Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20060238066?dq=6011510
Timestamp: 2017-10-18 13:32:59
Document Index: 639017083

Matched Legal Cases: ['§120', '§119', 'Application No. 60', '§119', 'Application No. 60', '§119', 'Application No. 60', '§119', 'Application No. 60', '§119', 'Application No. 60', '§119', 'Application No. 60', '§119', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US20060238066 - Electroactive polymer generators - Google Patents
The present invention relates to transducers, their use and fabrication. The transducers convert between mechanical and electrical energy. Some transducers of the present invention include a pre-strained polymer. The pre-strain improves the conversion between electrical and mechanical energy. The present...http://www.google.com/patents/US20060238066?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20060238066 - Electroactive polymer generators
Publication number US20060238066 A1
Application number US 11/339,078
Also published as DE60037433D1, DE60037433T2, EP1212800A1, EP1212800A4, EP1212800B1, US7034432, US7368862, WO2001006575A1
Publication number 11339078, 339078, US 2006/0238066 A1, US 2006/238066 A1, US 20060238066 A1, US 20060238066A1, US 2006238066 A1, US 2006238066A1, US-A1-20060238066, US-A1-2006238066, US2006/0238066A1, US2006/238066A1, US20060238066 A1, US20060238066A1, US2006238066 A1, US2006238066A1
Inventors Ronald Pelrine, Roy Kornbluh, Pablo Garcia, Joseph Eckerle
Patent Citations (40), Referenced by (51), Classifications (47), Legal Events (2)
US 20060238066 A1
applying a voltage difference between the two electrodes;
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the voltage difference applied between the two electrodes is not large enough to cause the electroactive polymer to mechanically deflect.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein electrostatic forces, resulting from the voltage difference applied between the two electrodes, are insufficient to balance elastic restoring forces of the deflection.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the area between the electrodes before the mechanical deflection occurs in a resting position of the transducer that has no external electrical or mechanical input applied to the polymer.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the resting position includes pre-strain in the polymer.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the polymer is pre-strained by a factor in the range of about 1.5 to about 50 times an original area of the polymer prior to the pre-strain.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the polymer comprises pre-strain in a first direction that improves energy conversion in a second direction.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the contraction separates the electrodes and raises electrical energy of the voltage difference on the electrodes.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein a like charge within each electrode compresses during the contraction, which raises electrical energy of the charge.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrical energy is removed using an electronic circuit in electrical communication with the electrodes.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrical energy is removed from the electrodes when the electroactive polymer transducer has fully contracted.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein electrical energy is removed from the electrodes during contraction of the electroactive polymer transducer.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is capable of a maximum linear strain of at least about 50 percent.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the mechanically contraction at least partially results from elastic return of the electroactive polymer.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the contraction is a contraction in one direction of a plane of the electroactive polymer.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the electroactive polymer has a substantially constant thickness before deflection and the deflection comprises a decrease in the substantially constant thickness.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein the electroactive polymer has an elastic modulus at most about 100 MPa.
18. A method of converting mechanical energy to electrical energy using an electroactive polymer transducer that includes an electroactive polymer and two electrodes on opposite surfaces of the polymer, the method comprising:
19. The method of claim 18 wherein electrostatic forces, resulting from the voltage difference applied between the two electrodes, are insufficient to balance elastic restoring forces of the stretch.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein a like charge within each electrode compresses during the contraction, which raises electrical energy of the charge.
This application claims priority under U.S.C. §120 from co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/619,848, filed Jul. 20, 2000 and entitled, “ELECTROACTIVE POLYMER GENERATORS”; this patent application is incorporated herein for all purposes and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/144,556 filed Jul. 20, 1999, naming R. E. Pelrine et al. as inventors, and titled “High-speed Electrically Actuated Polymers and Method of Use”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes; it also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/153,329 filed Sep. 10, 1999, naming R. E. Pelrine et al. as inventors, and titled “Electrostrictive Polymers As Microactuators”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes; it also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/161,325 filed Oct. 25, 1999, naming R. E. Pelrine et al. as inventors, and titled “Artificial Muscle Microactuators”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes; it also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/181,404 filed Feb. 9, 2000, naming R. D. Kornbluh et al. as inventors, and titled “Field Actuated Elastomeric Polymers”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes; it also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/187,809 filed Mar. 8, 2000, naming R. E. Pelrine et al. as inventors, and titled “Polymer Actuators and Materials”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes; and it also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/192,237 filed Mar. 27, 2000, naming R. D. Kornbluh et al. as inventors, and titled “Polymer Actuators and Materials II”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes; it also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/184,217 filed Feb. 23, 2000, naming R. E. Pelrine et al. as inventors, and titled “Electroelastomers and their use for Power Generation”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. This application cross references U.S. patent application entitled “Elastomeric Dielectric Polymer Film Sonic Actuator” naming R. E. Pelrine et al. as inventors, filed on Jul. 19, 1999 (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/356,801), which claims priority from PCT/US98/02311 filed Feb. 2, 1998, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/037,400 filed Feb. 7, 1997, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
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U.S. Classification 310/309, 381/191, 310/330
International Classification F25B9/14, F04B35/04, F04B43/04, F04B9/00, F04B35/00, H02N1/00, H04R25/00, F02G1/043, H01L41/08, H04R23/00, H01L41/193, H04R19/02, H01L41/113, H01L41/09, H02N11/00
Cooperative Classification F04B35/00, H01L41/1138, H01L41/094, F04B43/043, F04B35/045, H04R19/02, H02N2/023, H04R23/00, H01L41/193, F02G2243/52, F05C2225/08, F25B9/14, H02N11/006, F02G1/043, H01L41/0973, H01L41/0986, Y10S310/80
European Classification H01L41/113M, H01L41/09L, H01L41/09G2B, H02N2/02B2, H01L41/09G4, F04B43/04M, F04B35/00, F04B35/04S, F02G1/043, H04R19/02, H02N11/00C, H01L41/193