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:
Aug. 19, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 28, 2001
Heather Shannon Hanson, San Antonio, TX (US);
Joseph Nathan Mitchell, San Antonio, TX (US);
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (US);
Abstract
A thermal actuator includes a first arm having a proximal end and a distal end, a second arm, parallel to the first arm, having a proximal end and a distal end, and a third arm arranged between and parallel to the first and second arms, the third arm having a proximal end and a distal end. The third arm has at least one portion at the distal end of the third arm having a width that is substantially larger than a width of the first arm and a width of the second arm. The distal ends of the first, second and third arms are coupled together to form a distal end of the thermal actuator, and the first, second and third arms preferably are made of a single material. A number of thermal actuators can be arranged in an array. The thermal actuator or array of thermal actuators can be coupled to an applicator.