Patents Examined by Karen B Addison
  • Heating body, resonation device, electronic apparatus, and moving object
    Patent number: 10084429
    Abstract: An IC for heating includes a semiconductor substrate on which a diffusion layer is formed; a first pad and a first via that apply a power voltage to the diffusion layer; and a second pad and a second via that apply a ground voltage to the diffusion layer. The vias overlap with an area on which the diffusion layer is formed in a plan view, the first pad overlaps with the first via in a plan view, and the second pad overlaps with the second via in a plan view. The current flowing through the first pad and the first via, the second pad and the second via, and the diffusion layer flows between an upper surface of the first pad and a lower surface of the first via, and a lower surface of the second via and an upper surface of the second pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Hayashi, Akihiro Fukuzawa
  • Piezoelectric energy harvester
    Patent number: 10079560
    Abstract: A piezoelectric energy harvester is provided. The piezoelectric energy harvester includes a housing, a metal plate, a first piezoelectric material, an auto-returning device, a movable supporter, a first magnet and a second magnet. The housing includes a bottom plate, a top plate, a first side wall and a second side wall. A first terminal of the metal plate is fixed on the first side wall and a second terminal of the metal plate extends toward the second side wall. The first piezoelectric material is disposed on the metal plate to be deformed when the metal plate is deformed. When the movable supporter is moved, the movable supporter can push the second terminal of the metal plate to deform the metal plate. The first magnet and the second magnet are respectively disposed on the bottom plate and the top plate to attract the second terminal of the metal plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: NATIONAL CHENG KUNG UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Chung-De Chen, Chin-Lung Yang, Kuan-Wei Chen
  • Piezoelectric actuator and robot
    Patent number: 10044295
    Abstract: A piezoelectric actuator includes a piezoelectric element, a vibrating plate configured to vibrate according to application of a signal to the piezoelectric element, and a driven body driven by the vibration of the vibrating plate. The vibrating plate vibrates in a first mode according to a signal having a first frequency, vibrates in a second mode according to a signal having a second frequency, and vibrates in a third mode according to a signal having a third frequency. The first frequency and the second frequency are different. The first frequency and the third frequency are different.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Koichi Kamijo, Osamu Miyazawa
  • Multiaxis drive device and control instrument fitted with such a device
    Patent number: 10044296
    Abstract: An electric motor device includes a rotor, a stator, and electrical means for driving rotation of the rotor relative to the stator, the device being characterized in that the stator includes a substantially spherical cavity receiving the rotor, which is itself substantially spherical, and in that the electrical means are arranged to drive the rotor in rotation about at least two axes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: SAFRAN ELECTRONICS & DEFENSE
    Inventors: Yann Vandenbaviere, Francois Guillot
  • Surface acoustic wave sensor
    Patent number: 10037382
    Abstract: The present invention provides a surface acoustic wave sensor capable of suitably controlling the flow of a liquid sample onto IDT electrodes. A surface acoustic wave sensor 1 has a piezoelectric substrate, a first IDT electrode and a second IDT electrode which are located on the upper surface of the piezoelectric substrate and are separated from each other while sandwiching a detection part (detection region) on the piezoelectric substrate there between, and the cover which forms the space being on the first IDT electrode, second IDT electrode, and detection part and straddling them. On the lower surface of the cover, the detection part-facing surface (lower surface of the film) facing the detection part has a smaller contact angle to the liquid sample than that of a pair of electrode-facing surfaces (lower surface of the cover body) facing the first IDT electrode and second IDT electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Tanaka, Hideharu Kurioka, Eiichi Tamiya, Masato Saito
  • Pressing force sensor
    Patent number: 10024739
    Abstract: A pressing force sensor that includes a flat membrane piezoelectric element and a support. The flat membrane piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric sheet having a piezoelectric constant. A first electrode is formed on a first main surface of the piezoelectric sheet and a second electrode is formed on a second main surface thereof. Long directions of the first electrode and the second electrode and a uniaxial stretching direction of the piezoelectric sheet form an angle of 45°. An opening portion having an elliptical section is formed on the support. The flat membrane piezoelectric element abuts the opening portion of the support. The support and the flat membrane piezoelectric element are disposed such that the opening portion is included within an area of the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideki Kawamura, Masamichi Ando
