Claims
- 1. An apparatus for clamping a workpiece comprising:
- a base,
- an actuator mounted onto said base and cooperatively engaging a clamping member having a clamping head and a clamping arm to move said clamping member between a clamped position wherein said workpiece is held by said clamping head in a clamped state with respect to said base and an unclamped position wherein said workpiece is removeable from said apparatus, and
- said actuator including a shape memory alloy adapted to return to its substantially original shape when heated.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said clamping member includes a super elastic alloy.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said actuator further includes a controlled heat source to apply heat to said shape memory alloy for moving said clamping member.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said clamped position when said heat is applied.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said unclamped position when said heat is applied.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said heat source includes a heating mechanism selected from the group consisting of electrical resistance heating, fluid heat exchange heating, chemical reaction heating, convection heating, and radiation heating.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said shape memory alloy includes nickel and titanium.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said clamping member is releasably attached to said actuator.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said shape memory alloy includes nickel and titanium.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said actuator further includes a controlled heat source to apply heat to said shape memory alloy for moving said clamping member.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said clamped position when said heat is applied.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said unclamped position when said heat is applied.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said clamping member is releasably attached to said actuator.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said clamping member is releasably attached to said actuator.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said heat source includes a heating mechanism selected from the group consisting of electrical resistance heating, fluid heat exchange heating, chemical reaction heating, convection heating, and radiation heating.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said shape memory alloy includes nickel and titanium.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said clamped position when said actuator is heated.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said unclamped position when said actuator is heated.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said shape memory alloy includes nickel and titanium.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said clamping member is releasably attached to said actuator.
- 21. A clamping device for clamping a workpiece comprising:
- a base,
- an actuator mounted onto said base and cooperatively engaging a clamping member having a clamping head and a clamping arm to move said clamping member between a clamped position wherein said workpiece is held by said clamping head in a substantially fixed position relative to said base and an unclamped position wherein said workpiece is removeable from said clamping device, and
- said actuator including an alloy exhibiting shape memory characteristics in response to applied heat and adapted to return to its substantially original shape when heated.
- 22. The clamping device of claim 21, wherein said clamping member includes an alloy exhibiting super elastic characteristics and adapted to return to its substantially original shape upon removal of applied deformation forces.
- 23. The clamping device of claim 22, wherein said actuator moves said clamping device toward said clamped position when heated.
- 24. The clamping device of claim 22, wherein said actuator moves said clamping device toward said unclamped position when heated.
- 25. The clamping device of claim 22, wherein said actuator includes nickel and titanium.
- 26. The clamping device of claim 21, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said clamped position when heated.
- 27. The clamping device of claim 21, wherein said actuator moves said clamping member toward said unclamped position when heated.
- 28. The clamping device of claim 21, wherein said actuator includes nickel and titanium.
- 29. A clamping device for frictional clamping of a workpiece comprising a clamp body clamp, element secured to said clamp body, said clamp element having a clamp head and a clamp arm adapted to engage and secure said workpiece and a shape memory alloy adapted to cause said clamp element to move when said shape memory alloy is heated, said clamp element including a flexible metal material component.
- 30. The clamping device as defined in claim 29, wherein said shape memory alloy causes said clamp element to move into said clamped state upon heating said shape memory alloy.
- 31. The clamping device as defined in claim 30, wherein said flexible metal material component includes a super elastic alloy.
- 32. The clamping device as defined in claim 31, wherein said clamp element and said flexible metal material are positioned at least partially adjacent to one another.
- 33. The clamping device as defined in claim 32, wherein said super elastic alloy is naturally oriented in a clamped position.
- 34. The clamping device as defined in claim 32, wherein said super elastic alloy is naturally oriented in an unclamped position.
- 35. The clamping device as define din claim 29, wherein said shape memory alloy causes said clamp element to move into an unclamped state upon heating said shape memory alloy.
- 36. The clamping device as defined in claim 35, wherein said flexible metal material component includes a super elastic alloy.
- 37. The clamping device as defined in claim 36, wherein said clamp element and said flexible metal material are positioned at least partially adjacent to one another.
- 38. The clamping device as defined in claim 37, wherein said super elastic alloy is naturally oriented in a clamped position.
- 39. The clamping device as defined in claim 37, wherein said super elastic alloy is naturally oriented in an unclamped position.
- 40. The clamping device as defined in claim 29, wherein said flexible metal material component includes a super elastic alloy.
- 41. The clamping device as defined in claim 40, wherein said super elastic alloy is naturally oriented in a clamped position.
- 42. The clamping device as defined in claim 40, wherein said super elastic alloy is naturally oriented in an unclamped position.
- 43. The clamping device as defined in claim 29, wherein said clamp element and said flexible metal material are positioned at least partially adjacent to one another.
- 44. The clamping device as defined in claim 29, including a heating mechanism to heat said shape memory alloy.
- 45. The clamping device as defined in claim 44, wherein said heating mechanism includes electrical resistance heating, fluid heat exchange heating, chemical reaction heating, thermal heating and combinations thereof.
- 46. A clamping device for frictional clamping of a workpiece comprising a clamp element having a clamp head and a clamp arm adapted to frictionally clamp the workpiece and a first and a second shape memory alloy adapted to move said claim element when at least one of said shape memory alloys is heated, said first shape memory alloy adapted to move said clamp head into a clamped position upon being heated, said second shape memory alloy adapted to move said clamp head into an unclamped position upon being heated.
- 47. The clamping device as defined in claim 46, wherein said first shape memory alloy applies an opposing force to said second shape memory alloy.
- 48. The clamping device as defined in claim 47, wherein said first shape memory alloy applies a greater force than said second shape memory alloy when both shape memory alloys are in an unheated state.
- 49. The clamping device as defined in claim 47, wherein said second shape memory alloy applies a greater force than said first shape memory alloy when both shape memory alloys are in an unheated state.
- 50. The clamping device as defined in claim 46, wherein said first shape memory alloy applies a greater force than said second shape memory alloy when both shape memory alloys are in an unheated state.
- 51. The clamping device as defined in claim 46, wherein said second shape memory alloy applies a greater force than said first shape memory alloy when both shape memory alloys are in an unheated state.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/027,533, filed on Oct. 7, 1996. This application is a divisional of U.S. Utility Application Ser. No. 08/925,449, filed on Sep. 8, 1997, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/027,533, filed on Oct. 7, 1996.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
59-187470 |
Oct 1984 |
JPX |
5-67434 |
Sep 1993 |
JPX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
925449 |
Sep 1997 |
|