Processing methods and apparatus to manufacture a functional, multi-scale, tapered fiber from polymer filament

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11060214-B2
Application number	US-201816102364-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 13, 2018
Priority date	Aug 11, 2017
Publication date	Jul 13, 2021
Grant date	Jul 13, 2021

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatus to provide artificial whisker filaments are disclosed and described. An example artificial whisker is tapered to include a tip diameter smaller than a base diameter of the artificial whisker, the artificial whisker formed from a polymer arranged to permit elastic deformation of the artificial whisker, the deformation of the artificial whisker to transmit force to a sensor associated with a base of the artificial whisker. An example method of manufacturing an artificial whisker includes removably affixing a first end of a filament to a heated, non-stick surface; drawing the filament across the surface to form a first, tapered portion, a second portion of the filament remaining on the surface, wherein the filament is to be drawn until the first portion is disengaged from the surface; and separating the first, tapered portion of the filament from the second portion of the filament to form a tapered artificial whisker.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing an artificial whisker, the method comprising:
removably affixing a first end of a filament to a heated, non-stick surface;
drawing the filament across the heated, non-stick surface to form a first, tapered portion, a second portion of the filament remaining on the heated, non-stick surface, wherein the filament is to be drawn until the first portion is disengaged from the heated, non-stick surface; and
separating the first, tapered portion of the filament from the second portion of the filament to form a tapered artificial whisker.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the filament includes a cylindrical filament formed from at least one of a polycarbonate or an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene material.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heated, non-stick surface includes a heated polytetrafluoroethylene plate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heated, non-stick surface is to raise a temperature of the filament past a glass transition temperature (Tg) of the filament.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein drawing the filament further includes applying a constant velocity to the filament to deform the filament and produce a taper in the filament over a time period.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein a force applied to maintain the constant velocity is between two hundred millinewtons and two Newtons applied over a time period of thirty seconds.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the taper formed in the filament is to be determined by a taper profile.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the filament is drawn to form the tapered artificial whisker with a whisker slope between 0.001 and 0.003.

9. A method of manufacturing a sensor device, the method comprising:
removably affixing a first end of a filament to a heated, non-stick surface;
drawing the filament across the heated, non-stick surface to form a first, tapered portion, a second portion of the filament remaining on the heated, non-stick surface, wherein the filament is to be drawn until the first portion is disengaged from the heated, non-stick surface;
separating the first, tapered portion of the filament from the second portion of the filament to form a tapered artificial whisker; and
affixing the artificial whisker to sensor electronics to form a sensor device.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the artificial whisker is to provide tactile feedback to the sensor electronics when in contact with an object.

Assignees

• Univ Northwestern

Inventors

• Collinson David W
• Hartmann Mitra J
• Brinson L Catherine

Classifications

• D01D10/04

  Supporting filaments or the like during their treatment · CPC title

• D10B2401/06

  Load-responsive characteristics · CPC title

• G01L5/169

  using magnetic means · CPC title

• D02J1/224 Primary

  Selection or control of the temperature during stretching · CPC title

• G01L1/04

  by measuring elastic deformation of gauges, e.g. of springs · CPC title