ELASTOMER ACTUATOR AND A METHOD OF MAKING AN ACTUATOR
First Claim
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1. An actuator comprising:
- a tubular portion extending in a longitudinal direction, the tubular portion comprising a body of an elastomeric material arranged between two electrodes, wherein cross-section of the tubular portion is asymmetrical.
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Abstract
A tubular elastomer actuator with a shape in a cross-sectional view which shape exposes at most one single axis of symmetry of a specific length, e.g., an oval shape. The actuator could be made from a sheet made from a plurality of plate shaped elements which are laminated together and rolled. Each plate shaped element may have a corrugation that gives the element an anisotropic structure, and contains an electrode on only one surface. The actuator displacement is the result of shrinkage displacement of the plate shaped elements upon the application of electrical field across their thickness.
29 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An actuator comprising:
a tubular portion extending in a longitudinal direction, the tubular portion comprising a body of an elastomeric material arranged between two electrodes, wherein cross-section of the tubular portion is asymmetrical. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An actuator comprising:
an elastomeric material arranged between two electrodes forming a tubular portion extending in a longitudinal direction and having a cross-section, wherein the cross-section of the tubular portion is asymmetrical. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An actuator comprising:
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a tubular portion extending in a longitudinal direction, the tubular portion comprising a body of an elastomeric material arranged between two electrodes, wherein any line of symmetry extending between two opposite points on a periphery in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction has a length which is different from any other such line of symmetry, and wherein the elastomeric material has at least one corrugated surface that is molded.
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Specification