TWIST COILED POLYMER ACTUATOR INSIDE A SEAT FOR POSITION CONTROL

BACKGROUND

SUMMARY

In one example implementation, a method for using a twisted and coiled polymer fishing line (TCP_FL) actuator may include but is not limited to receiving a TCP_FLactuator, wherein the TCP_FLactuator may be fabricated from a plurality of TCP_FLmuscles. The TCP_FLactuator may be used to adjust a vehicle component.

One or more of the following example features may be included. The TCP_FLactuator may adjust the vehicle component based upon at least one of air temperature and water temperature. Fabricating the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles may include incorporating a resistance wire into the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles. Fabricating the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles may include utilizing at least one of a mandrel coiling process and a thermal annealing process. The vehicular component may include a seat. Synthesizing a PVA solution may include dissolving an amount of PVA in water to create a solution, adding mesoporous C, and NiAg metal mesh powder to the solution, and removing supernatant from the solution. Coating the TCP_FLwith the PVA solution may include placing the TCP_FLin the solution, shaking the TCP_FLin the solution, drying the TCP_FLby placing the TCP_FLin a pre-heated environment for a predetermined amount of time, and crimping the TCP_FL.

In another example implementation, a computer program product may reside on a computer readable storage medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed across one or more processors, may cause at least a portion of the one or more processors to perform operations for using a twisted and coiled polymer fishing line (TCP_FL) actuator that may include but are not limited to receiving a TCP_FLactuator, wherein the TCP_FLactuator may be fabricated from a plurality of TCP_FLmuscles. The TCP_FLactuator may be used to adjust a vehicle component.

In another example implementation, a twisted and coiled polymer fishing line (TCP_FL) actuator for adjusting a vehicle component may include but is not limited to a TCP_FLactuator, wherein the TCP_FLactuator is fabricated from a plurality of TCP_FLmuscles. A vehicle component may be operatively connected to the TCP_FLactuator enabling adjustment of the vehicle component via the TCP_FLactuator.

One or more of the following example features may be included. The TCP_FLactuator may adjust the vehicle component based upon at least one of air temperature and water temperature. Fabricating the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles may include incorporating a resistance wire into the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles. Fabricating the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles may include utilizing a mandrel coiling process. Fabricating the plurality of TCP_FLmuscles may include utilizing a thermal annealing process. Synthesizing a PVA solution may include dissolving an amount of PVA in water to create a solution, adding mesoporous C, and NiAg metal mesh powder to the solution, and removing supernatant from the solution. Coating the TCP_FLwith the PVA solution may include placing the TCP_FLin the solution, shaking the TCP_FLin the solution, drying the TCP_FLby placing the TCP_FLin a pre-heated environment for a predetermined amount of time, and crimping the TCP_FL.

The details of one or more example implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other possible example features and/or possible example advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Some implementations may not have those possible example features and/or possible example advantages, and such possible example features and/or possible example advantages may not necessarily be required of some implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example diagrammatic view of an example mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLaccording to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an example diagrammatic view of an example experimental setup to create the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an example diagrammatic view of a synthesis of mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution preparation according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an example diagrammatic view of a coating process according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an example schematic diagram of the power supply, temperature sensor and the muscle according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an example diagrammatic view of a comparison of power consumed (w) vs Time(s) for coated & non-coated actuator according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an example diagrammatic view of a comparison of strain (% loaded length normalized) vs Time(s) for coated & non-coated actuator according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an example diagrammatic view of a variation of temperature with time according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an example diagrammatic view of a comparison of power consumed (W) vs Time(s) for coated & non-coated actuator according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is an example flowchart of an actuator process according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is an example diagrammatic view of a seat using a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is an example diagrammatic view of parallel mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuators according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is an example diagrammatic view of using hot/cold air to activate a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is an example diagrammatic view of using hot/cold water to activate a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings may indicate like elements.

DESCRIPTION

Efficient and powerful actuation technologies that are biomimetic and compliant are typically required for robotic applications, which might be used for human augmentations or other applications. Twisted and coiled fishing line actuators (TCP_FL) may be used as soft actuators in various robotic applications. However, they have example and non-limiting drawbacks, such as low actuation frequency due to slow cooling, high power consumption and low efficiency. Therefore, as will be discussed in greater detail below, the present disclosure describes example implementations of fabrication and characterization of unique nanomaterial coating, consisting of, at least in part, mesoporous carbon-nickel and silver powder with poly vinyl alcohol (C-NiAg-PVA) for mandrel-coiled twisted and coiled artificial muscles (e.g., from fishing line or other suitable material). The addition of nickel and silver (NiAg) powder in mesoporous carbon nanoparticles may improve thermal contacts and enhances the actuator performance with better dynamic actuation (e.g., ˜25% more actuation) and better cooling for cyclic actuation. Different input currents (e.g., 0.25 A, 0.26 A, 0.27 A) were provided to the coated and non-coated TCP_FL(e.g., 50 mm in length, 3.3 mm in diameter) and it was discovered that the coated actuators consume at least ˜10% less power than the non-coated actuators in air. This discovery shows great benefits for simple nanomaterial coating of carbon-based nanoparticles and metallic nanoparticles to produce high performing electrothermal actuators.

