JP2003134853A - Drive unit using electromechanical transducing element, and apparatus applying the element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-density actuator which is formed by frictionally bonding a single anchoring member to a large number of drive members and is easy to assemble, and to provide an apparatus to which the actuator is applied. SOLUTION: The actuator is formed by placing a plurality of actuator drive portions 30 using electromechanical transducing elements in a matrix at a high density, and frictionally bonding a common engaging member 34 for driving members 33 (33-1 to 33-9). One of apparatuses, to which the actuator is applied, is an optical switch 20. The optical switch 20 comprises the actuator drive portions 30 and the engaging member 34. An actuator drive portion 30 at relevant position is selected, and a drive pulse is applied to the piezoelectric element thereof. Then, vibration whose elongation rate and shrinkage rate differ from each other is produced. The tip of the drive member 33 is protruded from the engaging member 34 by this vibration. A flat face 33a at the tip of the protruded drive member 33 functions as a mirror. Therefore, a light made incident from an optical fiber 37 is reflected by the flat face, that is, the mirror 33a, and is made to emit to an optical fiber 38.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a driving device using an electromechanical conversion element and various applied devices using the driving device. In particular, the driving device has a high density including a plurality of driving mechanisms. A drive device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A high-density driving device having a plurality of driving mechanisms is used as an optical switch, a mechanism for subtly changing the curvature of a mirror in a reflecting telescope, and the like, and is attracting attention as an important element component. .

That is, an optical network using optical fibers has been rapidly developed and has been used as a large amount of information communication means. In such an optical network, an optical fiber passing through a transmission path composed of optical fibers is used. A relay device that switches and connects signals at relay points is indispensable. A conventional relay device has a configuration in which an optical signal on the input side is once converted into an electrical signal, the transmission path is switched by an electrical switch means, and the switched electrical signal on the output side is converted into an optical signal again and sent out. Since it is adopted, the relay device has to use a very large number of photoelectric converters, and there is a drawback that the transmission efficiency is lowered due to the use of the photoelectric converters.

As a countermeasure against this, technical development of an optical switch capable of switching a transmission path without converting an optical signal into an electric signal is being advanced. In order to connect the M optical fibers and the N optical fibers, optical switches are arranged at M × N crossing points, and the M optical fibers and the N optical fibers are connected to each other. is there. The optical switch is indispensable to downsize the device in order to downsize the device and shorten the optical path length, and several configurations have been proposed.

14 to 16 are views for explaining an example of the configuration of a conventional mirror type optical switch, and FIG.
Is a front view of the optical switch, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are side views for explaining the operation thereof. Optical switch switching element 105
The micro mirrors 101 to 104 are formed on the surface of a rectangular silicon substrate having a side of about 500 μm by means such as vapor deposition.

As shown in FIG. 15, this switching element 105
Are arranged in an electric field of a predetermined polarity (positive polarity in FIG. 15), the switching element 105 is given an electrostatic charge of the opposite polarity (negative polarity in FIG. 15) to the switching element 105, and switching is performed by the generated electrostatic attraction force. When the element 105 is moved upward in FIG. 15, the mirror 1
01 to 104 enter the optical path. For example, when the incident light (I) from the optical fiber enters the mirror 101, the light is reflected by the mirror 101 and the mirror 102, and the reflected light (R) is emitted from an optical path different from the incident optical path.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the switching element 10
5 is given an electrostatic charge of the opposite polarity (positive in FIG. 16) to the above, and the switching element 105 is moved by the electrostatic repulsion force generated in FIG.
When the mirror 101 is moved downwards at, the mirrors 101 to 104 go out of the optical path, so that the incident light (I) passes through as it is and is emitted.

As described above, the mirror type optical switch shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 uses the electrostatic force to directly insert and remove the mirror into and from the optical path to switch the optical path.

Next, an optical switch using a stage having three degrees of freedom equipped with a linear actuator will be described.
17 and 18 are perspective views of a three-degree-of-freedom stage 200 including three linear actuators that can form an optical switch, and FIG. 17 shows a state in which the stage plate is removed to the upper side. Reference numeral 18 shows a state in which the stage plate is mounted on the linear actuator.

