US 5,250,167 AGranted

Electrically controlled polymeric gel actuators

AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy

InventorsDouglas B. Adolf, Mohsen Shahinpoor, Daniel J. Segalman, Walter R. Witkowski

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Abstract

Electrically controlled polymeric gel actuators or synthetic muscles capable of undergoing substantial expansion and contraction when subjected to changing pH environments, temperature, or solvent. The actuators employ compliant containers for the gels and their solvents. The gels employed may be cylindrical electromechanical gel fibers such as polyacrylamide fibers or a mixture of poly vinyl alcohol-polyacrylic acid arranged in a parallel aggregate and contained in an electrolytic solvent bath such as salt water. The invention includes smart, electrically activated devices exploiting this phenomenon. These devices are capable of being manipulated via active computer control as large displacement actuators for use in adaptive structure such as robots.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A polymeric gel actuator comprising:

fluid containment means for containment of an electrolytic solution;
an electrolytic solution within said containment means;
a first ionizable polymeric gel element disposed within said electrolytic solution;
means for introducing electric current through said solution, said means having an anode and a cathode;
and
means for converting translation of at least a portion of said polymeric gel element into mechanical movement external to said fluid containment means;
whereby, upon introduction of electric current through said solution, ions are formed therein which act upon said first polymeric gel element causing a change of dimensions of said polymeric gel element resulting in translation of said portion of said first polymeric gel element relative to another portion of said first polymeric gel element.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.