University of Washington

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Yasuo Kuga

Minoru Taya

Robert Yuanchang Liang

John W Rockway

John D Rockway

Chunye Xu

Jin Wang

Charles Manry

Akira Ishimaru

An electroactive polymer is used to produce a tactile sensor. The electroactive polymer (EAP) includes a sheet of an ion-exchange membrane having opposite surfaces on which are plated gold electrodes. The EAP is formed to have a dome-shape with a plurality of sensing electrodes circumferentially disposed around an outer surface of the dome. A flexible polymer underlying the EAP supports it and prevents a force applied to the tactile sensor from inverting the dome. The sensor electrodes produce separate output signals indicative of different vector components of an applied force acting on the tactile sensor, so that a direction of the force can be determined. Vias provided in the electrodes are electrically coupled to a flexible circuit that conveys the output signals externally from the sensing electrodes for use and further processing. A plurality of the tactile sensors can be formed as an array on an ion-exchange membrane.

Tactile sensors

A membrane actuator includes a magnetically actuatable membrane and a magnetic trigger. The membrane includes a shape memory alloy (SMA), and the magnetic trigger is configured to induce a martensitic transformation in the SMA, to produce a larger force than would be achievable with non-SMA-based materials. Such a membrane actuator can be beneficially incorporated into a wide variety of devices, including fluid pumps, shock absorbing systems, and synthetic jet producing devices for use in an aircraft. The membrane/diaphragm can be formed from a ferromagnetic SMA, or a ferromagnetic material can be coupled with an SMA such that the SMA and the ferromagnetic material move together. A hybrid magnetic trigger, including a permanent magnet and an electromagnet, is preferably used for the magnetic trigger, as hybrid magnetic triggers are easy to control, and produce larger magnetic gradients than permanent magnets or electromagnets alone.

Membrane actuator based on ferromagnetic shape memory alloy composite for synthetic jet actuator

A resonance confocal imaging of resonance control points method and system. The method includes receiving a far-field scattered response from a structure. The method further includes determining resonant frequencies from said far-field scattered response. Then, determining resonant control points of said structure from said far-field scattered response at the resonant frequencies.

Resonance confocal imaging of resonance control points

Design of membrane actuator based on ferromagnetic shape memory alloy composite for synthetic jet actuator

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Yasuo Kuga