JPH035128A - Shape memory member - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To recover the form easily in electrifying an arbitrary heating element, and enable the adaptation to various operational positions to be conducted by building a plurality of heating elements in a high polymer shape memory member in a shape of wire, rod, plate, cylinder or the like, and constituting them as being capable of connecting to electric sources individually by means of an external signal. CONSTITUTION:For instance, heating elements 2a, 2b are electrified which are in a position to apply deformation with respect to a shape memory member 1 molded in a shape of linear, and then the part is heated by the temperature of being glass transferring point or higher and melting point or lower. In the condition, it is added with an external stress, and the part wherein the heating elements are positioned is applied with a curve-shaped deformation, and then the electrification to the heating elements is stopped in order to cool the part up to the glass transferring point or lower and fix the form thereof. In the next place, an external signal such as light, magnetism, electricity, pressure, displacement, sound or the like is sent to a control circuit 5, and the electric source 4 and heating elements 2a and 2b are connected to each other and electrified then, and when heated to the glass transferring point or higher, they return to the original condition in recovering the memory of the linear shape.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides an atmosphere/! I+! The present invention relates to a shape memory member that can restore the shape of a necessary part at any time without being overshadowed at once, and can be applied to actuators, switches, locally variable springs, opening/closing tampers, etc.

(Prior art) Conventional polymer shape memory members have a temperature of Δ1 higher than the operating temperature.
．． Using a shape memory material that has a crow transition point,
After forming in the usual way and memorizing the shape, i! is higher than the crow transition point. The material is heated to IA degrees to apply deformation, and while the shape is maintained, it is cooled to a temperature below the glass transition point to obtain a shape memory member in which the shape is fixed. When this member is heated above its glass transition point, it undergoes 71 cycles of memory and returns to its original shape.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) Conventional polymer-based shape memory members require heating to a point where the member undergoes a claustrophobic transition in order to restore memory.
Atmosphere surrounding the parts 7! r! In response to changes in degree,
It restores the memorized shape all at once.

The present invention does not depend on a 7ijA degree change in the atmosphere;
The object of the present invention is to provide a polymeric shape memory member that can recover the shape of only the portions that need to be deformed in response to necessary external signals, and whose shape recovery can be extremely easily controlled.

(Step 4 for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a linear, rod-shaped, plate-shaped, cylindrical, etc. shape memory member formed of a polymeric shape memory material into a predetermined shape, in which a portion is scheduled to recover its shape. A shape memory member characterized by having one or more heating elements built into the body, and provided with a means for energizing each heating element individually or all at once. /, :”i By energizing any heating element using an external signal from the cap, the memory can be restored and the part can be returned to its original shape.

(Function) FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 6 τ1f; and FIG. 8 are conceptual diagrams of a polymeric shape memory member which is a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a rod-shaped member 1 made of a shape memory material with a plurality of linear heating elements 2a, 2b, etc. of different lengths built therein, and the heating elements connected to a power source 4 via conductive wires 3a, 3b, etc. possible. The external signal 6 that starts energizing the heating element can be optical, magnetic,
Electricity, pressure, displacement, sound, etc. can be used, and this external signal 6 is received by a sensor, etc. and sent to the control circuit 5, and the power source 4 is opened and closed to energize the heating element 2a, etc.
By changing the electric current, the bar-shaped member 1 can be heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition point to recover its memory and return to the shape at the time of molding.

Figure 1 shows heating elements of different lengths connected in series with conductive wires, and when electricity is applied, each part of the member is simultaneously heated in accordance with the heat generated by each heating element, returning it to its shape when molded. I can do it.

Fig. 3 shows that relatively short heating elements of the same length are divided into a plurality of groups and built into a rod-shaped member 1, and each group of heating elements is connected with conductive wires 3a, 3b, etc. It is designed to be able to be energized, and to heat a specific part using an external signal 6 when necessary to change its shape or restore its shape.

Note that FIGS. 2 and 4 are views taken in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 1 and views taken in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. It is.

