Reprogrammable systems and methods for controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024111926-A1
Application number	US-202218275985-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 7, 2022
Priority date	Feb 8, 2021
Publication date	Apr 4, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

Described herein are reprogrammable systems and methods for controlling the same. The reprogrammable system comprises a first side configured to be reprogrammable in at least a first direction. The first side is formed by a reprogrammable structure having one or more layers stacked in a second direction. An individual layer of the one or more layers has repeating unit cells. A first unit cell of the repeating unit cells has elements. The elements are connected by connecting joints. A first unit cell of the repeating unit cells shares at least one element and/or at least one connecting joint with a second unit cell of the repeating unit cells.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A reprogrammable system, comprising:
a first side configured to be reprogrammable in at least a first direction, the first side being formed by a reprogrammable structure having one or more layers stacked in a second direction; wherein an individual layer of the one or more layers has repeating unit cells, a first unit cell of the repeating unit cells including elements, wherein the elements are connected by connecting joints; and wherein the first unit cell of the repeating unit cells shares at least one element and/or at least one connecting joint with a second unit cell of the repeating unit cells.

2 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , further comprising:
biasing blocks configured to bias the connecting joints, wherein an individual biasing block is configured to be inserted into an individual connecting joint to bias the individual connecting joint.

3 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , further comprising:
actuators configured to actuate the connecting joints, wherein an individual actuator is coupled to an individual connecting joint to actuate the individual connecting joint; and a controller configured to control the actuators.

4 . The reprogrammable system of claim 3 , wherein the individual actuator has a servo motor.

5 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , further comprising a second side configured to be reprogrammable in a direction different from the first direction.

6 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , wherein the second direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction.

7 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , wherein the first unit cell has at least an auxetic state and/or a non-auxetic state.

8 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , wherein the first unit cell has at least a positive state with a positive Poisson's ratio, a zero state with a zero Poisson's ratio, a negative state with a negative Poisson's ratio, and/or a shear state with the zero Poisson's ratio.

9 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , wherein the connecting joints are formed of a compliant material.

10 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , wherein the elements are formed of a noncompliant material.

11 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , further comprising a global force applying device configured to apply a global force to the reprogrammable structure.

12 . The reprogrammable system of claim 11 , wherein the global force has a compressive force and/or an extending force.

13 . The reprogrammable system of claim 1 , wherein the reprogrammable structure has an extended state and a compressed state.

14 . The reprogrammable system of claim 13 , wherein the reprogrammable structure is configured to be programmed when the reprogrammable structure is in the extended state.

15 . The reprogrammable system of claim 13 , wherein the first side is further configured to display a profile when the reprogrammable structure is in the compressed state.

16 . A method for controlling the reprogrammable system of any one of claims 1 - 15 , the method comprising:
encoding the reprogrammable structure by calculating a system matrix based on a desired profile to be displayed, wherein the system matrix has joint values for connecting joints, and wherein an individual joint value defines an angle between two elements connected by an individual connecting joint; programming the reprogrammable structure by biasing the connecting joints based on the system matrix; and expressing the desired profile via the first side in the first direction by applying a global force to the reprogrammable structure.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the global force is a compressive force.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
applying an extending force to the reprogrammable structure; and reprograming the reprogrammable structure by repeating the operations of claim 17 .

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein applying a global force to the reprogrammable structure comprises determining a magnitude of the global force.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the global force is in a third direction, the third direction being substantially perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

21 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the global force is between 0 Newton (N) non-inclusive and 0.7 N inclusive.

22 . The method of claim 16 , wherein encoding the reprogrammable structure further comprises slicing the desired profile into coordinate points.

23 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the desired profile comprises a binary pattern.

24 . The method of claim 16 , wherein biasing the connecting joints comprises controlling an individual actuator to actuate an individual connecting joint to which the individual actuator coupled, to bias the individual connecting joint.

25 . The method of claim 16 , wherein biasing the connecting joints comprises inserting an individual biasing block into an individual connecting joint.

26 . A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions executable by one or more processors, that when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform acts for controlling the reprogrammable system of any one of claims 1 - 15 , the acts comprising:
encoding the reprogrammable structure by calculating a system matrix based on a desired profile to be displayed, wherein the system matrix has joint values for connecting joints, and wherein an individual joint value defines an angle between two elements connected by an individual connecting joint; programming the reprogrammable structure by biasing the connecting joints based on the system matrix; and expressing the desired profile via the first side in the first direction by applying a global force to the reprogrammable structure.

Assignees

• Univ Washington

Inventors

• Lipton Jeffrey
• Thomas Sawyer

Classifications

• G06F30/23 Primary

  using finite element methods [FEM] or finite difference methods [FDM] · CPC title

• G06F30/17

  Mechanical parametric or variational design · CPC title

• F03G7/061 Primary

  characterised by the actuating element · CPC title