In FIGS. 17 and 18, three linear actuators 202, 203 and 204 each having a vertically moving rod 209 having a sphere 209a attached to the upper end thereof are vertically arranged on a stage main body 201. , The stage plate 205 has a joint hole 205a and a long groove 205b.
Are formed. The linear actuator 202-
All 204 have the same structure.

The linear actuators 202 to 204 and the stage plate 205 are connected to each other by connecting the ball 209a at the tip of the rod 209 to the joint hole 20 in the linear actuator 202.
In the linear joint 203, which is a ball joint that engages with 5a, the ball 209a at the tip of the rod 209 has a groove 20
Long groove joint that engages with 5b, linear actuator 2
In No. 04, the ball 209a at the tip of the rod 209 is a free joint that comes into contact with and engages with the back surface of the stage plate 205.

As a result, the linear actuators 202 ...
By moving 204 up and down, the stage plate 20
It is possible to move 5 by a linear movement of one degree of freedom (movement in the Z-axis direction) and a rotation of two degrees of freedom.

FIG. 19 shows a linear actuator 202 (20
3 and 204 are the same), which is a sectional view showing a stepping motor 206, a gear mechanism 207, and a ball screw mechanism 2.
08 is used to drive the rod 209 up and down.

FIG. 20 shows a stage 20 having the above three degrees of freedom.
0 is a perspective view of an optical switch using a stage plate 205.
The mirror 210 is arranged on top of the above. Light incident from the optical fiber 211 on the incident side is reflected by a mirror 210 whose height and inclination are adjusted via a stage plate 205 which is moved by linear actuators 202 to 204.
It can be emitted to a desired optical fiber 212 on the emission side.

FIGS. 21 and 22 are views for explaining a mirror correction mechanism for adjusting the focus by changing the curvature of the mirror by applying a high-density driving device having a plurality of driving mechanisms.

In FIG. 21, the curvature of the mirror 301 changes with temperature,
Alternatively, it shows a state in which an image is not accurately formed, which changes based on the change in gravity due to the arrangement of the mirror 301, indicating that the curvature of the mirror needs to be corrected. In addition, the curvature of the mirror may be positively changed to change the image forming position.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 22, a plurality of piezoelectric elements 302 are arranged between the mirror case 303 and the back surface of the mirror 301, and a voltage is selectively applied to one or a plurality of piezoelectric elements 302. Generated in the length direction (thickness direction)
A correction mechanism has been proposed in which the mirror 301 is pressed from the back side to be deformed by the displacement of (1) to change the curvature of the mirror 301 to adjust the focus.

[0018]

In the above-mentioned mirror type optical switch, the silicon substrate constituting the switching element having the mirror has no self-holding property, and the switching element must always be given an electrostatic charge of a predetermined polarity. For example, the mirror cannot be kept in place. Further, in this configuration, since M × N mirrors are formed on the silicon substrate by the micromachine manufacturing technology, even if one mirror fails, all the switching elements must be replaced, resulting in high cost. There is an inconvenience.

The optical switch using the stage with three degrees of freedom uses a stepping motor, a gear mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, etc. as a linear actuator for driving the stage. Was difficult to configure.

Further, in the mirror correction mechanism for changing the curvature of the mirror, the desired curvature correction is often impossible because the displacement in the length direction (thickness direction) generated in the piezoelectric element is small, and the correction state is maintained. In order to do so, there is an inconvenience that it is necessary to continuously apply a voltage to the piezoelectric element and maintain the generated displacement.

In order to solve the above-mentioned various problems, an actuator as described below is proposed. The actuator adopted here applies a drive pulse to the piezoelectric element to generate vibrations having different expansion speeds and contraction speeds, and transmits the vibrations having different speeds generated in the piezoelectric element to the driving member,
It is an actuator that moves an engagement member frictionally coupled to a drive member in a predetermined direction.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing the above-mentioned actuator by disassembling the constituent elements. In FIG. 23, the actuator 410 has one end of the piezoelectric element 412 adhered and fixed onto the base 411, and the cylindrical driving member 413 is adhered and fixed to the other end of the piezoelectric element 412.

