Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Tohoku University

Hitoshi Sakaguchi

Katsumi Fujimoto

Yuuki Ishii

Chikahiro Horiguchi

Hiroaki Kaida

Takashi Hase

Noritaka Kishi

Jiro Inoue

Kenji Nishiyama

Nobumasa Kitamori

Yasuhiro Kuratani

Shinichiro Ichiguchi

Shungo Kanai

Masaaki Takata

Takahide Nakadoi

Takaaki Mori

Masaru Amano

Rei Higashida

Kanjuro Makihara

A vibration device includes an internal vibration body to amplify a vibration, a piezoelectric element connected to one end of the internal vibration body, and a light transmission body connected to an another end of the internal vibration body. The vibration device further includes an external vibration body including a first connection portion connected to the light transmission body and a second connection portion extending outward of the light transmission body from the first connection portion to attenuate the vibration.

Vibration device and imaging device

An optical device includes a protective cover, a housing, and a vibrating body that vibrates the protective cover by selecting, from multiple vibration modes in which the protective cover is vibrated, a cleaning mode in which vibration displacement of the protective cover becomes maximum and a higher-order heating mode in which the number of nodes is larger than that in the cleaning mode. In the heating mode, the position of the maximum vibration displacement in this vibration mode is within a region of the protective cover that corresponds to the field of view of the optical sensor.

Optical device and optical unit including optical device

A vibrating device includes a vibrating element, a support, and a connector. The vibrating element includes a vibrating body that is tubular and includes a first opening end surface and a second opening end surface. The support extends in an axial direction and supports the vibrating body, the axial direction being a direction connecting the first opening end surface and the second opening end surface of the vibrating body. The connector connects the vibrating body and the support to each other. The vibrating body vibrates in a breathing vibration mode to generate a first node and a second node on the vibrating element at different positions in the axial direction. The connector is positioned between the first node and the second node.

Vibrating device and optical detection apparatus

In a cleaning device, a signal processing circuit determines that a foreign substance has adhered to a surface of a protection cover based on at least two pieces of information among a change amount of a resonant frequency when a vibration portion is driven at a first voltage, a change amount of a current value relating to an impedance detected by an impedance detector, and a temporal change of an image captured by an imaging portion, and cleans the surface of the protection cover by controlling the vibration portion in accordance with the determination.

Cleaning device, imaging unit including the same, and cleaning method

A vibration apparatus includes a vibrating body that has a tubular shape and includes first and second opening end portions, an outside surface, and an inside surface, a light transmissive body connected to the second opening end portion of the vibrating body, and a piezoelectric vibrator provided in the vibrating body. The vibrating body includes a flange portion extending from the outside surface of the vibrating body toward an outside. The vibration apparatus further includes a driving circuit that vibrates a connection body of the light transmissive body and the vibrating body in a vibration mode of light transmissive body vibration or a vibration mode of flange portion vibration and that alternately switches between the vibration mode of the light transmissive body vibration and the vibration mode of the flange portion vibration.

Vibration apparatus

A vibration device includes a vibrator including a cylinder including an opening, a light-transmissive cover directly or indirectly coupled to the cylinder to cover the opening of the cylinder, and a piezoelectric element to vibrate the light-transmissive cover, and including an opening end portion, an elastic member holding the opening end portion of the vibrator, and a case connected to the elastic member.

Vibration device and optical detection device

A vibration device includes a light-transmissive body defining a cover that includes a detection region of an imaging element as an optical detection element, a tubular support body which includes an interior space that includes the imaging element and is connected to the light-transmissive body, a vibrating body which is coupled to the support body and vibrates the light-transmissive body with the support body provided therebetween, and a drive circuit which drives the vibrating body.

A vibration device includes a top plate elastic body, a cylindrical body that includes a first end portion and a second end portion and is coupled with the top plate elastic body to retain the top plate elastic body on a side of the first end portion. The cylindrical body includes on a side of the second end portion, a ring-shaped flange portion extended outward in a radial direction of the cylindrical body, and a piezoelectric element fixed to the ring-shaped flange portion to cause the cylindrical body to vibrate.

