Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090045042 | Active material based bodies for varying frictional force levels at the interface between two surfaces - A device for selectively controlling and varying a frictional force level at an interface between two bodies, includes a first contact body having at least one surface, a second contact body having at least one surface in physical communication with the first contact body, and an active material in operative communication with a selected one or both of the first contact body and the second contact body, wherein the active material is configured to undergo a change in a property upon receipt of an activation signal wherein the change in a property is effective to change the frictional force level at the interface between the at least one surface of the first contact body and the at least one surface of the second contact body. | 02-19-2009 |
20090047197 | Active material based bodies for varying surface texture and frictional force levels - A device for selectively controlling and varying surface texture includes a body having at least one surface, and an active material in operative communication with the at least one surface, wherein the active material is configured to undergo a change in a property upon receipt of an activation signal, wherein the change in a property is effective to change a texture of the at least one surface. | 02-19-2009 |
20090074993 | Active material activated cover - In one embodiment, a cover system can comprise: a cover and an active material component in operable communication with the cover. The active material component can comprise an active material that enables the deployment and retraction of the cover. | 03-19-2009 |
20100293775 | REVERSIBLE ATTACHMENT MECHANISMS - Mechanically interlocking releasable fastener systems include a reinforced shape memory polymer for forming one of the interlocking components. The reinforced shape memory polymer includes a filler material in the form of a fiber and/or platelet. The filler can include an electrically conductive filler, a thermally conductive filler, a dielectric fillers, and mixtures thereof. Also disclosed herein are processes for using the releasable fastener systems. | 11-25-2010 |
20110114791 | Morphing Panel Structure - A panel structure includes a composite facesheet and a stiffening core having a plurality of core members in an intersecting web configuration provided on the composite facesheet. | 05-19-2011 |
20110120115 | ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - An energy harvesting system includes a heat engine and a component configured to be driven by operation of the heat engine. The heat engine includes a first member, a second member, a shape memory alloy material, and a tensioner. The second member is spaced from the first member. The shape memory alloy material operatively interconnects the first member and the second member. The shape memory alloy material is configured to selectively change crystallographic phase from martensite to austenite and thereby contract in response to exposure to a first temperature. The shape memory alloy material is also configured to selectively change crystallographic phase from austenite to martensite and thereby expand in response to exposure to a second temperature. The tensioner is configured to apply tension to the shape memory alloy material as the shape memory alloy material selectively expands and contracts such that the shape memory alloy material is taut. | 05-26-2011 |
20110124452 | VEHICLE ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICE HAVING A CONTINUOUS LOOP OF SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY - An energy harvesting system comprises a first region and a second region having a temperature difference therebetween. A plurality of heat engines are located proximate to the conduit and configured for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy. The heat engines each include a shape memory alloy forming at least one generally continuous loop. The shape memory alloy driven to rotate by heat exchange contact with each of the first region and the second region. At least one pulley for each of the plurality of heat engines is driven by the rotation of the respective shape memory alloy, and each of the at least one pulleys is operatively connected to a component to thereby drive the component. | 05-26-2011 |
20110163769 | METHODS OF DETERMINING MID-STROKE POSITIONS OF ACTIVE MATERIAL ACTUATED LOADS - Systems for and methods of determining at least one mid-stroke position of an active material actuated load by causing a stress induced rapid change in electrical resistance within the active material element, or modifying an ancillary circuit, when the load is at the mid-stroke position(s). | 07-07-2011 |
20110165981 | ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - An energy harvesting system includes a heat engine and a component. The heat engine includes a belt, a first member, and a second member. The belt includes a strip of material and at least one wire at least partially embedded longitudinally in the strip of material. The wire includes a shape memory alloy material. A localized region of the at least one wire is configured to change crystallographic phase between martensite and austenite and either contract or expand longitudinally in response to exposure to a first temperature or a second temperature such that the strip of material corresponding to the localized region also contracts or expands. The first member is operatively connected to the belt and moves with the belt in response to the expansion or contraction of the belt. The component is operatively connected to the first member such that movement of the first member drives the component. | 07-07-2011 |
20110285618 | ACTIVE INTERFACE CONTROLS HAVING BI-STABLE ACTUATION AND INTRINSIC SENSING CAPABILITY - An active interface control shiftable between deployed and stowed configurations, and including an active material actuator employing a bi-stable mechanism configured to increase the actuator stroke length, and/or presenting intrinsic or external sensing capability, and reconfigurable displays comprising separately shiftable sets of controls. | 11-24-2011 |
20120015149 | ACTIVELY CONTROLLED TEXTURING SYSTEMS - Actively controlled texturing systems for and methods of selectively and reversibly forming wrinkles, or modifying the amplitude, wavelength, or pattern of existing wrinkles upon a surface using active material actuation. | 01-19-2012 |
