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:
Jul. 04, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 07, 1998
Applicant:
Inventors:
Ian W Hunter, Lincoln, MA (US);
Serge R Lafontaine, Lincoln, MA (US);
John D Madden, Somerville, MA (US);
Assignee:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H02K / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
310 20 ; 310367 ; 310369 ;
Abstract
A rotary actuator for applying torque to a crank with respect to a member. The rotary actuator has a substantially planar sheet of anisotropic conducting polymer, portions of which are activated in temporal sequence to produce rotation of the crank with respect to the axis of the crank. Actuation is achieved by contraction of successive portions of the sheet as electrical current causes differential strain in the sheet.