CA1323639C - Bending spring joint and process for its production - Google Patents
Bending spring joint and process for its productionInfo
- Publication number
- CA1323639C CA1323639C CA000556935A CA556935A CA1323639C CA 1323639 C CA1323639 C CA 1323639C CA 000556935 A CA000556935 A CA 000556935A CA 556935 A CA556935 A CA 556935A CA 1323639 C CA1323639 C CA 1323639C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- pendulum
- wafer
- spring
- bending spring
- joint
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16F—SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; MEANS FOR DAMPING VIBRATION
- F16F1/00—Springs
- F16F1/02—Springs made of steel or other material having low internal friction; Wound, torsion, leaf, cup, ring or the like springs, the material of the spring not being relevant
- F16F1/18—Leaf springs
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
- F16C11/00—Pivots; Pivotal connections
- F16C11/04—Pivotal connections
- F16C11/12—Pivotal connections incorporating flexible connections, e.g. leaf springs
Abstract
Abstract:
The present invention relates to a micromechanical bending spring joint of selectively etched silicon wafer material. The joint consists of two leaf springs arranged alongside each other, crossing and running obliquely with respect to the main areas of the wafer. The joint is obtained in one piece from the wafer by selective etching.
The bending spring joint is characterized by high precision with regard to fulcrum position, bending spring constant and by high transverse axis rigidity.
The present invention relates to a micromechanical bending spring joint of selectively etched silicon wafer material. The joint consists of two leaf springs arranged alongside each other, crossing and running obliquely with respect to the main areas of the wafer. The joint is obtained in one piece from the wafer by selective etching.
The bending spring joint is characterized by high precision with regard to fulcrum position, bending spring constant and by high transverse axis rigidity.
Description
1 3~3639 Bending spring joint and process for its production The present in~ention relates to a bending spring joi~t of selectively etched silicon wafer material, a process for its producti.o~ and the application of such a bendi.ng spring joi~t produced by the micromechanical .single-crystal etching technique.
i. For many applications, e.g. for the flexible suspension of a penduIum, bending spring joints which has a precisely defined fuIcrum and a well defined spring constant are required.
It is known to use, for such bending spring joints, ~ flat meta.l leaf springs which are produced from cold-rolled metal foils which are wel~ed, by means of a laser weldin.g process, to form.a composite layer structure in order to achieve the necessary accuracy with regard to the precision of the fuIcrum and spring constant. It is also known.to produce the bending spring element by a millin.g process from a strip of metal material, which is etched down to the desired thickness by means of an ~0 electrolytic polishin.~ process. The production processes for metal springs of this txpe are complex and expensi~e.
n the case of.metal s.pri~gs made bx the composite technique ., mentioned, difficuIti.es arise from.the multiple layer structure. Furthermore, metaL, in general, does not have the highly flexible properties desired, so that often the a~
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yielding point of the metal is re~ched. Furthermore, the ~ hysteresi.s existi~g in metals împairs the stability of the '' spring pretensi.on. ' I.n precision engineering and micromechanics, it is also known to produce bending spring elements from . sili.con.single-crystal wafers by anisotropic etching and . the etchin.g resist technique. In most cases, for instance in the application for pendulumis, a strip of constant but freely selectable width, length and depth is etched into , ~ .
'' ~ 10 the wafer material transversely to the pendulum direction.
) The wi.dth, length and depth of such an etching.strip ;. establish the accuracy of.. the position of the pendulum fulcrum and thus the pendulum length, the spring constant :. of the flexible pendulum joint and the transverse axis rigidity of the pendulum. In cross-section, the etching - strip of the bending spring ioint may, depending on the ' position of the c.rystal axes, represent, for example, a ~- trapezoidal.~alley with the bottom of the ualley running ~ parallel to the rear wafer area. ' .. , 20 This prior art device leaves something to be desired by way of impro~ement both in the case of metal springs and ~ in the case of bending springs produced by the micro-.. mechani.cal etching technique for penduIum suspensions of ~' highest precision. Admittedly the hysteresis problems mentianed abo~e do not exist in the case of bending spring elements produced from silicon single-crystal material.
i .
- However, the position of the pendulum fulcrum in particular s is, in.both cases, not defineable to sufficient accuracy and the transYerse axis rigidity is too small, i.e., 30 the pendulum joint resonances are too low.