  • Quartz crystal blank and quartz crystal resonator unit
    Patent number: 10027309
    Abstract: A rectangular quartz crystal blank having long sides substantially parallel to a Z? axis of the quartz crystal blank, and short sides substantially parallel to an X axis of the quartz crystal blank. The quartz crystal blank includes a first center region, a second region and a third region that are adjacent to the first region along a long-side direction, and a fourth region and a fifth region that are adjacent to the first region along a short-side direction. A thickness of the second region and a thickness of the third region are smaller than the thickness of the first region, and/or a thickness of the fourth region and a thickness of the fifth region are smaller than the thickness of the first region, and 16.18?W/T?16.97, where W is a length of a short side and T is a thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Hiroaki Kaida, Masaru Asai
  • Electricity generator
    Patent number: 10014800
    Abstract: An electricity generator including a first converter suitable for converting a variation of an energy to be harvested into a corresponding excess of electrical charges. The generator includes a circuit for collecting the excess of electrical charges, the circuit has a first controllable mechanical switch, and a control device for the first switch designed to control the switching of the switch to its closed position when the excess of electrical charges exceeds a first predetermined threshold. The switch is a magnetic switch and the control device comprises a variable magnetic field source which controls the switching of the first switch to its closed position only at the time when the excess of electrical charges exceeds the first predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignees: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
    Inventors: Bernard Viala, Gor Lebedev, Jérome Delamare, Lauric Garbuio, Thomas Lafont, Orphée Cugat
  • Resonator device, electronic apparatus, and moving object
    Patent number: 10009006
    Abstract: A resonator device capable of preventing the characteristics of the resonator element from degrading while ensuring the fixation strength of the resonator element is provided. A vibrator as the resonator device includes a heat generation element as a base body, a first support arm and a second support arm as elastic members each constituting a plate spring having one end connected to the heat generation element and extending from the one end toward the other end disposed at a position distant from the heat generation element, and a resonator element connected to a first support section and a second support section respectively disposed on the other end side of the first support arm and the second support arm so as to be distant from the heat generation element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Manabu Kondo
  • Resonator device, electronic apparatus, and moving object
    Patent number: 9998093
    Abstract: A resonator device includes a base including a fixed section and a movable section connected to the fixed section, a resonator element including a first base section, a second base section, and a vibration arm, one end of which is connected to the first base section and the other end of which is connected to the second base section, the first base section being fixed to the fixed section and the second base section being fixed to the movable section, a weight section connected onto the movable section, and a stress relaxing section provided between a connection region of the weight section and the vibration arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Kameta, Masayuki Oto, Kazuyuki Nakasendo
  • Resonant energy harvester, aircraft component comprising the resonant energy harvester and an aircraft comprising the resonant energy harvester or the aircraft component
    Patent number: 9998035
    Abstract: An energy harvester for an aircraft comprises a first portion, a movable element and a kinetic-to-electric-energy-converter. The first portion includes a charge collecting device having an electrical permittivity different to that of air. The charge collecting device is configured to be exposed to an air flow. The movable element is configured to be driven by the charge of the charge collecting device, and the kinetic-to-electric-energy-converter is configured to generate energy by the movement of the movable element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE GMBH
    Inventors: Thomas Becker, Alexandros Elefsiniotis, Ulrich Schmid
  • Microacoustic component and method for the production thereof
    Patent number: 9991873
    Abstract: A microacoustic component includes a functional acoustic region, an inner marginal region and an outer marginal region. The cover covers the functional acoustic region and has a thin film and a bearing surface. The inner marginal region is acoustically coupled to the functional acoustic region and the bearing surface bears directly at least on a part of the inner marginal region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc.
