JP2010183807A - Supporting mechanism for vibration actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supporting mechanism for a vibration actuator which suppresses effect on at least one vibration of the vibration actuator, ensures small size and space-saving, and besides serves as the supporting mechanism for the vibration actuator which includes a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration and lateral flexural vibration. <P>SOLUTION: The supporting mechanism 30 is shaped like a flange which has a base 30a and arms 30b-30e shaped like thin plates and extended from the base 30a, and is arranged on one point which accords with the node of any vibration of the vibration actuator 10. Moreover, a slit 31 is created between the base 30a and the arms 30b-30e. When the vibration actuator 10 vibrates, the arms 30b-30e can sufficiently flex to the vibration where the node of vibration is positioned on the point of the supporting mechanism 30, so even if the arms 30b-30e are fixed to members due for attachment, effect on the vibration of the vibration actuator 10 is suppressed. Moreover, the size becomes small, resulting in space-saving. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a support mechanism for a vibration actuator, and more particularly to a support mechanism for a vibration actuator including a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration and lateral flexural vibration.

  A vibration actuator for rotating a rotor using ultrasonic vibration has been put into practical use. The vibration actuator generates a standing wave or traveling wave on the surface of the vibrator including the piezoelectric element, and presses the rotor against the vibrator to rotate the rotor through the frictional force between the two. . Particularly in recent years, a vibration actuator including a composite vibrator that generates a plurality of vibrations such as a longitudinal vibration and a lateral flexural vibration has been put into practical use.

  When such a vibration actuator is applied to an actual industrial application, it is necessary to provide a support mechanism for the vibration actuator and fix the support mechanism to some attachment target member. At this time, the support mechanism is required to have a small influence on the vibration of the vibration actuator when fixed to the attachment target member. Further, it is desirable that the support mechanism itself is small and space-saving.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cylinder that generates a driving force with multiple degrees of freedom by including a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction and flexural vibration in the lateral direction (X-axis and Y-axis directions). A shape vibration actuator is described. In this vibration actuator, the position of the longitudinal vibration node in the Z-axis direction and the position of the flexural vibration node in the lateral direction are substantially matched in the design stage, and the flange-shaped support mechanism 530 as shown in FIG. The base portion 530a is disposed near the position of the vibration node of the vibration actuator, and the tip portions of the four thin plate-like arm portions 530b to 530e extending outward in the radial direction of the vibration actuator are fixed to the attachment target member. When the vibration actuator vibrates, the thin plate-like arm portions 530b to 530e of the support mechanism 530 are bent, so that the influence on the vibration of the vibration actuator when fixed to the attachment target member is suppressed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-220892

  However, in the support mechanism 530 as described in Patent Document 1, the arm portions 530b to 530e can be sufficiently bent with respect to the longitudinal vibration of the vibration actuator because the arm portion 530b to 530e has a shape utilizing the bending of a thin plate. It can, however, not flex enough for lateral flexural vibration because it takes advantage of the stretching and compression of the sheet. Therefore, when the tip portions of the arm portions 530b to 530e are fixed to the attachment target member, the influence on the lateral deflection vibration of the vibration actuator cannot be sufficiently suppressed. In addition, since a certain length (L5) is required for the arm portions 530b to 530e to bend, the size of the support mechanism 530 is increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and is a support mechanism for a vibration actuator including a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration and lateral deflection vibration, and is a member to be attached. An object of the present invention is to provide a vibration actuator support mechanism that can suppress the influence of at least one of longitudinal vibration and lateral flexural vibration of the vibration actuator on the vibration, and is small in size and space-saving. And

In order to solve the above problems, according to the vibration actuator support mechanism of the present invention, the vibration actuator support mechanism includes a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration and lateral flexural vibration. And a base portion attached to the vibration actuator and an arm portion extending outward from the base portion and fixed to the member to be attached, wherein the base portion is a node of at least one vibration of a longitudinal vibration and a lateral flexural vibration of the vibration actuator. And a cut is formed between the base and the arm.
Thereby, when it fixes to the attachment object member, the influence which acts on at least 1 vibration of the longitudinal vibration of a vibration actuator and a lateral deflection vibration is suppressed, and a size is also small and it saves space.

It may be a composite vibrator in which the positions of the nodes of the longitudinal vibration and the flexural vibration in the lateral direction substantially coincide.
Thereby, when it fixes to the attachment object member, the influence which acts on the longitudinal vibration and the bending vibration of a horizontal direction of a vibration actuator is suppressed.