An engaging member 414 having a substantially C-shaped cross section is inserted into the driving member 413 and brought into frictional contact with the driving member 413. The surface of the cylindrical driving member 413 is partially shaved along the axial direction to form a flat surface 413a. The engaging member 414 is also formed with the flat surface 413.
By forming the flat surface 414a that faces a, the engagement member 414 can be accurately moved along the axial direction without rotating about the central axis with respect to the driving member 413. When configured as an optical switch, the engaging member 41
The mirror 415 is adhesively fixed to the surface 4.

The operation of the actuator 410 having the above configuration will be briefly described. From a power supply device (not shown)
When a drive pulse of a sawtooth wave is applied between the two electrodes to generate vibrations having different extension speeds and contraction speeds, the drive member 413 bonded and fixed to the end portion also vibrates along the axial direction. The vibration generated in the driving member 413 and having different expansion and contraction rates is transmitted to the engaging member 414 frictionally coupled to the driving member 413. With a slow extension (or contraction), the engagement member 414 moves axially with the frictionally coupled drive member 413, but with a rapid contraction (or extension), the engagement member 414 has its inertial force overcoming the frictional coupling force. It stays in that position and does not move.

As a result, while the driving pulse is being applied to the piezoelectric element 412, the engaging member 414 moves in a predetermined direction with respect to the driving member 413, and when the application of the driving pulse is stopped, the engaging member 414 moves to its position. Stop at.

24 and 25 show the mirror 41 described above.
5 is an example of an optical switch using an actuator 410 provided with No. 5, FIG. 24 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 25 is a plan view seen from above. As shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the optical switch 430 includes nine actuators 410 (410-1 to 410-4).
10-9), and the optical fibers 421 to 423 on the incident side and the optical fibers 425 to 42 on the exit side.
And 7 are connected. The number of actuators is not limited to nine, and the number of optical fibers on the incident side and the optical fibers on the emitting side is not limited to this.

Next, the operation will be described. When the incident light from the optical fiber 421 is emitted to the optical fiber 425, the actuator 410-1 is operated to operate the engaging member 4
14-1 is moved in the axial direction, and the mirror 415-1 fixed to the engaging member 414-1 is moved into the optical path. The other actuators 410-n (n = 2 to 9) are deactivated and the mirrors 415-n are placed outside the optical path. Thereby, the incident light from the optical fiber 421 can be emitted to the optical fiber 425 via the mirror 415-1.

When the incident light from the optical fiber 421 is emitted to the optical fiber 426, the actuator 410-
2 may be operated to move the mirror 415-2 into the optical path. By selectively actuating the actuator 410-n at the intersection of the incident-side optical fiber and the exit-side optical fiber and moving the mirror 415-n at the intersecting position into the optical path, the desired incident-side optical path and exit-side optical path can be obtained. And can be connected.

The actuator having the above-described structure can be manufactured in an extremely small size, can be stored in a narrow space with high density, can be moved for a long stroke without being restricted by the displacement amount of the piezoelectric element, and can further drive the piezoelectric element. When stopped, it has many advantages, such as no special energy is required to hold the engagement member in place because it is self-holding to hold the engagement member in its position.

However, when an apparatus using a large number of actuators having the above-described structure is constructed, for example, in an optical switch, it is necessary to provide an engaging member having a mirror on each of a large number of densely arranged actuators. However, as the number of actuators increases, the assembly work becomes extremely difficult. Even in other applied devices, there has been a problem that a large number of complicated steps of providing a driven member for each of a large number of actuators are required.

