Dispenser pump using electrically activated material

A pump for dispensing fluid from a fluid reservoir of a dispenser, comprising:

• a pump inlet through which the fluid is received from the fluid reservoir;
• a pumping chamber for storing the fluid received through the inlet;
• a flexible membrane for compressing the pumping chamber when a first voltage is applied to the flexible membrane and decompressing the pumping chamber when a second voltage is applied to the flexible membrane;
• and
• a pump outlet through which the fluid is dispensed when the pumping chamber is compressed.

A method for dispensing a fluid from a dispenser, comprising:

• exerting a pressure on a flexible membrane;
• responsive to receiving a signal to dispense fluid and while exerting the pressure on the flexible membrane, applying a first voltage to the flexible membrane, the first voltage increasing a pliability of the flexible membrane to a level where the pressure on flexible membrane flexes the flexible membrane into a pumping chamber storing the fluid, causing the pumping chamber to compress and push the fluid through a pump outlet;
• and
• applying a second voltage to the flexible membrane while exerting the pressure on the flexible membrane, the second voltage decreasing the pliability of the flexible membrane to a level where the pressure on the flexible membrane does not flex the flexible membrane and the pump chamber decompress.