JP2009032773A - Fibrous polymeric actuator and method of manufacturing the same, and polymeric actuator comprising aggregate of many fibrous polymeric actuators - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fibrous polymeric actuator which can be displaced (elongated) in a predetermined linear direction efficiently with an applied voltage by making the direction of displacement (elongation) linear, and excels in safety. <P>SOLUTION: The fibrous polymeric actuator 10 is formed of a fibrous polymer which is elongated in its axial direction by applying the voltage between a pair of electrodes 11 and 12. Then the pair of electrodes 11 and 12 of the fibrous polymeric actuator includes a columnar first electrode 11 disposed at the center portion of the fibrous high polymer and a second electrode 12 disposed coaxially at the outer peripheral portion of the first electrode, an insulator 13 having elasticity is disposed between the first electrode 11 and second electrode 12 in contact with the first electrode 11 and second electrode 12, and a high voltage is applied to the first electrode 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fibrous polymer actuator that extends in the axial direction by applying a high voltage between a pair of electrodes, a method for producing the same, and a polymer comprising an assembly of these many fibrous polymer actuators. It relates to an actuator.

  In recent years, a polymer actuator capable of converting electrical energy into kinetic energy by forming a pair of electrodes made of a conductive film on both surfaces of an insulating polymer film and applying a high voltage between these electrodes, For example, it came to be disclosed by patent document 1 (Japanese translations of PCT publication No. 2003-506858). The polymer actuator disclosed in Patent Document 1 operates as shown in FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing the polymer actuator disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. 5 (a) is a view showing a state before a high voltage is applied, and FIG. b) is a diagram showing a state in which a high voltage is applied.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, a polymer actuator 50 is configured by disposing a pair of electrodes 52 and 53 made of a conductive film on both surfaces of a polymer film 51 serving as an insulating film. Then, by applying a high voltage between the electrodes 52 and 53, a suction force due to Coulomb force acts between the electrodes 52 and 53. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, the polymer film 51 serving as an insulating film disposed between the pair of electrodes 52 and 53 is pressed in the thickness direction (z direction), and the length direction (x direction). ) And the width direction (y direction).
Special table 2003-506858

  However, in the polymer actuator proposed in Patent Document 1 described above, flat electrodes are opposed to each other and a high voltage is applied between the pair of electrodes. Then, due to the Coulomb force due to the high voltage application, an attractive force acts between both electrodes, and displacement (shrinkage) occurs in the thickness direction (inter-electrode direction) due to this attractive force. As a result, the displacement (shrinkage) in the thickness direction causes the polymer actuator to disperse (extend) in a two-dimensional direction (length direction and width direction) other than the thickness direction of the polymer actuator.

  As described above, in the polymer actuator proposed in Patent Document 1 described above, the displacement amount (extension amount) is small in the one-dimensional direction (length direction or width direction) from which the displacement (extension) is to be extracted. Become. For this reason, there arises a problem that the polymer actuator cannot be displaced (stretched) in a predetermined one-dimensional direction efficiently with respect to the applied voltage. In addition, since it is necessary to apply a high voltage of several hundred kV / cm between the pair of electrodes, there is a problem with respect to safety with respect to the electrode surface on the high voltage side.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the direction of displacement (extension) is one-dimensional so that a predetermined one-dimensional direction can be efficiently applied to the applied voltage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a polymer actuator that can be displaced (stretched) at a time and is excellent in safety.

  The present invention is a fibrous polymer actuator that extends in the axial direction by applying a high voltage between a pair of electrodes, and in order to achieve the above object, the pair of electrodes is disposed at the center of the fibrous polymer. An insulator having a columnar first electrode and a cylindrical second electrode disposed coaxially on the outer periphery of the first electrode and having elasticity between the first electrode and the second electrode Is arranged in close contact with these two electrodes, and a high voltage is applied to the first electrode arranged at the center.

