Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.

Hirohisa Sueyoshi

Ryuichi Yoshida

Shuichi Fujii

Yoshiaki Hata

Hideaki Nakanishi

Takayuki Hoshino

Satoshi Shinke

Kazumi Sugitani

Shinichi Yamamoto

In order to provide a driving device that is capable of eliminating sticking of a movable member due to nonuse, the driving device includes a drive shaft that reciprocates in axial directions with expansion and contraction of an electromechanical transducer element, a movable member that frictionally engages with the drive shaft, and a drive circuit that inputs drive voltage into the electromechanical transducer element, the drive circuit outputting drive operation pattern voltage having a frequency (fd) lower than a resonance frequency (fr) of the electromechanical transducer element and lower than a frequency (fd) that maximizes moving velocity of the movable member and sticking elimination pattern voltage having a frequency lower than the frequency (fd) of the drive operation pattern voltage and in vicinity of a frequency (fd) that maximizes thrust acting on the movable member.

Driving device

Provided is a self-propelled drive apparatus that enables stable drive and low cost, the apparatus includes: a movable member which has an electromechanical transducer whose one end is fixed to the movable member and the other end is fixed to a drive friction member, which is movably supported by the movable member movably in the first direction, which represents a extension-contraction direction A-B of the electromechanical transducer, where the movable member is supported movably in the first direction; a pair of plate springs which extend in a belt shape in the first direction and sandwich the drive friction member; a base member holding the plate springs in a cantilever manner in the direction of the short sides of the plate springs; and auxiliary springs disposed on the outside of the plate springs to apply elastic force only to both ends of each of the plate springs.

Drive apparatus having auxiliary springs

A drive unit in accordance with the present invention is provided with a magnetic field generating member generating a magnetic field, a magnetic field detecting device constituted by first, second and third magnetic field detecting elements detecting the magnetic field, and a piezoelectric actuator moving the magnetic field generating member. When executing a relative positioning between the magnetic field generating member and the magnetic field detecting device on the basis of a detection result by the magnetic field detecting device, a first positioning is executed on the basis of the detection result of the first and second magnetic field detecting elements in a predetermined region, and a second positioning is executed on the basis of the detection result of the third magnetic field detecting element at a predetermined point apart from the predetermined region, within a movable range in which the magnetic field generating member moves. In accordance with the structure, it is possible to position the movable body at a high precision, even in the case that a plurality of position detecting points of the movable body of the drive unit exist at a wide interval.

Drive unit provided with position detecting device

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Sakai, Japan

Hirohisa Sueyoshi