Patents Represented by Attorney Patrick Hogan, Esq.
  • Patent number: 5662294
    Abstract: A pliant, controllable contour control surface comprising a first flexible facesheet formed to a first initial contour of the control surface, and a second flexible facesheet formed to a second initial contour of the control surface. The first and second facesheets each have a set of prestrained shape memory alloy tendons embedded therein, extending from a leading edge to a trailing edge of the control surface. Each set of the shape memory alloy tendons is separately connected to a controlled source of electrical current such that tendons of the first and second flexible facesheets can be selectively heated in an antagonistic, slack-free relationship, to bring about a desired modification of the configuration of the control surface. A computer based control system is utilized for maintaining a constant temperature of the antagonists to establish conditions conducive to the stress induced transformation from austenite to martensite, accomplished by causing constant current to flow through the antagonists.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 2, 1997
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Maclean, Bernard F. Carpenter, Mohan S. Misra