Soft artificial muscles may be used for advanced applications like soft robots (both in air and underwater), orthotics, prosthetics, humanoid robots, wearables, medical devices, etc. This is because traditional actuators like motors and pumps are bulky, noisy and rigid. Hence, it may be beneficial to develop muscle-like actuators that are efficient, have high strain capabilities, high load carrying capacity, dynamic mechanical compliance, and/or high specific energy/power. Most of the metrics depend on the input driver of the actuator. Many actuators are presented like shape memory alloys, cavatappi (pneumatically or hydraulically driven, but in the shape of TCP), pneumatic actuators, electromagnetic actuators, HASEL actuator, thermally actuated twisted and coiled actuators (TCPs), etc.

TCP actuators may be developed from fishing line that lifts 100 times heavier objects than a human muscle with a contractile strain of 49%. This may demonstrate an efficiency of ˜1%, as they wrapped CNT sheets over polyethylene fiber. Generally, thermally-driven actuators are less efficient and consume high power. The reason for this is the low thermal conductivity of polymer fibers. TCPs operate on the principle of Joule heating when an electric current is applied to it. Since the polymer fibers have low thermal conductivity, CNTs have been used to fabricate coiled artificial muscles, which provide large forces with fast tensile actuation, but are difficult to fabricate with technical complexities and high manufacturing costs.

Nanomaterial coating (graphene-based) of TCP has been used to enhance dynamic performance and take advantage of inexpensive polymer fibers. Later, to improve the cycle performance of these actuators, the TCP polymer fibers were spray-coated with Graphene/silver nanoflower hybrid solution. This demonstrated a reduction in total actuation cycle time by 38% and threefold larger peak-to-peak amplitude of the displacement oscillation than non-coated TCP.

“Mesoporous carbon” generally refers to solid-based material, according to International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). They either have ordered or disordered networks with broad or narrow pores distributed in the range of, e.g., 2 to 50 nm. Mesoporous carbon provides good thermostability, high surface area, and large pore-volume, improving its functionality in various applications. Mesopores in carbon improved upon limitations like poor conductivity, structural integrity, and mass transport. Mesoporous carbon materials have extensive potential applications ranging from electrochemistry, energy storage, separation and adsorption, catalysis, etc. It may be demonstrated the used of metallic nanoparticles to improve the thermal conductivity by bridging two-dimensional (2D) materials. The present disclosure may use mesoporous carbon for fabrication of conductive filaments.

Silver nanoflowers, AgNFs, may be used for conductive electrodes and composites, showing its importance in applications requiring good thermal conductivity. The use of Ag/Ni metal mesh as transparent conductive electrode for optoelectronic applications has been demonstrated. Therefore, it may enhance thermal conductivity of the low conductivity polymer of TCP actuators. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) may generally be described as a biocompatible, highly hydrophilic polymer that is nontoxic, and has excellent film-forming properties. It also has clean burning characteristics and excellent binding strength. Hence, PVA may be utilized as the binding material for the mesoporous carbon-NiAg metal mesh coating solution described in the present disclosure.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, the present disclosure may embed NiAg metal mesh into mesoporous carbon with PVA as the binding material to enhance thermal contacts between mesoporous carbon, thus improving the dynamic performance of mandrel-coiled TCP_FL. NiAg metal mesh particles actively coalesce inside the pores in the mesoporous carbon at, e.g., ˜80° C., hence, ensuring better thermal contacts. In some implementations, one-pot magnetic stirrer process may be utilized to synthesize the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution that is coated onto the mandrel-coiled TCP_FLby manual shaking. The enhanced isotonic performance of the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel-coiled TCP_FLwas shown as beneficial by cyclic operations by providing input power.