[0031]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problems by providing a single engaging member common to a plurality of driving members. The invention of claim 1 is an electromechanical conversion device. An element, a drive member fixed to one end of the electromechanical conversion element, and an engagement member frictionally coupled to the drive member, and generate expansion and contraction displacement of the electromechanical conversion element at different expansion and contraction speeds. In the drive device for relatively moving the drive member and the engagement member, the drive device is characterized in that a single engagement member is frictionally coupled to the plurality of drive members. It is a drive device using a mechanical conversion element.

The engaging member includes a common frictional force generating member that is smaller in number than the plurality of frictionally coupled driving members, and the frictional force generating member generates a frictional force with the driving member. You may allow it.

The engaging member may also serve as a positioning member that defines the relative positions of the plurality of driving members.

The driving device drives the driven member by a driving member that moves relative to the engaging member.

Further, the driving device can drive the driven member with one degree of freedom along the driving direction of the driving member, and can also drive with two degrees of freedom other than the driving direction, and can have three degrees of freedom driving. You may make it provide a structure.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of driving parts each including an electromechanical conversion element and a driving member fixed to one end of the electromechanical conversion element, and the plurality of driving parts are frictionally coupled to each other. Is driven by a single engaging member and a driving member that moves relative to the engaging member, and is driven with one degree of freedom along the driving direction of the driving member, and also with two degrees of freedom other than the driving direction. And a driven member having three degrees of freedom capable of being driven by a stage having three degrees of freedom.

[0037]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [First Embodiment] A drive device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, that is, an actuator and an optical switch using the actuator will be described.

1 and 2 are perspective views for explaining the structure of an actuator 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a state in which an engaging member is removed, and FIG. 2 shows an engaging member. Is attached and the optical switch 20 is configured.

In FIG. 1, the actuator drive section 30 has a structure similar to that of the actuator shown in FIG.
The structure of the engaging member 34 is different, and the mirror is formed on the driving member 33.

That is, the actuator drive unit 30 is composed of the base 3
1, a piezoelectric element 32, which is one of electromechanical conversion elements.
One end is adhered and fixed, and the other end of the piezoelectric element 32 is adhered and fixed with a cylindrical driving member 33. The surface of the cylindrical driving member 33 is partially cut along the axial direction to form a flat surface 33a, and the surface of the flat surface 33a is mirror-finished to form a mirror. Although the actuator 10 uses a plurality of actuator driving units 30, they all have the same configuration.

A plurality (9 in this example) of actuator drive units 30 (30-1 to 30-9) are arranged in a matrix at a high density, and on the drive members 33 (33-1 to 33-9), The common one engaging member 34 is frictionally coupled. Engaging member 34
Is provided with a plurality of holes 35 (35-1 to 35-9) which fit into the driving members 33 (33-1 to 33-9).
An elastic member 35a is formed on the inner surface of each hole 35 so as to come into contact with each driving member 33 with an appropriate pressure. The engagement member 34 also serves as a positioning member that defines the relative positions of the plurality of drive members 33.

Next, the operation will be described, but an example in which the actuator 10 is applied to an optical switch will be described. Figure 2
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an optical switch using the actuator 10. The operation of the optical switch will be described below.

When the incident light from the optical fiber 37 is emitted to the optical fiber 38, the actuator driving unit 30-
1 is operated so that the tip of the driving member 33-1 is engaged with the engaging member 34.
Project from. That is, the piezoelectric element 3 of the driving member 33-1
2-1 (see FIG. 1) is driven by the application of a drive pulse to the drive member 33-1, which causes frictional contact with the hole 35-
The inside of 1 moves upward, and the tip projects from the engaging member 34. Since the flat surface 33a at the tip of the driving member 33-1 functions as a mirror, the incident light from the optical fiber 37 is reflected by the flat surface 33a, that is, the mirror 33a, and is emitted to the optical fiber 38.

As described above, by selectively operating the piezoelectric element 32 of the actuator driving section 30 at the intersection of the incident side optical fiber and the emitting side optical fiber, and projecting the driving member 33 from the engaging member 34, The optical path on the incident side and the optical path on the exit side can be optically connected.

