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:
Nov. 04, 2025
Filed:
Oct. 10, 2024
University of Washington, Seattle, WA (US);
U.s. Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD (US);
Jeffrey Lipton, Seattle, WA (US);
Joshua R. Smith, Seattle, WA (US);
Timothy Amish, Seattle, WA (US);
Jeffrey Auletta, Seattle, WA (US);
Chad Christopher Kessens, Seattle, WA (US);
University of Washington, Seattle, WA (US);
U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD (US);
Abstract
An electrostatic clutch includes a shaft having an electrically conductive first layer. The clutch also includes a hold attachment rotatably coupled to the shaft and a tension band having an electrically conductive second layer. The tension band is wrapped around the shaft such that a first end of the tension band is coupled to the hold attachment. The clutch includes a dielectric material disposed between the first layer and the second layer and a load attachment rotatably coupled to the shaft. The clutch is configured for an engaged mode where a voltage applied between the first layer and the second layer causes the tension band to clasp the shaft and the load attachment and the hold attachment to be rotationally locked to the shaft, and for a disengaged mode where the voltage is absent and the shaft can rotate freely with respect to the load attachment and the hold attachment.