Morphable sheet structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022010829-A1
Application number	US-201917295966-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 19, 2019
Priority date	Nov 23, 2018
Publication date	Jan 13, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

The proposed morphable sheet structure comprises a succession of adjacent flexible elongated rods ( 10 ) laterally connected to each other defining a sheet structure ( 1 ), each rod ( 10 ) defining a longitudinal axis (A); wherein the rods ( 10 ) are grouped in pairs, each pair of adjacent rods ( 10 ) are connected to each other through a first connector ( 11 ) tightly connected to a second connector ( 12 ) complementary with the first connector ( 11 ), being the first connector ( 11 ) part of one rod ( 10 ) of said pair of adjacent rods ( 10 ) and being the second connector ( 12 ) part of the other rod ( 10 ) of said pair of adjacent rods ( 10 ); being the first connector ( 11 ) and the second connector ( 12 ) slidably movable to each other in the direction of the longitudinal axis (A); the first connector ( 11 ) and/or the second connector ( 12 ) extending along the entire longitude of the rod ( 10 ).

First claim

1 . A morphable sheet structure morphable from a flat or singly curved shape into a doubly curved shape with non-zero Gaussian curvature, the morphable sheet structure comprising:
a succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods laterally connected to each other defining a sheet structure, each flexible elongated rod comprising two ends and defining a longitudinal axis from one end to the other end, each one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods being grouped in pairs, each pair of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods being connected to each other through a first connector, the first connector being tightly connected to a second connector complementary with the first connector, the first connector disposed on a first one of the pair of adjacently disposed flexible elongated rods and the second connector disposed on a second one of the pair of adjacently disposed flexible elongated rods; the first connector and the second connector being slidably movable to each other in along the longitudinal axis; at least one of the first connector and the second connector extending along the entire length of a corresponding flexible elongated rod; and each one of the succession of adjacently disposed flexible elongated rods being bendable along the longitudinal axis simultaneously with the sliding movement of a relative position between adjacently disposed flexible elongated rods.

2 . (canceled)

3 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 , wherein at least some of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods comprise at least one of:
a group of driven rods configured to produce the driven controlled bending thereof, a group of linked rods connected to each other through an internal actuator configured to produce a relative sliding movement between the linked rods, causing the bending thereof; and a group of externally actuated rods connected to an external actuator configured to produce a local movement of parts of the sheet structure, causing the deformation of the sheet structure and the bending of at least some of the rods.

4 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 3 , wherein at least each one of the group of driven rods, each one the group of linked rods comprising an internal actuator, or each one of the group of externally actuated rods comprises structures made of a driven material configured to changes its shape under predefined conditions.

5 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 4 , wherein the driven material is at least:
configured to change the longitude of at least one of the group of driven rods, the driven material being further configured to bend under predefined conditions and being eccentrically attached to at least one of the group of driven rods, imposing the bending to the at least one of the group of driven rods; integrated into at least one of the group of driven rods, the driven material being configured to change the longitude of at least one of the group of drive rods, the driven material being further configured to bend under predefined conditions and being eccentrically attached to at least one of the group of driven rods, imposing the bending to the at least one of the group of driven rods; and at least some of the group of driven rods comprising structures made of the driven material on two opposed sides thereof; integrated into at least one of the group of linked rods and configured to change a longitude thereof, the driven material being further configured to bend under predefined conditions, the driven material being connected to at least some of the group of linked rods and configured to impose a sliding movement between at least two adjacently disposed ones of the group of linked rods; or integrated into at least one of the group of externally actuated rods and configured to change a longitude thereof, the driven material further configured to bend under predefined conditions, the driven material being connected to at least some the group of externally actuated rods.

6 . (canceled)

7 . (canceled)

8 . (canceled)

9 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 3 wherein at least each one of the group of driven rods, each one of the group of linked rods comprising an internal actuator or each one of the group of externally actuated rods comprises structures made of a driven material configured to change its shape under predefined electrical conditions, the driven material being connected by wires to a control device configured to provide controlled amounts of electric current to the driven material, producing a controlled shape transformation thereof.

10 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein each one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods are inextensible and incompressible in a longitudinal direction parallel to the longitudinal axis.

11 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein the first connector and the second connector are configured to retain at least two adjacent ones of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods at a constant distance.

12 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein the first connector and the second connector are inextensible and incompressible in a transversal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

13 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein:
each one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods comprises a first connector and a second connector; or
each one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods of a first group of flexible elongated rods comprises two first connectors and each one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods of a second group of flexible elongated rods comprises two second connectors, each one of the flexible elongated rods of the first group and each one of the flexible elongated rods of the second group being alternated.

14 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein at least the first connector is placed on opposed sides of a corresponding one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods.

15 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein:
the first connector comprises a channel accessible through a narrowed mouth slot;
the second connector comprises a flap of equal thickness or thinner than the narrowed mouth slot, and a thickened end of the flap being thicker than the narrowed mouth slot;
the flap of each rod being tightly fitted on a narrowed mouth slot of an adjacent rod and the corresponding thickened end being inserted into the corresponding channel of the adjacent rod.

16 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods is elastically bendable in a transversal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, defining a stable shape of the at least one of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rod and at least one of a plurality of stable shapes of the morphable sheet structure.

17 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 12 wherein different ones of the succession of adjacently disposed and flexible elongated rods comprise different stable shapes.

18 . The morphable sheet structure according to claim 1 wherein each rod comprising at least a first connectors comprises a single material.

19 . The morphable sheet struc

Assignees

• Univ Catalunya Politecnica
• Scuola Int Superiore Di Studi Avanzati

Inventors

• De Simone Antonio
• Noselli Giovanni
• Arroyo Balaguer Marino

Classifications

• F16B7/0433 Primary

  for rods or tubes being in parallel relationship · CPC title

• F16B5/0032 Primary

  by moving the sheets, plates, or panels or the interlocking key parallel to the abutting edge · CPC title

• F16B2005/0678

  in abutting relationship · CPC title

• F16B2200/77

  Use of a shape-memory material · CPC title