The arm portion may have an attachment portion fixed to the attachment target member, and the cut line may be formed so as to cross a straight line connecting the center of the base portion and the attachment portion of the arm portion.
Thereby, when it fixes to the attachment object member, the influence which acts on the bending vibration of the horizontal direction of a vibration actuator is further suppressed.

  The number of arms may be at least three.

The arm portion may extend along the outer periphery of the base portion.
This further reduces the size and saves space.

  According to the support mechanism for a vibration actuator according to the present invention, the support mechanism has a base portion attached to the vibration actuator and an arm portion that extends outward from the base portion and is fixed to the attachment target member, and the base portion is the vibration actuator. Is disposed at a location that coincides with at least one vibration node of the longitudinal vibration and the lateral flexural vibration, and a cut is formed between the base portion and the arm portion. Thereby, when it fixes to the attachment object member, the influence which acts on at least 1 vibration of the longitudinal vibration of a vibration actuator and a lateral deflection vibration is suppressed, and a size is also small and it saves space.

It is a perspective view which shows the vibration actuator and support mechanism which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support mechanism of the vibration actuator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support mechanism of the vibration actuator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support mechanism of the vibration actuator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support mechanism of the vibration actuator which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the support mechanism of the vibration actuator which concerns on a prior art.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
The configuration of the vibration actuator support mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the configuration of the vibration actuator 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in the vibration actuator 10, a vibrating body 13 is sandwiched between a base block 11 and a stator 12, thereby forming a composite vibrator 14 having a substantially cylindrical outer shape. Yes. A concave portion 15 is formed on the stator 12 on the side opposite to the surface in contact with the vibrating body 13, and a substantially lower half portion of the spherical rotor 16 is accommodated in the concave portion 15 and is rotatably supported. Yes.
A support member 17 is disposed on the top of the stator 12. The support member 17 has an annular portion 18 fixed on the upper surface of the stator 12 and an inverted L-shaped angle portion 19 extending upward from the annular portion 18, and a preload portion 20 is provided at the tip of the angle portion 19. Is provided.

Here, for convenience of explanation, the central axis of the composite vibrator 14 from the base block 11 toward the stator 12 is defined as the Z axis, and the X axis is perpendicular to the Z axis and the Z axis and the X axis are Assume that the Y-axis extends vertically.
The preload portion 20 is in contact with the vicinity of the vertex that is the highest point in the + Z-axis direction of the rotor 16. The angle portion 19 of the support member 17 has elasticity, whereby the preload portion 20 is pressed against the rotor 16 and applies a preload in the −Z-axis direction to the rotor 16.

The vibrating body 13 is for generating ultrasonic vibrations in the stator 12 to rotate the rotor 16 around the X axis, and the first piezoelectric elements 13a and Y that generate longitudinal vibration in the Z axis direction. It is composed of a second piezoelectric element 13b that generates a flexural vibration in the axial direction. Further, at the design stage, at least one vibration node of the longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction and the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction is adjusted so as to be positioned between the vibrating body 13 and the base block 11, A flange-shaped support mechanism 30 is disposed at a location.
It is further preferable that the longitudinal vibrations in the Z-axis direction and the flexural vibrations in the Y-axis direction are adjusted so that the positions of the nodes are substantially matched, and the support mechanism 30 is disposed at that position.

  Next, the configuration of the support mechanism 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the support mechanism 30 includes a base portion 30a having a disk shape and four thin plate-like arm portions 30b to 30e extending outward from the base portion 30a.

  A bolt through hole is formed at the center of the base 30a. The base 30a is sandwiched between the vibration body 13 of the vibration actuator 10 and the base block 11, and is fixed to the vibration actuator 10 by a bolt (not shown).

  The arm portions 30b and 30c extend in opposite directions from one end of the base portion 30a along the outer periphery thereof. The arm portions 30d and 30e extend in opposite directions from the other end of the base portion 30a along the outer periphery thereof. Here, the connection parts A1 and B1 connected to the base part 30a in the arm parts 30b to 30e are straight lines connecting the center of the base part 30a and the attachment part 32 of the arm parts 30b to 30e (part fixed to an attachment target member not shown). It is evenly arranged in a position that avoids the top.

  A slit 31 is formed between the base portion 30a and the arm portions 30b to 30e, respectively, and crosses a straight line connecting the center of the base portion 30a and the attachment portion 32 of the arm portions 30b to 30e. Moreover, the bolt through-hole for fixing to the attachment object member which is not shown in figure is opened in the attachment part 32 of the arm parts 30b-30e.

