US 11,725,715 B1
Advance and hold pawl actuator
Kevin P. Grundy, Emmett, ID (US); Roger Sharpe, Mountain View, CA (US); and Ryan Liu, Fremont, CA (US)
Assigned to Opsis Health, Inc., Golden, CO (US)
Filed by Opsis Health, Inc., Golden, CO (US)
Filed on Aug. 13, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/402,327.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/065,463, filed on Aug. 13, 2020.
Int. Cl. F16H 31/00 (2006.01)
CPC F16H 31/005 (2013.01) [F16H 31/007 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An actuator system comprising:
a tooth actuator comprising teeth on a surface;
a tensioner to apply a tension force to the tooth actuator;
a movable and controllable hold pawl to hold the tooth actuator stationary, through disengage-able contact with at least one of the teeth, with respect to a direction of the tension force while allowing the tooth actuator to move freely in a direction opposite the direction of the tension force;
a movable and controllable advancement pawl having at least two degrees of freedom that enable engagement of the moveable and controllable advancement pawl with a first one of the teeth on the tooth actuator and displacement of the tooth actuator a distance in the direction opposite of the direction of the tension force; and
a contracting linear actuator, attached to the movable and controllable advancement pawl, a pulling force of which (i) causes the engagement via a rotational movement of the movable and controllable advancement pawl and (ii) after the rotational movement ceases, causes the displacement via linear movement of the movable and controllable advancement pawl.