  When a high voltage (for example, 50 to 300 V / μm) is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode of the fibrous polymer actuator configured as described above, static electricity is generated between the first electrode and the second electrode. The electric attractive force acts and contracts in the diameter direction. When contracted in the diameter direction, the contracted portion expands in the axial direction (length direction) and functions as an actuator. In this case, since the high voltage is applied to the first electrode serving as the center electrode, the high voltage portion is covered with the insulator and the second electrode and is not exposed to the surface of the fibrous polymer actuator. As a result, safety measures can be taken easily and easily. Here, when the insulators are formed to have the same thickness so that the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the first electrode and the inner peripheral surface of the second electrode is equal, this type of fibrous polymer actuator is used. The electric field strength is equal at any position. Thereby, it becomes possible to prevent the occurrence of distortion of the electric field strength at a specific portion.

  In this case, it is desirable that the first electrode has a cylindrical shape, and the second electrode disposed coaxially on the outer periphery of the first electrode has a cylindrical shape. Further, it is desirable that the first electrode has an elliptic cylinder shape, and the second electrode disposed coaxially on the outer periphery of the first electrode has an elliptic cylinder shape. Further, it is desirable that the first electrode has a polygonal column shape, and the second electrode arranged coaxially on the outer periphery of the first electrode has a polygonal cylindrical shape. The first electrode and the second electrode are preferably formed of a conductive elastomer, and the insulator is preferably formed of an insulating elastomer. The conductive elastomer is preferably an insulating elastomer obtained by adding carbon powder or metal powder.

  In order to fabricate the fibrous polymer actuator having the above-described configuration, a first electrode forming step of forming a first electrode by extruding a conductive elastomer into a columnar shape, and an insulating elastomer on the surface of the first electrode And forming an insulator coaxially on the outer peripheral portion of the surface of the first electrode, and applying a conductive elastomer to the surface of the insulator and forming a second coaxially on the outer peripheral portion of the insulator. And a second electrode forming step for forming an electrode. In this case, the application of the insulating elastomer in the insulator forming step and the application of the conductive elastomer in the second electrode forming step may be performed by dipping or spray coating.

  Furthermore, the present invention relates to a polymer actuator formed by bundling a large number of the fibrous polymer actuators described above, and a first external electrode is formed by bundling only the first electrodes of a large number of fibrous polymer actuators. In addition, the second external electrode is formed by bundling only the second electrodes of a large number of fibrous polymer actuators. When the first external electrode and the second external electrode are formed by bundling the electrodes in this manner, it can be formed as a module. Thereby, if these modules are mechanically and electrically connected in parallel, a polymer actuator that requires force can be obtained. On the other hand, if these modules are mechanically connected in series and electrically connected in parallel, a polymer actuator that requires a displacement amount can be obtained.

  In the fibrous polymer actuator of the present invention, an elastic insulator is disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode in close contact with both electrodes, and a high voltage is applied to the first electrode. Therefore, the direction of displacement becomes one-dimensional by extending in the axial direction (length direction), and the amount of displacement can be adjusted with high efficiency. Further, since the high voltage is applied to the first electrode serving as the center electrode, the high voltage portion is not exposed, and a fibrous polymer actuator excellent in safety can be easily and easily manufactured. .

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a fibrous polymer actuator of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration, and FIG. 1 (b) is an upper surface thereof. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a typical manufacturing process of the fibrous polymer actuator shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (a) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a manufacturing process of the first electrode. FIGS. 2B and 2C are cross-sectional views schematically showing a manufacturing process of an insulator, and FIGS. 2D and 2E are cross-sectional views schematically showing a manufacturing process of a second electrode.

  FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing a fibrous polymer actuator of a modified example, and FIG. 3A is a top view schematically showing the fibrous polymer actuator of the first modified example, and FIG. ) Is a top view schematically showing the fibrous polymer actuator of the second modified example, and FIG. 3C is a set of bundled fibrous polymer actuators of the second modified example of FIG. 3B. It is a top view which shows typically the polymer actuator made into the body.

1. Fibrous Polymer Actuator As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the fibrous polymer actuator 10 of the present invention includes a cylindrical first electrode 11 disposed at the center, and the cylindrical first electrode 11. And a cylindrical second electrode 12 arranged concentrically with the cylindrical electrode 13 and an elastic cylindrical insulator 13 arranged in close contact with the first electrode and the second electrode. A high voltage (HV) is applied to the first electrode 11, and the second electrode 12 is grounded. Thereby, by applying a high voltage (HV) between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12, the axial direction (length direction) is extended, and the direction of displacement becomes one-dimensional. The displacement amount can be adjusted with high efficiency. In this case, since the high voltage (HV) is applied to the first electrode 11 serving as the center electrode, the high voltage portion is not exposed, and a highly safe polymer actuator can be easily and easily manufactured. It becomes possible.

