Film transducer and actuator strip for a film transducer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10241500-B2
Application number	US-201615229421-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2016
Priority date	Aug 10, 2015
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

A film transducer has a holding part and an electroactive multilayer composite structure including at least two deformable carriers which are each coated on at least one side with a planar electrode. The multilayer composite structure has an elongated basic shape and being clamped on its shorter sides in a fixing section in the holding part while its longer sides are free, the electrodes of the multilayer composite structure being alternately connected at the ends clamped in the holding part to a contact element which is arranged in the fixing section.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A film transducer comprising a holding part, an electroactive multilayer composite structure including at least two deformable carriers which are each coated on at least one side with a planar electrode, the multilayer composite structure having an elongated basic shape and being clamped on its shorter sides in a fixing section in the holding part while its longer sides are free, the electrodes of the multilayer composite structure being alternately connected at the ends of the deformable carriers clamped in the holding part to a contact element which is arranged in the fixing section, wherein the holding part is attached to a mounting plate and a spring element is arranged between the mounting plate and a load application member.

2. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the fixing section has a spring element arranged therein by which the ends of the multilayer composite structure that are clamped in said fixing section are pressed together.

3. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the contact element is a contact blade inserted in a recess in the holding part.

4. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the electrodes are contacted alternately in one fixing section of the holding part and in another fixing section on opposite side of the holding part.

5. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the ends of the multilayer composite structure which are clamped in the fixing section of the holding part are bent as compared to their direction of extent between the two fixing sections.

6. The film transducer of claim 5 wherein the electrode is arranged on that side of the carrier which, after the bending process, is associated with the contact element.

7. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the electrodes extend as far as to the edge of the carrier at one end of the multilayer composite structure and terminate at a distance from the edge at the opposite end.

8. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the carriers are provided with a contact tongue which is coated with the electrode.

9. The film transducer of claim 8 wherein, in a top view, the contact tongues are arranged in a stepped configuration.

10. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the carriers of the multilayer composite structure have different lengths and are layered such that their ends, in a top view, are arranged in a stepped configuration.

11. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the electrodes are provided with a contact tab which is contacted in the associated fixing section.

12. The film transducer of claim 11 wherein the contact tabs are soldered to each other.

13. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein a conductive adhesive is provided by which the electrodes are electrically conductively bonded to each other.

14. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein an electronic circuit is provided which is connected to the contact elements.

15. The film transducer of claim 14 wherein the electronic circuit is integrated in the holding part.

16. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein an electronic circuit is provided which is connected to the contact elements, the electronic circuit being attached to or integrated in the mounting plate.

17. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the multilayer composite structure is coupled to a load application member between the fixing sections.

18. The film transducer of claim 10 wherein the load application member is a plate.

19. The film transducer of claim 10 wherein the load application member is a tappet.

20. The film transducer of claim 19 wherein the tappet extends through the mounting plate and through the spring element.

21. The film transducer of claim 10 wherein the load application member is a cup-shaped tappet in which the spring element is arranged.

22. The film transducer of claim 10 wherein the load application member is a slide which is displaceably guided in the holding part and against which the spring element is supported.

23. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the holding part consists of a material which has a higher hardness than the multilayer composite structure.

24. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the carriers consist of a dielectric material.

25. The film transducer of claim 24 wherein the carriers are a sheet or a film made from a dielectric polymer.

26. The film transducer of claim 24 wherein the dielectric material is a printed component which has been produced as a thin film by screen printing processes, pad printing processes, 3D printing processes.

27. The film transducer of claim 24 wherein the dielectric material is a cast component.

28. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the electrodes consist of a mixture of a matrix material, a conductive material, solvents and additives.

29. The film transducer of claim 28 wherein the matrix material is an elastomer material.

30. The film transducer of claim 28 wherein the conductive material is soot, carbon nanotubes, conductive polymers, nanowires or a mixture of these materials.

31. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the electrodes are a printed component which has been applied as a thin layer by screen printing processes, pad printing processes, 3D printing processes, lamination, inkjet printing processes or aerosol jet processes.

32. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the electrode is bonded to the carrier.

33. The film transducer of claim 1 for converting electrical energy to mechanical work.

34. The film transducer of claim 1 for converting mechanical to electrical energy.

35. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the holding part is a printed component.

36. The film transducer of claim 35 wherein the holding part has been printed by screen printing processes, pad printing processes or 3D printing processes.

37. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the holding part is an injection molded part.

38. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the holding part consists of an epoxy resin.

39. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the multilayer composite structure is tautly mounted in the holding part, so that the multilayer composite structure carries out a stroke which is substantially perpendicular to its direction of extent and thus also perpendicular to its direction of expansion.

40. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein the holding part comprises two fixing sections and the multilayer composite structure is held between the two fixing sections of the holding part and extends away from a plane that runs through the two fixing sections.

41. The film transducer of claim 1 wherein an actuating section is provided in the center of the multilayer composite structure.

42. The film transducer of claim 41 wherein the actuating section is free of electrodes.

43. The film transducer of claim 41 wherein the holding part is a ring.

44. The film transducer of claim 41 wherein the multilayer composite structure has a star shape.

45. An actuator strip for the film transducer of claim 1 , comprising a carrier which consists of an elastically deformable plastic film and, in a top view,

Assignees

• Buerkert Werke Gmbh

Inventors

• RODEGHERI Crícia DE CARVALHO
• Konstandin Marcel
• Nancy Noam
• Krippner Peter
• Binz Dieter
• Scheibe Ralf

Classifications

• G05B19/4099 Primary

  Surface or curve machining, making three-dimensional [3D] objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing · CPC title

• H01L41/0472

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L41/0833

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L41/053

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L41/293

  Electricity · mapped topic