US 12,631,263 B2
Actuator with shape memory alloy elements for operating a valve
Bishakh Bhattacharya, Kanpur (IN); Kapil Das Sahu, Pune (IN); Kanhaiya Lal Chaurasiya, Kanpur (IN); Ujjain Kumar Bidila, Hyderabad (IN); and Mani Kumar P, Kanpur (IN)
Assigned to Tyco Fire & Security GmbH, Neuhausen am Rheinfall (CH); and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Kanpur (IN)
Appl. No. 18/687,802
Filed by Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP, Milwaukee, WI (US); and INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KANPUR, Kanpur (IN)
PCT Filed Aug. 29, 2022, PCT No. PCT/US2022/041899
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 28, 2024,
PCT Pub. No. WO2023/034215, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 9, 2023.
Claims priority of application No. 202111039151 (IN), filed on Aug. 30, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0376994 A1, Nov. 14, 2024
Int. Cl. F16K 31/02 (2006.01)
CPC F16K 31/025 (2013.01) 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A valve actuator assembly, comprising:
an actuating arm configured to be movable relative to a frame and a valve;
a biasing member coupled to the actuating arm and the frame, the biasing member configured to bias the actuating arm in a first direction relative to the frame;
a holder extending from a surface of the frame;
multiple activatable elements aligned in parallel with each other and coupled to the actuating arm and the holder, wherein the multiple activatable elements, responsive to an activation by an electric current applied to the multiple activatable elements, undergo a dimensional transformation and collectively apply a force to bias the actuating arm in a second direction opposite the first direction relative to the frame; and
a movable component coupled to the actuating arm and positioned at least partially within the valve, wherein the movable component is configured to control a variable amount of fluid flow through the valve based on a position of the actuating arm.