As can be seen from the example FIG. 1, an example coil (e.g., a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated mandrel coiled TCP_FL) 100 is shown. As can be seen, example and non-limiting advantages of the present disclosure may include, e.g.,

i) a unique nanomaterial coated mandrel coiled TCP_FLwith, e.g., ˜22% to ˜56% more actuation strain than similar length (e.g., 50 mm unloaded, 70 mm loaded for 70 g pre-stress weight) non-coated TCP_FLat different input currents ranging from 0.25 A, 0.26 A and 0.27 A, ii) a unique nanomaterial coated mandrel coiled TCP_FLthat may improve the cooling rate of the actuator, hence, providing cyclic actuation, unlike its non-coated counterpart, which shows a bias (as the cooling is not sufficient to reach the original position from the beginning of the actuation cycle), iii) due to superior thermal contacts, the example disclosed nanomaterial coated actuator may requires, e.g., ˜10% less power than the noncoated actuator for better actuation displacement/strain, iv) lower cost when used as an actuator since it is ostensibly uses only fishing line (or other similar line).

Therefore, as will be discussed in greater detail below, use of an actuator (e.g., a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution that is coated onto the mandrel-coiled TCP_FL) may be used for multiple applications, such as a seat for finer occupant position manipulation. In some implementations, the actuator may be used in the side of the seat to adjust the position of the passenger when a crash happens, so that the passenger will have less of a chance to get injured.

As discussed above and referring also at least to the example implementations of FIGS. 1-12, actuator process 10 (as shown in FIG. 10) may use a mandrel-coiled twisted and coiled polymer fishing line (TCP_FL) actuator, which may include but is not limited to receiving 1000 a mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator, wherein the mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator may be fabricated from a plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles coated with a synthesized mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution. The mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator may be used 1001 to adjust a vehicle component.

Notably, while the present disclosure is described in terms of a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA TCP_FLas the actuator, Graphene-Ni-PVA TCP_FLand CNT-C-Ni-PVA TCP_FL, as well as any other TCP_FLactuators or any number of TCP_FLactuators may also be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As such, the use of a mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA TCP_FLas the actuator should be taken as example only, and not to otherwise limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, actuator process 10 may receive 1000 a mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator, wherein the mandrel-coiled TCP_FLactuator may be fabricated from a plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles coated with a synthesized mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution. For example, there may be a fabrication process (that may be part of actuator process 10 or separate from actuator process 10) that may create a mandrel-coiled twisted and coiled polymer fishing line (TCP_FL) actuator, which may include fabricating a plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles. For instance, the line (e.g., fishing line) may be a non-conductive material, and the incorporation of a heating wire (e.g., a nichrome heating wire) may be used to effectively heat the precursor material. This provides convenient Joule heating for electrothermal actuation. An example experimental setup 200 is shown in FIG. 2 (a-b) to create the mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles with the help of mandrel (e.g., 1.4 mm diameter) coiling. It will be appreciated that other sizes may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The example nichrome wire (e.g., 160 μm diameter) may be used as the heating element for the monofilament fishing line (e.g., 0.8 mm diameter). The challenge of easily wrapping a thin nichrome wire may be addressed by the example custom fabrication setup shown in FIG. 2. Different steps of the example fabrication process are described below.

In some implementations, fabricating the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles may include utilizing 1006 a twist insertion process. For instance, a certain fishing line length (e.g., 1200 mm) may be cut in order to fit a linear motion slider travelling range. Both the ends of the fishing line may be tied with safety pins (or other fastener); one end may be connected to the motor shaft (as shown in FIG. 2, (a)). A deadweight of, e.g., 500 g may be connected to the bottom end of the fishing line with a stopper shaft in order to incorporate the twist. The motor may be rotated at a speed of, e.g., 300 rpm in a counterclockwise (or clockwise) direction. After a few minutes, there may be a twist inserted in the fiber as it shrinks in length and the 500 g load may gently start to move up. As the first coiling in the fiber is noticed (or after a shrinkage of a predefined length), the motor may be stopped, and the twist insertion may be concluded.

In some implementations, fabricating the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles may include incorporating 1008 a resistance wire into the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles. For instance, the example nichrome wire incorporation may be the next step in the fabrication process as shown in FIG. 2 (a). Firstly, the stopper used in the previous step may be removed from the bottom end of the twist inserted fishing line. A new untwisted fishing line with the 500 g weight may be attached to the bottom end of the twist inserted fishing line so that the weight hanging just touched the ground and freely rotated. The nichrome wire may be attached to the top end and both the nichrome wire, and the twist inserted fishing line may be placed within the guide carriage and guide rod as shown in FIG. 2 (a). Both the motors (1 and 2) may be started at different speeds (e.g., Motor 1-300 rpm, Motor 2-150 rpm) until the nichrome incorporation was done for the full length of the fishing line. At these speeds, the pitch of the nichrome incorporated fiber may be approximately 0.42 mm. While the resistance wire incorporation takes place, the wire may be guided around the guide rod and a 50 g weight may be hung to keep it taut during the wire incorporation process. This may help in maintaining a constant pitch and wrapping angle.

