Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

System and methods for fabricating actuators and electrically actuated hydraulic solid materials

a hydraulic solid material and actuator technology, applied in the field of actuators, can solve the problems of adding geometric complexity to traditional methods, 3d printing also offers added geometric complexity, etc., and achieves the effects of stable actuation, easy to achieve voltage and current, and high force strok

Inactive Publication Date: 2018-06-07
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
View PDF0 Cites 9 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is about a new material called EAHS that can be used to make actuators. This material can be used in various manufacturing processes and can also be 3D printed. The actuators made from EAHS have several advantages over traditional methods, including being able to prototype quickly, being cost-effective, and being able to test new designs without the need for expensive tooling. The actuators can also be made from a single material, allowing for the creation of complex systems on a single device. The invention also describes a new type of actuator that uses a network of conductive materials and a phase change material to generate pressure and motion. This actuator is more robust and can withstand repeated puncturing without losing its effectiveness. Overall, the invention provides a new and improved material for making actuators that can be used in various applications.

Problems solved by technology

3D printing also offers added geometric complexity over traditional methods.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • System and methods for fabricating actuators and electrically actuated hydraulic solid materials
  • System and methods for fabricating actuators and electrically actuated hydraulic solid materials
  • System and methods for fabricating actuators and electrically actuated hydraulic solid materials

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0042]According to one embodiment, the invention is directed to an actuator fabricated using Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF). More specifically, the invention is drawn to direct fabrication methods and new materials for fabrication including 3D fabrication. For exemplary purposes, the invention refers to silicone / wax cell actuators when discussing direct fabrication methods and Electrically Actuated Hydraulic Solid (EAHS) actuators when discussing new materials for fabrication of electrically actuated actuators. Similar to traditional actuators, both are complexly soft, allowing them to be integrated into the growing field of soft robotics. Both types of actuators are completely metal free, allowing them to operate in environments like MRIs, where traditional wax actuators would be unable to operate due to their metal housings and pistons. In addition, the actuators of the invention volumetrically expand, which may prove ideal for certain evolutionary biology work. It is also conte...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

PropertyMeasurementUnit
forceaaaaaaaaaa
melting temperatureaaaaaaaaaa
temperaturesaaaaaaaaaa
Login to View More

Abstract

With applications such as soft robotics being severely hindered by the lack of strong soft actuators, the invention provides a new soft-actuator material—Electrically Actuated Hydraulic Solid (EAHS) material—with a stress-density that outperforms any known electrically-actuatable material. One type of actuator is fabricated by making a closed cell that acts as highly paralyzed version of a standard paraffin actuator. Each cell exhibits microscopic expansion, which is summed to produce macroscopic motion. The closed cellular nature of the material allows the system to be cut and punctured and still operate. It can be produced in a lab or industrial scale, and can be formed using molding, 3D printing or cutting.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 163,156 filed May 18, 2015, incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates generally to actuators. More specifically, the invention is directed to a system and methods for fabricating actuators including wax actuators, for robotics and automation applications. In addition, the invention is directed to a new material including a conductive material component for use in the fabrication of actuators.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Electrically driven polymeric actuators are an important basis for modern microfluidics, soft electronics, and soft robotics, and considered one of the bottlenecks of many applications for robotic and automation. Each one of the existing actuator technologies available today involves a difficult tradeoff between performance metrics. For example, dielectric actuators allow for high frequency responses and high strains, but are unable t...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): F03G7/06
CPCF03G7/065F03G7/005F03G7/06B32B27/08Y10T428/31504F03G7/06113
Inventor LIPTON, JEFFREY
Owner CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com