Pneumatic actuator
US5111847A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 10, 1991 |
| Grant date | May 12, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 10, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T137/2273
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A pneumatic actuator comprises a cell through which a normally laminar flow of air passes between an inlet and an outlet to provide, in the outlet, an output pressure. The cell includes an electro-acoustic transducer, for example a piezo-electric element arranged, in response to an oscillating electrical signal, to produce an acoustic signal that disturbs the laminar flow whereby at least some of the air exhausts from the cell via one or more exhaust ports and the output pressure falls. The difference in the output pressures may be used to control a pneumatic device optionally via a pneumatic amplifier. The electrical signal is produced by an opto-electrical transducer to which optical control signals are transmitted, for example along a fibre optic cable.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.