JP5298300B2 - Spherical actuator and imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a spherical actuator that has multi-directional degrees of freedom and rotates a member to be rotated such as a robot arm or an imaging unit, and an imaging apparatus that includes the spherical actuator.

  Conventionally, this type of spherical actuator is composed of a substantially spherical rotor and a plurality of stators that contact the surface of the rotor and rotatably support the rotor. The spherical actuator transmits surface wave vibration generated by a plurality of stators to the rotor, and the rotor is driven in multiple directions by the vibration. Further, the rotor is attached to a rotated member such as a robot arm or an image sensor, and the rotated component rotates in multiple directions by rotating the rotor in multiple directions. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an imaging apparatus including a conventional spherical actuator.
An imaging apparatus 110 illustrated in FIG. 13 includes a conventional spherical actuator 100 and an imaging unit 106. The spherical actuator 100 includes a support member 101 having three stators 103a, 103b, and 103c arranged at substantially equal angular intervals, and a spherical rotor 102 that is rotatably supported by the support member 101. The support member 101 is fixed to a substantially columnar fixing member 105. The three stators 103a, 103b, and 103c are attached to the three arm portions 104a, 104b, and 104c provided on the support member 101, respectively. The three stators 103 a, 103 b, and 103 c are driving force generators that generate minute vibrations, and are in contact with the surface of the rotor 102.

  In the conventional spherical actuator having such a configuration, minute vibrations generated by the three stators 103 a, 103 b, and 103 c are transmitted to the spherical rotor 102. Thereby, the rotor 102 is a Z-axis direction passing through the centers of the rotor 102 and the support member 101, an X-axis direction orthogonal to the Z-axis direction, a direction orthogonal to the Z-axis direction, and orthogonal to the X-axis direction. It rotates around the three-axis direction with the Y-axis direction.

In the spherical actuator 100 shown in FIG. 13, the imaging unit 106 is attached to the surface of the spherical rotor 102. The imaging unit 106 includes an imaging device {for example, a CCD (charge coupled device), a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), etc.} and a lens device that makes image light from a subject incident on the imaging device. The imaging device 110 provided with the spherical actuator 100 having such a configuration is used for an inspection device in the pipe T.
JP-A-8-88987

  However, in the conventional spherical actuator 100, as shown in FIG. 14, when the rotor 102 is rotated around the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction, the imaging unit which is a rotated member attached to the rotor 102 106 abuts on the stator 103 a of the support member 101. As a result, the rotation operation of the rotor 101 around the X axis direction and / or the Y axis direction is limited. Specifically, in the spherical actuator shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the range in which the actuator can rotate around the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is only about 60 degrees. As described above, the conventional spherical actuator has a problem that the movable range of the rotor is narrowed because the rotated member such as the imaging unit or the robot arm attached to the rotor contacts the stator of the support member. .

  On the other hand, as an actuator of an imaging unit of an imaging device used for piping inspection or the like, it can move around an X axis direction and a Y axis direction in a wider range (for example, about 180 degrees) in order to capture an image of a tube wall with certainty. A range is sought. Therefore, the conventional spherical actuator has not been suitable for use as an actuator of the imaging unit of such an imaging apparatus.

  Further, in a conventional spherical actuator, a rotated member such as an imaging unit or a robot arm is attached to the surface of a substantially spherical rotor. Therefore, in order to securely attach the pivoted member to the rotor, a flat portion is formed on a part of the rotor surface, or a rounded surface that is the same as the surface curvature of the rotor is formed on the pivoted member mounting surface. There is a need to. Thus, not only is it difficult to attach the pivotable member to the rotor, but there is also a problem that the work for assembling increases because work for attaching the pivotable member to the rotor is required.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a spherical actuator capable of improving the movable range of the pivoted member and easily mounting the pivoted member, and the spherical actuator. Another object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object of the present invention, the spherical actuator of the present invention is a spherical actuator that rotates a member to be rotated. The spherical actuator includes a support member having a curved surface portion, a fixing member that fixes the support member, and a movable member that is rotatably supported by the support member and rotates along the surface of the support member. ing. The movable member is provided with a plurality of driving force generators arranged at predetermined intervals and contacting the surface of the support member, a pedestal portion to which the rotated member is attached, and a pedestal portion with a predetermined interval. And a plurality of arm portions to which the driving force generating portions are attached . The fixing member has a rod shape, and the shaft diameter thereof is smaller than the interval between the adjacent driving force generation portions in the plurality of driving force generation portions.
The plurality of arm portions extend to the opposite side of the pedestal in the direction in which the member to be rotated is attached, and a driving force generating portion is attached to the distal end portion in the extending direction. The plurality of arm portions are provided with elastic portions that urge the plurality of driving force generating portions toward the support member.

