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:
May. 09, 2023
Filed:
Oct. 29, 2019
Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (US);
The Government of the United States of America, As Represented BY the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Xaiobo Tan, Okemos, MI (US);
Thassyo Da Silva Pinto, East Lansing, MI (US);
Demetris Coleman, East Lansing, MI (US);
Weilin Hou, Slidell, LA (US);
Silvia Matt, Carriere, MS (US);
Sergio Restaino, Alexandria, VA (US);
Freddie Santiago, Fort Washington, MD (US);
Hongyang Shi, East Lansing, MI (US);
The Government of the USA represented by the Sec. of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (US);
Abstract
An apparatus including a controllable fluid-contacting surface is provided. In another aspect, the present apparatus includes a flexible membrane and multiple actuators each having an output shaft or activation member coupled to a water-contacting membrane, with the shafts extending in a direction offset from the nominal outer surface of the membrane. A further aspect of the present apparatus includes an underwater vessel including a propulsion source, a flexible membrane having a water-contacting outer surface and an electronic controller including programmable software for actuating the actuators.