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AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorsRyohei Tsuruta, Taewoo Nam, Eric Smith, Umesh N. Gandhi, Deborah Bumgardner
Estimating the term…
A body can be configured to be selectively morphable. The body can be at least partially hollow. The body can include a surface. A shape memory material member, such as a shape memory alloy wire, can extend along the surface. The shape memory material member can include a first region, a second region, and a central region located between the first region and the second region. The first and second regions of the shape memory material member can be constrained on the surface, such as by stitches. The central region of the shape memory material member can be unconstrained on the surface. When activated, the shape memory material member can contact, causing the body to bend in the central region due being constrained in the first and second regions. Thus, the body can be morphed into an activated configuration.
A morphable structure comprising:
A system for morphing a body, the system comprising:
A method of morphing a body, the body including a surface, a shape memory material member extending along the surface, the shape memory material member including a first region and a second region, the shape memory material member including a central region located between the first region and the second region, the first region and in the second region of the shape memory material member being constrained the surface by stitches, the central region of the shape memory material member being unconstrained on the surface, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.