The imaging apparatus of the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an image and a spherical actuator that rotates the imaging unit. The spherical actuator is as described above, and is supported along the surface of the support member supported by the support member having a curved surface portion, a fixing member that fixes the support member, and the support member. And a movable member. The movable member is provided with a plurality of driving force generators arranged at predetermined intervals and contacting the surface of the support member, a pedestal portion to which the rotated member is attached, and a pedestal portion with a predetermined interval. And a plurality of arm portions to which the driving force generating portions are attached . The fixing member has a rod shape, and the shaft diameter thereof is smaller than the interval between the adjacent driving force generation portions in the plurality of driving force generation portions.
The plurality of arm portions extend to the opposite side of the pedestal in the direction in which the imaging unit is attached, and a driving force generation unit is attached to the distal end portion in the extending direction. The plurality of arm portions are provided with elastic portions that urge the plurality of driving force generating portions toward the support member.

  According to the spherical actuator of the present invention, the driving force generator provided on the movable member does not come into contact with the pivoted member, so that the movable range of the pivoted member can be increased and the pedestal portion covers the driven member. The rotating member can be easily attached. Further, according to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the movable range of the movable member can be expanded, so that the photographing range can be greatly improved.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a spherical actuator and an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the common member in each figure. The present invention is not limited to the following form.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an imaging apparatus including a spherical actuator to which the present invention is applied as seen from the front side, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the spherical actuator as seen from the back side.
An imaging apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “present example”) shown in FIG. 1 includes a spherical actuator 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and a pivoted object. It is comprised from the imaging part 2 which shows one specific example of a member. The imaging unit 2 includes an imaging device {for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), etc.} and a lens device that causes image light from a subject to enter the imaging device. .

  The spherical actuator 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an actuator having a degree of freedom in multiple directions (in this example, three axial directions of the X axis direction, the Y axis direction, and the Z axis direction orthogonal to each other). The spherical actuator 1 includes a substantially spherical support member 3, a fixed member 4 that fixes the support member 3, and a movable member 5 that is rotatably supported by the support member 3.

  The support member 3 is formed in a substantially spherical shape and has a curved surface portion. A fixing member 4 having a columnar shape is attached to the support member 3. The support member 3 is fixed by the fixing member 4 so as not to rotate. The movable member 5 is rotatably supported by the support member 3 fixed to the fixed member 4. In the present example, the shape of the support member 3 has been described as being substantially spherical. However, the shape of the support member 3 is not limited to this. For example, the shape of the support member 3 bulges outside such as a hemisphere, an elliptical sphere, or a disk shape. It may be formed in various other shapes having a curved surface portion. Furthermore, although the shape of the fixing member 4 has been described as a columnar shape, it goes without saying that the fixing member 4 may be formed in a prismatic shape or other various rod shapes.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the spherical actuator of this example.
As shown in FIG. 3, the movable member 5 includes a substantially annular pedestal portion 7, three arm portions 8a, 8b, 8c arranged on the pedestal portion 7 at substantially equal angular intervals, and three arm portions. It has three driving force generation parts 9a, 9b, 9c fixed to 8a, 8b, 8c. The pedestal portion 7 has a substantially annular shape, and is provided with an attachment hole 11 for fixing the imaging unit 2. The end surface of the pedestal portion 7 has a planar shape and constitutes an attachment surface 7a to which the imaging unit 2 is attached (see FIG. 1). Further, the pedestal portion 7 has three fixed surfaces 12a, 12b, and 12c formed by cutting the outer periphery into a planar shape at substantially equal angular intervals (120 ° in this example). Three arm portions 8a, 8b, and 8c are fixed to the three fixing surfaces 12a, 12b, and 12c so as to extend on the side opposite to the mounting direction of the imaging unit 2 in the pedestal portion 7. The interval between adjacent arm portions in the three arm portions 8 a, 8 b, and 8 c is set wider than the shaft diameter of the fixing member 4.

