Piezoelectric multimorph switches

Claim 2

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezoelectric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; and said frame being electrically conductive and said field extending from said frame to said layer of conductive material.

Claim 3

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezoelectric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; and said multimorph being disposed in a gaseous atmosphere, the gas comprising one that is rendered conductive when the strength of said field reaches a predetermined value; said means for applying an electrical potential from a source to the multimorph being responsive to alter the potential applied to said multimorph when said gas is rendered conductive.

Claim 4

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezoelectric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; and said multimorph being disposed in a gaseous atmosphere, the gas comprising one that is rendered conductive when the strength of said field reaches a predetermined value; said means for applying an electrical potential from a source to the multimorph being responsive to alter the potential applied to said multimorph when said gas is rendered conductive.

Claim 5

The invention defined in claim 2 in which said field extends between said frame and said conductive layer and in which the frame and conductive layer and said multimorph are connected in circuit to said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph; and which comprises means incorporated in said circuit for increasing the potential applied to said multimorph when said gas is rendered conductive.

Claim 6

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezoelectric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph comprising a source of an electrical potential and a CMOS device connected between said source of electrical potential and said multimorph; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph further comprising means for controlling conductivity of said CMOS device.

Claim 7

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezoelectric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph comprising a source of an electrical potential and a CMOS device connected between said source of electrical potential and said multimorph; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph further comprising means for controlling conductivity of said CMOS device.

Claim 8

The invention defined in claim 4 in which said means for controlling conductivity of said CMOS device comprises a resistive element whose resistance varies as a function of the state of some physical condition.

Claim 9

In combination: a multimorph of piezoelectric material of a kind which flexes in a plane of movement upon being subjected to an electrical potential; a pair of contacts and means for actuating said contacts as an incident to flexure of said piezoelectric multimorph; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure thereof whereby to actuate said switch comprising an electrical power source, and a CMOS device connected between the power source and said multimorph, and means for altering the conductivity of said multimorph in response to a condition; and means for applying a biasing potential to said multimorph independently of variations in conductivity of said CMOS device.

Claim 10

In combination: a multimorph of piezoelectric material of a kind which flexes in a plane of movement upon being subjected to an electrical potential; a pair of contacts and means for actuating said contacts as an incident to flexure of said piezoelectric multimorph; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure thereof whereby to actuate said switch comprising an electrical power source, and a CMOS device connected between the power source and said multimorph, and means for altering the conductivity of said multimorph in response to a condition; and means for applying a biasing potential to said multimorph independently of variations in conductivity of said CMOS device.

Claim 11

A multimorph element for exhibiting bending action in a plane, comprising: a first layer of conductive material, and at least two elongated bars of piezoelectric material arranged back-to-back lengthwise on opposite sides of said layer of conductive material such that the bending plane of the composite extends through the length of both bars; at least one of said bars having reduced thickness in a region along its length extending across the bar transversely to said plane.

Claim 12

A multimorph element for exhibiting bending action in a plane, comprising: a first layer of conductive material, and at least two elongated bars of piezoelectric material arranged back-to-back lengthwise on opposite sides of said layer of conductive material such that the bending plane of the composite extends through the length of both bars; at least one of said bars having reduced thickness in a region along its length extending across the bar transversely to said plane.

Claim 13

The multimorph of claim 7 in which both of said bars are formed with such regions of reduced thickness along their length, said regions extending transversely to said plane.

Claim 14

The invention defined in claim 8 in which at least some of said regions of reduced thickness are formed on the respective surfaces of said bars opposite the side adjacent to said conductive layer.

Claim 15

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezo-electric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; said frame being electrically conductive and said field extending from said frame to said layer of conductive material; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph comprising a diode rectifier connected in series with a circuit that includes a resistor connected in parallel with at least one piezo-electric element of said multimorph whereby a series time delay circuit is provided for discharge of said element upon removal of said excitation; and said means for applying an electrical potential further comprising the series combination of a load impedance and the emitter-collector circuit of a transistor, the diode being connected to the junction between the impedance and the emitter-collector circuit.

Claim 16

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezo-electric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; said frame being electrically conductive and said field extending from said frame to said layer of conductive material; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph comprising a diode rectifier connected in series with a circuit that includes a resistor connected in parallel with at least one piezo-electric element of said multimorph whereby a series time delay circuit is provided for discharge of said element upon removal of said excitation; and said means for applying an electrical potential further comprising the series combination of a load impedance and the emitter-collector circuit of a transistor, the diode being connected to the junction between the impedance and the emitter-collector circuit.

Claim 17

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezo-electric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; said frame being electrically conductive and said field extending from said frame to said layer of conductive material; and said means for applying a potential comprising a variable resistor connected in circuit with said multimorph, the variable resistor being responsive to the state of a condition to vary current flow to the bimorph sufficiently to permit switch closure in one state of said condition and to prevent it in another.

Claim 18

In combination: a frame; a multimorph of piezo-electric material having a fixed part carried by said frame and a movable part free to flex in a plane of movement upon excitation of the multimorph; a pair of electrical contacts, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, movable relative to one another in response to multimorph flexure; means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph in a magnitude sufficient to cause flexure of said multimorph whereby to actuate said contacts; means for developing an electric field polarized such that it extends in a direction having a component parallel with the plane of movement of said multimorph and positioned such that a part of said multimorph is subjected to said field whereby flexure of said multimorph as an incident to excitation will be altered by said field; said multimorph comprising strips of piezoelectric material, and a layer of conductive material fixed to a side of said strips; said means for developing an electric field being effective to form the field such that it terminates at said layers of conductive material; said frame being electrically conductive and said field extending from said frame to said layer of conductive material; and said means for applying a potential comprising a variable resistor connected in circuit with said multimorph, the variable resistor being responsive to the state of a condition to vary current flow to the bimorph sufficiently to permit switch closure in one state of said condition and to prevent it in another.

Claim 19

In combination: a resilient member; a multimorph having at least one portion formed of piezo-electric material; a pair of switch contacts and means for connecting one of said contacts for movement into and out of engagement with the other of said contacts as an incident to movement of said multimorph; mounting means for mounting said contacts as an incident to movement of said multimorph being opposed by forces stored in said resilient member; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph comprising a source of an electrical potential and a CMOS device connected between said source of electrical potential and said multimorph; and said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph further comprising means for controlling conductivity of said CMOS device.

Claim 20

In combination: a resilient member; a multimorph having at least one portion formed of piezo-electric material; a pair of switch contacts and means for connecting one of said contacts for movement into and out of engagement with the other of said contacts as an incident to movement of said multimorph; mounting means for mounting said contacts as an incident to movement of said multimorph being opposed by forces stored in said resilient member; said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph comprising a source of an electrical potential and a CMOS device connected between said source of electrical potential and said multimorph; and said means for applying an electrical potential to said multimorph further comprising means for controlling conductivity of said CMOS device.