Patents by Inventor Craig A. Lavinsky

Craig A. Lavinsky has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Thermally stable actuator/sensor structure
    Patent number: 6313401
    Abstract: A singly or doubly encapsulated actuator/sensor package in which a ceramic actuator/sensor (10) may be first encapsulated in a primary encapsulating material (12) and is encapsulated in a fiber-reinforced composite material (20, 22). A combination of the material and ply angles (&thgr;) of the fiber-reinforced composite material (20, 22) are used to control selection of a composite coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and the stiffness or compliance of the package with respect to a selected axis. By optimal selection of the material and the ply angle, based upon a suitable actuation strength figure of merit, a CTE of zero or a CTE matching that of an underlying structural member (24) is obtained, while simultaneously maximizing the actuation strength in a selected actuation direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: TRW Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Triller, Christopher W. Felts, Kathleen M. Doherty, Lisa R. Hill, Craig A. Lavinsky