US 11,815,881 B2
Managing non-contact forces in mechanisms
James F. Ryley, Downey, CA (US); Mark N. Jobes, Ottawa (CA); James MacArthur, Manchester (GB); and Jeffrey E. Semprebon, Claremont, NH (US)
Assigned to CBN Nano Technologies Inc., Ottawa (CA)
Appl. No. 18/003,697
Filed by CBN Nano Technologies Inc., Ottawa (CA)
PCT Filed Sep. 22, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/051411
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 29, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/066681, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 31, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/083,265, filed on Sep. 25, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/083,276, filed on Sep. 25, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0238965 A1, Jul. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. H03K 19/20 (2006.01); G05B 19/4155 (2006.01); B82Y 10/00 (2011.01); G06F 5/01 (2006.01); G06D 3/00 (2006.01); G06N 10/00 (2022.01); G06C 15/02 (2006.01); H01B 3/18 (2006.01); H01B 3/30 (2006.01); H03K 19/21 (2006.01)
CPC G05B 19/4155 (2013.01) [B82Y 10/00 (2013.01); G06C 15/02 (2013.01); G06D 3/00 (2013.01); G06F 5/01 (2013.01); G06N 10/00 (2019.01); H01B 3/18 (2013.01); H01B 3/307 (2013.01); H03K 19/20 (2013.01); H03K 19/21 (2013.01); G05B 2219/33291 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A mechanism comprising:
a first part; and
a second part movable with respect to said first part through a defined range of motion and generating an attractive non-contact force with respect to said first part due to van der Waals attraction,
wherein said first part and said second part are configured relative to each other such that movement throughout the defined range of motion does not move any portion of either part into such close proximity of an effective edge of another part so as to cause a material change in van der Waals attraction, and thus the non-contact force therebetween does not materially change throughout the defined range of motion,
the mechanism being configured to accept data in the form of one or more mechanical inputs that encode values by position and to output data in the form of one or more mechanical outputs that encode values by position, wherein the mechanism is configured such that the position of at least one output is determined by performing a logic operation on at least one of said inputs, the logic operation including at least one operation from the group of combinatorial logic operations, sequential logic operations, and Boolean logic operations.