Engineering Commons^™

Linear Actuator Using Shape Memory Wire With Controller, Robert Ryan Vallance, Bruce L. Walcott, James E. Lumpp Jr., Aravind Balasubramanian, Osamah A. Rawashdeh

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Patents

A linear actuator is provided, comprising a housing defining an interior channel, a stop extending from the housing and displaceable relative to the housing, and at least one wire formed of a shape-memory alloy, the wire being attached at a first end to the stop and at a second end to the housing. When heated to a predetermined temperature, the wire applies a pulling force to the stop to cause the stop to slide in a first direction into the housing interior channel. A spring located in the housing interior channel applies a biasing force to the stop in a …