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:
Mar. 01, 2016
Filed:
Jun. 25, 2014
U.s. Army Research Laboratory Attn: Rdrl-loc-i, Adelphi, MD (US);
Christopher J. Morris, Silver Spring, MD (US);
Kate E. Malachowski, Silver Spring, MD (US);
David H. Gracias, Baltimore, MD (US);
Madan Dubey, South River, NJ (US);
The Uniteed States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
According to embodiments, an optically-actuated mechanical device comprises at least one deformable section formed of: an element including an intrinsic stress differential or gradient, the stress tending to urge deformation of one portion relative to another portion; and an optically-sensitive material which is configured to (i) initially prevent deformation of the device, and (ii) upon sufficient heating by absorbing optical energy allows the element to deform. The devices may be incorporated into various devices and apparatuses for select, non-contact actuation using only optical energy, for example, via light, from one or more lasers. Methods for fabricating and actuating such devices are also disclosed.