer comprises a piezoelectric element operable to transduce mechanical movement of the piezoelectric element to an electrical signal and to transduce an electrical signal in the piezoelectric element to a mechanical movement thereof, wherein the piezoelectric transducer is operable to transduce above a temperature of 200° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Ionix Advanced Technologies Ltd
    Inventors: Timothy James Stevenson, Timothy Paul Alistair Comyn
  • Patent number: 10720900
    Abstract: An acoustic resonator including a substrate, an active vibration region including, sequentially stacked on the substrate, a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and an upper electrode, and a horizontal resonance suppressing part formed from and disposed in the piezoelectric layer, the horizontal resonance suppressing part having piezoelectric physical properties that are different from piezoelectric physical properties of the piezoelectric layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tae Hun Lee, Won Han, Moon Chul Lee, Sung Han
  • Patent number: 10715104
    Abstract: A piezoelectric vibration component that includes a substrate having a principal surface and a side face, a piezoelectric vibrator, a lid, and an adhesive layer that hermetically seals the piezoelectric vibrator in a space between the lid and the principal surface. The adhesive layer extends from the principal surface to at least a portion of the side face of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kaida, Kazuyuki Noto, Keiichi Kami
  • Patent number: 10714674
    Abstract: A piezoelectric device includes a base, a piezoelectric vibrating piece, and a cover. The base has a depressed portion and a bank portion. The piezoelectric vibrating piece is housed within the depressed portion. The cover is bonded on a top surface of the bank portion of the base with a sealing metal. The top surface of the base has an inclined surface that inclines down toward an inside of the base in a direction along a width direction of the bank portion or an inclined surface that inclines down toward an outside of the base in the direction along the width direction of the bank portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: NIHON DEMPA KOGYO CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tomotaka Kuroda
  • Patent number: 10715105
    Abstract: An acoustic wave device includes a support substrate, a piezoelectric laminate, and first and second interdigital transducer electrodes. The piezoelectric laminate includes an intermediate layer provided directly or indirectly on the support substrate and a piezoelectric thin film provided on the intermediate layer. The first and second interdigital transducer electrodes are provided on the piezoelectric thin film of the piezoelectric laminate so as to be disposed in an identical or substantially identical plane. In the piezoelectric laminate, a thickness of a portion where the first interdigital transducer electrode is provided is different from a thickness of a portion where the second interdigital transducer electrode is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yutaka Kishimoto, Masashi Omura, Tetsuya Kimura
  • Patent number: 10682845
    Abstract: A film transducer has a holding part, an electroactive composite structure which includes at least one deformable carrier and at least two electrodes arranged on opposite sides of the deformable carrier, and a load application member which is mounted to the composite structure. The holding part engages two ends of the composite structure facing away from each other and the load application member is arranged between the two ends of the composite structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: BUERKERT WERKE GMBH
    Inventors: Cricia De Carvalho Rodegheri, Marcel Konstandin, Peter Krippner, Stefan Seelecke, Marc Hill
  • Patent number: 10680158
    Abstract: A resonator element includes: a substrate; and an electrode that includes a first conductive layer provided on a surface of the substrate, and a second conductive layer, provided on the opposite side to the first conductive layer on the substrate side, which is disposed within an outer edge of the first conductive layer when seen in a plan view from a direction perpendicular to the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Fujihara, Kazuhisa Hatanaka, Matsutaro Naito
  • Patent number: 10673409
    Abstract: A SAW device includes a SAW element, a conductor connected to the SAW element, an LT substrate including the SAW element, and a case for housing the LT substrate including the SAW element. The case includes a cover part, a lateral part, and a bottom part. The bottom part is including a sapphire substrate, the LT substrate is positioned on a first surface of the sapphire substrate, the first surface serving as an inner surface of the case, and a second surface opposite to the first surface serves as an outer surface of the case. The conductor includes a via conductor provided in a through-hole continuously penetrating through the sapphire substrate and the LT substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: KYOCERA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Motohiro Umehara, Yutaka Nabeshima
  • Patent number: 10666222
    Abstract: An amplifying radiofrequency device includes a piezoelectric film and a semiconductor amplifier layer. The piezoelectric film is conformed as an acoustic waveguide. The piezoelectric film has a principal acoustic propagation direction parallel to the principal conduction direction of the amplifier layer. Interdigitated transducers are positioned on the piezoelectric film to respectively launch an acoustic wave in response to an input RF signal, and transduce the acoustic wave back to an output RF signal. There is a distance of less than the acoustic wavelength between the semiconductor amplifier layer and the piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric film has a thickness of less than the acoustic wavelength. According to a method for making such a device, a stack of III-V layers is epitaxially grown on a III-V substrate, wherein the stack comprises a first etch stop layer, a second etch stop layer, an amplifier layer, and a contact layer. The stack is bonded to a lithium niobate film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Inventors: Matt Eichenfield, Roy Olsson, Anna Tauke-Pedretti, Andrew Leenheer, Aleem Siddiqui, Thomas A. Friedmann
  • Patent number: 10665771
    Abstract: A piezoelectric sensor comprises a microcontroller, a plurality of piezoelectric sensor elements of which at least two are useable for producing a haptic signal by a voltage (HV) generated by a boost converter connected to each piezoelectric sensor element, and connected to a piezo channel of the microcontroller. A multiplexer individually controls each of the switches if an enable a signal is present. The microcontroller is configured to use each of the piezo channels as a sensor channel for reading sensor input from the respective piezoelectric sensor element and in response to detecting a sensor input in at least one of the piezo channels to set the enable signal at the increase voltage pin and/or the enable signal pin, and to set a signal to at least one piezo channel in which the sensor input was detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: AITO BV
    Inventor: Jukka Riihiaho
  • Patent number: 10658564
    Abstract: The embodiments herein relate to surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, such as filters and duplexers. The SAW device may have a high acoustic velocity layer and a piezoelectric layer coupled to the high acoustic velocity layer. At least one transducer is coupled at least to the piezoelectric layer, where the transducer propagates a surface acoustic wave having an operating wavelength along a surface of the piezoelectric layer. A metallic layer may be coupled to the surface of the piezoelectric layer and electrically isolated from the transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Zhuohui Chen
  • Patent number: 10658950
    Abstract: A piezoelectric actuator includes a vibrating plate having a piezoelectric material, and a contact part provided in an end portion of the vibrating plate in contact with a driven part, wherein the contact part has a first portion in contact with the driven part and a second portion provided between the first portion and the vibrating plate and having lower rigidity than the first portion. Further, a width of the second portion in a direction crossing an arrangement direction of the first portion and the second portion is smaller than a width of the first portion in the crossing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaka Arakawa, Tomoaki Takahashi, Noboru Furuya, Yuichiro Tsuyuki
  • Patent number: 10644222
    Abstract: A piezoelectric drive apparatus for a motor, the apparatus including a substrate having a longitudinal direction and a widthwise direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, a piezoelectric element provided on the substrate and having a first electrode, a second electrode, and a piezoelectric body positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a contact section that is attached to a front end section of the substrate in the longitudinal direction thereof or in contact with the front end section of the substrate in the longitudinal direction thereof and comes into contact with a driven body, wherein the longitudinal direction of the substrate roughly coincides with a direction in which Young's modulus is minimized in a plane of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoaki Takahashi