  Of the three arm portions 8a to 8c, the first driving force generating portion 9a is attached to the first arm portion 8a, the second driving force generating portion 9b is attached to the second arm portion 8b, and the first A third driving force generator 9c is attached to the third arm 8c. Since these three arm portions 8a to 8c have the same configuration, only the first arm portion 8a will be described here.

  The 1st arm part 8a has comprised the flat plate shape which makes a substantially rectangular shape, and the corner | angular part is notched. The first arm portion 8a has a fixing hole for fixing to the first fixing surface 12a of the pedestal portion 7, an opening hole 14 to which the first driving force generating portion 9a is attached, and an elastic portion 15. ing. The fixing hole which does not appear in the figure is provided on one side in the longitudinal direction of the first arm portion 8a. The first arm portion 8 a is fixed to the first fixing surface 12 a of the base portion 7 by screwing the fixing screw 17 into the fixing hole. The second and third arm portions 8b and 8c are fixed to the second and third fixing surfaces 12b and 12c of the pedestal portion 7, respectively.

  Moreover, the opening hole 14 is provided in the other side of the longitudinal direction which is the other side of a fixed hole. A fixing portion 21 of a first driving force generation portion 9a described later is fitted into the opening hole 14. Note that fixing portions 21 of the second and third driving force generating portions 9b and 9c are fitted in the opening holes 14 of the second and third arm portions 8b and 8c, respectively. The elastic part 15 is provided substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction of the first arm part 8a. The elastic portions 15 are formed by cutting out a plurality from the outer edge alternately along the short direction and at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. The elastic force 15 urges the driving force generator 9 toward the support member 3.

  In this example, the three arm portions 8a to 8c and the pedestal portion 7 are described as separate members. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the three arm portions 8a to 8c and the pedestal portion 7 are defined as one member. You may form integrally.

  Next, the driving force generation unit 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, but the three driving force generation units 9 a to 9 c have the same configuration. The driving force generator 9a will be described. FIG. 4A is a front view showing the driving force generation unit, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing the driving force generation unit.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the first driving force generating portion 9a includes a fixing portion 21 fitted into the opening hole 14 of the first arm portion 8a, a thin dish-like support body 22, and the like. And a plurality of contact pieces 23 arranged in an annular shape and a piezoelectric element 24 which is a vibration element. The fixing portion 21 has a substantially disk shape having a diameter substantially equal to that of the opening hole 14 of the first arm portion 8a. A support 22 is continuously provided from the outer periphery of the fixed portion 21. The support 22 has a thin dish shape, and has an annular flat portion 22a on the outer periphery thereof. A plurality of contact pieces 23 are formed on the annular flat portion 22 a of the support 22.

  The plurality of contact pieces 23 protrude from the flat portion 22a of the support body 22 in a ring shape at regular intervals and in the same direction. The plurality of contact pieces 23 are provided with round surfaces 23 a having the same curvature as the surface curvature of the support member 3 so as to correspond to the curved surface of the support member 3. And the piezoelectric element 24 which vibrates the some contact piece 23 is attached to the surface on the opposite side to the surface in which the several contact piece 23 is arrange | positioned in the flat part 22a of the support body 22 with fixing methods, such as an adhesive agent. ing.

