Low-voltage soft actuator capable of linear motion in air

{
  "publication_number": "US12245512B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Low-voltage soft actuator capable of linear motion in air",
  "abstract": "The present invention relates to an actuator including: a first ionic polymer layer disposed on underside of a first electrode layer; a second ionic polymer layer disposed on top of a second electrode layer; and a porous conducting interlayer disposed between the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An actuator comprising: a first ionic polymer layer disposed on underside of a first electrode layer; a second ionic polymer layer disposed on top of a second electrode layer; and a porous conducting interlayer disposed between the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer.",
    "2. The actuator according to claim 1, driven at a low voltage.",
    "3. The actuator according to claim 1, enabling a linear motion.",
    "4. The actuator according to claim 1, enabling a linear motion in an ambient air.",
    "5. The actuator according to claim 1, enabling a bending motion in an ambient air.",
    "6. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer, the second electrode layer, and the porous interlayer are connected to power sources for applying voltages thereto.",
    "7. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer are connected to a first pole power source, and the porous interlayer is connected to a counter pole power source to the first pole power source, so that through the application of the voltages, the linear motion is performed.",
    "8. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer is connected to a first pole power source, the second electrode layer is connected to a counter pole power source to the first pole power source, and the porous interlayer is shorted, so that bending motion is performed.",
    "9. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer is a first polymer electrode layer, the second electrode layer is a second polymer electrode layer, and the porous conducting interlayer is a porous conducting polymer interlayer.",
    "10. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the porous conducting interlayer is charged negatively or positively and stretches by intercalating counter ions into the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer.",
    "11. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the porous conducting interlayer is charged negatively or positively and shrinks by deintercalating counter ions from the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer.",
    "12. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the porous conducting interlayer is composed of a conducting polymer and a surfactant.",
    "13. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the porous conducting interlayer is composed of a poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) conducting polymer and a surfactant.",
    "14. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the porous conducting interlayer has a thickness of 5 to 50 micrometers.",
    "15. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer have the same polymer as each other.",
    "16. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first ionic polymer layer contains lithium salts.",
    "17. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the second ionic polymer layer contains ionic liquid.",
    "18. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer contain the same anions as each other.",
    "19. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first ionic polymer layer and the second ionic polymer layer have different thicknesses from each other.",
    "20. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer have the same polymer as each other.",
    "21. The actuator according to claim 1, having a linear strain greater than or equal to 5% at a low voltage.",
    "22. The actuator according to claim 1, operating flexibly according to directions of the voltage."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates to a soft actuator, and more specifically, to a soft polymer actuator.\n\nSoft polymer actuators have become mainstream in a soft robotic technology field because of their superior capability for flexible and stretchable deformations through various stimuli such as electricity, light, temperature, pressure, pH change, and solvent vapors. Among the soft polymer actuators, ionic electroactive polymer (iEAP) actuators have low-voltage operability, high power-to-weight ratio, mechanical flexibility, and versatile deformability, and accordingly, their demand can be increased in diverse applications such as artificial muscles, biosensors, and biomimetic devices.\n\nTo maintain high charge density generation at low potentials and to eliminate problems such as slow response, back relaxation, low blocking force, and weak durability, various iEAP actuators have been developed, and recently, accordingly, the iEAP actuators have had fast responses even at 1.0 V and improved electromechanical bending of up to several millimeters (strain ˜0.2%).\n\nA series of studies on low-voltage-driven, fast-responsive iEAP actuators with large bending strains and high blocking forces under a structure in which a block copolymer electrolyte membrane characterized by well-defined nanoscale ionic channels is sandwiched between carbon nanotube electrodes have been made by Moon Jeong Park and his coworkers of Postech in Korea, and the iEAP actuators are published and granted (KR 10-1477387 and KR 10-1998019).",
  "cpc": [
    "H10N 30/857",
    "B25J 9/12",
    "F03G 7/0121",
    "F03G 7/029",
    "H10N 30/2023",
    "H10N 30/871"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "H10N 30/20",
    "H10N 30/857",
    "H10N 30/87"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "POSTECH Academy Industry Foundation"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Moon Jeong Park",
    "Hyeon Seong Ham",
    "Dipankar Barpuazary"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2021-11-22",
  "publication_date": "2025-03-04",
  "grant_date": "2025-03-04",
  "priority_date": "2020-12-23",
  "application_number": "US-202117532053-A",
  "family_id": "82022613",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
  "citations": [
    "JP2004197069A",
    "JP2004162035A",
    "KR20060052980A",
    "US7315106B2",
    "US20100141085A1",
    "JP2008211916A",
    "WO2010100907A1",
    "US8487505B2",
    "US20140150859A1",
    "KR20140132538A",
    "KR20150022474A",
    "JP2017184586A",
    "KR20180105062A"
  ]
}