The base 31 of the actuator drive unit 30
Is not fixed to any member, but has a constant mass, and acts to prevent the base 31 from moving due to inertial force in the rapid extension (or contraction) vibration generated in the piezoelectric element 32. To do. As a result, the actuator drive unit 3
0 overcomes the frictional coupling force with the engaging member 34 and moves relative to the engaging member 34, and the tip of the driving member 33 projects from the engaging member 34.

[Second Embodiment] An actuator according to a second embodiment of the present invention and an optical switch using the actuator will be described.

3 to 6 are perspective views for explaining the structure of an actuator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an engaging member with a spring member removed, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the engagement member with the spring member attached, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the actuator.

Since the actuator drive unit of the second embodiment has the same structure as the actuator drive unit 30 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the same members are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description will be given. Although not described, the actuator drive unit 3
It is assumed that the cylindrical drive member 33 of 0 has a mirror 33 formed by partially cutting the surface along the axial direction to form a flat surface 33a and mirror-finishing.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the engaging member 41
Includes a V-shaped groove 41b that comes into contact with the cylindrical portion of the driving member 33 of the actuator driving unit 30 and a concave surface 4 formed on the opposite surface thereof.
A plurality of receiving portions 41d composed of 1c (in this example, 3
The holes 41a are continuously arranged and a plurality (three in this example) of the holes 41a are arranged in parallel, and a total of nine receiving portions 41d are formed with high density. . Further, one spring member 42 is attached to the plurality of receiving portions 41d (three in this example) in the hole portion 41a.

The spring member 42 functions as a frictional force generating member for frictionally coupling the engaging member 41 and the driving member 33. The number of receiving portions 41d and holes 41a, the number of spring members 42, the number of continuous arrangements, etc. are not limited to those shown in the figure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the actuator 50 is
A plurality of (nine in this example) actuator driving units 30 are arranged on a frame 46 in which an engaging member 41, a holding member 43, and a connecting member 44 are connected by bolts 45a and 45b.

A plurality of (in this example, nine) actuator drive units 30 are arranged in a matrix on the frame 46, and the cylindrical portions of the drive members 33 (33-1 to 33-9) of the actuator drive unit 30 are engaged with the engagement member 41. Of the engaging member 4 with the spring member 42.
Frictionally coupled with 1.

The engaging member 41 is the driving member 33 (33
-1 to 33-9) also functions as a positioning member that defines the relative position.

The operation as the optical switch is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the actuator drive unit 30 at the optical path position for switching is operated to project the tip of the drive member 33 from the engaging member 41. By arranging the mirror formed on the plane 33a in the optical path, the light incident on the optical switch can be switched to a desired optical path. In FIG. 5, the position shown by the dotted line of the actuator drive unit 30 (30-1) is such that the tip of the drive member 33 (33-1) projects from the engagement member 41 and the mirror (33a) is located in the optical path. It shows the state.

[Third Embodiment] A three-degree-of-freedom stage and an optical switch using this stage according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

7 and 8 are perspective views of a three-degree-of-freedom stage 60 equipped with three linear actuators, and FIG. 7 shows a state in which the engaging member, the pin, and the stage plate are removed. Reference numeral 8 shows a state in which the engaging member and the pin are assembled and the stage plate is removed.

7 and 8, the stage main body 61
Uprightly arranged are three actuator drive parts 62, 63, 64 having vertically moving rods having spheres attached to their upper ends.
A common single engaging member 65 is frictionally coupled to 4.

The actuator drive units 62, 63 and 64 are
Although the actuator drive unit of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a similar configuration, the flat portion formed on the drive member is not used as a mirror, and thus the flat portion is not mirror-finished. Be different. Actuator drive unit 6
Since 2, 63 and 64 have the same configuration, the actuator drive section 62 will be described below.

Actuator drive section 62 (63, 64)
Is the piezoelectric element 62 on the base 62a (63a, 64a).
One end of b (63b, 64b) is bonded and fixed, and the piezoelectric element 6
A cylindrical driving member 6 is provided at the other end of 2b (63b, 64b).
2c (63c, 64c) is adhesively fixed.

