US patent protects tiny linear motor

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 20, 2007

Patent covers latest design innovations that facilitate high-volume manufacturing and allow further miniaturisation of the world's smallest linear motor.

New Scale Technologies has received its second US patent for its piezoelectric Squiggle motors.

The patent covers New Scale's latest design innovations that facilitate high-volume manufacturing and allow further miniaturisation of this tiny ultrasonic device, which at 1.5 x 1.5 x 6mm is the world's smallest linear motor.

The new patent also grants application claims for integration of the Squiggle motor in an ultra-thin autofocus assembly for mobile phone cameras, and in a miniature syringe pump assembly for medical use.

The Squiggle motor enables smaller size, higher precision and longer battery life in both applications.

The patent also covers integration of the Squiggle motor with a tangential limit stop, a technique to stop shaft rotation without thread locking.

Patent 7,170,214 issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office on 30th January 2007 to inventors David Henderson, New Scale's founder and co-CEO, and Dan Viggiano III, New Scale's Chief Operating Officer.

It is a continuation-in-part of Henderson's fundamental Squiggle motor patent 6,940,209 issued in September 2005.

"This patent significantly strengthens our intellectual property portfolio and further validates the novel design of the Squiggle motor", Henderson said.

"It will accelerate our business development in numerous markets including mobile phone cameras, medical devices, electronic locks, intelligent fasteners, automotive components and cryogenic instruments".

The patented Squiggle motor design consists of piezoelectric ceramics bonded to a threaded nut, with a mating screw inside.

Applying electrical signals to the ceramics creates ultrasonic vibrations in the nut, causing the screw to rotate and translate with precise linear movement in a very small space.

Squiggle motors are smaller, more precise, less expensive and more efficient than conventional electromagnetic motors.

With their unique design and materials, Squiggle motors also operate reliably in extreme environments such as vacuum, cryogenic temperatures and high magnetic fields.