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:
Dec. 05, 2006
Filed:
Jul. 15, 2004
Charles Dale Oakley, Davison, MI (US);
Rick Daniel Kerr, Fenton, MI (US);
Giulio Angel Ricci-ottati, Burton, MI (US);
Russell Harmon Bosch, Gaines, MI (US);
Hermann Breitbach, Crauthem, LU;
Manfred Kolkman, Messancy, BE;
Charles Dale Oakley, Davison, MI (US);
Rick Daniel Kerr, Fenton, MI (US);
Giulio Angel Ricci-Ottati, Burton, MI (US);
Russell Harmon Bosch, Gaines, MI (US);
Hermann Breitbach, Crauthem, LU;
Manfred Kolkman, Messancy, BE;
Delphi Technologies, Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
An actuator includes a piezoelectric stack within a housing that applies a compressive load to the stack. The housing may include a cylindrical tube closed at one end and may seal the stack against fluid pressure. The housing may be shorter than the length of the piezoelectric stack and may include resilient means for inducing elastic strain in the stack. The resilient means may include one or more slots extending around the circumference of the housing and/or a corrugated region of the housing to form a tension spring at a lower end of the housing. The tension spring may then serve to draw the stack into compression. The stack may include a plurality of layers of piezoelectric or piezoceramic material interspersed with a plurality of layers of electrically conductive material and connecting means for connecting the layers to a source of electrical power.