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US 10,946,599 B2Granted
Method relating to phase change composite bimorphs
AssigneeGenuine Ideas, LLC
InventorGreg E. Blonder
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method bilayer composite thin-film beam structure is described. The structure incorporates a bulk phase change material as small inclusions in one layer of a bimorph. The structure, also referred to as a “phase change composite bimorph” or “PCBM”, curls abruptly, and reversibly, at a phase transition temperature. Large curling and effective expansion coefficients are demonstrated. The PCBMs may be employed in various self-assembly mechanisms and actuators.
Claims11
A method comprising:
- encapsulating at least a portion of a phase-change component in one or more microsphere shells to produce a plurality of encapsulated phase-change component inclusions;
- incorporating the plurality of encapsulated phase-change component inclusions into a matrix;
- and
- forming a bilayer comprising a first layer and a second layer, wherein the second layer comprises the matrix comprising the encapsulated phase-change component inclusions, and wherein a curvature of the bilayer changes in response to the encapsulated phase-change component inclusions reaching a transition temperature.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.