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:
Mar. 04, 2025
Filed:
Dec. 28, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US);
Michael Paul Rowe, Pinckney, MI (US);
Brian J. Pinkelman, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Yufei Zhu, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Frederick William Mau, II, McKinney, TX (US);
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US);
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota, JP;
Abstract
An actuator can include an outer body. At least a portion of the outer body can be configured to pivot. The actuator can include a contracting member, such as a shape memory material member. When an activation input is provided to the contracting member, the contracting member can contract. As a result, the actuator can be caused to morph into an activated configuration in which a dimension, such as the height, of the actuator increases.