The present inuention is therefore based on the object of.producin.g a micromechanical bending spring joint whi.ch meets substantially higher accuracy requirements with respect to the fuIcrum position, 'the spring constant 35 and the transverse axis rigidi:ty than hitherto kn.own ~' '~
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bending spring joints of metal or those obtained from selectively etched (si.licon) wafer material.
~ A micromechanica.l bending.spri.ng joint o~ selectively .~ etched wa.fer material is charac-terized according to the ,, 5 in.~en.tion by two leaf springs arranged alongside each , oth,er which cross and run obliquely relative to the main areas of,the wafer and are obtained in one piece from the wafer by selecti~e etching.'' ~ The crossing leaf springs may be interconnected at the point of in.tersec.tion.. 'By choosing a suitable shape of the etch masks, it is possible for the two crossing spring ~ea.~es to be ma~e lying freely alongside each other without material connection, merely by means of the etching ., process an.d sui.table doping processes, in other words ,' 15 wi.thQut the application of other proc.essing methods.
', The process according to the present invention for th,e production of a bending.spring join.t of high precision with respect to fuLcrum.positio~, bending.spring constant ': and transverse axis ri.gidity, from a silicon wafer by 20 means of a selectiYe etching technique is charac-terized ' in.that a co-ordina.ted two-sided etching of the silicon wafer is used to form two crossing leaf spring elements whi.ch are produced in parti.cuIar by two V-shaped grooves , arranged alongside each other but mutually offset in the 'r 25 trans~erse direction. Each crossing leaf spring is made :~ by,ani.sotropic selective etching $rom the two main areas of th,e silicon wafer, the crossing leaf springs being ', formed by inclined partitions produced during etching between,the V-shaped grooYes on one side of the wafer .. 30 and the ~-sha.ped groo~es o~ the other side of the waer.
The spri~g lea.f thickness is controlLed by the etching resist technique. ' ~' ~or a determinati.on of the.spring leaf thickness, boron.may be used as an etching resist agent in.a.way, 35 known per se, for selectively doping into at least on.e ;-,, ,, , .
1 32363~
side of,the spring leaf or of the wafer. Separation of the crossing spring leaves in the region of,intersection may be ' affected by ion etching. Another possible way of,separating the crossing spring leaves is to use a.special.shape of " 5 etch mask. ' One particuIarly advantageous application of a bending spring joint a¢cording to the in~ention is in a . penduIum which is produced together with a fastening device in.one piece from a wafer and has in the joining region between the penduIum suspension and the pendulum body at least one bending spring join.t of the ty,pe according to the inYention, but preferably two such joints spaced , apart.
The basic idea of the invention is to suitably choose the position of the crystal axes of the silicon j' single-crystal relativ,e to the wafer area for etching to be carried out to a desired depth of strips or ~-shaped ' grooves which are transverse to the desired pendulum direction,. By etching two such ~-shaped groo~es from both sides of,the wafer with a suitable offset, in particular usi.ng ananisotropicetching technique and an etching resist technique by means of doping by photolithographic methods or by ion implantation, a Leaf spring running obliquely , to the wafer area can be produced.
The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a.prior art example mentioned above, of a micro-, mechanical bending spring joint, produced from a wafer single-crystal material using selective etching and etching resist techniques; ..
, Fig. '2 is an example of a micromechanical bending s.pring : joi~t as a component of a bending spring joint according to the inven.tion;
Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of a micromechanical bending spring join,t of the type according to the invention;
~ 1 323639 Fig. 4 is a perspecti~e partial sectional ~iew of a micromechanical bending spring joint of the txpe according to the invention;
Fig. 5 is a plan view o~ the bending spring joint according to Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a perspecti~e of a penduIum made by a micro-mechanical technique, in which two bending spring joints of the type according to the invention are used for the penduIu~ suspension.
For a better understanding of the invention, Fig.
i. For many applications, e.g. for the flexible suspension of a penduIum, bending spring joints which has a precisely defined fuIcrum and a well defined spring constant are required.