Here, the cylindrical insulator 13 is formed of an insulating elastomer (insulating silicon rubber) having a resistivity of 10 ²⁰ Ωcm. The columnar first electrode 11 and the cylindrical second electrode 12 are formed of a conductive elastomer, and a metal powder or carbon powder is uniformly applied to an insulating elastomer (insulating silicon rubber) used for the cylindrical insulator 13. And the resistivity is 10 ³ to 10 ⁶ Ωcm. In this case, the diameter of the columnar first electrode 11 serving as the center electrode is 10 μm, the thickness of the cylindrical second electrode 12 is 5 μm, and the thickness of the cylindrical insulator 13 is 5 μm.

2. 2. Manufacturing Method of Fibrous Polymer Actuator Next, a manufacturing method of the fibrous polymer actuator configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIG. First, a conductive elastomer prepared by uniformly dispersing metal powder or carbon powder in an insulating elastomer (insulating silicon rubber) having a resistivity of 10 ²⁰ Ωcm and adjusting the resistivity to 10 ³ to 10 ⁶ Ωcm is prepared. To do. Next, by extruding this conductive elastomer, a cylindrical first electrode 11 serving as a center electrode is formed as shown in FIG. In this case, the cylindrical first electrode 11 is formed to have a diameter of 10 μm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), after preparing an insulating elastomer container 16 filled with an insulating elastomer (insulating silicon rubber) 13 a, the obtained cylindrical first electrode 11 has a resistivity of 10 ^It is immersed in an insulating elastomer 13a of ²⁰ Ωcm. At this time, the tip portion (for example, a portion from the tip to 5 mm) 11a of the columnar first electrode 11 is not immersed in the insulating elastomer 13a. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the cylindrical first electrode 11 is pulled up from the insulating elastomer 13a, so that the entire cylindrical outer periphery of the cylindrical first electrode 11 has a thickness of 5 μm. 13 layers are formed.
Here, the thickness of the cylindrical insulator 13 can be adjusted by adjusting the viscosity and pulling speed of the insulating elastomer 13a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, an insulating elastomer (insulating silicon rubber) 13a used for the cylindrical insulator 13 is made to contain metal powder or carbon powder so that the resistivity becomes 10 ³ to 10 ⁶ Ωcm. A conductive elastomer storage container 17 filled with the conductive elastomer (conductive silicon rubber) 12a adjusted as described above is prepared. Thereafter, the columnar first electrode 11 having the surface of the cylindrical insulator 13 formed thereon is immersed in the conductive elastomer 12a. At this time, the tip of the first cylindrical electrode 11 (for example, the portion from the tip to 6 mm (which may be 5 mm or more)) 11a is not immersed in the conductive elastomer 12a.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), the columnar first electrode 11 is pulled up from the conductive elastomer 12a to form a columnar cylindrical insulator 13 layer having a thickness of 5 μm on the surface. A layer of the cylindrical second electrode 12 made of a conductive elastomer having a thickness of 5 μm is formed on the entire outer peripheral surface of the first electrode 11. Also in this case, the thickness of the cylindrical second electrode 12 made of the conductive elastomer and the length of the lower end portion 12b can be adjusted by adjusting the viscosity and the pulling speed of the conductive elastomer 12a.

3. In the fibrous polymer actuator 10 described above, the columnar first electrode 11 is disposed at the center, and the cylindrical second electrode 12 is disposed concentrically with the columnar first electrode 11. A cylindrical insulator 13 having elasticity is disposed in close contact between the first electrode and the second electrode, and is formed in a columnar shape as a whole. However, this type of fibrous polymer actuator is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and various shapes such as an elliptical column shape and a polygonal column shape can be employed. Accordingly, various types of fibrous polymer actuators will be described below as modified examples.

