| 摘要 |
Techniques are described for assising disassembly of an article by triggering shape transition of shape memory material within the article. In one form, a de-fastener (16) is triggered to expand to break apart first and second parts (10a, 10b) which may be integrally formed, or fastened together. In another form, shape memory polymer is used as a releasable fastener, the shape memory polymer losing shape integrity above a predetermined transition temperature. Also described is a method of sequential disassembly by triggering shape memory elements at different times, for example, by using a progressively increasing/decreasing temperature. Also described are fasteners/defasteners using shape memory material for a variety of applications, including mechanical fasteners either resilient or screw thread, for vehicle facia panels, instrumentation or door hinge mountings and electronic component holders. |
