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AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.
InventorsACHIM HILGERS, DAAN ANTON VAN DEN ENDE
Estimating the term…
An electroactive material actuator and sensor is actuated with an actuation signal having an activation period for charging the actuator and a de-activation period for discharging the actuator. A parallel resistance of the actuator is determined by sensing a steady state current during the activation period and a series capacitance of the actuator is determined based on a charge flow during charging of the actuator at the beginning of the activation period. A series resistance is obtained by controlling a current through the actuator with an oscillating profile so that a phase relationship of the actuator between current and voltage can be measured. An oscillating current sink is used to enable circuit component measurements, which implement sensing functionality.
A device for simultaneous actuation and sensing comprising:
The device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the controller circuit is arranged to determine, from the determined resistances and capacitance, an external force, pressure or temperature at the electroactive material actuator/sensor.
A method for simultaneous actuation and sensing using an electroactive material actuator/sensor, wherein the electroactive material actuator/sensor has an equivalent electrical circuit, wherein the equivalent electrical circuit is a first resistor in parallel with the series combination of a capacitor and a second resistor, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.