GB2622514A - SMA actuator assembly - Google Patents

SMA actuator assembly Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2622514A
GB2622514A GB2319246.1A GB202319246A GB2622514A GB 2622514 A GB2622514 A GB 2622514A GB 202319246 A GB202319246 A GB 202319246A GB 2622514 A GB2622514 A GB 2622514A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
movable part
rotating part
actuator assembly
sma
rotation axis
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
GB2319246.1A
Other versions
GB202319246D0 (en
Inventor
Howarth James
Benjamin Simpson Brown Andrew
Eddington Robin
Farmer Geoffrey
matthew bunting Stephen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd
Original Assignee
Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB2107720.1A external-priority patent/GB2607108B/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2109486.7A external-priority patent/GB202109486D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2112823.6A external-priority patent/GB202112823D0/en
Application filed by Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd filed Critical Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd
Publication of GB202319246D0 publication Critical patent/GB202319246D0/en
Publication of GB2622514A publication Critical patent/GB2622514A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03G—SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03G7/00—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for
    • F03G7/06—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like
    • F03G7/061—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like characterised by the actuating element
    • F03G7/0614—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like characterised by the actuating element using shape memory elements
    • F03G7/06143—Wires
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03G—SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03G7/00—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for
    • F03G7/06—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like
    • F03G7/064—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like characterised by its use
    • F03G7/0641—Motors; Energy harvesting or waste energy recovery
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03G—SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03G7/00—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for
    • F03G7/06—Mechanical-power-producing mechanisms, not otherwise provided for or using energy sources not otherwise provided for using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like
    • F03G7/066—Actuator control or monitoring
    • F03G7/0665—Actuator control or monitoring controlled displacement, e.g. by using a lens positioning actuator
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16H—GEARING
    • F16H1/00—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion
    • F16H1/28—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion with gears having orbital motion
    • F16H1/32—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion with gears having orbital motion in which the central axis of the gearing lies inside the periphery of an orbital gear

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manipulator (AREA)

Abstract

An SMA actuator assembly (1) comprising: a support structure (10), a rotating part (40) arranged to rotate about a rotation axis (R); a movable part (20) arranged to move in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and along a boundary (45) of the rotating part, wherein one of the rotating part and the movable part surrounds the other of the rotating part and the movable part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis; and three or more SMA wires (30) arranged, on contraction, to move the movable part along the boundary of the rotating part, such that contact between the movable part and the rotating part drives continuous rotation of the rotating part about the rotation axis, wherein the arrangement of the three or more SMA wires is capable of applying a torque to the movable part.

Claims (36)

