Elastomer actuator
US7915792B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 12, 2008 |
| Grant date | Mar 29, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 30, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S310/80
Abstract
An actuator includes a spirally rolled cylindrical sheet body. The sheet body is formed by attaching an electrode on each side of a dielectric elastomer layer. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the sheet body is contracted along the direction of its thickness, and expanded in directions perpendicular to its thickness. The actuator is actuated by applying a voltage to the electrodes and stopping the voltage application, so that the cylindrical sheet body is extended and contracted along the direction of the axis. The material forming the dielectric elastomer layer has a low strain region, where the value of a strain based on a stress acting on the dielectric elastomer layer varies from zero to a value that is greater than and close to zero, and a high strain region, where the value of the strain is greater than that in the low strain region. The Young's modulus in the low strain region is less than the Young's modulus in the high strain region.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.