US 12,083,674 B2
Preloaded strut
Stuart J. Shelley, Cincinnati, OH (US); Richard Allan Roth, II, Goshen, OH (US); and Kevin Joseph Sigmund, Newtown, OH (US)
Assigned to Etegent Technologies, Ltd., Cincinnati, OH (US)
Appl. No. 17/298,843
Filed by Etegent Technologies LTD., Cincinnati, OH (US)
PCT Filed Dec. 12, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/065997
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 1, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/123818, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 18, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/779,241, filed on Dec. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0032481 A1, Feb. 3, 2022
Int. Cl. B25J 19/00 (2006.01); B25J 17/02 (2006.01); F16F 1/366 (2006.01); F16F 1/44 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 19/0091 (2013.01) [B25J 17/0216 (2013.01); F16F 1/366 (2013.01); F16F 1/44 (2013.01); F16F 2224/0241 (2013.01); F16F 2224/025 (2013.01); F16F 2228/08 (2013.01); F16F 2230/0005 (2013.01); F16F 2236/04 (2013.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A strut including first and second opposing ends, the strut comprising:
a rigid tensioning member;
a compression spring interposed between the first end of the strut and a first end of the rigid tensioning member; and
an actuation member extending through the rigid tensioning member and the compression spring, the actuation member being substantially axially rigid under tension and at least a portion of the actuation member extending through the compression spring being substantially flexible in bending or compression, wherein the actuation member is preloaded through the compression spring and the rigid tensioning member with a quasi-static axial tensioning force such that the actuation member remains substantially axially rigid in response to application of an axial compressive force to the strut that is less than the quasi-static tensioning force.