In FIG. 6, a plurality of linear or foil-shaped heating elements 2a, 2b, etc. of different lengths are built into a plate-shaped shape memory member 1, and the heating elements are connected to a power source 4 via conductive wires 3a, 31+, etc. Similarly to the member shown in FIG. 1, the control circuit 5 controls opening and closing of the power supply 4 in response to an external signal 6. FIG. 7 shows a specific example of a linear heating element.

FIG. 8 shows a modification of the plate-shaped shape memory member shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line Vl-Vl in FIG. Figure 8 shows a relatively short heating element 2 of the same length in a plate-like shape memory member 1.
A, 2b, etc. are divided into multiple groups and built-in, and conductive wires 3a, :(++
etc., and it was possible to apply electricity to each /iT.

Shape memory members can be linear, rod-shaped, or shaped according to the purpose of use.
It can be made into any shape such as a plate or a cylinder. The heating element is built into the part that returns to the shape at the time of molding.For example, it is flexible and can follow the deformation of the member, such as a wire or foil, or it is a relatively short heating element. Connect with conductive wire and allow deformation of the conductive wire portion.

Next, to explain the procedure for using the shape memory member, for example,
As shown in Fig. 3, a shape memory member 1 formed into a linear shape is energized to the heating elements 2a and 2b in the portions to be deformed, and the portions are heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition point of the member. While heated at a low temperature, external stress is applied to curve the heating elements 2a and 211 as shown in FIG. 5, and the heating elements are turned off and cooled to below the glass transition point. This fixes the curved shape. next,
Send the external signal 6 to the control circuit 5 to connect the power source 4 and the heating element 2a.
When the wires 2b and 2b are connected and energized and heated to a temperature above the glass transition point, the memory of the linear shape is restored and the state shown in FIG. 3 is restored. This deformation and shape recovery can be performed in a variety of shapes at a plurality of sites, and can be performed over time, or can be performed simultaneously.

In this way, the shape memory member of the present invention can be made by freely using a shape memory material having a glass transition point or a wide range, rather than being arbitrarily selected by heating with dynamic humidity and temperature. Conventional shape memory members could only use shape memory materials that have a glass transition point near the operating humidity, but the present invention has been able to eliminate such restrictions. The material used for the shape memory member has low thermal conductivity, just like the polymer material used in the crotch, so even if one part of the member is heated, the adjacent parts will not be heated at the same time. , Therefore, there is no inconvenience that the outside part of the object is deformed or the shape is restored.

Among the above-mentioned shape memory members, those with small heating elements uniformly built into the member as shown in Figures 3 and 8 can be deformed and restored in shape at any part as necessary. Because of this, it can be applied as is for a wide range of uses. Furthermore, if care is taken regarding the position of the conductive wire drawn out from the heating element, it is also possible to cut the member according to the intended use.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention adopts the above configuration, and incorporates a plurality of heating elements in a linear, rod-shaped, plate-shaped, cylindrical, etc. polymeric shape memory member. The heating element can be configured to be individually connectable to a power source using external signals such as , displacement, and sound. By energizing the heating element at any part of the deformed area at any time, the shape can be restored very easily. As a result, it has become possible to apply it to various operating members.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1, 3, 6 and 8 are conceptual diagrams of a polymeric shape memory member which is a specific example of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken along arrow 1l-II in FIG. The figure is a view taken from the IV-IV arrow in FIG. 3, FIG. 9 is a view taken from the V[-Vl arrow in FIG. 8, and FIG. Figure shown, 5th
The figure shows the member of FIG. 3 deformed and fixed.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In linear, rod-shaped, plate-shaped, cylindrical, etc. shape memory members made of polymeric shape memory material molded into a predetermined shape, one or more heating elements are built in the part where shape recovery is planned, and each A shape memory member characterized in that a means for energizing heating elements individually or all at once is attached. (2) Claim (2) characterized in that a device for receiving an external signal such as light, magnetism, electricity, pressure, displacement, sound, etc., and a device for controlling energization of the heating element based on the external signal are attached.
1) The shape memory member described above.