MetaGranted patentBatteries & energyInterest 6/10

Meta patents flexible plastic films that turn movement into electricity

Patent drawing from the official filing.

Meta describes a method for making thin films or fibers from a specific type of plastic called PVDF. The process involves stretching the material and applying an electric field to make it convert physical movement into electrical energy more efficiently.

Why it mattersThis technology could lead to more efficient sensors or energy harvesters for wearable devices that power themselves through user motion.

In the filing’s own words

A polymer article includes an at least partially disentangled polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) family member composition and is characterized by an elastic modulus of at least 4 GPa and an electromechanical coupling factor (k 31) of at least 0.1 at room temperature. A method of manufacturing such a polymer article may include forming an at least partially disentangled polymer composition into a polymer thin film or fiber, applying a tensile stress to the polymer article in an amount effective to induce a stretch ratio of at least approximately 5 in the thin film or fiber, and applying an electric field across a thickness dimension of the polymer article. Annealing and poling steps may separately or simultaneously accompany and/or follow the act of stretching.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A polymer article comprising: a polymer matrix including an at least partially disentangled polyvinylidene fluoride family polymer, wherein the polymer matrix has an elastic modulus of at least approximately 4 GPa and an electromechanical coupling factor (k 31) of at least approximately 0.1 at 25° C.

Facts

Company: Meta (Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC)
Official title: Disentangled PVDF for high electromechanical efficiency thin films and fibers
Patent number: US12753298B2
Application number: 18454499
Filed: Aug 23, 2023
Granted: Oct 6, 2026
Inventors: 8
Claims: 12

Classified under

C08L 27/16 Chemistry & metalsB29C 71/0081 Operations & transportB29C 71/02 Operations & transportB29C 2071/022 Operations & transportB29K 2027/16 Operations & transport

Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.