Expansion mediated adhesive device
AssigneeBVW Holding AG
InventorsLukas Bluecher, Michael Milbocker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An adhesive device comprising a microstructure and polymer designed to interdigitate with the surface structure of a target surface. The device may include a microstructure material having an elastomeric, crosslinked polymer which may swell in the presence of a liquid. In the pre-swell state, the device microstructure may interdigitate with a target surface microstructure. When liquid on the target surface contacts the microstructure surface of the device, the liquid may cause the microstructure surface of the device to swell. The swelling may cause the microstructure to grasp the target surface resulting in adhesion between the device and the target surfaces.
Claims18
An expansion mediated adhesion device comprising a substrate, the substrate having a microstructure surface comprising a first microfeature and a second microfeature wherein the second microfeature is arranged hierarchically about the first microfeature, and wherein at least one of the first microfeature or second microfeature is configured to transform from a first conformation to a second conformation due to placement of the substrate in a liquid environment such that the liquid is absorbed to transform the first microfeature and/or the second microfeature, and wherein the first microfeature is swellable and the second microfeature is non swellable or the first microfeature is non swellable and the second microfeature is swellable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.