It is known to use, for such bending spring joints, ~ flat meta.l leaf springs which are produced from cold-rolled metal foils which are wel~ed, by means of a laser weldin.g process, to form.a composite layer structure in order to achieve the necessary accuracy with regard to the precision of the fuIcrum and spring constant. It is also known.to produce the bending spring element by a millin.g process from a strip of metal material, which is etched down to the desired thickness by means of an ~0 electrolytic polishin.~ process. The production processes for metal springs of this txpe are complex and expensi~e.
n the case of.metal s.pri~gs made bx the composite technique ., mentioned, difficuIti.es arise from.the multiple layer structure. Furthermore, metaL, in general, does not have the highly flexible properties desired, so that often the a~
- . ~ , ~ .
:' ' . - . ... .
, . . . . .
', , , ' ~
..
?, ' 1 32363~
yielding point of the metal is re~ched. Furthermore, the ~ hysteresi.s existi~g in metals împairs the stability of the '' spring pretensi.on. ' I.n precision engineering and micromechanics, it is also known to produce bending spring elements from . sili.con.single-crystal wafers by anisotropic etching and . the etchin.g resist technique. In most cases, for instance in the application for pendulumis, a strip of constant but freely selectable width, length and depth is etched into , ~ .
'' ~ 10 the wafer material transversely to the pendulum direction.
) The wi.dth, length and depth of such an etching.strip ;. establish the accuracy of.. the position of the pendulum fulcrum and thus the pendulum length, the spring constant :. of the flexible pendulum joint and the transverse axis rigidity of the pendulum. In cross-section, the etching - strip of the bending spring ioint may, depending on the ' position of the c.rystal axes, represent, for example, a ~- trapezoidal.~alley with the bottom of the ualley running ~ parallel to the rear wafer area. ' .. , 20 This prior art device leaves something to be desired by way of impro~ement both in the case of metal springs and ~ in the case of bending springs produced by the micro-.. mechani.cal etching technique for penduIum suspensions of ~' highest precision. Admittedly the hysteresis problems mentianed abo~e do not exist in the case of bending spring elements produced from silicon single-crystal material.
i .
- However, the position of the pendulum fulcrum in particular s is, in.both cases, not defineable to sufficient accuracy and the transYerse axis rigidity is too small, i.e., 30 the pendulum joint resonances are too low.
The present inuention is therefore based on the object of.producin.g a micromechanical bending spring joint whi.ch meets substantially higher accuracy requirements with respect to the fuIcrum position, 'the spring constant 35 and the transverse axis rigidi:ty than hitherto kn.own ~' '~
~' , ' , , , . ' ~ ~ , : ' - . -: ~ -, ,, . , ., -. ' . ' . . - ' ': , '., ' ' ' ' , ~ ' , ' "~' :
.
~' ,'' .
-` 1 3~363~
bending spring joints of metal or those obtained from selectively etched (si.licon) wafer material.
~ A micromechanica.l bending.spri.ng joint o~ selectively .~ etched wa.fer material is charac-terized according to the ,, 5 in.~en.tion by two leaf springs arranged alongside each , oth,er which cross and run obliquely relative to the main areas of,the wafer and are obtained in one piece from the wafer by selecti~e etching.'' ~ The crossing leaf springs may be interconnected at the point of in.tersec.tion.. 'By choosing a suitable shape of the etch masks, it is possible for the two crossing spring ~ea.~es to be ma~e lying freely alongside each other without material connection, merely by means of the etching ., process an.d sui.table doping processes, in other words ,' 15 wi.thQut the application of other proc.essing methods.
', The process according to the present invention for th,e production of a bending.spring join.t of high precision with respect to fuLcrum.positio~, bending.spring constant ': and transverse axis ri.gidity, from a silicon wafer by 20 means of a selectiYe etching technique is charac-terized ' in.that a co-ordina.ted two-sided etching of the silicon wafer is used to form two crossing leaf spring elements whi.ch are produced in parti.cuIar by two V-shaped grooves , arranged alongside each other but mutually offset in the 'r 25 trans~erse direction. Each crossing leaf spring is made :~ by,ani.sotropic selective etching $rom the two main areas of th,e silicon wafer, the crossing leaf springs being ', formed by inclined partitions produced during etching between,the V-shaped grooYes on one side of the wafer .. 30 and the ~-sha.ped groo~es o~ the other side of the waer.