20120109573 | METHOD OF DETERMINING A HEAT TRANSFER CONDITION FROM A RESISTANCE CHARACTERISTIC OF A SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY ELEMENT - A method of sensing an ambient heat transfer condition surrounding a shape memory alloy element includes heating the shape memory alloy element, sensing the resistance of the shape memory alloy element, and measuring the period of time taken to heat the shape memory alloy element to a pre-determined level of a resistance characteristic. The ambient heat transfer condition surrounding the shape memory alloy element is calculated by referencing a relationship between the period of time taken to heat the shape memory alloy to the pre-determined level of the resistance characteristic and the ambient heat transfer condition. | 05-03-2012 |
20120114778 | SURFACE TEXTURING USING FOLDABLE STRUCTURES AND ACTIVE MATERIAL ACTUATION - Active texturing systems adapted for selectively and reversibly modifying the texture of a surface utilizing a variably foldable structure in communication with the surface, and active material actuation to enable and/or cause folding. | 05-10-2012 |
20120216522 | ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM - An energy harvesting system for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy includes a heat engine that operates using a shape memory alloy active material. The shape memory alloy member may be in thermal communication with a hot region at a first temperature and a cold region at a second temperature lower than the first temperature. The shape memory alloy material may be configured to selectively change crystallographic phase between martensite to austenite and thereby one of contract and expand in response to the first and second temperatures. A thermal conduction element may be in direct contact with the SMA material, where the thermal conduction element is configured to receive thermal energy from the hot region and to transfer a portion of the received thermal energy to the SMA material through conduction. | 08-30-2012 |
20120216523 | ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM - An energy harvesting system for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy includes a heat engine that operates using a shape memory alloy active material. The shape memory alloy member may be in thermal communication with a hot region at a first temperature and a cold region at a second temperature lower than the first temperature. The shape memory alloy material may be configured to selectively change crystallographic phase between martensite to austenite and thereby one of contract and expand in response to the first and second temperatures. A driven component, such as an electric generator, may be selectively coupled with the heat engine through a coupling device, which may be controlled via a controller. | 08-30-2012 |
20120216525 | METHOD OF STARTING AND OPERATING A SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY HEAT ENGINE - A shape memory alloy (SMA) heat engine includes a first rotatable pulley, a second rotatable pulley, and an SMA material disposed about the first and second rotatable pulleys and between a hot region and a cold region. A method of starting and operating the SMA heat engine includes detecting a thermal energy gradient between the hot region and the cold region using a controller, decoupling an electrical generator from one of the first and second rotatable pulleys, monitoring a speed of the SMA material about the first and second rotatable pulleys, and re-engaging the driven component if the monitored speed of the SMA material exceeds a threshold. The SMA material may selectively change crystallographic phase between martensite and austenite and between the hot region and the cold region to convert the thermal gradient into mechanical energy. | 08-30-2012 |
20120216526 | SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY HEAT ENGINES AND ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEMS - An energy harvesting system in thermal communication with a hot region and a cold region includes a hot end heat engine in thermal communication with the hot region, a cold end heat engine in thermal communication with the cold region, and an intermediate heat engine disposed between the hot end heat engine and the cold end heat engine. The hot end heat engine includes a hot end shape memory alloy (SMA) element, the cold end heat engine includes a cold end SMA element disposed, and the intermediate heat engine includes an intermediate SMA element. A hot side of the intermediate SMA element is in thermal communication with a cold side of the hot end SMA element. A cold side of the intermediate SMA element is in thermal communication with a hot side of the cold end SMA element. | 08-30-2012 |
20130081389 | Composite Bi-Stable Device - A deformable bi-stable device includes an elastically deformable member having at least two stable configurations and capable of being deformed from a first stable configuration to a second stable configuration, the element passing through an unstable configuration as it is deformed from the first stable configuration to the second stable configuration, and a shape memory polymer layer on or in the elastically deformable member. A method of using this device includes heating the shape memory polymer to a temperature sufficient to reduce the modulus of the shape memory polymer, deforming the deformable member to move from one of the first and second stable configurations to another of the first and second stable configurations, and cooling the device to a temperature sufficient to increase the modulus of the shape memory polymer. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081933 | Reconfigurable Bi-Stable Device - A reconfigurable bi-stable device includes an elastically deformable panel laterally disposed between and connected to one or more mounting members directly or indirectly connected to opposing ends of the panel, with the panel maintained under compressive force along at least one vector extending between the opposing ends. The compressive force deforms the panel into a one of two stable deformed positions, with the device disposed such that the panel may be moved between each of the two stable deformed positions by application of manual force to one of two opposing faces of the panel. A first shape memory alloy (SMA) or piezo actuator member is connected to the panel, the actuator member being capable of moving the panel from a first one of the two stable deformed positions to a second one of the two stable deformed positions. | 04-04-2013 |
