A driving apparatus including a transducer, a fixing member, and a mobile body is provided. The transducer generates elliptical vibration in a driving part when voltage of a predetermined frequency is applied. The fixing member includes a retaining part which retains the transducer. The mobile body, which is driven by the elliptical vibration of the transducer to move with respect to the fixing member, includes a first mobile body part formed in a desired size; and a second mobile body part which has a sliding part to which the driving part is pressed and contacted, and a guide-receiving part which is provided opposite the sliding part and whose moving direction is guided in engagement with a guiding part of the fixing member, the second mobile body part being of higher rigidity, formed in a smaller size than the first mobile body part, and fixed to the first mobile body part.

Driving apparatus and image pickup apparatus

A vibration wave driving device comprises a vibrator having an electromechanical conversion device, a supporting member for supporting the vibrator, and a driven member brought into contact with a part of the vibrator driven frictionally by vibration excited in the vibrator: the supporting member comprising a vibration portion vibrating together with the vibrator, a fixation portion for fixing the supporting member, and a support portion for connecting the vibration portion with the fixation portion and supporting the vibrator; and the support portion being comprised of a laminate of sheets.

Vibration wave driving device

The invention relates to a linear ultrasound piezoelectric motor comprising a mobile element (4) that is in frictional contact with a rectangular resonance plate (11). The frictional surface (18) is embodied by means of at least one of the longitudinal narrow sides of the resonance plate. Said piezoelectric motor also comprises electrodes (7) which are used to generate acoustic vibrations, and are arranged on the longitudinal wide sides of the resonance plate. According to the invention, the generator for producing acoustic vibrations is asymmetrically arranged in relation to a plane which symmetrically cross-cuts the resonance plate, and comprises two opposing electrodes generating a stationary asymmetrical space wave when excited.

Linear ultrasound motor

The vibration wave motor of the present invention comprises a body to be driven, and a plurality of vibrators each of which is provided with a drive contact part contacting the outer surface of the body to be driven, is connected to a base and is disposed around the body to be driven The base and the body to be driven are reciprocally driven linearly in a state where the longitudinal direction of the vibrator and the driven direction of the body to be driven are matched

Vibration wave motor

A driving system in accordance with embodiments of the present invention includes a structure and a vibration system. The structure has at least one point to frictional couple to and drive a movable element in one of at least two directions. The structure also has at least two bending modes which each have a different resonant frequency. The vibration system applies two or more vibration signals which are at a vibration frequency to each of the bending modes of the structure. The vibration frequency is substantially the same as one of the resonant frequencies. At the vibration frequency one of the bending modes of the structure is vibrating substantially at resonance and the other of the bending modes of the structure is vibrating at partial resonance. The vibration system adjusts a phase shift between the two or more applied vibration signals to control which one of the at least two directions the moveable element is moved.

Semi-resonant driving systems and methods thereof

An electromechanical motor according to the present invention has a stator with a drive element consisting of two serially connected bending sections and a central drive pad, for actuating on a body to be moved. The drive element extends parallel to the body. The drive pad and/or the body is elastic. Preferably, the drive pad has a lower stiffness than the body. The elasticity of the drive pad allows an assimilation of a part of the travelling wave energy applied to the drive element. The backbone of the stator is arranged to restrict the drive element from being removed from the body, but at the same time allow the drive element to be translated towards the body and even leave the mechanical contact with the backbone for shorter periods of time. Support means are preferably designed with convex surfaces in order to allow self-centering of the different parts of the motor.

Near-resonance electromechanical motor

The present invention combines bending mode mechanical (frm) and electrical (fre) resonances, whereby a relatively good efficiency can be achieved within a relatively broad frequency range (Δf3). An electrical resonance (fre) or mechanical resonance is designed to be situated in the same order of magnitude as another mechanical resonance (frm), but separated therefrom. Preferably, the separation (Δf2) is smaller than 2f1 / Q 1, where f1 is the resonance frequency for the resonance having lowest quality value, and Q1 is the corresponding quality value of the mechanical resonance. An electromechanical motor comprising a driving element and electrical resonance circuit according to the above ideas may comprise a double bimorph driving element having one single actuating point influencing a body to be moved. The double bimorph driving element is excited in bending vibrations perpendicular to a main displacement direction, whereby both tangential and perpendicular motions are created by bending mode vibrations.

Near-resonance wide-range operating electromechanical motor

In manufacturing electromechanical drive elements, vibration properties are defined in a test environment. These properties are found to give a good operation when being arranged in a motor. Two flexural vibration modes are defined. One is an s-mode connected to an element being strapped at two supports at respective outer portions. The s-mode have three nodal points. The other vibration mode is an e-mode connected to an element being strapped at the supports and at a drive pad arranged at a middle portion. The e-mode has one nodal point at each side of the middle portion and the middle portion has a stroke amplitude that is smaller than stroke amplitudes at portions between the middle portion and the nodal points. An average of the resonance frequencies of the s-mode strapped at two and three points, respectively, differs from and the e-mode resonance frequency by less than 25%.

Electromechanical drive element

In an electromechanical motor (10), elongated electromechanical drive elements (30) are mechanically and preferably also electrically attached to a carrier (150). A spring (54) is arranged to apply a force on the electromechanical drive element (30) by pressing the backside of the carrier (150) at a pivot point (152). The carrier (150) is allowed to pivot around the pivot point (152) around an axis parallel to the element elongation. The electromechanical drive element (30) is thereby suspended in a floating manner. The electromechanical drive elements (30) are arranged to present a bending motion having strokes perpendicular to the elongation. The pivot point (152), the mechanical joint (151) between the carrier (150) and the electromechanical drive element (30), and preferably also a nodal point (155) of bending motions of the electromechanical element (30) are situated at a common plane perpendicular to the element elongation. In one embodiment, the electromechanical drive element is provided with metallisations (32) to which the carrier (150) is soldered. These metallisations (32) are provided at the longitudinal sides of the electromechanical drive element (30). The metallised areas are soldered or fastened by other means, e.g. by gluing, to attachment pads of a flexible printed circuit board, preferably by using surface mounting techniques.

Jonas Eriksson

Papers

Near-resonance electromechanical motor

Near-resonance wide-range operating electromechanical motor

Electromechanical drive element

Electromechanical motor and assembling method therefore