Seiko Instruments Inc

Masao Kasuga

Akihiro Iino

Makoto Suzuki

Kenji Suzuki

Nobuo Tsukada

Takashi Yamanaka

Fujio Ozawa

Satoshi Watanabe

Minako Suzuki

Hiroshi Kitamura

Takayuki Kosaka

Tomohiro Shimada

Takayuki Mori

Tatsunori Inoue

Takashi Sato

Hiroshi Okano

Hiroshi Odagiri

Yoko Shinohara

Yuichi Inoue

Masayuki Kawata

Tomoyuki Yoshino

Mizuaki Suzuki

Tatsuru Sato

Hiroyuki Masaki

Ichiro Horikoshi

Koji Nitadori

Hironobu Itoh

Shuji Otawa

Jun Hirotomi

Hironobu Ito

Jun Shinohara

Shinichi Hayashizaki

Ko Yamazaki

Shuji Ohtawa

Kouji Nitadori

Takako Shibayama

Tomosumi Saruwatari

Keitarou Koroishi

Makoto Suziki

An electronic apparatus is configured to generate a variety of vibrations corresponding to a variety of different situations without excessively high power consumption. The electronic apparatus has first and second vibration motors having respective eccentric weights different in weight from each other for generating different first and second vibrations. An input/output section enables a user to select from a list of events stored in a storage section first events and second events. A controller drives the first vibration motor having a heavier weight with a strong vibration upon occurrence of the user-selected first events and drives the second vibration motor having a lighter weight with a weak vibration upon occurrence of the user-selected second events. The first events include an incoming phone call or email, a present alarm time, and a dynamic or important action, motion, and so on in a computer game. The second events include confirming input operations by the user, and a minute action, motion, and so on occurring in a computer game. The correspondence between the vibration motors and the events is selectable by the user.

Vibration generation device and electronic apparatus

A vibration generation device includes a rotor rotatable about a rotation axis, the rotor including a weight having a center of gravity that is eccentric with respect to the rotation axis. A shaft is inserted into the rotor and rotatably supports the rotor. A restriction part is disposed further inward than the weight in a radial direction, the restriction part being attached to one end of the shaft for restricting movement of the rotor in an axial direction.

Vibration generation device and electronic device

There is provided a vibration generation device superior in responsivity compared to the related art. The vibration generation device includes a stator, a rotor provided to the stator so as to be able to rotate around the central axis, and having a weight having a gravity center at a position shifted from the central axis, and an air resistance reduction part provided to the weight, and reducing the air resistance to the weight when the rotor rotates. The weight is formed to have a semicircular shape viewed from the axial direction, and the air resistance reduction part has an arcuate part adapted to connect an end edge on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the rotor in the outer circumferential surface of the weight and an end edge on the downstream side in the rotational direction to each other so as to form a circular arc shape.

An ultrasonic motor constructed so as to have improved driving force, reduced vibrational loss and smaller dimensions as compared with the conventional art. A piezoelectric vibrator generates a vibrational driving force in response to a received drive signal. A drive signal generator generates the drive signal. The drive signal is transmitted along leads to support members. The support members support, and are in electrical connection with, the piezoelectric vibrator on the substrate. Thus, the support member is effective for both supporting the piezoelectric member and for transmitting the drive signal from the drive signal generator to the piezoelectric vibrator. A moving member is in communication with the piezoelectric vibrator and moves in response to the vibrational driving force. The support member may be comprised of an elastic material so that it is effective for urging the piezoelectric vibrator against the moving member. This increases the frictional relationship between the moving member and the vibrational driving force, thereby increasing the output driving force. The support member may include a relatively thinner constriction portion and a relatively thicker connection portion, the constriction portion being effective for decreasing vibration losses. The support member may also be incorporated as part of the substrate, wherein the substrate includes a recess portion effective for receiving the piezoelectric vibrator to reduce thickness. To further reduce the overall dimensions of the inventive ultrasonic motor, the electrically conductive support member may be part of a drive circuit for generating the drive signal. Also, the support member may be configured for supporting the piezoelectric vibrator at a flex vibration node of the piezoelectric vibrator to reduce vibrational loss.

Ultrasonic motor and electronic appliance with ultrasonic motor

An ultrasonic motor comprises a piezoelectric vibrating member having a detecting polarized portion for detecting a drive signal having a drive frequency of the detecting polarized portion and a driving polarized portion for receiving the drive signal to oscillate the piezoelectric vibrating member in self-excited oscillation to produce a drive force. The detecting polarized portion is disposed at a portion of the piezoelectric vibrating member for undergoing maximum deformation in at least one vibration mode of oscillation of the piezoelectric vibrating member. An amplifying circuit amplifies the drive signal detected by the detecting polarized portion and inputs the amplified signal to the driving polarized portion to oscillate the piezoelectric vibrating member.

Ultrasonic motor and electronic apparatus equipped with ultrasonic motor

To provide a control system provided with a positioning mechanism including plural ultrasonic motors in the device, which can keep good operational stability as compared with a conventional system with a servo mechanism, is of an energy saving type suppressing power consumption and is compact in structure including the motor and a control circuit therefor. A control circuit in a control system of the present invention uses a common drive control circuit for a plurality of ultrasonic motors among the positioning mechanisms in which when the drive control circuit inputs a signal that specifies any ultrasonic motor and a desired-position designation signal, the drive control circuit conducts control operation that transmits an on signal to a driver of the subject motor to start the driving, and stops the driving when the motor reaches a desired position while receiving a position detection signal. Thus, the control system has a function of transmitting a signal indicating that the positioning operation is being conducted from a time point when commands are received to a time point when the positioning operation is completed. Then, an error signal is outputted when the motor is out of the desired position.

