Appeal No. 2001-2238
Application 09/387,204
Representative claim 17 is reproduced as follows:
17. A method of driving an electrostatic actuator, the
method comprising:
providing a first member and a second member, each of the
first member and the second member including an opposed surface;
providing a bending flexure;
using the bending flexure to support the opposed surface of
the first member opposite the opposed surface of the second
member with a spacing of d, and to allow one of the first member
and the second member to move relative to the other in a
direction parallel to the opposed surfaces;
establishing a spatially substantially alternating voltage
pattern on the opposed surface of the first member, and a static,
spatially substantially alternating voltage pattern on the
opposed surface of the second member, each spatially
substantially alternating voltage pattern defining a waveform
having a primary spatial wavelength † satisfying the spatial
wavelength/spacing condition †/d < 16; and
selectively imposing a variation on the spatially
substantially alternating voltage pattern on the opposed surface
of the first member to move the one of the first member and the
second member relative to the other.
The examiner relies on the following references:
Okamoto et al. (Okamoto) 5,523,639 June 04, 1996
Higuchi et al. (Higuchi) 5,585,683 Dec. 17, 1996
Suzuki et al. (Suzuki) JP 4-368479 Dec. 21, 1992
Claims 17-23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103. As
evidence of obviousness the examiner offers Okamoto in view of
Suzuki with respect to claims 17-20, 22 and 23, and Higuchi is
added with respect to claim 21.
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