The spri~g lea.f thickness is controlLed by the etching resist technique. ' ~' ~or a determinati.on of the.spring leaf thickness, boron.may be used as an etching resist agent in.a.way, 35 known per se, for selectively doping into at least on.e ;-,, ,, , .
1 32363~
side of,the spring leaf or of the wafer. Separation of the crossing spring leaves in the region of,intersection may be ' affected by ion etching. Another possible way of,separating the crossing spring leaves is to use a.special.shape of " 5 etch mask. ' One particuIarly advantageous application of a bending spring joint a¢cording to the in~ention is in a . penduIum which is produced together with a fastening device in.one piece from a wafer and has in the joining region between the penduIum suspension and the pendulum body at least one bending spring join.t of the ty,pe according to the inYention, but preferably two such joints spaced , apart.
The basic idea of the invention is to suitably choose the position of the crystal axes of the silicon j' single-crystal relativ,e to the wafer area for etching to be carried out to a desired depth of strips or ~-shaped ' grooves which are transverse to the desired pendulum direction,. By etching two such ~-shaped groo~es from both sides of,the wafer with a suitable offset, in particular usi.ng ananisotropicetching technique and an etching resist technique by means of doping by photolithographic methods or by ion implantation, a Leaf spring running obliquely , to the wafer area can be produced.
The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a.prior art example mentioned above, of a micro-, mechanical bending spring joint, produced from a wafer single-crystal material using selective etching and etching resist techniques; ..
, Fig. '2 is an example of a micromechanical bending s.pring : joi~t as a component of a bending spring joint according to the inven.tion;
Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of a micromechanical bending spring join,t of the type according to the invention;
~ 1 323639 Fig. 4 is a perspecti~e partial sectional ~iew of a micromechanical bending spring joint of the txpe according to the invention;
Fig. 5 is a plan view o~ the bending spring joint according to Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a perspecti~e of a penduIum made by a micro-mechanical technique, in which two bending spring joints of the type according to the invention are used for the penduIu~ suspension.
For a better understanding of the invention, Fig.
2 shows a component o a bending spring joint of the type according to the in~ention which has been made from a wafer material, for example a silicon single-crystal material. Two ~-shaped grooves 2 and 4 are made on either side of a single-crystal siLicon material 1 by an inclined wall area 20. When using a selective etching technique, such V-shaped grooves 2, 4 can be produced by a suitable ~ choice of the position of the crystal axes of the silicon ; single-crystal relatiYe to the wafer area. As shown, the 20 two ~-shaped grooves 2, 4 are offset with regard to their transverse directions and the wall area 20 ~orming the actual bending spring joint remains if a ~nown etching resist technique is suitably used. The thickness of the ;- wall area 20 (of the leaf spring) is determined for ~ 25 example by correctly timed doping with boron from one J side of the leaf and can be produced to very close tolerances. The doping of inclined surfaces can be carried out for example, as is known, by ion implantation.
Figs. 3 to 6 show a basic exemplary embodiment of 30 a bending spring joint according to the in~ention with two crossing partitions 20 and 21 between pairs of groo~es 2 and 4 on the one hand and 3 and 6 on the other hand, forming .. . .
leaf springs. The ~shaped groo~es 3, 5 are mutually ~- offset in the transverse direction from one main surface ~upper side) of the wafer 1 and the opposite V-shaped ., ' .
~` l 32363q groo~es 2, 4, are made mutua.lly offset in.the transYerse direction by the same amount in.the wa.fer material l.from the other main surface (underside) by selective anisotropic etching. The wall area 20 (leaf spring) remains between the grooves 2 and 3 and the wall area 21 (leaf spring) remains between the groo~es 4 and 5 if the etchin.g resist technique, already menti.oned, is used. The two crossing leaf springs together form a bending spring joint according to the invention.
Owing to the position of the crystal axes, slopes 7 an~ 8 are produced in the region of intersection of the two crossing leaf springs. At the point of intersection 6, there is, dependi.ng on the choice of etch mask dimensions, - a connection.or a separation of the two walls 20, 21. In other words, depending on the choice, there can be a connection or a complete separation of the two crossing leaf springs. The difficuIty in the separation of the two leaf springs arising on account of the inclined posi.tio~ of the two fa.ces 7, 8 attributable to reasons of etchin.g technique and crystal physics, can be a~oided by special dimensioning of the etch mask shape, as can be seen in ~igs. 5 and 6. Another preferred possibility for separating the two lea.f springs is to use an ion etching technique, known per se.