20140026555 | ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - An energy harvesting system includes a heat engine and a component. The heat engine includes a belt, a first member, and a second member. The belt includes a strip of material and at least one wire at least partially embedded longitudinally in the strip of material. The wire includes a shape memory alloy material. A localized region of the at least one wire is configured to change crystallographic phase between martensite and austenite and either contract or expand longitudinally in response to exposure to a first temperature or a second temperature such that the strip of material corresponding to the localized region also contracts or expands. The first member is operatively connected to the belt and moves with the belt in response to the expansion or contraction of the belt. The component is operatively connected to the first member such that movement of the first member drives the component. | 01-30-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090144804 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO SUPPORT PRIVILEGES AT MULTIPLE LEVELS OF AUTHENTICATION USING A CONSTRAINING ACL - Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and techniques for creating, updating, and using an ACL (access control list). A database system may include a constraining ACL which represents a global security policy that is to be applied to all applications that interact with the database. By ensuring that all ACLs inherit from the constraining ACL, the database system can ensure that the global security policy is applied to all applications that interact with the database. During operation, the system may receive a request to create or update an ACL. Before creating or updating the ACL, the system may modify the ACL to ensure that it inherits from the constraining ACL. In an embodiment, the system grants a privilege to a user only if both the ACL and the constraining ACL grant the privilege. | 06-04-2009 |
20100306268 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE DATE CONSTRAINTS IN A ROLE HIERARCHY - A system providing a method for implementing effective date constraints in a role hierarchy is described. In one embodiment, for example, the method comprises the steps of: storing data that represents a first effective date constraint on a role of a role hierarchy, the first effective date constraint having a start date and an end date; storing data in a database that represents a second effective date constraint on a grant of the role to a grantee, the second effective date constraint having a start date and an end date; storing data in a database that represents a third effective date constraint on the grantee, the third effective date constraint having a start date and an end date; and computing a net effective date constraint for the role by computing the intersection of the first effective date constraint, the second effective date constraint, and the third effective date constraint. | 12-02-2010 |
20100318570 | PLUGGABLE SESSION CONTEXT - A method and apparatus are described for sharing a session to access a database. A database server receives, in a session, a session context identifier and a command. The session context identifier identifies a session context to use for the session. The session context is a set of information or commands that plug into a session state and specify how commands in the session are to be performed for a particular user or privilege level. In response to receiving the identifier, the database server associates the session context with the database session for the connection. The database server uses the session context to process the command. The session context may then be detached from the session, allowing another user to attach to the session via another session context. | 12-16-2010 |
20110023082 | TECHNIQUES FOR ENFORCING APPLICATION ENVIRONMENT BASED SECURITY POLICIES USING ROLE BASED ACCESS CONTROL - An application platform examines, at runtime, various specified aspects of an application environment in which an application interacts with a user. Such examinations are made to determine a state for each of the various specified aspects. Further, the platform automatically activates particular application environment roles for the user depending on the result of the examinations. For example, an application environment role may be activated representing a particular detected mode of communication (e.g., encrypted network communications) or a particular detected manner of authentication (e.g., password authentication). Such activations are based on the detected states and specified states for the various specified aspects of the application environment. Such activations may occur in the context of an application attempting to perform an operation on an access controlled object on behalf of a user. Further, such activations may occur in the context of establishing or maintaining a user session for a user of an application. | 01-27-2011 |
20110055918 | ACCESS CONTROL MODEL OF FUNCTION PRIVILEGES FOR ENTERPRISE-WIDE APPLICATIONS - Techniques are provided for access control in a system. A request is received for checking whether a subject has a privilege for a resource. A security class that defines a plurality of privileges that include the requested privilege is determined. One or more access control lists have been configured for the security class. The one or more access control lists comprise one or more access control entries. Each of the one more access control entry defines whether one or more subjects has been granted or denied to zero, one or more of the plurality of privileges defined in the security class. Based on the access control lists configured for the security class, it is determined whether the subject should be granted the privilege for the requested resource. | 03-03-2011 |
20130325841 | SQL TRANSFORMATION-BASED OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF DATA ACCESS CONTROL - Techniques are provided for a database server to identify a query that comprises an access check operator specifying a data access control policy, and if so, to re-write the query to produce an optimized query execution plan. A first technique rewrites a query comprising an access check operator based on the privileges associated with the database principal requesting the query. The rewritten query exposes the access predicates relevant to the requesting principal to subsequent database optimization processes. A second technique rewrites a query comprising an access check operator that specifies a data security policy that does not include a denied privilege. A third technique rewrites a query that comprises an access check operator specifying one or more database table columns that store row-specific access control lists. The rewritten queries are used to generate a query execution plan that provides for several query execution optimizations. | 12-05-2013 |