An apparatus for opening and closing a deck lid of a vehicle body includes a jack-screw type drive unit having two elongated relatively rotatable drive elements which are threadably engaged for bi-directional displacement. An electric motor engages the rotatable drive element. A first mounting device pivotally connects the rotatable drive element to a relatively fixed point on the vehicle. A second mounting device pivotally connects the non-rotatable drive element to the deck lid, or vice versa. The motor is energized to affect bi-directional control of the drive unit while enabling low back-drive effort. A concentric spring counters loading due to the weight of the deck lid.

A ball screw device includes a screw shaft, a nut, a ball train including a plurality of main balls, and a plurality of coil springs disposed in the ball train. The nut moves from a first axial side to a second axial side while an axial force is applied to the nut by rotation of the screw shaft. The plurality of coil springs are more densely arranged on the first axial side than on the second axial side in the ball train.

A gear assembly for a seat adjuster includes a gear housing, a worm gear, a helical gear meshed with the worm gear, a wobble gear carried on an eccentric lobe of the helical gear, a pinion disc, a first ring gear disposed in the gear housing, a second ring gear disposed in the pinion disc, and a pinion member carrying the helical gear and the pinion disc. The wobble gear includes first and second sets of wobble gear teeth that mesh with the first and second ring gears, respectively. A housing side gear ring disposed in the gear housing defines part of the first ring gear and the gear housing defines another part of the first ring gear. A pinion disc gear ring disposed in the pinion disc defines part of the second ring gear and the pinion disc defines another part of the second ring gear.

A turning device includes: a driving source; a main drive gear rotationally driven by the driving source; a driven gear that engages with the main drive gear and is rotated integrally with a rotated body, wherein the turning device rotationally drives the driving source to rotate the rotated body; a movement mechanism that causes the main drive gear to reciprocate in an axial direction between a separated position at which engagement of the main drive gear and the driven gear is released and an engaged position at which the main drive gear engages with the driven gear; a forward rotation mechanism that intermittently rotates the main drive gear; and a reverse rotation mechanism that intermittently rotates the main drive gear in a direction opposite to a direction by the forward rotation mechanism.

A turning device includes: a driving source; a main drive gear rotationally driven by the driving source; a driven gear that engages with the main drive gear and is rotated integrally with a rotated body, wherein the turning device rotationally drives the driving source to rotate the rotated body; a movement mechanism that causes the main drive gear to reciprocate in an axial direction between a separated position at which engagement of the main drive gear and the driven gear is released and an engaged position at which the main drive gear engages with the driven gear; a forward rotation mechanism that intermittently rotates the main drive gear; and a reverse rotation mechanism that intermittently rotates the main drive gear in a direction opposite to a direction by the forward rotation mechanism.

Disclosed are devices, systems, apparatuses, methods, products, and other implementations of vapor pressure solids. In some embodiments, a vapor pressure solid may include a one- or multi-component matrix material. In some embodiments, the multi-components matrix material is a two-part PDMS comprising a first and second matrix material. The first matrix material is capable of being mixed with one or more vaporizable fluids that causes the first matrix material to swell. The second matrix material is capable of being mixed with the swelled first matrix material to produce an actuating material. When the actuating material is heated, the one or more vaporizable fluids expand, resulting in vapors. The increased pressure applied by the vapors causes the actuating material to expand.

Disclosed are devices, systems, apparatuses, methods, products, and other implementations of vapor pressure solids. In some embodiments, a vapor pressure solid may include a one- or multi-component matrix material. In some embodiments, the multi-components matrix material is a two-part PDMS comprising a first and second matrix material. The first matrix material is capable of being mixed with one or more vaporizable fluids that causes the first matrix material to swell. The second matrix material is capable of being mixed with the swelled first matrix material to produce an actuating material. When the actuating material is heated, the one or more vaporizable fluids expand, resulting in vapors. The increased pressure applied by the vapors causes the actuating material to expand.

An engagement chain has two chain members. Each of the chain members includes link plates, each of which has two pin holes, and coupling pins. The two pin holes are aligned in the advancing/retreating direction and are sized differently from each other. Each of the coupling pins of each chain member is tightly received in the smaller pin hole of the two pin holes of one of any adjacent two of the link plates in the advancing/retreating direction and is loosely received in the larger pin hole of the two pin holes of the other one of the two adjacent link plates. In a state in which the chain members are integrated with each other, any two of the coupling pins that are opposed to each other are in the same received states in the corresponding pin holes.

An electromotive furniture drive with a guide path and an output unit which moves along the guide path and which at least partly surrounds the guide path. The guide path has a gear rack, and the output unit has a drive motor with a speed-reducing mechanism and an output gear which is in engagement with the gear rack of the guide path.

The present invention relates to a linear electro-mechanical actuator for transferring a rotational motion to a linear motion. The actuator provides a piston having an outer load-carrying surface and being at least partly arranged inside a housing. The actuator further provides a transmission module adapted to transfer a rotational motion generated by a motor to a linear motion of the piston. The actuator includes a separating member and a lubricating member having a porous polymeric matrix and a lubricating material, the separating member and the load-carrying member being arranged adjacent to each other. Thereby, the actuator allows for lubrication of at least a portion of the outer load-carrying surface of the piston by the lubricating material upon movement of the piston. For instance, the linear electro-mechanical actuator may not require, or may at least minimize, the need of relubrication.