In some implementations, fabricating the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles may include utilizing 1010 a mandrel coiling process. For instance, FIG. 2 (b) shows the mandrel coiling process for the nichrome wrapped twist inserted fiber. A safety pin (or other fastener) from the top end may be attached with the stepper motor-3 coupling and the 500 g weight may be replaced by a, e.g., 200 g weight in order to make it easier for the stepper motor to coil the fiber. A mandrel diameter of, e.g., 1.4 mm may be chosen for example purposes only, and the stepper motor may be started at a speed of, e.g., 300 rpm in counterclockwise (or clockwise) direction. This may allow the fiber to coil and allow the finished product to be homochiral in nature; while if the coiling had been done in the opposite direction to which the fiber was twisted, it would have resulted in heterochiral muscle.

In some implementations, fabricating the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles may include utilizing 1012 a thermal annealing process. For instance, the final step of the mandrel coiled TCP_FLmuscle fabrication process may be the muscle annealing, which may be done in a furnace or the like. The mandrel coiled fiber along with a mandrel rod may be put inside the furnace, pre-heated at a temperature of, e.g., 180° C. To keep the muscle shape and pitch intact, both the ends may be fixed to clamps on a metal plate and the whole frame may be placed inside the preheated furnace for, e.g., 80 minutes. In some implementations, the muscle may be inverted after 40 minutes (half the total time) to have uniform heating throughout. It will be appreciated that various other temperatures and timing may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, fabricating the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles may include part of a fabrication process by synthesizing 1002 mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution, and in some implementations, synthesizing 1002 the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution may include dissolving 1014 an amount of PVA in water to create a solution, adding 1016 mesoporous C, and NiAg metal mesh powder to the solution, and removing 1018 supernatant from the solution. For instance, an example nanomaterial solution preparation 300 (e.g., synthesis of mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution) is shown in FIG. 3.

As can be seen in FIG. 3 (step 1), an amount of distilled water (e.g., 100 ml of distilled water) may be measured into a, e.g., 600 ml glass beaker. Then, 1.5 gm of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) may be added to the distilled water (Step 2), and the beaker may be placed onto a stirrer (e.g., a magnetic stirrer) with a magnetic bead at, e.g., 800 rpm and, e.g., 75-80° C. for, e.g., ˜15-20 minutes or until the PVA is fully dissolved in water to give a clear solution (Step 3). After this, 1.5 gm of mesoporous C and 0.25 g of NiAg metal mesh powder may be added to the solution, that is stirred at, e.g., 600 rpm and, e.g., 50° C. for, e.g., ˜3 hours (Step 4). After observing the solubility of the black solution, heat may be turned off and the reaction material may be allowed to cool down keeping the stirring on at, e.g., 600 rpm. The cooled down solution may then be centrifuged at, e.g., 6000 rpm for, e.g., ˜10 minutes (Step 5), so that excess water (supernatant) separates out from the thick solution. This supernatant may be kept in a clean beaker and some of it may be added to the thick solution as required to re-dissolve. This may be the final synthesized solution for coating the actuator. It will be appreciated that the variables described throughout may vary depending on the scale of creation desired. As such, the size, amounts, timing, speed, etc. described throughout should be taken as example only and not to otherwise limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, fabricating the plurality of mandrel-coiled TCP_FLmuscles may include a fabrication process by coating 1004 the TCP_FLwith the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution, and in some implementations, coating 1004 the TCP_FLwith the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution may include placing 1020 the TCP_FLin the solution, shaking 1022 the TCP_FLin the solution, drying 1024 the TCP_FLby placing the TCP_FLin a pre-heated environment for a predetermined amount of time, and crimping 1026 the TCP_FL. For instance, once mandrel coiled TCP_FLis fabricated, and mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution is synthesized, the coating process may be undertaken. An example coating process 400 of TCP_FLactuator is shown in the example implementation of FIG. 4. In the example, the example 50 mm long (e.g., 3.3 mm diameter), non-coated TCP_FL, shown in FIG. 4 (a) may be put into the nanomaterial solution inside a vial (shown in FIG. 4 (b)). In some implementations, to make sure the actuator is as perfectly coated as possible, it may be rigorously shaken manually (or via machine) for, e.g., ˜2 minutes (shown in FIG. 4 (c)). Once done, the wet actuator may be taken out of the vial and kept in a pre-heated oven at, e.g., 80° C. for, e.g., 60 minutes to dry (shown in FIG. 4 (d)). The finished actuator may be taken out and crimped for use.