(1) First Modification As shown in FIG. 3A, the fibrous polymer actuator 20 of the first modification has an elliptical columnar first electrode 21 disposed at the center, and this elliptical columnar first electrode. An elliptical cylindrical second electrode 22 is disposed concentrically with the elliptical shape 21, and an elliptical cylindrical insulator 23 having elasticity is disposed in close contact between the first electrode 21 and the second electrode 22. It is formed in an elliptical column shape. In this case, the elliptic cylindrical insulator 23 is formed so as to have the same thickness at any position.

  A high voltage is applied to the elliptical columnar first electrode 21, and the elliptical cylindrical second electrode 22 is grounded. As a result, by applying a high voltage between the elliptical columnar first electrode 21 and the elliptical cylindrical second electrode 22, the axial direction (length direction) is extended, and the direction of displacement is one-dimensional. Thus, the displacement amount can be adjusted with high efficiency.

(2) Second Modification As shown in FIG. 3B, the fibrous polymer actuator 30 of the second modification has a hexagonal columnar first electrode 31 disposed at the center, and this hexagonal columnar first electrode. A hexagonal cylindrical second electrode 32 is arranged concentrically with the hexagonal cylinder 31, and an elastic hexagonal cylindrical insulator 33 is disposed in close contact between the hexagonal columnar first electrode 31 and the hexagonal cylindrical second electrode 32. As a whole, it is formed in a hexagonal column shape. In this case, the hexagonal tubular insulator 33 is formed so that the thickness thereof is the same at any position.

  Then, a high voltage is applied to the hexagonal columnar first electrode 31, and the hexagonal cylindrical second electrode 32 is grounded. Thus, by applying a high voltage between the hexagonal columnar first electrode 31 and the hexagonal cylindrical second electrode 32, the axial direction (length direction) is extended, and the direction of displacement is one-dimensional. Thus, the displacement amount can be adjusted with high efficiency.

  In a polygonal columnar fibrous polymer actuator less than a pentagon, there is a risk that electric field concentration occurs at the corners, resulting in dielectric breakdown between both electrodes. For this reason, when it is set as a polygonal columnar fibrous polymer actuator, it is desirable to use a pentagonal or more polygonal columnar fibrous polymer actuator.

Here, the force F that can be taken out from one fibrous polymer actuator 10 is calculated as follows. First, the Young's modulus of the elastomer constituting the cylindrical first electrode 11, the cylindrical second electrode 12 and the elastic insulator 13 is set to 1.95 MPa (N / mm ² ). In this case, since the diameter of the fibrous polymer actuator 10 is 30 (10 + 5 × 2 + 5 × 2) μm, the cross-sectional area of the fibrous polymer actuator 10 is 0.000707 (0.015 × 0.015 × π) mm. ²

If the strain amount (displacement amount) at an electric field strength of 50 V / μm is 5%, F = 1.95 × 100 × 0.000707 × 0.05 = 0.0688 g weight (since 1N is 100 g weight) In the case where the length of the fibrous polymer actuator 10 is 10 cm, if the amount of displacement is 5%, the maximum length is 5 mm. On the other hand, when the strain amount (displacement amount) at 200 V / μm is 50%, F = 1.95 × 100 × 0.000707 × 0.5 = 0.0689 g weight, and the length of the fibrous polymer actuator 10 If the displacement amount is 50%, the maximum length is 50 mm.
The force F that can be taken out from the fibrous polymer actuators 20 and 30 and the extension length are almost the same.

4). In the above-described fibrous polymer actuator, since one fibrous polymer is used as the actuator in the above-described fibrous polymer actuator, the force that can be extracted from the fibrous polymer actuator is It will be very small. For this reason, although it can be used as it is for an application with a small force, it is necessary to assemble a large number of fibrous polymer actuators for an application requiring a large force. Therefore, an embodiment in which a large number of fibrous polymer actuators are assembled to form a polymer actuator having a large generated force will be described below with reference to FIG.