A cylindrical driving member 62c (63c, 64)
In c), the surface is partially cut along the axial direction to obtain a flat surface 6
2d (63d, 64d) is formed. However, the plane 62d
Since (63d, 64d) is not used as a mirror, it is not mirror-finished.

The tip of the drive member 62c (63c, 64c) of the actuator drive unit 62 (63, 64) is a suitable means such as fixing a separately formed hemisphere 62e (63e, 64e) by means such as adhesion. And hemisphere 62e (63e, 64)
e) finish.

The engaging member 65 has an actuator drive portion 6
A plurality of holes 65a, 65b, 65c that fit into the driving members 62c, 63c, 64c of 2, 63, 64 are provided, and the driving members 62c, 65b, 65c are provided in the holes 65a, 65b, 65c, respectively.
Elastic member 65 that contacts 63c and 64c with appropriate pressure
d, 65e, 65f are formed on the inner surface. Further, the engagement member 65 is fixedly supported by the pin 66 implanted in the stage body 61 at a predetermined distance from the stage body 61.

The engaging member 65 is the driving members 62c and 6c.
It also functions as a positioning member that defines the relative positions of 3c and 64c.

Stage plate 70 and actuator drive unit 6
The coupling of the driving members 62c, 63c, 64c of the reference numerals 2, 63, 64 is performed in the same manner as the configuration described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. That is, the stage plate 70 has a joint hole 70.
a and a long groove 70b are formed, a hemisphere 62e at the tip of the drive member 62c engages the joint hole 70a, and a hemisphere 63e at the tip of the drive member 63c.
Drive member 6 that engages with the long groove 70b
A hemisphere 64e at the tip of 4c is a free joint that contacts and engages with the back surface of the stage plate 70.

The bases 62a, 63a, 64a of the actuator drive units 62, 63, 64 are not fixed to any member, but have a constant mass, and the piezoelectric element 62b,
In the rapid extension (or contraction) vibration generated in 63b and 64b, the inertial force acts to prevent the bases 62a, 63a and 64a from moving. As a result, the actuator drive parts 62, 63, 64 overcome the frictional coupling force with the engagement member 65 and move relative to the engagement member 65,
The tips of the driving members 62c, 63c, 64c are the engaging members 65.
Stick out from.

According to this configuration, the actuator drive section 6
Since the driving members 62c to 64c of 2 to 64 can be moved up and down, the stage plate 70 can be moved by linear movement of one degree of freedom (movement in the Z-axis direction) and rotation of two degrees of freedom. A stage with three degrees of freedom can be constructed.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an optical switch 75 using the above-described three-degree-of-freedom stage 60, in which a mirror 76 is arranged on a stage plate 70. Light incident from the optical fiber 77 on the incident side is transmitted to the actuator driving unit 6
It is reflected by the mirror 76 whose height and inclination are adjusted by the reference numerals 2, 63, 64 via the stage plate 70, and can be emitted to a desired optical fiber 78 on the emitting side.

[Fourth Embodiment] A mirror correcting mechanism for changing the curvature of the mirror according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the structure of the mirror correction mechanism 80. The mirror case 82 and the mirror (concave mirror) 81 are shown in FIG.
Actuator 8 provided with a plurality of driving members between the back surface of the
3 is arranged.

The actuator 83 is composed of a plurality of actuator driving parts 85 and one engaging member 86.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the structure of the actuator drive section 85. One end of the piezoelectric element 85b is adhered and fixed on the base 85a, and the cylindrical drive member 85c is adhered and fixed on the other end of the piezoelectric element 85b. Configured. This configuration is the first
Since the structure is similar to that of the actuator drive unit described in the third embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the structure of the engaging member 86, which is a disk having an appropriate curved surface close to the curvature of the mirror (concave mirror) 81, and a plurality of holes 86a are provided on the disk. The arrangement and number of the holes 86a are appropriately determined according to the dimensions of the mirror, the magnitude of the curvature to be corrected, and the like. Hole 86
Similar to the engaging members described in the first and third embodiments, an elastic member 86b that comes into contact with the driving member 85c with an appropriate pressure is formed on the inner surface of a.