An example characterization setup was used to determine and compare the capabilities of the coated and non-coated TCP_FLmuscles. This not only measured the temperature that a muscle was able to rise to over time, but also measured the displacement, and voltage across the muscle, when a constant example current input was provided through BK Precision 9116 power source. FIG. 5 shows the example schematic diagram characteristic setup 500 with a power supply, channeled current to the muscle in series. A National Instruments DAQ 9221 module was connected in parallel with the muscle to measure the voltage across the muscle, as voltage stays equivalent across parallel circuits. At the center of both the actuators (coated and non-coated), a thermistor was tied to the muscle to determine the temperature. A 70 g mass pulled on the muscle at one end, and at the opposing end. All of these measurements were sent to a computer for data collection using Lab View software. The characterization setup described in FIG. 5 was used to conduct isotonic tests between the coated and non-coated TCP_FLartificial muscles to determine the improvement in performance after coating the TCP_FL.

Referring at least to the example implementation of FIG. 6, FIG. 6 (a-c) show the dynamic performance charts 600 difference in terms of actuation displacement with variation of time. The results plotted are from the 3rd actuation cycle onwards. The reason for removing the first two actuation cycles was unstable actuation displacement. It was observed that the coated muscle (e.g., 50 mm unloaded length, 70 mm loaded length for 70 g weight, 10 s ON-15 s OFF, at 0.045 Hz) actuated ˜15 mm for an input current of 0.25 A. However, the non-coated actuator actuated for ˜12 mm for the same input, improvement percentage being ˜25%.

For higher input current of, e.g., 0.26 A, the coated actuator displaced ˜24 mm, while the non-coated actuator contracted ˜19 mm, giving an improvement percentage of ˜26.3%. For an even higher input current of 0.27 A, we see an improvement of ˜18%. This range of improvement in actuation appears true for all the actuation cycles.

Notably, and still referring to FIG. 6, is the coated actuator cools down better than non-coated and cyclic nature of the curves illustrate that (0.25 A, coated cools 15 mm, non-coated cools less than 12 mm; 0.26 A, coated cools ˜24 mm, non-coated cools less than 19 mm; 0.27 A, coated cools ˜26 mm, non-coated cools less than ˜22 mm). This is a performance enhancement when compared to the non-coated actuator, which shows a non-cyclic actuation bias for every cycle. As the thermal conductivity of mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution is high, its coating on the TCP_FLimproves the overall performance.

Also calculated was the actuation strain (% with loaded length) over time variation. The reason for this was to have a common metric for the same actuator of different lengths. In terms of actuation strain, which is a metric to measure the displacement performance for the same actuator with different lengths. FIG. 7 shows charts 700 for the comparison of strain (% loaded length normalized) v. time(s), with results for coated and non-coated mandrel coiled TCP_FLat different input currents (a) 0.25 A, (b) 0.26 A, and (c) 0.27 A at 0.04 Hz (10 s on, 15 s off) frequency. It can be seen from FIG. 7 (a-c) that coated actuator has enhanced actuation strain. For all the input currents (0.25 A, 0.26 A, 0.27 A), the coated actuator has ˜22%, ˜56% and ˜22% “more actuation strain” respectively than non-coated actuator. It can be observed that the actuation strain increases with increased input currents. For 0.25 A input current, the actuation strain for coated actuator is ˜22%, while it is ˜18% for non-coated actuator. Similarly, for 0.26 A, it is ˜36% for the coated actuator, to ˜23% for non-coated actuator and at 0.27 A, the actuation strain increases to ˜38% for coated actuator to ˜31% for the non-coated counterpart.

FIG. 8 (a-c) show charts 800 of a variation of temperature with time for the input currents of 0.25 A, 0.26 A and 0.27 A with a heating time of 10 s and cooling time of 15 s (0.04 Hz). As the plots shown are starting from 3rd cycle onwards (3rd, 4th, and 5th cycles), it shows that the starting temperature is higher than room temperature. This is because after the first cycle the actuator retains the heat for both the muscles (coated and non-coated). However, it is to be noted that the starting temperature of the 3rd cycle is more for the non-coated actuator (e.g., ˜82° C. for 0.25 A, ˜83° C. for 0.26 A and ˜90° C. for 0.27 A) than the coated actuator (70° C. for 0.25 A, ˜80° C. for 0.26 A and ˜80° C. for 0.27 A), proving that the coated actuator cools faster with nanomaterial coating.

