Latching device for electro-mechanical actuators

Abstract

A latching device including a reversibly rotatable drive gear, a reversibly rotatable driven gear meshing with the drive gear, and a cantilever including a latching gear meshing with one of either the drive gear or the driven gear. The cantilever includes an electrically distortable polymeric material configured to distort in response to an applied current to position the latching gear in an intermeshing relationship with both the drive gear and the driven gear, such that the drive gear, driven gear, and latching gear selectively prevent rotational motion of the gear assembly in a predetermined direction. Also, an electromechanical brake assembly including a rotary motor and the latching device, where the gear assembly selectively prevents rotational motion of the rotary motor in a brake-disengaging direction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.