Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Jillian M Jakubiec

Michael Paul Rowe

Shardul S Panwar

Madison B Emmett

A suction device including a casing having a central post extending through the casing. A flexible member is provided across a free end of the central post. One or more artificial muscles are housed within the casing and encircle the central post, each artificial muscle including a housing having a first wall and a second wall opposite the first wall. The housing having an electrode region adjacent an expandable fluid region, a dielectric fluid housed within the housing, and an electrode pair housed within the electrode region of the housing. The electrode pair includes a first electrode coupled to the first wall and a second electrode coupled to the second wall. The electrode pair is actuatable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state such that actuation from the non-actuated state to the actuated state directs the dielectric fluid into the expandable fluid region and deforms the flexible member to form a suction area at the free end of the central post.

Suction devices having artificial muscles

A programmable texture surface including one or more artificial muscles is provided. Each artificial muscle includes a housing having a first wall opposite a second wall and an electrode region adjacent an expandable fluid region. One or both of the first wall and the second wall include an interior tapered portion within the electrode region. A dielectric fluid is housed within the housing and an electrode pair is housed within the electrode region of the housing. The electrode pair includes a first electrode coupled to the first wall and a second electrode coupled to the second wall, such that at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode is coupled to the interior tapered portion. The electrode pair is actuatable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state such that actuation from the non-actuated state to the actuated state directs the dielectric fluid into the expandable fluid region.

Programmable texture surfaces having artificial muscles

An actuator includes a first enclosure, a dielectric fluid in the first enclosure, and a second enclosure in fluid communication with the first enclosure. An elastic membrane defines at least a portion of the second enclosure. A first electrical conductor is positioned along a first side of the first enclosure. A second electrical conductor is positioned along a second side of the first enclosure opposite the first side. The second conductor is spaced apart from the first conductor. The conductors are connected to a power source. Application of electrical energy to the first and second conductors produces an attractive force between the conductors. Motion of the conductors toward each other pressurizes the dielectric fluid so as to force the dielectric fluid to flow from the first enclosure into the second enclosure. The flow of the dielectric fluid exerts a force on the elastic membrane which expands the elastic membrane.

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Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States of America

Jillian M Jakubiec