1. An apparatus for controlling the position of a light beam relative to a lens, comprising:
an elongate hollow output node having an upper portion and a bottom portion for passing a light beam therethrough, the upper portion providing the light beam along a longitudinal axis of the output node towards a lens; and
an elongate hollow base node having separate top and bottom parts connected to each other along a longitudinal axis of the base node by opposed ends of a plurality of flexible rods that restrict the relative movement between the top and bottom parts of the base node to substantially only translational parallel movement, the top part of the base node being coupled to the bottom portion of the output node and the bottom part of the base node being coupled to receive therein the light beam;
wherein for adjusting the translational parallel movement between the top and bottom parts of the base node, opposed portions of the bottom part of the base node each include a respective screw that adjustably extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the base node, and opposed portions of the top part of the base node each include a respective slanted surface that opposes a screw in a correspondingly positioned opposed portion of the bottom part of the base node, so that extension of one screw in the bottom part of the base node in combination with retraction of another screw in the bottom part of the base node, establishes a shearing force that results in precisely controlled translational parallel relative movement between the top and bottom parts of the base node.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opposed portions of each of the top and bottom parts of the base node comprise two pairs of opposed portions, each pair being positioned on one of two axes that are each orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the base node.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the top part of the base node includes a circular groove around a perimeter thereof for allowing adjustable rotational relative movement between the output node and the base node.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bottom part of the base node is adapted to receive therein a fiber node that provides the light beam at an emitting tip thereof.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the bottom part of the base node includes about a periphery thereof two sets of first and second pairs of orthogonally positioned adjustment screws, each pair of adjustment screws being positioned on one of two axes that are both orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the base node, the two sets of pairs of adjustment screws being spatially separated from each other along the longitudinal axis of the node so that upon appropriate tightening and loosing of the first and second pairs of adjustment screws of each set, a tilt adjustment can be made to the position of a longitudinal axis of the fiber node relative to the longitudinal axis of the base node.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, further including an elongate hollow intermediate node having top and bottom parts connected to each other along a common longitudinal axis by a flexible coupling, the top part of the intermediate node being dimensioned to be positionable inside the bottom portion of the output node and the bottom part of the intermediate node being dimensioned to receive the top part of the base node, thereby providing the coupling of the base node to the output node.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein flexing of the flexible coupling causes an angular tilt in the common longitudinal axis of the intermediate node at the location of the flexible coupling.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, further including a lever node having a bottom part connected to the bottom part of the intermediate node, and a top part dimensioned to be positionable inside the top part of the intermediate node.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the top part of the intermediate node includes about a periphery thereof first and second pairs of orthogonally positioned adjustment screws, each pair of adjustment screws being positioned on one of two axes that are orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the intermediate node, so that upon appropriate tightening and loosing of the adjustment screws of a respective one of the first and second pairs of adjustment screws, contact between the screws and the top part of the lever node cause a tilt adjustment to the position of a longitudinal axis of the fiber node relative to the longitudinal axis of the output node.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A micromechanical device comprising a substrate, a structure overlying the substrate and movable relative to the substrate, a frictional brake overlying the substrate and an electrostatic brake microactuator coupled to the brake for moving the brake into frictional engagement with the structure for holding the structure relative to the substrate, the structure having an arcuate surface with a radius and the brake having an arcuate surface with a radius that is larger than the radius of the arcuate surface of the structure.
2. The micromechanical device of claim 1 wherein the structure is part of a microactuator.
3. The micromechanical device of claim 2 wherein the microactuator is an electromechanical microactuator.
4. The micromechanical device of claim 3 wherein the electromechanical microactuator is an electrostatic microactuator.
5. The micromechanical device of claim 2 wherein the microactuator is a rotatable microactuator and the structure is rotatable about an axis of rotation between first and second positions.
6. The micromechanical device of claim 5 wherein the structure has an arcuate surface and wherein the brake has an arcuate surface for frictionally engaging the arcuate surface of the structure.
7. The micromechanical device of claim 1 wherein the brake is movable a distance greater than a distance between the arcuate surfaces of the structure and brake.
8. The micromechanical device of claim 5 wherein the brake is movable along a radial extending from the axis of rotation.
9. The micromechanical device of claim 1 wherein said brake microactuator is a linear microactuator.
10. The micromechanical device of claim 9 wherein said linear microactuator comprises first and second drive assemblies, each of the first and second drive assemblies having a first drive member mounted to the substrate and a second drive member overlying and movable relative to the substrate, a shuttle perpendicular and coupled to the second drive members and first and second spring members, each of the first and second spring members having a first end portion coupled to the substrate and a second end portion coupled to the shuttle for suspending the shuttle and the second drive member above the substrate, wherein the first and second two drive assemblies share the common shuttle and are symmetrically disposed with respect to the shuttle.
