Patent ID: 6933662

Claim:
A system for a recurve actuator, the system comprising: a first electrode layer including a first electrode section, a second electrode section, and a third electrode section, the second electrode section being intermediate the first and third electrode sections; a second electrode layer including a fourth electrode section, the fourth electrode section being arranged to overlap the first, second, and third electrode sections; a first electrostrictive material configured to change length in response to an applied electrical field, the first electrostrictive material being positioned between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, the first electrostrictive material having a first length adjoining the first electrode section, a second length adjoining the second electrode section, and a third length adjoining the third electrode section; a third electrode layer including a fifth electrode section, a sixth electrode section, and a seventh electrode section, the sixth electrode section being intermediate the fifth and seventh electrode sections, the fifth, sixth, and seventh electrode sections being arranged to overlap the first, second, and third electrode sections, respectively; and a second electrostrictive material configured to change length in response to an applied electrical field, the second electrostrictive material being positioned between the second electrode layer and the third electrode layer, the second electrostrictive material having a fourth length adjoining the fifth electrode section, a fifth length adjoining the sixth electrode section, and a sixth length adjoining the seventh electrode section, the second electrostrictive material and the first electrostrictive material being attached to each other such that at least one differential change in the first length and the fourth length, the second length and the fifth length, and the third length and the sixth length, results in a lateral motion of the first electrostrictive material and the second electrostrictive material.