US 12,241,458 B2
Actuator with contracting member
Michael Paul Rowe, Pinckney, MI (US); Brian J. Pinkelman, Ann Arbor, MI (US); Yufei Zhu, Ypsilanti, MI (US); and Frederick William Mau, II, McKinney, TX (US)
Assigned to Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US); and Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota (JP)
Filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed on Dec. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/399,026.
Application 18/399,026 is a continuation in part of application No. 18/329,217, filed on Jun. 5, 2023.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/485,398, filed on Feb. 16, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2024/0280090 A1, Aug. 22, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. F03G 7/06 (2006.01)
CPC F03G 7/06143 (2021.08) 59 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An actuator, comprising:
an outer body, at least a portion of the outer body being configured to pivot, the outer body including a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being pivotably connected to the second portion;
a contracting member operatively connected to opposing end portions of the actuator; and
a track, the first portion and the second portion slidably engage the track,
when an activation input is provided to the contracting member, the contracting member contracts such that the opposing end portions of the actuator move toward each other, thereby causing the actuator to morph into an activated configuration in which a dimension of the actuator increases.