11. The micromechanical device of claim 10 wherein the first end portion of each of the first and second spring members includes a flexural member having first and second portions, the first portion being inclined relative to the second portion and being coupled to the substrate.
12. The micromechanical device of claim 11 wherein the first portion is inclined at a right angle to the second portion.
13. The micromechanical device of claim 10 further comprising a bracket coupled to a first end of the shuttle and being symmetrically disposed with respect to the shuttle.
14. The micromechanical device of claim 13 further comprising first and second flexural members connecting the brake to the bracket.
15. The micromechanical device of claim 1 further comprising a locking mechanism for locking the brake in frictional static engagement with the structure.
16. The micromechanical device of claim 15 wherein the brake microactuator includes a drive member movable between a first position in which the brake is not in frictional static engagement with the structure and a second position in which the brake is in frictional static engagement with the structure and wherein the locking mechanism includes a pin for engaging the drive member so as to hold the drive member in the second position.
17. The micromechanical device of claim 16 wherein the locking mechanism includes a pin microactuator coupled to the pin for moving the pin between a first position in which the pin does not engage the drive member and a second position in which the pin engages the drive member.
18. The micromechanical device of claim 1 wherein the structure is movable in a linear direction between first and second positions and the brake is movable in a direction perpendicular to the linear direction.
19. The micromechanical device of claim 1 wherein the structure is part of an electrostatic microactuator.
20. The micromechanical device of claim 1 further comprising a brake microactuator coupled to the brake for moving the brake into frictional engagement with the structure.
21. A micromechanical device comprising a substrate, a structure overlying the substrate and movable relative to the substrate and a braking mechanism overlying the substrate and movable into frictional engagement with the structure for holding the structure in a position relative to the substrate, the braking mechanism including a bracket and a brake and first and second spaced-apart flexural members for connecting the brake to the bracket whereby the first and second flexural members permit adjustment of the position of the structure after the braking mechanism has engaged the structure.
22. The micromechanical device of claim 21 further comprising a brake microactuator coupled to the braking mechanism for moving the braking mechanism into frictional engagement with the structure.
23. The micromechanical device of claim 22 wherein the brake microactuator is an electrostatic microactuator.
24. A micromechanical device comprising a substrate, a structure overlying the substrate and movable to a plurality of operable positions relative to the substrate and a frictional brake overlying the substrate, the frictional brake being movable from a rest position in which the frictional brake is not in frictional engagement with the structure to an actuated position in which the frictional brake frictionally engages the structure for selectively holding the structure in any one of the plurality of operable positions.
25. The micromechanical device of claim 24 wherein the structure is part of a microactuator.
26. The micromechanical device of claim 25 wherein the microactuator is an electrostatic microactuator.
27. The micromechanical device of claim 25 wherein the microactuator is a rotatable microactuator.
28. The micromechanical device of claim 24 wherein the structure is rotatable about an axis of rotation to a plurality of operable positions relative to the substrate.
29. The micromechanical device of claim 28 wherein the structure has an arcuate surface and wherein the brake has an arcuate surface for frictionally engaging the arcuate surface of the structure.
30. The micromechanical device of claim 29 wherein the brake is movable a distance greater than a distance between the arcuate surfaces of the structure and brake.
31. The micromechanical device of claim 28 wherein the brake is movable along a radial extending from the axis of rotation.
32. The micromechanical device of claim 24 further comprising a brake microactuator coupled to the brake for moving the brake into frictional engagement with the structure.
33. A micromechanical device comprising a substrate, a structure overlying the substrate and movable relative to the substrate, the structure having a surface provided with a shape, a frictional brake overlying the substrate and a microactuator coupled to the brake for moving the brake into frictional engagement with the structure for holding the structure relative to the substrate, the brake including a flexible member that at least partially conforms to the shape of the surface when engaging the structure whereby the flexible member inhibits stiction between the brake and the structure when the brake is disengaged from the structure.
34. The micromechanical device of claim 33 further comprising a brake microactuator coupled to the brake for moving the brake into frictional engagement with the structure.
35. The micromechanical device of claim 33 wherein the structure is part of a microactuator.
36. The micromechanical device of claim 33 wherein the structure is rotatable about an axis of rotation relative to the substrate.
37. The micromechanical device of claim 36 wherein the surface of the structure is an arcuate surface.