Vibration device

A vibration device includes a protective cover to transmit light with a predetermined wavelength, a first cylindrical body to hold the protective cover at one end, a plate spring to support the other end of the first cylindrical body, a second cylindrical body to support, at one end, a portion of the plate spring in an outer side portion of a portion that supports the first cylindrical body, and a vibrating body that is provided at the other end of the second cylindrical body to vibrate in an axial direction of the second cylindrical body.

Vibration device and imaging unit including vibration device

A vibration device includes a protective cover that transmits light with a predetermined wavelength, a first cylindrical body that holds the protective cover at one end, a plate-shaped plate spring that supports the other end of the first cylindrical body, a second cylindrical body that supports, at one end, a portion of the plate spring in an outer side portion of a portion that supports the first cylindrical body, and a plurality of piezoelectric elements on side surfaces of the second cylindrical body and that vibrates in a direction perpendicular to a penetrating direction of the second cylindrical body.

A vibration device includes a protective cover, a first cylindrical body, a plate spring, a second cylindrical body, a piezoelectric element, and a vibrating plate. The vibration device further includes a non-equilibrium structure that removes a mass of a portion of or adds a mass to at least one of the protective cover, the first cylindrical body, the plate spring, the second cylindrical body, and the vibrating plate.

A vibrating device includes a dome-shaped cover, a cylindrical or substantially cylindrical vibrating body, and a piezoelectric element. The dome-shaped cover is disposed so as to include a detection field of an optical detector element, and the cylindrical or substantially cylindrical vibrating body is fixed to the cover. The piezoelectric element is fixed to the vibrating body and vibrates the cover via the vibrating body. The vibrating body includes a cylinder portion, a first connection portion connected to a first end portion of the cylinder portion, a first ring-shaped portion connected to the first connection portion at a position near the cover, a second connection portion connected to a second end portion of the cylinder portion, and a second ring-shaped portion connected to the second connection portion at a position opposite to a surface to which the cylinder portion is connected.

Vibrating device and optical detector device

In a current sensor, primary conductors each include front and back surfaces, a length direction, a width direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the length direction, and a thickness direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the length direction and the width direction, and further include a bent portion surrounding at least a portion of an outer periphery of a housing at an intermediate position in the length direction when viewed in the width direction. The housing is disposed in a region surrounded by the bent portion of each of the plurality of primary conductors when viewed in the width direction.

Current sensor including a housing surrounded by bent portions of primary conductors

A power generating device is disclosed that includes a power generating unit, an inductor, a switch connected to the inductor in series, and a control circuit. The power generating unit includes a piezoelectric element, and upper and lower electrodes disposed on surfaces of the piezoelectric element. The inductor is electrically connected to the electrodes in parallel, with the inductor and a capacitance component constituting a resonance circuit. The control circuit has a driving mode in which it controls the switch to an ON state in synchronism with the voltage generated in the piezoelectric element becoming a peak value. Further, in a rest mode, the control circuit controls the switch to be in an OFF state when the voltage generated in the piezoelectric element has the peak value.

Power generating device

A piezoelectric power generation apparatus that includes a first vibrating portion having a fixed end and a free end, a first weight portion bonded to the free end of the first vibrating portion, a second vibrating portion having a fixed end bonded to the first weight portion and a free end, and including a vibrating plate and a piezoelectric element provided on the vibrating plate. A second weight portion is bonded to the free end of the second weight portion. In a state where the piezoelectric power generation apparatus is arranged on a vibration surface and is still, a position of the free end of the first vibrating portion and a position of the fixed end of the second vibrating portion in an axial direction perpendicular to the vibration surface are different from each other.

Growing community of inventors

Nagaokakyo, Japan

Hitoshi Sakaguchi