In Fig. 4, an angle ~ = 54.74 is indicated for a slope forming the.~-shaped groo~es and this angle is di.ctated by crystal physi.cs and applies to all exemplary embodiments shown. (;ncluding Fig. 1).
Furthermore, reference numeral 25 in Fig. 2 ind.icates a broken line illustrating where a boron doping is applied, which allows the groo~e depth of the groo~es 2 and 4 to be controlled with ~ery good reproduceability.
Correspondin.g doping layer marki.ngs are indicated in Fig.
4. by reference numerals 25 and 26.
~ 1 323639 The slope regions 7, 8 (cf. Figs. 4 and 5) remain undoped (soft in terms of etching?, in order that the etching separation of the two partitions 21, 22 (spring lea~es) is achieved. At present, the most ad~antageous way of ~` 5 separating the spring lea~es is a ~ertical cut (in Fig. 5) by means of the ion etching technique.
~ig. 6 shows a v y advantageous application example ~or a bending spring joint, according to the invention, i in a micæomechanical pendulum. The penduIum device is 10 deno ed ~enerally by reference numeral 10. The actual T-shaped pendulum 12 is connected by means of two cross-spring pendulum joints 13, 14 of the type according to ` the in~ention directly to a pendulum suspension 11, designed in the exampie illustrated in the manner of a lS beam. The two cross-spring penduIum joints 13, 14 are spaced apart and, in the example illustrated, arranged at the respecti~e distal ends of the cross-beam of the T-shaped penduLum 12.
This suspension of the T-shaped pendulum 12 by ~7 ~0 meaas of two cross-spring pendulum joints 13, 14 has the i advantage that, unlike in the use of only one of the bending spring joints according to the invention, any asymmetry which may occur, on account of the position of the two crossed leaf springs in the direction of the 25 pendulum fuIcrum, is rectified if two (or more) pairs of cross-spring pendulum join*s, of the type according to c the in~ention, are used alongside each other in the c~ direction of the fulcrum, positioned homologically.
This suspension at two or more parallel cross 30 spring joints, including the penduLum 12 and the su~pension 11, ca~ be produced from one and the same silicon wafer in one operating sequence as a coherent flexible pendulum joint. As can be seen, the cross-spring penduIum joints 13, 14 are positioned homologically withrespect to the 35 pendulum direction.
. ~ .
1 32363~
, Such a penduIum suspension, by means of two bending . spring joints according to the inv~ention., arranged homologically, has the ad~antage ov.er all pre~iously known pendulum suspensions that, on the one hand, the natural frequency of the angular deflection is very low, but on ` the other hand a Yery high translatory natural frequency -~ can be ensured. In this arrangement, the crossing leaf springs are subject to translatory loading and are subjected in pairs to tension and ~ompression. For instance, just to gi.ve one example, the tran.slatory natural frequency in `. the case of leaf spring elements of a conventional type is about 5 kHz, while the corresponding typical values in the : case of a penduIum with bending spring joints according to the in.vention is around 20 kHz or more. Moreover, spring eleme~ts according to the in~ention are characterized in : that they are ~irtually free from hysteresis or at least . .yery lo~ in.hysteresis in comparison with bending spring joints of.a conventional design.~
,, , .
:: :
Figs. 3 to 6 show a basic exemplary embodiment of 30 a bending spring joint according to the in~ention with two crossing partitions 20 and 21 between pairs of groo~es 2 and 4 on the one hand and 3 and 6 on the other hand, forming .. . .
leaf springs. The ~shaped groo~es 3, 5 are mutually ~- offset in the transverse direction from one main surface ~upper side) of the wafer 1 and the opposite V-shaped ., ' .
~` l 32363q groo~es 2, 4, are made mutua.lly offset in.the transYerse direction by the same amount in.the wa.fer material l.from the other main surface (underside) by selective anisotropic etching. The wall area 20 (leaf spring) remains between the grooves 2 and 3 and the wall area 21 (leaf spring) remains between the groo~es 4 and 5 if the etchin.g resist technique, already menti.oned, is used. The two crossing leaf springs together form a bending spring joint according to the invention.
