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AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
InventorsErnest J. Garcia, Jeffry J. Sniegowski
Estimating the term…
A microengine uses two synchronized linear actuators as a power source and converts oscillatory motion from the actuators into rotational motion via direct linkage connection to an output gear or wheel. The microengine provides output in the form of a continuously rotating output gear that is capable of delivering drive torque to a micromechanism. The microengine can be operated at varying speeds and its motion can be reversed. Linear actuators are synchronized in order to provide linear oscillatory motion to the linkage means in the X and Y directions according to a desired position, rotational direction and speed of said mechanical output means. The output gear has gear teeth on its outer perimeter for directly contacting a micromechanism requiring mechanical power. The gear is retained by a retaining means which allows said gear to rotate freely. The microengine is microfabricated of polysilicon on one wafer using surface micromachining batch fabrication.
A microengine batch fabricated by polysilicon surface micromachining techniques, comprising:
A microengine batch fabricated by polysilicon surface micromachining techniques, comprising:
A microfabricated microengine made of polysilicon on a silicon substrate base, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.