THERMOCHEMICALLY ACTIVATED MOTION (TCAM) VALVE ACTUATOR

A PROPOSAL IS PUT FOWARD TO DEVELOP ELECTROHYDRAULIC VALVE (EHV) ACTUATORS UTILIZING A NEW TECHNOLOGY, THERMOCHEMICALLY ACTIVATED MOTION (TCAM). TCAM ACTUATORS PROMISE MANY IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVE PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY, AND YET PRESENT COST AND COMPLEXITY LEVELS SIMILAR TO ELECTRIC SOLENOIDS. FEATURES INCLUDE IO TO 100 TIMES THE POWER DENSITY OF ELECTRIC SOLENOIDS, INSTALLATION CONVENIENCE SIMILAR TO SOLENOIDS, ABSOLUTE SILENCE OF OPERATION, VIBRATIONLESS, NO RF GENERATION, AND LOW PROJECTED COST LEVELS. CONTROL OPTIONS INCLUDE ON-OFF (STEP FUNCTION) OPERATION, MULTIPLE DISCRETE POSITIONING AND FULL PROPORTIONAL CONTROL OF FORCE, DISTANCE, AND SPEED. POWER IS 12 TO 50 VDC AT 2 TO 8 AMPS. THE POWER DENSITY OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IS EXPECTED TO WIN MANY APPLICATIONS IN WHICH ACTUATOR SIZE IS A PROBLEM. THESE UNITS CAN REPLACE SMALL HYDRAULIC CYLINDERS IN THE SAME PACKAGE SIZE AND ELIMINATE PUMPS, VALVES AND LINES. THE TCAM ACTUATOR IS SELF CONTAINED, REQUIRES ONLY ELECTRIC SERVICE, AND PRESENTS NO SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARDS. THE COMPANY HAS INDENTIFIED $8 BILLION IN TARGET MARKETS FOR POTENTIAL TCAM DEVICES, WHICH BREAK DOWN INTO AUTOMOTIVE ACTUATORS, VALVE ACTUATORS, ROBOTIC ACTUATORS, AND SMALL HORSEPOWER GASOLINE ENGINES.