US Patent 7832948 Impulse actuated MEMS devices

An impulse actuated mechanism for, e.g., a digital camera shutter, includes a shutter blade disposed at a first end of a flexure having an opposite second end fixed so as to constrain the blade to move along a planar, relatively long, first trajectory between opposite initial and final blade positions, and a short-throw, high force blade actuator that includes a stator and a stage supported for movement relative to the stator and along a second trajectory intersecting the initial blade position, and a mechanism for accelerating the stage along the second trajectory and against the blade such that at least some of the momentum of the stage is imparted to the blade, causing the blade to move along the first trajectory from the initial blade position to the final blade position, where it blocks the passage of light through a light aperture of the camera.