In the actuator 83, the driving members 85c of the plurality of actuator driving portions 85 are connected to the holes 86 of the engaging member 86.
It is constructed by frictionally connecting to a with an appropriate pressure.

The engaging member 86 is composed of a plurality of driving members 8
It also functions as a positioning member that defines the relative position of 5c.

Next, the curvature correction operation of the mirror 81 will be described with reference to FIG. The driving member 85c is frictionally brought into contact with the driving member 85c by vibration generated by supplying a driving pulse to the piezoelectric element 85b of the actuator driving unit 85 at a position where the curvature of the mirror 81 is desired to be corrected and having different expansion and contraction speeds. The mirror 8 is moved back and forth with respect to the joining member 86.
The amount of pushing of the tip of the drive member 85c that contacts the back surface of the mirror 1 is adjusted to correct the curvature of the mirror 81.

The base 85a of the actuator drive section 85 is
Although it is not fixed to any member, it has a constant mass, and acts on the movement of the base 85a by the inertial force in the rapid extension (or contraction) vibration generated in the piezoelectric element 85b. As a result, the actuator drive unit 8
5 can overcome the frictional coupling force with the engaging member 86 and can be moved relative to the engaging member 86.

[Fifth Embodiment] The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The fifth embodiment relates to a power feeding means to the actuator drive section in the above-described first to fourth embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the power feeding means to the actuator drive section. In FIG. 13, an actuator drive unit 90 includes a base 91, a piezoelectric element 92, a drive member 93.
This configuration corresponds to each member of the actuator drive section of the first to fourth embodiments. Further, 94 is an engaging member, which is the engaging member 3 of the first embodiment.
4, the engaging member 41 of the second embodiment, the engaging member 65 of the third embodiment, and the engaging member 86 of the fourth embodiment.

In FIG. 13, the driving member 93 is made of carbon, and the engaging member 94 is also made of metal. Since each of them has conductivity, the driving member 93 is pierced through the engaging member 94 to cause friction. By coupling, the driving member 93
And the engaging member 94 are electrically connected.

One electrode (negative electrode) of the piezoelectric element 92 is electrically connected to the driving member 93 via a wire, and the other electrode (positive electrode) of the piezoelectric element 92 is connected to the switch 96 via a coiled wire 95. Connected. The coil-shaped wire 95 is used to connect the other electrode (positive electrode) of the piezoelectric element 92 and the switch 96 because the wire 9 is moved when the actuator driving unit 90 including the piezoelectric element 92 and the driving member 93 moves.
This is to prevent unreasonable force from being applied to 5.

By connecting the engaging member 94 and the switch 96 to the power source 97, the drive pulse output from the power source 97 is supplied to the piezoelectric element 92. The switch 96 is for selectively driving the piezoelectric element 92 of the actuator drive section 90.

With the above configuration, the actuator drive unit 9
The electrode wiring to 0 can be performed by the driving member 93 and the engaging member 94, and the number of wirings can be reduced.

[0083]

As described above in detail, the drive device using the electromechanical conversion element according to the present invention, that is, the actuator, is constructed by frictionally coupling a single engagement member to a large number of drive members. Therefore, the assembly work can be easily performed without requiring a complicated assembly process as compared with the conventional structure in which a large number of actuators are arranged.

A driving device using the electromechanical conversion element according to the present invention, that is, an actuator, can be manufactured in an extremely small size and can be stored in a narrow space with high density, and the driving of the electromechanical conversion element can be stopped. Then, since there is a self-holding property of holding the driving member in that position, it is possible to provide an actuator having many advantages such as not requiring special energy to hold the driven member in a predetermined position. .

Also in the applied device such as the optical switch and the mirror curvature correction device using the drive device of the present invention, the assembly work of the applied device can be easily performed without requiring many complicated assembling steps. . Further, it is possible to provide an application device having many advantages such as not requiring special energy to hold a driven member or the like of the application device at a predetermined position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an actuator according to a first embodiment (engagement member detached state).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an optical switch including the actuator shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a spring member is removed from an engaging member of the actuator of the second embodiment.

