Patent ID: 11891986
Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 16:
17. A method for actuating an artificial muscle device, the method comprising:
providing a voltage using a power supply electrically coupled to an electrode pair of each of a plurality of artificial muscles in an artificial muscle stack, the plurality of artificial muscles disposed on opposite sides of an intermuscular board, wherein:
the plurality of artificial muscles each comprise a housing having an electrode region and an expandable fluid region;
the electrode pair is positioned in the electrode region of the housing;
the electrode pair comprises a first electrode and a second electrode; and
a dielectric fluid is housed within the housing; and

applying the voltage to the electrode pair of each artificial muscle, thereby actuating the electrode pair such that the dielectric fluid is directed into the expandable fluid region of the housing and expands the expandable fluid region, thereby applying pressure to the intermuscular board.