Soft actuators with twisted coiled polymer actuators
AssigneesToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYuyang Song, Shinnosuke Shimokawa, Danil V. Prokhorov, Umesh N. Gandhi
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Abstract
A soft actuator includes an origami structure with an inflatable hollow body formed from at least one of Dyneema fabric or Kevlar fabric, and a plurality of TCPAs formed from at least one of polyethylene terephthalate, spandex, and nylon. The soft actuator also includes a plurality of heating wires disposed on the plurality of TCPAs and a controller configured to selectively heat the plurality of heating wires such that the plurality of TCPAs are selectively actuated by being heated by the plurality of heating wires.
Claims20
A soft actuator, comprising:
- an origami structure comprising a woven fabric forming a hollow body with a plurality of protruding vertices between a plurality of folds, wherein inflation of the hollow body creates an inflated origami structure;
- and
- a twisted coiled polymer actuator (TCPA) attached directly to the woven fabric and disposed on one or more of the plurality of protruding vertices of the origami structure such that actuation of the TCPA manipulates the inflated origami structure.
A soft actuator, comprising:
- an origami structure comprising a hollow body with a plurality of protruding vertices between a plurality of folds, the hollow body being formed from a woven fabric selected from Dyneema fabric or Kevlar fabric;
- and
- a twisted coiled polymer actuator (TCPA) attached directly to the woven fabric and disposed on one or more of the protruding vertices between the plurality of folds of the origami structure, wherein inflation of the hollow body creates an inflated origami structure and actuation of the TCPA via a change in temperature manipulates inflation of the origami structure.
A soft actuator, comprising:
- an origami structure comprising a woven fabric forming an inflatable hollow body with a plurality of protruding vertices between a plurality of folds, the inflatable hollow body being formed from at least one of Dyneema fabric or Kevlar fabric;
- a plurality of twisted coiled polymer actuators (TCPAs) formed from at least one of polyethylene terephthalate, spandex, and nylon, the plurality of TCPAs attached directly to the woven fabric and at least one of the plurality of TCPAs being disposed on one or more of the plurality of protruding vertices of the origami structure;
- a plurality of heating wires disposed on the plurality of TCPAs;
- and
- a controller configured to selectively heat the plurality of heating wires such that the plurality of TCPAs are selectively actuated by being heated by the plurality of heating wires.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.