Owing to the position of the crystal axes, slopes 7 an~ 8 are produced in the region of intersection of the two crossing leaf springs. At the point of intersection 6, there is, dependi.ng on the choice of etch mask dimensions, - a connection.or a separation of the two walls 20, 21. In other words, depending on the choice, there can be a connection or a complete separation of the two crossing leaf springs. The difficuIty in the separation of the two leaf springs arising on account of the inclined posi.tio~ of the two fa.ces 7, 8 attributable to reasons of etchin.g technique and crystal physics, can be a~oided by special dimensioning of the etch mask shape, as can be seen in ~igs. 5 and 6. Another preferred possibility for separating the two lea.f springs is to use an ion etching technique, known per se.
In Fig. 4, an angle ~ = 54.74 is indicated for a slope forming the.~-shaped groo~es and this angle is di.ctated by crystal physi.cs and applies to all exemplary embodiments shown. (;ncluding Fig. 1).
Furthermore, reference numeral 25 in Fig. 2 ind.icates a broken line illustrating where a boron doping is applied, which allows the groo~e depth of the groo~es 2 and 4 to be controlled with ~ery good reproduceability.
Correspondin.g doping layer marki.ngs are indicated in Fig.
4. by reference numerals 25 and 26.
~ 1 323639 The slope regions 7, 8 (cf. Figs. 4 and 5) remain undoped (soft in terms of etching?, in order that the etching separation of the two partitions 21, 22 (spring lea~es) is achieved. At present, the most ad~antageous way of ~` 5 separating the spring lea~es is a ~ertical cut (in Fig. 5) by means of the ion etching technique.
~ig. 6 shows a v y advantageous application example ~or a bending spring joint, according to the invention, i in a micæomechanical pendulum. The penduIum device is 10 deno ed ~enerally by reference numeral 10. The actual T-shaped pendulum 12 is connected by means of two cross-spring pendulum joints 13, 14 of the type according to ` the in~ention directly to a pendulum suspension 11, designed in the exampie illustrated in the manner of a lS beam. The two cross-spring penduIum joints 13, 14 are spaced apart and, in the example illustrated, arranged at the respecti~e distal ends of the cross-beam of the T-shaped penduLum 12.
This suspension of the T-shaped pendulum 12 by ~7 ~0 meaas of two cross-spring pendulum joints 13, 14 has the i advantage that, unlike in the use of only one of the bending spring joints according to the invention, any asymmetry which may occur, on account of the position of the two crossed leaf springs in the direction of the 25 pendulum fuIcrum, is rectified if two (or more) pairs of cross-spring pendulum join*s, of the type according to c the in~ention, are used alongside each other in the c~ direction of the fulcrum, positioned homologically.
This suspension at two or more parallel cross 30 spring joints, including the penduLum 12 and the su~pension 11, ca~ be produced from one and the same silicon wafer in one operating sequence as a coherent flexible pendulum joint. As can be seen, the cross-spring penduIum joints 13, 14 are positioned homologically withrespect to the 35 pendulum direction.
. ~ .
1 32363~
, Such a penduIum suspension, by means of two bending . spring joints according to the inv~ention., arranged homologically, has the ad~antage ov.er all pre~iously known pendulum suspensions that, on the one hand, the natural frequency of the angular deflection is very low, but on ` the other hand a Yery high translatory natural frequency -~ can be ensured. In this arrangement, the crossing leaf springs are subject to translatory loading and are subjected in pairs to tension and ~ompression. For instance, just to gi.ve one example, the tran.slatory natural frequency in `. the case of leaf spring elements of a conventional type is about 5 kHz, while the corresponding typical values in the : case of a penduIum with bending spring joints according to the in.vention is around 20 kHz or more. Moreover, spring eleme~ts according to the in~ention are characterized in : that they are ~irtually free from hysteresis or at least . .yery lo~ in.hysteresis in comparison with bending spring joints of.a conventional design.~
,, , .
:: :
Claims (4)
1. A pendulum device comprising in combination:
(a) a generally T-shaped pendulum;
(b) a pendulum fastening device;
(c) said pendulum and said pendulum fastening device being formed from a wafer;
(d) said pendulum being joined to said pendulum fastening device by means of two homologous micromechanical bending spring joints comprising a pair of leaf springs arranged alongside each other and at oblique angles with respect to the major surfaces of said wafer; and (e) said pendulum device being selectively etched from a single wafer.