  4 is a top view schematically showing an aggregate polymer actuator formed by assembling a large number of the fibrous polymer actuators shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4B is a top view schematically showing a polymer actuator formed by assembling molecular actuators, and FIG. 4B schematically shows an aggregate polymer actuator formed by bundling a number of polymer actuators shown in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the polymer actuator 100 composed of an assembly of a large number of fibrous polymer actuators according to the present invention includes, for example, 100 fibrous polymer actuators 10 bundled together. Two fibrous polymer actuators 10 are electrically and mechanically connected in parallel. In this case, the tip end portions 11a of the cylindrical first electrode 11 are connected to each other by a first crimp terminal (first external terminal) 101, and the lower end portions 12b of the cylindrical second electrode 12 are connected to a second crimp terminal (second external terminal). Terminal) 102 and integrated to form an aggregate fiber polymer actuator 100a.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, 100 of these aggregate fibrous polymer actuators 100a are bundled, and these 100 aggregate fiber polymer actuators 100a are electrically and mechanically arranged in parallel. It is connected. In this case, the first crimp terminals 101 connected to the tip of the aggregate fiber polymer actuator 100a are connected to each other by the first convergent crimp terminal (first external terminal) 110, and the rear of the aggregate fiber polymer actuator 100a. The second crimp terminals (second external terminals) 102 connected to the end portions are connected to each other by a second convergent crimp terminal 120 and are integrated into a collective polymer actuator 100.

  In this way, 100 fibrous polymer actuators 10 are connected in parallel to form an aggregate fiber polymer actuator 100a, and these 100 aggregate fiber polymer actuators 100a are connected in parallel to form an aggregate polymer. When the actuator 100 is used, the generated polymer actuator 100 has a force 10,000 times that of the single fiber polymer actuator 10. Thus, for example, as described above, when a voltage of 200 V / μm is applied to the aggregate polymer actuator 100, assuming that the strain amount (displacement amount) is 50%, F = 1.95 × 100 × 0.000707 × It becomes 0.5 × 10000 = 68.9 g weight, and it becomes possible to generate a large force. In this case, if the diameter of one fibrous polymer actuator 10 is 30 μm, the size will be 3 mm × 3 mm.

  When it is not necessary to generate a large force, instead of connecting a plurality of aggregate fiber polymer actuators 100a electrically and mechanically in parallel, the aggregate fiber polymer actuators 100a are electrically connected in parallel. In addition, when connected in series mechanically, a large amount of displacement can be taken out. Therefore, it may be mechanically connected in parallel or mechanically connected in series depending on the application to be used. In this case, if the electrical connection is made in series, a large voltage will be applied. Therefore, it is necessary to make the electrical connection in parallel regardless of the mechanical connection. .

(Modification)
In the aggregate polymer actuator 100 described above, the example in which the columnar fibrous polymer actuators 10 are aggregated has been described. However, when the cylindrical fibrous polymer actuators 10 are assembled, a space portion is generated in the obtained assembled polymer actuator 100. Therefore, a modification in which such a space portion is not generated will be described below with reference to FIG.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3C, the side walls of the fibrous polymer actuators 30 are formed using the fibrous polymer actuators 30 formed in a hexagonal column shape as a whole as shown in FIG. When the layers are arranged so as to be in close contact with each other and integrated, it is possible to form the aggregate polymer actuator 300 in which no space portion is generated. In this case, tip portions (not shown) of a large number of hexagonal columnar first electrodes 31 are connected to each other by a first external terminal (not shown), and lower end portions (not shown) of the large number of hexagonal cylindrical second electrodes 32. ) Are connected to each other by a second external terminal (not shown) and integrated to form the aggregate polymer actuator 300.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the silicone resin is used as the insulating elastomer has been described. However, an acrylic resin, a urethane resin, or the like may be used as the insulating elastomer other than the silicone resin. In addition, when a metal powder is uniformly dispersed in these insulating elastomers to form a conductive elastomer, the metal powder to be dispersed is insulated by using gold, silver, aluminum, chromium, nickel, etc. The conductive elastomer may be uniformly dispersed so as to have conductivity.