Next, the operation of the vibration actuator support mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described.
Now, when an AC voltage with a phase difference of 90 degrees is applied to each of the first piezoelectric element 13a and the second piezoelectric element 13b in the composite vibrator 14 of the vibration actuator 10, the first piezoelectric element 13a in the Z-axis direction is applied. The longitudinal vibration and the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction by the second piezoelectric element 13b are combined to generate elliptical motion in the YZ plane on the stator 12 that contacts the rotor 16, and the rotor 16 rotates about the X-axis. To do. At this time, since the slit 31 is formed in the support mechanism 30, any vibration node of the longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction and the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction is located at the place where the support mechanism 30 is disposed. In addition, the arm portions 30b to 30e can be sufficiently bent with respect to the vibration.
In particular, when the positions of the nodes of the longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction and the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction are adjusted so as to substantially coincide with the place where the support mechanism 30 is disposed, the longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction and The arm portions 30b to 30e can sufficiently bend with respect to both of the flexural vibrations in the Y-axis direction.

As described above, according to the support mechanism of the vibration actuator according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the slit 31 is formed in the support mechanism 30, so that when the vibration actuator 10 vibrates, the Z-axis direction The arm portions 30b to 30e can sufficiently bend with respect to at least one of the vertical vibration and the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction (vibration in which a vibration node is located at a place where the support mechanism 30 is disposed). Thereby, even if the attachment portion 32 of the arm portions 30b to 30e of the support mechanism 30 is fixed to an attachment target member (not shown), the influence on the vibration of the vibration actuator 10 is suppressed.
In addition, the arm portions 30b to 30e can have a sufficient length (L1) without having a portion extending to the outside of the vibration actuator 10, so that the size is small and the space is saved.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a support mechanism for a vibration actuator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description of the embodiments, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are the same or similar components, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The support mechanism 230 according to the second embodiment includes a base portion 230a having a disk shape and four thin plate-like arm portions 230b to 230e extending outward from the base portion 230a.

  The arm portions 230b and 230c extend in opposite directions along the tangential direction from one end of the base portion 230a. The arm portions 230d and 230e extend in opposite directions along the tangential direction from the other end of the base portion 230a. Here, the connecting portions A2 and B2 connected to the base portion 230a in the arm portions 230b to 230e are equally arranged at positions that avoid a straight line connecting the center of the base portion 230a and the mounting portion 232 of the arm portions 230b to 230e.

  A slit 231 is formed between the base portion 230a and the arm portions 230b to 230e, respectively, and crosses a straight line connecting the center of the base portion 230a and the attachment portion 232 of the arm portions 230b to 230e.

  Even when such a support mechanism 230 is used, the arm portions 230b to 230e can be sufficiently bent by the slit 231 and the length (L2) thereof can be sufficiently secured. Therefore, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Obtainable.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Next, a support mechanism for a vibration actuator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The support mechanism 330 according to Embodiment 3 includes a base portion 330a having a disk shape and six thin plate-like arm portions 330b to 330g extending outward from the base portion 330a.

  The arm portions 330b and 330c extend in opposite directions along the tangential direction from the base portion 330a. The arm portions 330d and 330e also extend in the opposite directions along the tangential direction from the base portion 330a. The arm portions 330f and 330g also extend in opposite directions along the tangential direction from the base portion 330a. Here, the connecting portions A3, B3, and C3 connected to the base portion 330a in the arm portions 330b to 330g are evenly arranged at positions that avoid the straight line connecting the center of the base portion 330a and the mounting portion 332 of the arm portions 330b to 330g. Yes.

  A slit 331 is formed between the base portion 330a and the arm portions 330b to 330g, respectively, and crosses a straight line connecting the center of the base portion 330a and the attachment portion 332 of the arm portions 330b to 330g.

  Even if such a support mechanism 330 is used, the arm portions 330b to 330g can be sufficiently bent by the slit 331, and the length (L3) thereof can be sufficiently ensured. Therefore, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Obtainable.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
Next, a support mechanism for a vibration actuator according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The support mechanism 430 according to the fourth embodiment includes a base portion 430a having a disk shape and three thin plate-like arm portions 430b to 430d extending outward from the base portion 430a.

