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. 01, 2026
Filed:
Jun. 28, 2024
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US);
Xintong Deng, Plymouth, MI (US);
Yufei Zhu, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Michael Paul Rowe, Pinckney, MI (US);
Erin Rutledge, Tipton, MI (US);
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US);
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota, JP;
Abstract
A state of a contracting member (e.g., a shape memory material member) in an actuator can be monitored. When activated, the actuator can be configured to morph into an activated configuration in which a dimension of the actuator increases. A sensor can be configured to acquire sensor data. The sensor can be a strain gauge. The contracting member can operatively engage the sensor. One or more processors can be operatively connected to monitor a state of the shape memory material member based on the sensor data.