It is a figure which shows typically the fibrous polymer actuator of this invention, Fig.1 (a) is a perspective view, FIG.1 (b) is the top view. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a manufacturing process of the fibrous polymer actuator shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (a) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a manufacturing process of the first electrode. FIGS. 2B and 2C are cross-sectional views schematically showing the insulator manufacturing process, and FIGS. 2D and 2E are cross-sectional views schematically showing the second electrode manufacturing process. FIG. 3A is a schematic view showing a fibrous polymer actuator of a modification, FIG. 3A is a top view schematically showing a fibrous polymer actuator of a first modification, and FIG. It is a top view which shows typically the fibrous polymer actuator of 2 modifications, FIG.3 (c) bundled many fibrous polymer actuators of the 2nd modification of FIG.3 (b), and was set as the aggregate | assembly. It is a top view which shows a polymer actuator typically. FIG. 4A is a top view schematically showing an aggregate polymer actuator formed by assembling a large number of fibrous polymer actuators shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A is an aggregate of many fibrous polymer actuators. 4B is a top view schematically showing the formed polymer actuator, and FIG. 4B is a top view schematically showing an aggregate polymer actuator formed by bundling a large number of polymer actuators shown in FIG. is there. FIG. 5A is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional polymer actuator, FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a state before a high voltage is applied, and FIG. 5B is a state where a high voltage is applied. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Fibrous polymer actuator, 11 ... 1st electrode, 11a ... Tip part of 1st electrode, 12 ... 2nd electrode, 12a ... Conductive elastomer, 12b ... Lower end part of 2nd electrode, 13 ... Insulator, 13a DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Insulating elastomer, 16 ... Insulating elastomer storage container, 17 ... Conductive elastomer storage container, 20 ... The fibrous polymer actuator of the modification 1 21 ... 1st electrode, 22 ... 2nd electrode, 23 ... Insulator, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... The fibrous polymer actuator of the modification 2 31 ... 1st electrode, 32 ... 2nd electrode, 33 ... Insulator, 100a ... Assembly fiber polymer actuator, 100 ... Assembly polymer actuator, 101 ... 1st crimping | compression-bonding Terminal 102, second crimping terminal 110, first convergence crimping terminal 120, second convergence crimping terminal

Claims (10)

A fibrous polymer actuator that extends in the axial direction by applying a high voltage between a pair of electrodes,
The pair of electrodes includes a columnar first electrode disposed at the center of the fibrous polymer and a cylindrical second electrode disposed coaxially on the outer periphery of the first electrode,
An insulator having elasticity between the first electrode and the second electrode is disposed in close contact with both the electrodes,
A fibrous polymer actuator, wherein a high voltage is applied to the first electrode disposed in the central portion.   The thickness of the said insulator is formed so that it may become equal distance between the outer peripheral surface of the said 1st electrode, and the internal peripheral surface of the said 2nd electrode, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Fibrous polymer actuator.   3. The fibrous polymer according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode has a columnar shape, and the second electrode disposed coaxially with the outer periphery of the first electrode has a cylindrical shape. Actuator.   3. The fibrous height according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode has an elliptic cylinder shape, and the second electrode coaxially disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the first electrode has an elliptic cylinder shape. Molecular actuator.   3. The fibrous height according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode has a polygonal columnar shape, and the second electrode disposed coaxially on the outer peripheral portion of the first electrode has a polygonal cylindrical shape. Molecular actuator.   The fiber according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are formed of a conductive elastomer, and the insulator is formed of an insulating elastomer. Polymer actuator.   The fibrous polymer actuator according to claim 6, wherein the conductive elastomer is obtained by adding carbon powder or metal powder to the insulating elastomer. A method for producing a fibrous polymer actuator that extends in the axial direction by applying a high voltage between a pair of electrodes,
A first electrode forming step of forming a first electrode by extruding a conductive elastomer into a columnar shape;
An insulator forming step in which an insulating elastomer is applied to the surface of the first electrode, and an insulator is coaxially formed on the outer periphery of the surface of the first electrode;
A fibrous polymer actuator comprising: a second electrode forming step in which a conductive elastomer is applied to a surface of the insulator and a second electrode is formed coaxially on the outer peripheral portion of the surface of the insulator. Production method.   The fibrous polymer actuator according to claim 8, wherein the application of the insulating elastomer in the insulator forming step and the application of the conductive elastomer in the second electrode forming step are performed by dipping or spray coating. Manufacturing method. A polymer actuator comprising an assembly of a large number of fibrous polymer actuators according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A first external electrode is formed by bundling only the first electrodes of the multiple fibrous polymer actuators,
A polymer actuator, wherein a second external electrode is formed by bundling only the second electrodes of the plurality of fibrous polymer actuators.

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