US 12,336,429 B2
Thermotactile stimulation prosthesis
Rama Venkatasubramanian, Cary, NC (US); Luke E. Osborn, Baltimore, MD (US); Robert S. Armiger, Catonsville, MD (US); Meiyong Himmtann, Sykesville, MD (US); and Jonathan M. Pierce, North Eldersburg, MD (US)
Assigned to The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (US)
Filed by The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (US)
Filed on Nov. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/071,789.
Application 17/544,391 is a division of application No. 17/038,614, filed on Sep. 30, 2020, granted, now 11,227,988, issued on Jan. 18, 2022.
Application 18/071,789 is a continuation in part of application No. 17/544,391, filed on Dec. 7, 2021, granted, now 11,532,778.
Prior Publication US 2023/0106799 A1, Apr. 6, 2023
Int. Cl. H10N 10/13 (2023.01); F25B 21/02 (2006.01); H10N 10/852 (2023.01); H10N 19/00 (2023.01)
CPC H10N 10/13 (2023.02) [F25B 21/02 (2013.01); H10N 10/852 (2023.02); H10N 19/00 (2023.02); H10N 19/101 (2023.02)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A thermotactile stimulation prosthesis comprising:
a prosthesis extremity having a prosthesis interface configured for attachment to a human limb; and
a thermoelectric actuator array coupled to the prosthesis interface and configured to establish a noninvasive thermoneural human-machine interface capable of providing sensations of temperature to the human limb,
wherein the thermoelectric actuator array comprises a plurality of thin-film thermoelectric (TFTE) actuators configured to generate one or both of a heating effect and a cooling effect in response to an electrical current,
wherein the plurality of TFTE actuators each include a p-type controlled hierarchical engineered superlattice structure (CHESS), and an n-type CHESS, and wherein each of the p-type CHESS and the n-type CHESS comprises a thin-film thermoelectric material having a material thickness, and
wherein the p-type CHESS and the n-type CHESS each include superlattice periods of varying thickness and associated layers of varying thickness to scatter a range of phonons.