MICROELECTROMECHANICAL DEVICE WITH RECOVERY FROM STICTION CONDITIONS
FIRST OFFICE ACTION
DRAWINGS
The drawings have been considered and approved.
TITLE
The title has been considered and approved.
ABSTRACT
The abstract has been considered and approved.
SPECIFICATION
The specification has been considered and approved.
CLAIMS
In the event that the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the rationale supporting the rejection would be the same.
35 U.S.C. § 102
In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), a person shall be entitled to a patent unless the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Resnick et al. (10,473,687).
With respect to independent claim 19, Resnick et al. set forth a device (see Fig. 2A) comprising:
a supporting body (203);
flexures (201a) coupled to the supporting body;
a movable mass (205) coupled to the flexures, the movable mass configured to move in a first direction (z-axis); and
an actuator (207) on the supporting body, the actuator configured to apply an actuation force to the movable mass in a second direction (x or y-axis) transverse to the first direction (see col. 4, lines 33+).
With respect to claim 20, Resnick et al. set forth the device further includes:
the supporting body (203) includes a frame having an opening (Fig. 2A),
the movable mass (205) is positioned in the opening of the frame (Fig. 2A),
the actuator (207) includes a recovery electrode (209a) on the frame, and
the recovery electrode is configured to receive an actuation voltage, and apply the actuation force to the movable mass in response to receiving the actuation voltage (col. 5, lines 11+).
Allowable Subject Matter
After a search of the prior art, claims 1 - 18 have been found to be distinct, and thus allowable, over the prior art.
With respect to independent claim 1, the prior art fails to teach or suggest a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) device comprising:
an actuator configured to apply, to the movable mass, an electrostatic actuation force in a direction transverse to the main direction, the electrostatic actuation force being a variable force with an actuation frequency band containing at least one resonance frequency in the direction transverse to the main direction of a mechanical system including the movable mass stuck to the supporting body; and
a control circuit configured to detect a stiction condition in which the movable mass is stuck to the supporting body by a stiction force, and to drive the actuator in response to recognition of the stiction condition.
Claims 2 - 14 have been found to be allowable due to, at least, the claims’ dependency on claim 1.
With respect to independent claim 15, the prior art fails to teach or suggest a method for controlling a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) device, the method comprising:
detecting a stiction condition of a MEMS device including a supporting body and a movable mass, the movable mass coupled to the supporting body by flexures so as to be able to oscillate in a main direction, the movable mass being stuck to the supporting body by a stiction force in the stiction condition; and
in response to detecting the stiction condition, applying, to the movable mass, an electrostatic actuation force in a direction transverse to the main direction, the electrostatic actuation force being a variable force with an actuation frequency band containing at least one resonance frequency in the direction transverse to the main direction of a mechanical system including the movable mass stuck to the supporting body.
Claims 16 - 18 have been found to be allowable due to, at least, the claims’ dependency on claim 15.
CITED DOCUMENTS
The Applicant’s attention is directed to the “PTO-892” form for the relevant art made of record at the time of this Office Action.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication from the Examiner should be directed to Eric S. McCall whose telephone number is 571-272-2183.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Eric S. McCall/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
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