The results in FIG. 8 (a-c) show that for 0.25 A input current, the non-coated TCP_FLshows a bias (˜9° C.) as the actuation cycles continue due to inability to cool within 15 s to reach the actuation cycle starting position. On the other hand, the coated TCP_FLis able to cool towards starting cycle position within 15 s to continue the cyclic actuation. It is the same for the other tests conducted at 0.26 A and 0.27 A. For 0.26 A, bias for the non-coated actuator is ˜12° C., while at 0.27 A the bias goes up to ˜14° C. For the coated actuator, cyclic actuation was observed for 0.26 A case, excepting only for the 0.27 A case, where a little bias is noted (˜2° C.). This illustrates the advantages of coating the TCP_FLwith mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA solution.

Power consumption may be an important factor that may be improved for electrothermally actuated TCP actuators. FIG. 9 (a) to (c) show the improved power consumption from the output voltages noted from the isotonic tests for coated and non-coated mandrel coiled TCP_FLat different and constant input currents (a) 0.25 A, (b) 0.26 A, and (c) 0.27 A at 0.04 Hz (10 s on, 15 s off) frequency. At 0.25 A input current, the voltage and power consumed for the coated TCP_FLwas ˜13.5V (3.375 W), which is an improvement of ˜10% over the non-coated TCP_FL(˜15 V, 3.75 W). Again, at 0.26 A input current, the output voltage/power consumed for the coated TCP_FLwas ˜13.75 V (3.575 W), which is a ˜14% improvement over non-coated TCP_FL(˜15.8 V, 4.108 W). At 0.27 A, we observed a ˜10% improvement in power consumption of coated TCP_FL(14.8 V, 3.996 W) to the non-coated TCP_FL(16.5 V, 4.455 W).

Thus, in some implementations, the dynamic behavior, cooling ability, and power consumption of mandrel-coiled TCP_FL, an electrothermal artificial muscle, were improved by treating the surface of the muscle with mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coating. In some implementations, a one-pot synthesis, utilizing a magnetic stirrer and centrifuge may be used to make this solution. A simple manual/automated shaking and annealing may be used to coat a dry, uniform layer of this material on the fabricated actuator of, e.g., diameter 3.3 mm and 50 mm long. The NiAg metal mesh powder may be coated with mesoporous carbon, while the PVA may be utilized as a binding agent. The NiAg powder once coated onto the TCP_FL, improved its thermal conductivity and natural cooling in air.

The mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coating improved the actuation displacement by ˜18% to ˜26% while improving the actuation strain by at least ˜22% for input currents of 0.25 A, 0.26 A, and 0.27 A. It was observed from the experiments that actuation strain of these actuators is directly proportional to input power provided. The performance of the coated TCP_FLimproved due to better thermal contacts of the coating, and hence improving the heat transfer to and from the actuator. This is observed from the plots showing cyclic actuation for the coated TCP_FL, while there is a clear bias for the non-coated TCP_FL. Furthermore, the power consumed was ˜10% less than same actuator characteristics and same constant input current values.

In some implementations, the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated TCP_FLactuator may be used with one or more vehicle components. For instance, and referring at least to the example implementation of FIG. 11, an example vehicle component (e.g., seat 1100) is shown. In the example, the actuator 1102 (e.g., mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated TCP_FLactuator) is positioned for finer adjustment of the seat (e.g., incline of the seat). This may allow the actuator to be used in the side of the seat to adjust the position of the passenger when a crash happens, so that the passenger will have less of a chance to get injured. As shown in FIG. 11, actuator 1102 is connected to one or more pulleys, which may aid in the seat adjustment upon activation. In some implementations, the actuation of the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated TCP_FLactuator may be adjustable based on the requirement (e.g., when a large angle of incline on the seat is desired, the driver may use a higher power via the vehicle's controls to ensure the large actuation). In some implementations, activation of the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated TCP_FLactuator may be automatic based upon, at least in part, detection of a crash using crash sensors.

In some implementations, the mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated TCP_FLactuator may have a large design of freedom for position control by using fishing line with different diameters. For instance, different diameters of fishing line muscle help in lifting/pulling different loads. Therefore, any increase/decrease of fishing line diameter is directly proportional to load carrying capacity. By integrating/applying different fishing line diameters in the same application, it allows a larger pull force in one side and lesser on the other for a particular application requiring more pull force on one side. That is, with actuator 1102, there is a certain level of design freedom and control of the actuation displacement with a PID controller is much easier.

In some implementations, and referring at least to the example implementation of FIG. 12, there may be a design 1200 with parallel actuators to help if the load is higher. For instance, instead of one actuator (shown in FIG. 11), there may be two or more actuators in parallel. It will be appreciated that while 5 actuators are shown in FIG. 12, more or less actuators may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, actuator 1102 may adjust the vehicle component (e.g., seat) based upon at least one of air temperature and water temperature. For instance, and referring also at least to the example implementation of FIG. 13, a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 1300) is shown with channels (e.g., pipes, pvc, etc.) coupled to actuator 1102. In the example, hot air and cold air may be directed from one or more vehicle components through channels 1302a and 1302b respectively to make contact with actuator 1102, thereby activating actuator 1102 to move the seat, as shown in FIG. 11.