  The arm portions 430b to 430d extend counterclockwise from the base portion 430a along the outer periphery thereof. Here, the connecting portions A4, B4, and C4 connected to the base portion 430a in the arm portions 430b to 430d are evenly arranged at positions that avoid a straight line connecting the center of the base portion 430a and the mounting portion 432 of the arm portions 430b to 430d. Yes.

  A slit 431 is formed between the base portion 430a and the arm portions 430b to 430d, respectively, and crosses a straight line connecting the center of the base portion 430a and the attachment portion 432 of the arm portions 430b to 430d.

  Even if such a support mechanism 430 is used, the arm portions 430b to 430d can be sufficiently bent by the slit 431, and the length (L4) can be sufficiently secured, so that the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Obtainable.

Other embodiments.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the vibration actuator (so-called ultrasonic motor) in which the rotor 16 rotates around the X axis has been described as an example, but the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention are also applied to other vibration actuators. 4 can be used. For example, the present invention is applied to a vibration actuator including a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction, flexural vibration in the X-axis direction, and flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction as described in Patent Document 1. The support mechanism according to the first to fourth embodiments may be used.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, when the positions of the nodes of the longitudinal vibration in the Z-axis direction and the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction of the vibration actuator are different, or when using a higher-order vibration mode, there are a plurality of vibration nodes. It will exist in the place. In such a case, the support mechanisms 30, 230, 330, and 430 may be arranged at the positions of a plurality of vibration nodes of the vibration actuator, respectively.

  In the first and second embodiments, the number of arm portions of the support mechanisms 30 and 230 is two. In the third embodiment, the number of arm portions of the support mechanism 330 is six. In the fourth embodiment, Although the number of arm portions of the support mechanism 430 is three, it may have a larger number of arm portions.

  In the first and second embodiments, in order to cope with the flexural vibration in the Y-axis direction by the second piezoelectric element 13b of the vibration actuator 10, the support mechanisms 30 and 230 are connected portions of the arm portions 30b to 30e and 230b to 230e. A1 and A2 and connecting portions B1 and B2 are preferably arranged so as to be parallel to the X axis, but they may be arranged so as to be parallel to the Y axis.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, as means for attaching and fixing the base portions 30a, 230a, 330a, 430a of the support mechanisms 30, 230, 330, 430 to the vibration actuator 10, in addition to clamping and fixing by bolts, adhesion, Various means such as welding can be used.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the attachment portions 32, 232, 332, and 432 of the arm portions 30b to 30e, 230b to 230e, 330b to 330g, and 430b to 430d of the support mechanisms 30, 230, 330, and 430 are attachment target members. As means for fixing, various means such as adhesion, clamping, welding and the like can be used in addition to fixing with bolts.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, iron, aluminum, stainless steel, or the like can be used as the material of the support mechanisms 30, 230, 330, and 430. Further, the same material as that of the base block 11 of the composite vibrator 14 of the vibration actuator 10 may be used. Further, the base block 11 of the composite vibrator 14 of the vibration actuator 10 and the support mechanisms 30, 230, 330, and 430 may be integrally formed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vibration actuator, 13a-13b Piezoelectric element, 14 Composite vibrator | oscillator (vibrator), 30, 230, 330, 430 Support mechanism, 30a, 230a, 330a, 430a Base, 30b-30e, 230b-230e, 330b-330g, 430b-430d Arm part, 31,231,331,431 slit (cut), 32,232,332,432 attachment part, A1, A2, A3, A4 connection part, B1, B2, B3, B4 connection part, C3 C4 connecting part.

Claims (5)

A support mechanism for a vibration actuator including a composite vibrator that generates longitudinal vibration and lateral flexural vibration,
The support mechanism includes a base portion attached to the vibration actuator, and an arm portion that extends outward from the base portion and is fixed to a member to be attached,
The base is disposed at a location that coincides with at least one vibration node of the longitudinal vibration and the lateral flexural vibration of the vibration actuator;
A support mechanism for a vibration actuator, wherein a cut is formed between the base portion and the arm portion.   The vibration actuator support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the vibration actuator is a composite vibrator in which positions of nodes of the longitudinal vibration and the lateral flexural vibration substantially coincide with each other. The arm portion has an attachment portion fixed to the attachment target member,
3. The vibration actuator support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cut is formed so as to cross a straight line connecting the center of the base and the attachment portion of the arm.   4. The vibration actuator support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the number of the arm portions is at least three. 5.   The vibration arm support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the arm portion extends along an outer periphery of the base portion.

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