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. 05, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 24, 2001
Gregory R. Brotz, Sheboygan, WI (US);
Other;
Abstract
A multijunction thermoelectric actuator comprising a composite of a plurality of serially connected alternating electrically conducting material strips, P and N type semiconductors, for example, which actuator is operated by the passage of an electrical current across the composite and the connections or junctions of such strips. Depending upon the direction of flow of the current, a cooling effect takes place on one side of the composite or the other, and simultaneously a heating effect takes place on the other side causing the composite to bend toward the heated side. The strips can be constructed so as to overlap the adjacent strips and a programmable power supply can be used to provide different levels of electrical power at various positions along the composite yielding complex and controllable bending patterns of the actuator.