US 11,946,461 B2
Asymmetric bistable shape memory alloy inertial actuator
Marco Citro, Varese (IT); Salvatore Coco, Cesano Maderno (IT); and Stefano Alacqua, Como (IT)
Assigned to SAES Getters S.p.A., Lainate (IT)
Appl. No. 18/277,622
Filed by SAES GETTERS S.P.A., Lainate (IT)
PCT Filed Feb. 24, 2022, PCT No. PCT/EP2022/054601
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 17, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/184533, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 9, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 102021000004859 (IT), filed on Mar. 2, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0035456 A1, Feb. 1, 2024
Int. Cl. F03G 7/06 (2006.01)
CPC F03G 7/063 (2021.08) [F03G 7/06143 (2021.08); F03G 7/064 (2021.08); F05B 2260/502 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An asymmetric inertial bistable shape memory alloy actuator comprising:
a stationary support,
a slider movably mounted on said stationary support,
a crank-and-rod mechanism mounted on the stationary support and connected to said movable slider, said crank-and-rod mechanism having a, first stable position and a second stable position located on opposite sides with respect to its dead center,
one or more inertial elements of total mass M coupled to or forming part of the crank-and-rod mechanism,
only one shape memory alloy wire acting directly or indirectly on the crank-and-rod mechanism to switch the crank-and-rod mechanism from its first stable position to its second stable position and vice versa,
biasing means to bias said slider towards the first stable position,
wherein a movable pivot connecting the crank and the rod of the crank-and-rod mechanism has a distance d1 from the dead center of the crank-and-rod mechanism in the first stable position that is greater than an analogous distance d2 in the second stable position.