    Inventors: Gudrun Henn, Bernhard Bader
  • Piezoelectric actuator, piezoelectric vibration device, and portable terminal
    Patent number: 9985195
    Abstract: A piezoelectric actuator which is capable of reduction of noise resulting from vibration of a piezoelectric element, a piezoelectric vibration device, and a portable terminal are provided. A piezoelectric actuator includes a piezoelectric element including a stacked body composed of internal electrodes and piezoelectric layers which are laminated, and a surface electrode disposed on one of main surfaces of the stacked body so as to be electrically connected to the internal electrodes; a flexible substrate electrically connected to the surface electrode; and a shock-absorbing material disposed on the flexible substrate. The shock-absorbing material, at least partly, is disposed on a first region of the flexible substrate which overlaps with the piezoelectric element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroshi Mori
  • Carbon nanofiber actuator
    Patent number: 9966525
    Abstract: An electroconductive film for an actuator is formed from a gel composition including carbon nanofibers, an ionic liquid, and a polymer. The carbon nanofibers are produced with an aromatic mesophase pitch by melt spinning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignees: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION GUNMA UNIVERSITY, ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kinji Asaka, Takushi Sugino, Soshi Shiraishi, Isao Takahashi, Tomomasa Takatsuka, Shinya Komura
  • Surface acoustic wave device
    Patent number: 9948274
    Abstract: A surface acoustic wave device includes a high acoustic velocity film in which a transversal wave propagates at a higher acoustic velocity than in a ScAlN film laminated on a substrate made of silicon or glass. The ScAlN film is laminated on the high acoustic velocity film, and IDT electrodes are laminated on the ScAlN film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiichi Umeda, Ryo Nakagawa, Atsushi Tanaka
  • Elastic wave device
    Patent number: 9929717
    Abstract: An elastic wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate and an interdigital transducer electrode disposed in a piezoelectric vibrating portion of the piezoelectric substrate to pass through the piezoelectric substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kimura, Michio Kadota
  • Self-powered generator, method of fabricating the same and piezoelectric enery-harvesting device using the generator
    Patent number: 9929336
    Abstract: A self-powered generator is provided. The generator includes a piezoelectric nanorod member layer that includes a first layer; a second layer; and a plurality of piezoelectric nanorods disposed between the first and second layers. The piezoelectric nanorod is a biaxially-grown nanorod. When mechanical energy is applied from an outside, an upper half and a lower half of each of the plurality of piezoelectric nanorods generate piezoelectric potentials having opposite polarities, the upper half and the lower half being on both sides of a longitudinal axis along an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University
    Inventors: Hong Koo Baik, Jae Min Myong, Woo Soon Jang, Tae Il Lee
  • Piezoelectric vibration element, manufacturing method for piezoelectric vibration element, piezoelectric resonator, electronic device, and electronic apparatus
    Patent number: 9923544
    Abstract: A piezoelectric vibration element includes a piezoelectric substrate including a thin vibration region and a thick section integrated along three sides excluding one side of the vibration region, excitation electrodes respectively arranged on the front and rear surfaces of the vibration region, and lead electrodes. The thick section includes a first thick section and a second thick section arranged to be opposed to each other across the vibration region and a third thick section connected between proximal ends of the first and second thick sections. The second thick section includes an inclined section connected to the one side of the vibration region, a second thick section main body connected to the other side of the inclined section, and at least one slit for stress relaxation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Osamu Ishii
  • Membrane substrate structure for single crystal acoustic resonator device
    Patent number: 9917568
    Abstract: A substrate structure for an acoustic resonator device. The substrate has a substrate member comprising a plurality of support members configured to form an array structure. In an example, the substrate member has an upper region, and optionally, has a plurality of recessed regions configured by the support members. The substrate has a thickness of single crystal piezo material formed overlying the upper region. In an example, the thickness of single crystal piezo material has a first surface region and a second surface region opposite of the first surface region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: AKOUSTIS, INC.
    Inventor: Jeffrey B. Shealy
  • Piezoelectric composite and method of forming same
    Patent number: 9911912
    Abstract: A piezoelectric composite for use in an ultrasonic transducer and a method of forming the same is provided. The composite has a piezoelectric ceramic component and a hydrophobic polymer component arranged to form a 1-3, 2-2, or 3-3 composite type. In one embodiment, the hydrophobic polymer is selected to polymerize at a moderate temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Matthew Harvey Krohn, Kwok Pong Chan