Patents by Inventor John W Stocker

John W Stocker 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).

  • Method and apparatus for assembling an array of micro-devices
    Patent number: 7057245
    Abstract: The invention describes a method and apparatus for deploying micromachined actuators in a plane which is orthogonal to the original fabrication plane of the devices. Using batch-processing, photolithographic procedures known in the micromachined electro-mechanical system (MEMS) art, a plurality of devices is constructed on a suitable substrate. The devices are then separated one from another by sawing and dicing the original fabrication wafer. The devices are rotated into an orthogonal orientation and affixed to a second wafer. The second wafer also contains circuitry for addressing and manipulating each of the devices independently of the others. With this method and apparatus, arrays of actuators are constructed whose plane of actuation is perpendicular to the plane of the array. This invention is useful for constructing N×M fiber optic switches, which direct light from N input fibers into M output fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2006
    Assignee: Innovative Micro Technology
    Inventors: Patrick Edward Feierabend, Richard Thomas Martin, Jeffery Frank Summers, Andrew Dexter Wallis, Paul J. Rubel, John Stuart Foster, John W Stocker
  • Method and apparatus for assembling an array of micro-devices
    Patent number: 6812061
    Abstract: The invention describes a method and apparatus for deploying micromachined actuators in a plane which is orthogonal to the original fabrication plane of the devices. Using batch-processing, photolithographic procedures known in the micromachined electro-mechanical system (MEMS) art, a plurality of devices is constructed on a suitable substrate. The devices are then separated one from another by sawing and dicing the original fabrication wafer. The devices are rotated into an orthogonal orientation and affixed to a second wafer. The second wafer also contains circuitry for addressing and manipulating each of the devices independently of the others. With this method and apparatus, arrays of actuators are constructed whose plane of actuation is perpendicular to the plane of the array. This invention is useful for constructing N×M fiber optic switches, which direct light from N input fibers into M output fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2004
    Assignee: Innovative Micro Technology
    Inventors: Patrick Edward Feierabend, Richard Thomas Martin, Jeffery Frank Summers, Andrew Dexter Wallis, Paul J. Rubel, John Stuart Foster, John W Stocker