A. Raymond Et Cie

A. Raymond & Cie

Other

Itt Corporation

Walter B Pipp, Jr

Nicholas Jackson, Jr

Todd Lawrence Hemingway

Jason F Reznar

Todd William Murray

William Teller

Anthony K Carman

Michael R Danby

Dorian J Kilgore

Elio Evangelista

Jimmy Voniez

A rotary actuator includes a plurality of plate members stacked and coupled together for rotation relative to each other. A biasing member provides a biasing force tending to cause a rotatable end plate member to rotate in a biasing direction relative to a non-rotatable end plate member. Each plate member has a plurality of notches at its periphery. A SMA wire extends through the plurality of notches so that as the SMA wire is heated, the SMA wire rotates each rotatable plate member from a cold position in a direction opposite the biasing direction to a hot position. As the SMA wire cools, the biasing member rotates each rotatable plate member in the biasing direction from the hot position and returns each rotatable plate member to the cold position.

Latch with rotary SMA actuator

A fastener is provided. In another aspect, a fastener is made of layers of material, a light curable material and/or multiple built-up materials. Another aspect uses a three-dimensional printing machine to emit material from an ink jet printing head to build up a fastener.

Method of making fasteners by three-dimensional printing

A smart material actuated fastener is provided. In another aspect, a fastener includes a shape memory material and a non-shape memory material with the shape memory material being a minority of the total fastener materials. A further aspect provides a fastener having workpiece-engaging surfaces made of an inactive and non-shape memory material.

Smart material actuated fasteners

A component is provided that includes at least one passageway. In another aspect, a component, such as a lamp or a vehicular washer jet, is made of layers of material, a light curable material and/or multiple built-up materials. Another aspect uses a three-dimensional printing machine to emit material from an ink jet printing head to build up a component.

Process of making a component with a passageway

Roof clamps and methods of securing roof clamps are provided. The roof clamps include a saddle, a wedge, and a securing member. The securing member facilitates engaging a seam of a roof with the clamp and removably fixing the roof clamp to the seam through the camming action of the wedge against a region of the saddle. The securing member also serves as the connection point for an auxiliary item, such as a solar panel or a snow guard. The placement of the securing member allows the roof clamp to be secured from, and the auxiliary item to be attached at, a top surface of the saddle.

Roof clamp

A flexible drive cable assembly includes a flexible elongated outer sheath enclosing a flexible elongated inner drive shaft. The drive shaft is connected to a driving element, such as a motor at one end, and to a driven element, such as a transmission at the opposite end. The flexible outer sheath is connected to the housing of the driving element at one end, and to the housing of the driven element at the opposite end, such that the outer sheath is held stationary in the longitudinal direction with respect to the inner drive shaft and the two housings. The outer sheath is connected to the housing by an end fitting. The end fitting includes an elongated connector extending outwardly from the housing to an outer end. The connector has a longitudinally extending aperture for passage of a coupling end of the inner drive shaft for connection to the element disposed within the housing. The connector also includes at least one radially extending projection for engaging an inner surface of the outer sheath to hold the outer sheath stationary in the longitudinal direction with respect to the housing.

Growing community of inventors

Birmingham, MI, United States of America

Walter B Pipp, Jr