(a) a generally T-shaped pendulum;
(b) a pendulum fastening device;
(c) said pendulum and said pendulum fastening device being formed from a wafer;
(d) said pendulum being joined to said pendulum fastening device by means of two homologous micromechanical bending spring joints comprising a pair of leaf springs arranged alongside each other and at oblique angles with respect to the major surfaces of said wafer; and (e) said pendulum device being selectively etched from a single wafer.
2. A pendulum device as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that said wafer is of silicon.
3. A pendulum device comprising, in combination:
(a) a generally T-shaped pendulum;
(b) a pendulum fastening device;
(c) said pendulum and said pendulum fastening device being formed from a generally-planar wafer;
(d) said pendulum being joined at said pendulum fastening device by means of two homologous micromechanical bending spring joints comprising a pair of leaf springs so arranged alongside each other and at oblique angles with respect to the major surfaces of said wafer as to cross in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said wafer; and (e) said pendulum device being selectively etched from a single wafer.
(a) a generally T-shaped pendulum;
(b) a pendulum fastening device;
(c) said pendulum and said pendulum fastening device being formed from a generally-planar wafer;
(d) said pendulum being joined at said pendulum fastening device by means of two homologous micromechanical bending spring joints comprising a pair of leaf springs so arranged alongside each other and at oblique angles with respect to the major surfaces of said wafer as to cross in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said wafer; and (e) said pendulum device being selectively etched from a single wafer.
4. A pendulum device as defined in claim 3 further characterized in that said wafer is of silicon.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP87100744.9 | 1987-01-20 | ||
| EP87100744A EP0275338B1 (en) | 1987-01-20 | 1987-01-20 | Pivotal-spring connection, and manufacturing method |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1323639C true CA1323639C (en) | 1993-10-26 |
Family
ID=8196690
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000556935A Expired - Fee Related CA1323639C (en) | 1987-01-20 | 1988-01-20 | Bending spring joint and process for its production |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4953834A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0275338B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH01177212A (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE55632T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1323639C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3764354D1 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2017941B3 (en) |
Families Citing this family (21)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU643627B2 (en) * | 1988-12-20 | 1993-11-18 | Rtz Mining And Exploration Ltd. | Flexural pivot bearing |
| DE68915455T2 (en) * | 1988-12-20 | 1994-12-22 | Rtz Mining & Exploration | KNIVES FOR GRADIENTS BY GRAVITY. |
| GB2247717B (en) * | 1990-09-06 | 1995-03-08 | Raymond Guthrie | Hinge element |
| FR2682728B1 (en) * | 1991-10-21 | 1996-02-09 | Sfim | FLAT CARDAN JOINT, METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME, GYROSCOPE AND ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT COMPRISING SUCH A JOINT. |
| US5806181A (en) * | 1993-11-16 | 1998-09-15 | Formfactor, Inc. | Contact carriers (tiles) for populating larger substrates with spring contacts |
| US6741085B1 (en) * | 1993-11-16 | 2004-05-25 | Formfactor, Inc. | Contact carriers (tiles) for populating larger substrates with spring contacts |
| US20020053734A1 (en) | 1993-11-16 | 2002-05-09 | Formfactor, Inc. | Probe card assembly and kit, and methods of making same |
| US8033838B2 (en) | 1996-02-21 | 2011-10-11 | Formfactor, Inc. | Microelectronic contact structure |
| US5994152A (en) | 1996-02-21 | 1999-11-30 | Formfactor, Inc. | Fabricating interconnects and tips using sacrificial substrates |
| TW334622B (en) * | 1996-04-17 | 1998-06-21 | Esec Sa | Apparatus for making wire connections on semiconductor chips |