Control system for ultrasonic motor

An ultrasonic motor has a piezoelectric vibrator driven by a voltage signal to undergo expansion and compression movement. At least two elastic bodies are connected to opposite ends of the piezoelectric vibrator and are vibrationally driven by the expansion and compression movement of the piezoelectric vibrator. Each of the elastic bodies has at least one groove formed in a surface thereof for converting the expansion and compression movement of the piezoelectric vibrator into torsional vibration so that the elastic bodies generate a combination of longitudinal vibration and torsional vibration. A movable member is connected to the elastic bodies to be frictionally driven by the combination of longitudinal and torsional vibrations generated by the elastic bodies.

Ultrasonic motor and electronic apparatus utilizing ultrasonic motor

An electronic equipment has a movable body and a position detecting device having an incremental-type encoder and an incremental-type counter. The position detecting device detects a position of the movable body by setting a starting point of position detection by the incremental-type encoder to a position that the movable body passes through most frequently during movement thereof.

Electronic equipment equipped with position detection means for detecting position of moving body utilizing incremental-type encoder

In a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator there are provided a piece of piezoelectric material having piezoelectric bodies, a first piece of material having vibrational bodies, a second piece of material having movable bodies, and a third piece of material having pressurizing members. The first, second and third pieces of materials are superimposed over the piece of piezoelectric material to form a multilayered structure having piezoelectric actuators. The multilayered structure is cut to separate each of the piezoelectric actuators from one another.

Method of manufacturing piezoelectric actuator

An optical switch has an input section for inputting a light beam and movable optical members each comprised of a piezoelectric actuator for inputting the light beam from the input section and for individually switching an optical path of the light beam. Each of the piezoelectric actuators has a piezoelectric body for undergoing oscillating movement and a movable body frictionally driven by oscillating movement of the piezoelectric body. A driving control device drives the piezoelectric bodies of the piezoelectric actuators and controls positions of the piezoelectric bodies to switch the optical path of the light beam. An output section outputs the light beam from the piezoelectric actuators.

Optical switch and method of controlling the same

A linear motion mechanism comprises a supersonic motor having a rotor which is rotationally driven by vibration of a vibrating body having a piezoelectric element. A transmission mechanism is disposed on the rotor for rotation therewith. A moving body undergoes linear movement in a direction crosswise to a longitudinal axis of a rotational shaft of the rotor in accordance with rotation of the transmission mechanism. A pressurizing mechanism presses the moving body into pressure contact with the transmission mechanism.

Linear or pivotal motion mechanism using ultrasonic motor and electronic device equipped with linear or pivotal motion mechanism

A piezoelectric actuator comprises a plurality of piezoelectric elements stacked in a thickness direction thereof for undergoing expansion/contraction movement to vibrationally drive the piezoelectric actuator in accordance with a driving signal applied to the piezoelectric elements. Each of the piezoelectric elements has a length extending in a direction generally perpendicular to the stacking direction. The length of each of at least two of the piezoelectric elements being different from the length of at least one other of the piezoelectric elements.

Piezoelectric actuator, ultrasonic motor equipped with piezoelectric actuator, and electronic apparatus equipped with piezoelectric actuator

A control portion always monitors a present-position signal from a position sensor and monitors whether the present position of a moving body is a desired position, or not (Step ). In the case where the control portion detects that the present position of the moving body reaches the desired position, the control portion generates a stop command signal and gives the stop command signal to an oscillation drive circuit (S ). Then, the control portion checks whether overshooting occurs, or not (S ), and in the case where the control portion judges that overshooting occurs, the control portion retains a stop command signal as it is for a stop command retaining time t (S ). After the stop command retaining time t elapses, the control portion gives a reverse command signal to the oscillation drive circuit to conduct reverse operation (S ). After Step S the control is returned to Step S and the above operation is repeated. Then, in the case where the control portion judges that overshooting does not occur in Step S position correcting operation is completed.

Ultrasonic motor and electronic device having the ultrasonic motor

An ultrasonic motor has a vibrating body and a piezoelectric element disposed on the vibrating body for generating a vibration wave to vibrate the vibrating body. The vibration wave has a vibration node disposed on a diagonal line of the vibrating body. At least one protrusion is connected to the vibrating body for vibration therewith. The protrusion is disposed on the vibrating body at a position which does not correspond to the position of the vibration node. A moving body is disposed in contact with and driven by the protrusion during vibration thereof.

Piezoelectric driving body, ultrasonic motor and electronic apparatus having an ultrasonic motor

A low cost portable dosing apparatus enables the dispensing rate to be changed while enabling solution to be continuously dispensed to the body. The solution to be dispensed into the body is stored in a tank unit. A pump unit pumps the solution from the tank unit into the body of the patient. A controller controls pump unit operation. The tank unit, pump unit, and controller are attached to a wrist strap so that they can be easily connected and disconnected from each other. A compact, thin ultrasonic motor with high output per unit size drives the pump unit. A smaller pump unit is thus available, improving the portability of the apparatus. The ultrasonic motor is also substantially free of misoperation resulting from exposure to magnetic fields because the ultrasonic motor is not magnetically driven. Reliability is therefore improved.

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Masao Kasuga