4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a spring member is attached to the engaging member shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an actuator according to a second embodiment.

6 is a plan view of the actuator shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a stage with three degrees of freedom according to the third embodiment (state in which an engaging member, a pin, and a stage plate are removed).

8 is a perspective view of the stage shown in FIG. 7 (a state in which an engaging member and pins are assembled and a stage plate is removed).

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an optical switch using a stage with three degrees of freedom according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a mirror correction mechanism according to a fourth embodiment.

11 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an actuator drive unit of the mirror correction mechanism shown in FIG.

12 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an engagement member of the mirror correction mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a power feeding unit for an actuator driving unit according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a conventional optical switch called a mirror type.

FIG. 15 is a side view (1) of the optical switch shown in FIG.

16 is a side view (part 2) of the optical switch shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is an external view showing a configuration of a stage having three degrees of freedom (stage plate removed state).

18 is an external view showing the configuration of the stage shown in FIG. 17 (stage plate attached state).

19 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a linear actuator used for the stage shown in FIG.

20 is an external view of an optical switch using the stage shown in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a change in curvature of a conventional mirror.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a conventional mirror correction mechanism for correcting the curvature of a mirror.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing the actuator by disassembling the constituent elements.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing an example of a mirror type optical switch using an actuator.

25 is a plan view of the mirror type optical switch shown in FIG. 24. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Activator 20 optical switch 30 Actuator drive 31 base 32 Piezoelectric element 33 Drive member 33a Plane (mirror) 34 Engaging member 35 holes 35a elastic member 37, 38 optical fiber 41 Engagement member 41b V groove 41c concave 41d receiver 42 Spring member 43 Holding member 44 Coupling member 46 frames 50 Activator 60 3 degrees of freedom stage 61 Stage body 62, 63, 64 Actuator drive unit 65 Engagement member 66 pin 70 Stage board 75 optical switch 76 mirror 77, 78 Optical fiber 80 Mirror correction mechanism 81 Mirror (concave mirror) 82 mirror case 83 Actuator 85 Actuator drive 86 Engagement member 90 Actuator drive 91 base 92 Piezoelectric element 93 Drive member 94 Engagement member 95 coiled wire 96 switch 97 power supply

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electromechanical conversion element, a drive member fixed to one end of the electromechanical conversion element, and an engagement member frictionally coupled to the drive member, wherein the electromechanical conversion element extends and contracts. In the drive device for causing the drive member and the engagement member to relatively move by generating expansion and contraction displacements at different speeds, the drive device is configured such that a single engagement member is frictionally coupled to the plurality of drive members. A drive device using an electro-mechanical conversion element. 2. The engagement member includes a common frictional force generating member that is smaller in number than a plurality of frictionally coupled driving members, and the frictional force generating member generates a frictional force with the driving member. A drive device using the electromechanical conversion element according to claim 1. 3. The drive device using the electromechanical conversion element according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member also serves as a positioning member that defines relative positions of the plurality of drive members. 4. The drive device using the electromechanical conversion element according to claim 1, wherein the drive device drives the driven member by a drive member that moves relative to the engagement member. 5. The driving device can drive the driven member with one degree of freedom along a driving direction of the driving member, and can drive with two degrees of freedom other than the driving direction, and can have three degrees of freedom driving. 5. The structure according to claim 4, wherein the structure is provided.
A drive device using the electromechanical conversion element described. 6. A plurality of driving parts each including an electromechanical conversion element and a driving member fixed to one end of the electromechanical conversion element, and a single engagement member in which the plurality of driving parts are frictionally coupled to each other. It is driven by a coupling member and a driving member that moves relative to the engaging member, and is driven with one degree of freedom along the driving direction of the driving member, and also with three degrees of freedom that can be driven with two degrees of freedom other than the driving direction. A stage having three degrees of freedom, comprising a driven member having a degree of freedom.