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US 6,737,160 B1Granted
Adhesive microstructure and method of forming same
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsRobert J. Full, Ronald S. Fearing, Thomas W. Kenny, Kellar Autumn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of forming an adhesive force includes removing a seta from a living specimen, attaching the seta to a substrate, and applying the seta to a surface so as to establish an adhesive force between the substrate and the surface. The seta is applied to the surface with a force perpendicular to the surface. The seta is then pulled with a force parallel to the surface so as to preload the adhesive force of the seta.
Claims14
A fabricated microstructure, comprising:
- a shaft with a length of less than 500 microns, said shaft having a diameter of between 0.01 and 0.1 times said length of said shaft;
- and
- an array of spatulae formed at an end of said shaft, said array of spatulae having a width of less than 10 microns, individual spatula of said array having a terminal end to provide an adhesive force at a surface.
A fabricated microstructure comprising:
- a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion capable of providing a substantially parallel adhesive force at a surface of between about 60 and 2,000 nano-Newtons.
A fabricated microstructure comprising:
- an array of protrusions, said array having a width less than about ten microns and each protrusion of said array capable of providing an adhesive force at a surface by intermolecular forces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.