Seiko Epson Corporation

Yusaku Nakamura

Noboru Asauchi

Daisuke Nakanishi

Mitsuhiro Yamamura

Yudai Okamae

Michiko Kawaji

A method for driving a hand includes: detecting a relative position of a first finger part and a second finger part as of when the first finger part and the second finger part pinch a target object therebetween, as a reference relative position, by a position detection unit; moving the relative position of the first finger part and the second finger part to a target relative position where the first finger part and the second finger part are spaced further apart from each other than at the reference relative position by an amplitude of vibration or more, by a drive unit, on accepting an instruction to release the target object pinched by the first finger part and the second finger part; and causing at least one of the first finger part and the second finger part to vibrate by the drive unit, when the target relative position is achieved.

Method for driving hand, and hand

A piezoelectric drive device includes a vibrator having a vibrating portion including a piezoelectric element, and a convex portion placed in the vibrating portion, an urging member including a base, a holding portion holding the vibrator, and a spring portion coupled to the base at one end and coupled to the holding portion at another end and urging the convex portion toward a driven unit, wherein d1&#x3e;d2 in a natural state in which the vibrator is not urged by the urging member, where a separation distance between the one end and the convex portion along directions of the longitudinal direction is d1 and a separation distance between the other end and the convex portion is d2, and |d1&#x2212;d2| in an urging state in which the vibrator is urged toward the driven unit by the urging member is smaller than |d1&#x2212;d2| in the natural state.

Growing community of inventors

Chino, Japan

Yusaku Nakamura