The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 06, 2022
Filed:
Apr. 30, 2021
Bürkert Werke Gmbh & Co. KG, Ingelfingen, DE;
Ecole Polytechnique Federale DE Lausanne (Epfl), Lausanne, CH;
Herbert Rudolf Shea, Lausanne, CH;
Fabio Beco Albuquerque, Lausanne, CH;
Bürkert Werke GmbH & Co. KG, Ingelfingen, DE;
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL), Lausanne, CH;
Abstract
An actuator () comprises at least one actuator body () of dielectric elastomeric material and two electrodes () being attached to opposite surfaces of the actuator body (), respectively. At least one of the actuator body () and at least one of the electrodes () is at least partly covered at its outer side with a protective layer () of polymer material, wherein a mechanical stiffness of the protective layer () is at least three times lower than a mechanical stiffness of the actuator body (). Moreover, a valve actuator unit comprises such an actuator () and a housing, wherein the actuator () is arranged within the housing and the remainder of the housing is filled with a gas. Additionally, a valve comprises such a valve actuator unit and a valve element, wherein the valve element is movable by the valve actuator unit.