| US5711063A (en) * | 1996-06-11 | 1998-01-27 | Seagate Technology, Inc. | Method of forming a suspension fabricated from silicon |
| FR2754577B1 (en) * | 1996-10-11 | 1998-12-11 | Suisse Electronique Microtech | PLANAR FLEXIBLE PIVOT WITH MONOLITHIC UNIT MODULES |
| US5879570A (en) * | 1997-01-14 | 1999-03-09 | Seagate Technology, Inc. | One piece flexure for a hard disc file head with selective nickel plating |
| US6690185B1 (en) | 1997-01-15 | 2004-02-10 | Formfactor, Inc. | Large contactor with multiple, aligned contactor units |
| US5850320A (en) * | 1997-05-13 | 1998-12-15 | Seagate Technology, Inc. | Head-gimbal assembly with reduced vertical spacing envelope and alignment structures |
| US7215131B1 (en) | 1999-06-07 | 2007-05-08 | Formfactor, Inc. | Segmented contactor |
| US7008426B2 (en) | 2001-12-14 | 2006-03-07 | Paul Kamaljit S | Bone treatment plate assembly |
| JP4572911B2 (en) * | 2007-06-11 | 2010-11-04 | 三菱電機株式会社 | Heat exchanger |
| EP2497428B1 (en) | 2011-03-11 | 2015-02-11 | EMPA Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt | Flexible tools |
| US8902010B2 (en) * | 2013-01-02 | 2014-12-02 | Motorola Mobility Llc | Microelectronic machine-based ariable |
| GB201417705D0 (en) * | 2014-10-07 | 2014-11-19 | Rolls Royce Plc | Locking member |
Family Cites Families (15)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US31459A (en) * | 1861-02-19 | Stave-machine | ||
| FR689387A (en) * | 1930-02-04 | 1930-09-05 | Asea Ab | Transformer for taking two-phase currents from a three-phase network |
| NO120906B (en) * | 1965-02-24 | 1970-12-21 | Ivan Alfred Duck | |
| BE689387A (en) * | 1966-03-21 | 1967-04-14 | ||
| US3920482A (en) * | 1974-03-13 | 1975-11-18 | Signetics Corp | Method for forming a semiconductor structure having islands isolated by adjacent moats |
| CH642461A5 (en) * | 1981-07-02 | 1984-04-13 | Centre Electron Horloger | ACCELEROMETER. |
| EP0078337B1 (en) * | 1981-10-30 | 1987-04-22 | Ibm Deutschland Gmbh | Contact device for the detachable connection of electrical components |
| US4699006A (en) * | 1984-03-19 | 1987-10-13 | The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. | Vibratory digital integrating accelerometer |
| US4542397A (en) * | 1984-04-12 | 1985-09-17 | Xerox Corporation | Self aligning small scale integrated circuit semiconductor chips to form large area arrays |
| DE3428820C2 (en) * | 1984-08-04 | 1986-11-06 | Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm GmbH, 8012 Ottobrunn | Vibration isolator |
| JPS6197572A (en) * | 1984-10-19 | 1986-05-16 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Manufacture of semiconductor acceleration sensor |
| US4626244A (en) * | 1985-02-01 | 1986-12-02 | Consolidated Controls Corporation | Implantable medication infusion device |
| US4700817A (en) * | 1985-06-27 | 1987-10-20 | Nippon Kokan Kabushiki Kaisha | Dynamic vibration absorber with spring-supported pendulum |
| US4670092A (en) * | 1986-04-18 | 1987-06-02 | Rockwell International Corporation | Method of fabricating a cantilever beam for a monolithic accelerometer |
| US4685996A (en) * | 1986-10-14 | 1987-08-11 | Busta Heinz H | Method of making micromachined refractory metal field emitters |
-
1987
- 1987-01-20 EP EP87100744A patent/EP0275338B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-01-20 AT AT87100744T patent/ATE55632T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1987-01-20 DE DE8787100744T patent/DE3764354D1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1987-01-20 ES ES87100744T patent/ES2017941B3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-12-28 JP JP62336787A patent/JPH01177212A/en active Granted
-
1988
- 1988-01-20 CA CA000556935A patent/CA1323639C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1988-01-20 US US07/146,295 patent/US4953834A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| ATE55632T1 (en) | 1990-09-15 |
| US4953834A (en) | 1990-09-04 |
| JPH0413883B2 (en) | 1992-03-11 |
| ES2017941B3 (en) | 1991-03-16 |
| EP0275338B1 (en) | 1990-08-16 |
| EP0275338A1 (en) | 1988-07-27 |
| DE3764354D1 (en) | 1990-09-20 |
| JPH01177212A (en) | 1989-07-13 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |