Thermally driven actuator system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10677229-B2
Application number	US-201815910584-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 2, 2018
Priority date	Mar 3, 2017
Publication date	Jun 9, 2020
Grant date	Jun 9, 2020

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments are directed to thermally driven actuator systems including a thermally driven element and one or more heating elements coupled to and in thermal contact with the thermally driven element. The thermally driven element can be capable of being selectively reconfigured in shape based on a thermal strain or temperature driven phase change. The one or more heating elements can be configured to selectively and independently apply heat to one or more of a plurality of different regions of the thermally driven element to selectively raise a temperature or temperatures of the selected region or regions of the thermally driven element to selectively reconfigure the shape of the thermally driven element.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A thermally driven actuator system, comprising:
a thermally driven element including one or more thermal shape memory materials capable of being selectively reconfigured in shape based on a temperature driven phase change at one or more predetermined temperatures and a second material coupled to the one or more thermal shape memory materials and capable of a change in dimension in proportion to temperature changes;
a plurality of heating elements coupled to and in thermal contact with the thermally driven element, the plurality of heating elements controllable to selectively and independently apply heat to one or more of a plurality of different regions of the thermally driven element to selectively raise a temperature or temperatures of the selected region or regions of the thermally driven element to selectively reconfigure the shape of the thermally driven element; and
a controller in communication with the plurality of heating elements for regulation of the heat applied to the plurality of different regions of the thermally driven element by the heating elements, the controller configured to:
control one or more of the plurality of heating elements to heat one or more regions of the thermally driven element to at least a first temperature associated with a phase change in at least one of the one or more thermal shape memory materials to transition the thermally driven element from a first configuration to a second configuration; and
control the one or more of the plurality of heating elements to heat the one or more regions of the thermally driven element in a temperature range associated with the second material to transition the thermally driven element from the second configuration to another configuration in proportion with change in temperature, wherein the temperature range is above the first temperature.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal shape memory materials include a shape memory alloy and a shape memory polymer, and the second material includes a liquid crystal elastomer.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal shape memory materials are in electrical contact with the plurality of heating elements.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of heating elements are configured to selectively apply heat to the plurality of different regions of the thermally driven element in a variable heating pattern.

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the thermally driven element is capable of being selectively reconfigured into shapes having three or more different configurations.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of heating elements corresponds to a zone configured to be independently heated and each of the plurality of heating elements is coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of different regions of the thermally driven element.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of different regions are arranged longitudinally along a length of the thermally driven element.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of different regions are arranged laterally along a width of the thermally driven element.

9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein some of the plurality of different regions are arranged laterally along a width of the thermally driven element and others of the plurality of different regions are arranged longitudinally along a length of the thermally driven element.

10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of heating elements comprise a carbon nanotube network.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the carbon nanotube network comprises a sheet of zones corresponding to the plurality of different regions of the thermally driven element, each zone configured to be independently heated.

12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein one or more of the plurality of heating elements further comprise one or more dielectric layers connected to the carbon nanotube network.

13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of heating elements comprise heating wires passing through the respective heating element.

14. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a structural member including a surface to which a surface of the thermally driven element is coupled, and one or more transducers configured to detect a deflection of at least a portion of the structural member and transmit, to the controller, signals representing the detected deflection, and wherein the controller is configured to control one or more of the plurality of heating elements based on the signals received from the one or more transducers.

15. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a multi-channel variable voltage controller or a multiplexed variable voltage controller.

16. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a sensor coupled to the thermally driven element or to at least one of the plurality of heating elements and configured to transmit a temperature signal regarding at least a portion of the thermally driven element to the controller.

17. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of sensors coupled to the thermally driven element or to at least one of the plurality of heating elements, each sensor configured to transmit a temperature signal regarding a corresponding region of the thermally driven element to the controller.

18. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more transducers coupled to the thermally driven element, the one or more transducers configured to transmit a signal or signals to the controller regarding a position or a deflection of at least a portion of the thermally driven element.

19. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of heating elements has a first side facing toward the thermally driven element and a second side facing away from the thermally driven element, and wherein the system further comprises thermal insulation disposed on the second side of each of the plurality of heating elements.

20. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising film adhesive encapsulating one or more of the plurality of heating elements.

21. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the thermally driven element is configured to be coupled to a structural element such that reconfiguration of the shape of the thermally driven element substantially simultaneously reconfigures the shape of the structural element.

22. The system according to claim 21 , wherein the thermally driven element constitutes a first thermally driven element and is configured to be coupled to a first portion of the structural element; and
wherein the system further comprises:
a second thermally driven element, different from the first thermally driven element, including one or more thermal shape memory materials capable of being selectively reconfigured in shape based on a thermal strain or temperature driven phase change, the second thermally driven element configured to be coupled to a second portion of the structural element; and
one or more additional heating elements coupled to and in thermal contact with the second thermally driven element, the one or more additional heating elements controllable, by the controller, to selectively and independently apply heat to one or more of a plurality of different regions of the second thermally driven element to sele

Assignees

• Metis Design Corp
• Embraer Sa

Inventors

• Kessler Seth S
• Da Silva Fabio Santos
• Da Silva Rodrigo Carlana
• Wallner Cassio
• Da Silva Paulo Anchieta
• Cohen Estelle

Classifications

• H05B1/0294

  Planar elements · CPC title

• F03G7/065 Primary

  using a shape memory element · CPC title

• H05B3/06

  Heater elements structurally combined with coupling elements or holders · CPC title

• H05B2203/005

  using multiple resistive elements or resistive zones isolated from each other · CPC title

• H05B3/145

  Carbon only, e.g. carbon black, graphite · CPC title