In some implementations, actuator 1102 may be activated by hydrothermal exposure (i.e., hot and cold water). For instance, and referring to the example implementation of FIG. 14, an example hydrothermal setup 1400 is shown. In the example, and similar to FIG. 13, instead of having hot air and cold air directed from one or more vehicle components through channels 1302a and 1302b respectively to make contact with actuator 1102, thereby activating actuator 1102 to move the seat (shown in FIG. 13), the channels may instead be used to direct hot water and cold water from one or more vehicle components through channels 1302a and 1302b respectively to make contact with actuator 1102, thereby activating actuator 1102 to move the seat. In the example, hot water may be pumped through the channels to activate actuator 1102. In some implementations, cold water may similarly also be pumped through an alternative channel as well.

In some implementations, the nylon-based muscle may be made of 860 μm diameter, commercially purchased nylon 6 fishing line (e.g., EagleClaw 80 lb test monofilament). This precursor fiber may be converted to an artificial muscle by twisting the precursor fiber to just below the point where fiber coiling would begin and then wrapping the twisted fiber around a mandrel to form a coil. To accomplish this, the following muscle fabrication procedure may be used. One end of the fishing line may be attached to the shaft of a rotational motor and the other end connected to a 500 g weight, which was tethered so it could not rotate. The muscle may be obtained by wrapping the twisted, non-coiled fiber around a 1.6 mm diameter steel rod using the same handedness of coiling as that of the initial twist insertion. While tethering the two fiber ends so that untwist could not occur, the coiled fiber may be thermally annealed for 2 hours at 180° C. to set the inserted twist. During this anneal, the coiled fiber was tethered under tension at fixed length to avoid inter-coil contact. The final outer diameter of the coiled fiber in this example may be 3.33 mm and the spring index (the ratio of mean coil diameter to fiber diameter) was 3.9. This thermal annealing may be used to help obtain highly reversible performance and provide a coiled muscle in which muscle contraction during thermal annealing does not result in inter-coil interference that degrades muscle stroke.

It will be appreciated that mesoporous C-NiAg-PVA coated TCP_FLactuator may be used on other vehicle components (and other components that are not vehicle components) without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As such, the use of a seat should be taken as example only and not to otherwise limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the present disclosure may be used with any applications that may use an actuator and/or may benefit from hydrophobic characteristics (e.g., any outdoor applications with rain, underwater, or moisture exposure).

It will be appreciated after reading the present disclosure that any standard fabrication equipment, as well as any other necessary equipment, may be used singly or in any combination with the fabrication process and/or actuator process 10, which may be operatively connected to a computing device, such as the computing device shown in FIG. 10, to obtain their instructions for creating one or more aspects of the present disclosure. In one or more example implementations, the respective flowcharts may be manually-implemented, computer-implemented, or a combination thereof. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art after reading the present disclosure, the present disclosure may be embodied as a method, apparatus, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware implementation, an entirely software implementation (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an implementation combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium (or media) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer-usable, or computer-readable, storage medium (including a storage device associated with a computing device or client electronic device) may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium or storage device may include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, solid state drives (SSDs), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disc, and an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, a static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), synchronous graphics RAM (SGRAM), and video RAM (VRAM), analog magnetic tape, digital magnetic tape, rotating hard disk drive (HDDs), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, a media such as those supporting the internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be a suitable medium upon which the program is stored, scanned, compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-usable or computer-readable, storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Examples of storage implemented by the storage hardware include a distributed ledger, such as a permissioned or permissionless blockchain. Entities recording transactions, such as in a blockchain, may reach consensus using an algorithm such as proof-of-stake, proof-of-work, and proof-of-storage. Elements of the present disclosure may be represented by or encoded as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Ownership rights related to the non-fungible tokens may be recorded in or referenced by a distributed ledger. Transactions initiated by or relevant to the present disclosure may use one or both of fiat currency and cryptocurrencies, examples of which include bitcoin and ether.

