Patent ID: 6747863
Filing Date: 2004-06-08
Classification: H02N

Abstract:
An electrostatic drive, comprising:a mover and a plurality of mover electrodes operatively affixed thereto; a stator and a plurality of stator electrodes operatively affixed thereto, the mover and stator being movable relative to one another via electrostatic force generated between the mover electrodes and the stator electrodes; and a driver configured to drive the stator electrodes into any of a plurality of sequential voltage states, each voltage state being defined by a combination of LO and HI voltage levels existing at the stator electrodes, where transition from one voltage state to a sequentially adjacent voltage state produces a step size of relative movement between the mover and stator, where, for each of the voltage states, the driver is further configured to selectively vary voltage applied at one of the stator electrodes to an amount between the LO and the HI voltage levels, in order to produce a proportionally smaller step size.