Claims
1. An SMA actuator assembly comprising: a rotating part arranged to rotate about a rotation axis; a movable part arranged to move in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and along a boundary of the rotating part, wherein one of the rotating part and the movable part surrounds the other of the rotating part and the movable part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis; and three or more SMA wires arranged, on contraction, to move the movable part along the boundary of the rotating part, such that contact between the movable part and the rotating part drives continuous rotation of the rotating part about the rotation axis, wherein the arrangement of the three or more SMA wires is capable of applying a torque to the movable part.
2. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 1, wherein the SMA wires are arranged to move the movable part along the boundary of the rotating part without net rotation of the movable part.
3. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the SMA wires arranged to translationally move the movable part along the boundary of the rotating part.
4. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the SMA wires comprise a total of four SMA wires in an arrangement wherein none of the forces applied by the SMA wires are collinear, and wherein the SMA wires are capable of being selectively driven to move the movable part relative to the support structure to any position along the boundary of the rotating part without rotating the movable part.
5. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 4, wherein two of the SMA wires are arranged to apply a torque to the movable part in said plane in a first sense around the rotation axis and the other two SMA wires are arranged to apply a torque to the movable part in said plane in a second, opposite sense around the rotation axis.
6. An apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the four SMA actuator wires are arranged in a loop at different angular positions around the rotation axis, successive SMA actuator wires around the primary axis being connected to apply a force to the movable element in alternate senses around the primary axis.
7. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a bearing arrangement that allows movement of the movable part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and rotation of the movable part about the rotation axis.
8. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the movable part surrounds the rotating part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis.
9. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the SMA wires are arranged, on contraction, to move the contact region between the movable part and the rotating part along the boundary of the rotating part in a first sense around the rotation axis, thereby driving continuous rotation of the rotating part in a second sense about the rotation axis, the second sense being opposite to the first sense.
10. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a support structure, wherein the rotating part is configured to rotate relative to the support structure, and wherein the SMA wires are arranged, on contraction, to move the movable part relative to the support structure.
11. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 10, wherein the SMA wires are connected between the movable part and the support structure.
12. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the SMA wires are connected to the movable part by connection elements, wherein the connection elements are integrally formed with the movable part.
13. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a bearing arrangement configured to constrain movement of the movable part to a path along the boundary of the rotating part.
14. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a bearing plate with a bearing surface extending in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis, wherein the bearing plate is fixed relative to one of the rotating part and the movable part and the bearing surface bears against the other one of the rotating part and the movable part.
15. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 14, wherein the bearing plate is integrally formed with the one of the rotating part and the movable part.
16. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 14 or 15, further comprising a resilient element configured to apply a spring force urging the other one of the rotating part and the movable part against the bearing surface.
17. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 16, wherein the SMA wires are angled relative to the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis so as to, on contraction, oppose the spring force by the resilient element.
18. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 16 or 17, wherein, in the absence of contraction of the SMA wires, the resilient element applying the spring force urging the other one of the rotating part and the movable part against the bearing surface is configured to constrain movement of the rotating part relative to the movable part.
19. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the rotating part and the movable part comprise respective contact surfaces that are in contact with one another, wherein the contact surfaces are configured to constrain sliding between the contact surfaces along the boundary of the rotating part.
20. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the rotating part and the movable part comprise gears with complimentary teeth.
21. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the one of the rotating part and the movable part that surrounds the other of the rotating part and the movable part comprises a greater number of teeth than the other of the rotating part and the movable part.
22. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a second movable part arranged to move in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and along a boundary of the rotating part, wherein one of the rotating part and the second movable part surrounds the other of the rotating part and the second movable part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis; and three or more further SMA wires arranged, on contraction, to move the second movable part along the boundary of the rotating part, such that contact between the second movable part and the rotating part drives continuous rotation of the rotating part about the rotation axis.
23. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 22, wherein the contact region between the second movable part and the rotating part is diametrically opposite about the rotation axis compared to the contact region between the movable part and the rotating part.
24. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 22 or 23, wherein the movable part and the second movable part surround the rotating part, and wherein the second movable part is offset from the movable part along the rotation axis
25. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the rotating part and/or the movable part are formed from sheet material.
26. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a linearly movable part that is movable along a movement axis perpendicular to the rotation axis, wherein the linearly movable part is in contact with the rotating part in a manner such that rotation of the rotating part drives linear movement of the linearly movable part along the movement axis
27. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a controller configured to: measure an electrical characteristic of the SMA wires, and determine an angular position of the rotating part based on the electrical characteristic.
28. An SMA actuator assembly comprising: a rotating part arranged to rotate about a rotation axis; a movable part arranged to move in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and along a boundary of the rotating part, wherein one of the rotating part and the movable part surrounds the other of the rotating part and the movable part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis; and one or more SMA wires arranged, on contraction, to move the movable part along the boundary of the rotating part, such that contact between the movable part and the rotating part drives continuous rotation of the rotating part about the rotation axis.
29. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 28, comprising two or more SMA wires arranged, on contraction, to move the movable part along the boundary of the rotating part.
30. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 28 or 29, further comprising a bearing arrangement that allows movement of the movable part in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and constrains rotation of the movable part about the rotation axis.
31. The SMA actuator assembly of any one of claims 28 to 30, further comprising a controller configured to: measure an electrical characteristic of the one or more SMA wires, and determine an angular position of the rotating part based on the electrical characteristic.
32. The SMA actuator assembly of claim 27 or 31, wherein the electrical characteristic is a measure of the resistance of the SMA wires.
33. The SMA actuator assembly of any one of claims 27, 31 or 32, wherein the controller is configured to determine a translational position of the movable part based on the electrical characteristic of the SMA wires, and to determine the angular position of the rotating part based on the translational position of the movable part.
34. The SMA actuator assembly of any one of claims 27, 31, 32 or 33, wherein the SMA wires comprise two pairs of opposing SMA wires, and wherein measuring the electrical characteristic comprises measuring a difference in electrical characteristic between the wires of each pair of opposing SMA wires.
35. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a linearly movable part that is movable along a movement axis perpendicular to the rotation axis, wherein the linearly movable part is in contact with the rotating part in a manner such that rotation of the rotating part drives linear movement of the linearly movable part along the movement axis.
36. The SMA actuator assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a linearly movable part that is movable along a movement axis, optionally corresponding to the rotation axis, wherein the linearly movable part is coupled to the rotating part by a helical bearing arrangement such that rotation of the rotating part drives linear movement of the linearly movable part along the movement axis.
GB2319246.1A 2021-05-28 2022-05-27 SMA actuator assembly Pending GB2622514A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB2107720.1A GB2607108B (en) 2021-05-28 2021-05-28 SMA actuator assembly
GBGB2109486.7A GB202109486D0 (en) 2021-06-30 2021-06-30 SMA actuator assembly
GBGB2112823.6A GB202112823D0 (en) 2021-09-08 2021-09-08 SMA actuator assembly
PCT/GB2022/051355 WO2022248876A1 (en) 2021-05-28 2022-05-27 Sma actuator assembly

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB202319246D0 GB202319246D0 (en) 2024-01-31
GB2622514A true GB2622514A (en) 2024-03-20

Family

ID=82019600

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB2319246.1A Pending GB2622514A (en) 2021-05-28 2022-05-27 SMA actuator assembly

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2622514A (en)
WO (1) WO2022248876A1 (en)

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20170095935A1 (en) * 2015-10-01 2017-04-06 Korea Institute Of Science And Technology Apparatus for converting a plurality of linear movement into two degree of freedom movement

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20170095935A1 (en) * 2015-10-01 2017-04-06 Korea Institute Of Science And Technology Apparatus for converting a plurality of linear movement into two degree of freedom movement

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
HWANG DONGHYUN ET AL,"A Planar Wobble Motor With a XY Compliant Mechanism..."pg302-315,ISSN 1083-4435,DOI:10.1109/TMECH.2015.2439046. *
HWANT DONGHYUN ET AL,"A Rotary Actuator Using Shape Memory Alloy...", pg1625-1635, ISSN:1083-4435,DOI:10.1109/TMECH.2013.2290545. *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB202319246D0 (en) 2024-01-31
WO2022248876A1 (en) 2022-12-01

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