In some implementations, a computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. In some implementations, such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electromagnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. In some implementations, the computer readable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to the internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc. In some implementations, a computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

In some implementations, computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. Java® and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language, PASCAL, or similar programming languages, as well as in scripting languages such as JavaScript, PERL, or Python. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a network, such as a cellular network, local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a body area network BAN), a personal area network (PAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), etc., or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the internet using an Internet Service Provider). The networks may include one or more of point-to-point and mesh technologies. Data transmitted or received by the networking components may traverse the same or different networks. Networks may be connected to each other over a WAN or point-to-point leased lines using technologies such as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and virtual private networks (VPNs), etc. In some implementations, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), gate arrays such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other hardware accelerators, micro-controller units (MCUs), or programmable logic arrays (PLAs), integrated circuits (ICs), digital circuit elements, analog circuit elements, combinational logic circuits, digital signal processors (DSPs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. may execute the computer readable program instructions/code by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure. Multiple components of the hardware may be integrated, such as on a single die, in a single package, or on a single printed circuit board or logic board. For example, multiple components of the hardware may be implemented as a system-on-chip. A component, or a set of integrated components, may be referred to as a chip, chipset, chiplet, or chip stack. Examples of a system-on-chip include a radio frequency (RF) system-on-chip, an artificial intelligence (AI) system-on-chip, a video processing system-on-chip, an organ-on-chip, a quantum algorithm system-on-chip, etc.

Examples of processing hardware may include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an approximate computing processor, a quantum computing processor, a parallel computing processor, a neural network processor, a signal processor, a digital processor, a data processor, an embedded processor, a microprocessor, and a co-processor. The co-processor may provide additional processing functions and/or optimizations, such as for speed or power consumption. Examples of a co-processor include a math co-processor, a graphics co-processor, a communication co-processor, a video co-processor, and an artificial intelligence (AI) co-processor.

In some implementations, the flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus (systems), methods and computer program products according to various implementations of the present disclosure. Each block in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable computer program instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s)/act(s). These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computer program instructions, which may execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create the ability to implement one or more of the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof. It should be noted that, in some implementations, the functions noted in the block(s) may occur out of the order noted in the figures (or combined or omitted). For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.

In some implementations, these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed (not necessarily in a particular order) on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts (not necessarily in a particular order) specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C” should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.” As another example, the language “at least one of A and B” (and the like) as well as “at least one of A or B” (and the like) should be interpreted as covering only A, only B, or both A and B, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Example sizes/models/values/ranges can have been given, although examples are not limited to the same.

The terms (and those similar to) “coupled,” “attached,” “connected,” “adjoining,” “transmitting,” “receiving,” “connected,” “engaged,” “coupled,” “adjacent,” “next to,” “on top of,” “above,” “below,” “abutting,” and “disposed,” used herein is to refer to any type of relationship, direct or indirect, between the components in question, and is to apply to electrical, mechanical, fluid, optical, electromagnetic, electromechanical, or other connections. Additionally, the terms “first,” “second,” etc. are used herein only to facilitate discussion, and carry no particular temporal or chronological significance unless otherwise indicated. The terms “cause” or “causing” means to make, force, compel, direct, command, instruct, and/or enable an event or action to occur or at least be in a state where such event or action is to occur, either in a direct or indirect manner. The term “set” does not necessarily exclude the empty set—in other words, in some circumstances a “set” may have zero elements. The term “non-empty set” may be used to indicate exclusion of the empty set—that is, a non-empty set must have one or more elements, but this term need not be specifically used. The term “subset” does not necessarily require a proper subset. In other words, a “subset” of a first set may be coextensive with (equal to) the first set. Further, the term “subset” does not necessarily exclude the empty set—in some circumstances a “subset” may have zero elements.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents (e.g., of all means or step plus function elements) that may be in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. While the disclosure describes structures corresponding to claimed elements, those elements do not necessarily invoke a means plus function interpretation unless they explicitly use the signifier “means for.” Unless otherwise indicated, recitations of ranges of values are merely intended to serve as a shorthand way of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, and each separate value is hereby incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited. While the drawings divide elements of the disclosure into different functional blocks or action blocks, these divisions are for illustration only. According to the principles of the present disclosure, functionality can be combined in other ways such that some or all functionality from multiple separately-depicted blocks can be implemented in a single functional block; similarly, functionality depicted in a single block may be separated into multiple blocks. Unless explicitly stated as mutually exclusive, features depicted in different drawings can be combined consistent with the principles of the present disclosure.

The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. After reading the present disclosure, many modifications, variations, substitutions, and any combinations thereof will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The implementation(s) were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various implementation(s) with various modifications and/or any combinations of implementation(s) as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The features of any dependent claim may be combined with the features of any of the independent claims or other dependent claims.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application in detail and by reference to implementation(s) thereof, it will be apparent that modifications, variations, and any combinations of implementation(s) (including any modifications, variations, substitutions, and combinations thereof) are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure defined in the appended claims.

TWIST COILED POLYMER ACTUATOR INSIDE A SEAT FOR POSITION CONTROL

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