Electrostatic Clutch Electrodes With High-Strength Stitchable Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrostatic clutches attached to base materials like fabrics suffer from weak bonding strength due to the inability to stitch polymer substrates effectively, leading to potential disengagement under large forces.
Innovation Solution
The electrostatic clutch incorporates a pair of electrodes with a high strength substrate fabric, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer, which are attached to a base material using stitching or adhesives, enhancing the bonding strength significantly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If polymer substrate materials like Mylar are used for electrostatic clutch, then the clutch can be manufactured with standard materials, but the stitching connection strength to base fabric is weak and breaks under large forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a polymer substrate (Mylar) with a high-strength fabric layer (such as Dyneema or Kevlar) to create a hybrid substrate that retains the manufacturability of polymer while gaining the stitching strength of high-performance fibers. This composite structure allows the electrostatic clutch to be both easily manufactured and strongly attached to base fabrics.
2Strength
If high strength substrate fabric is used for electrostatic clutch, then the stitching connection strength to base material is significantly improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional layers and materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the substrate and reinforcement into a single composite material layer, eliminating the need for separate polymer substrate and fabric reinforcement layers. This integration maintains the bonding strength benefits while reducing structural complexity and the number of manufacturing steps.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrostatic clutch includes a pair of electrodes configured to be attached to a base material of the electrostatic clutch. The pair of electrodes individually comprise a high strength substrate fabric configured to be attached to the base material and a dielectric layer coupled to the high strength substrate fabric.