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:
Apr. 22, 2008
Filed:
Nov. 08, 2002
Steven Dubowsky, Boston, MA (US);
Moustapha Hafez, Paris, FR;
Ferenc A. Jolesz, Brookline, MA (US);
Daniel F. Kacher, Allston, MA (US);
Matthew Lichter, Somerville, MA (US);
Peter Weiss, Eichenau, DE;
Andreas Wingert, Baindt, DE;
Steven Dubowsky, Boston, MA (US);
Moustapha Hafez, Paris, FR;
Ferenc A. Jolesz, Brookline, MA (US);
Daniel F. Kacher, Allston, MA (US);
Matthew Lichter, Somerville, MA (US);
Peter Weiss, Eichenau, DE;
Andreas Wingert, Baindt, DE;
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to devices and systems used in magnetic imaging environments that include an actuator device having an elastomeric dielectric film with at least two electrodes, and a frame attached to the actuator device. The frame can have a plurality of configurations including, such as, for example, at least two members that can be, but not limited to, curved beams, rods, plates, or parallel beams. These rigid members can be coupled to flexible members such as, for example, links wherein the frame provides an elastic restoring force. The frame preferably provides a linear actuation force characteristic over a displacement range. The linear actuation force characteristic is defined as ±20% and preferably 10% over a displacement range. The actuator further includes a passive element disposed between the flexible members to tune a stiffness characteristic of the actuator. The passive element can be a bi-stable element. The preferred embodiment actuator includes one or more layers of the elastomeric film integrated into the frame. The elastomeric film can be made of many elastomeric materials such as, for example, but not limited to, acrylic, silicone and latex.