Patent ID: 11965491
Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  B | IPC B  F

Claim 16:
17. A soft actuator, comprising:
an origami structure comprising a woven fabric forming an inflatable hollow body with a plurality of protruding vertices between a plurality of folds, the inflatable hollow body being formed from at least one of Dyneema fabric or Kevlar fabric;
a plurality of twisted coiled polymer actuators (TCPAs) formed from at least one of polyethylene terephthalate, spandex, and nylon, the plurality of TCPAs attached directly to the woven fabric and at least one of the plurality of TCPAs being disposed on one or more of the plurality of protruding vertices of the origami structure;
a plurality of heating wires disposed on the plurality of TCPAs; and
a controller configured to selectively heat the plurality of heating wires such that the plurality of TCPAs are selectively actuated by being heated by the plurality of heating wires.