  The piezoelectric element 24 is electrically connected to a piezoelectric element driving power source (not shown) via a flexible wiring (not shown). When an AC voltage in the ultrasonic region is applied to the piezoelectric element 24 from the piezoelectric element driving power source, minute vibrations are generated by the electrostriction phenomenon of the piezoelectric element 24. The minute vibration generated by the piezoelectric element 24 is transmitted to the plurality of contact pieces 23 through the flat portion 22 a of the support 22. As a result, the plurality of contact pieces 23 vibrate, and surface wave vibrations such as flexural vibration and stretching vibration are generated on the surface of the contact pieces 23.

  In addition, although the example which affixed the piezoelectric element 24 on the flat part 22a of the support body 22 with the adhesive agent was demonstrated in this example, the attachment method of the piezoelectric element 24 is not limited to this. For example, a piezoelectric film may be directly generated on the flat portion 22a of the support 22 or a piezoelectric material may be directly applied to the flat portion of the support. According to these methods, it is possible to prevent or suppress deterioration of the bonding surface between the piezoelectric element and the support.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship of the three driving force generators 9 a to 9 c with respect to the support member 3.
As shown in FIG. 5, the three driving force generators 9 a to 9 c are arranged at an angle of 120 ° around the support member 3 in the Z-axis direction (the axial direction of the fixing member 4 passing through the center of the support member 3). Arranged at intervals. Further, in order to rotate the movable member 5 around the Z-axis direction, the three driving force generating portions 9a to 9c are inclined to the opposite side to the fixed member 4 in the Z-axis direction from the XY plane passing through the center of the support member 3. It is arranged at the position.

  The spherical actuator 1 having such a configuration is assembled as follows, for example. First, as shown in FIG. 4B, the piezoelectric element 24 is fixed to the surface of the flat portion 22a of the support 22 opposite to the surface on which the plurality of contact pieces 23 are formed by a fixing method such as an adhesive. Thereby, the 1st driving force generation part 9a is formed. The second and third driving force generators 9b and 9c are also formed by the same method. Note that a flexible wiring is connected to the piezoelectric element 4 in advance and is electrically connected to a piezoelectric element driving power source (not shown).

  Next, the fixing portion 21 of the first driving force generating portion 9a is fitted into the opening hole 14 of the first arm portion 8a, and the first driving force generating portion 9a is fixed to the first arm portion 8a. . Similarly, the second and third driving force generators 9b and 9c are also fixed to the second and third arm portions 8b and 8c, respectively. And the 1st arm part 8a to which the 1st driving force generation | occurrence | production part 9a was attached is fixed to the 1st fixing surface 12a of the base part 7 by fixing methods, such as a fixing screw 17. Similarly, the second and third arm portions 8b and 8c are fixed to 12b and 12c on the second and third fixing surfaces of the base portion 7, respectively. Here, the three arm portions 8a to 8c are fixed with the driving force generating portions 9a to 9c facing inward, respectively.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the movable member 5 which consists of the base part 7, the three arm parts 8a-8c, and the three drive force generation | occurrence | production parts 9a-9c is formed. In addition, although the example which fixed the fixing method of the arm parts 8a-8c with the fixing screw 17 was demonstrated in this example, the fixing method is not limited to this. For example, it goes without saying that the arm portion 8 may be fixed to the pedestal portion 7 by welding, for example.

  Next, the movable member 5 is attached to the support member 3 fixed to the fixed member 4 in advance so as to be rotatable (movable). That is, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the support member 3 is allowed to face above the three arm portions 8 a to 8 c provided on the movable member 5. Then, the support member 3 is pushed into the approximate center of the three arm portions 8a to 8c. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the three arm portions 8a to 8c and the support member 3 are engaged, and the contact pieces 23 of the three driving force generating portions 9a to 9c attached to the three arm portions 8a to 8c are supported. Contact the surface of the member 3. As a result, the movable member 5 is rotatably attached to the support member 3. At this time, the three driving force generating portions 9a to 9c are urged toward the support member 3 by the elastic portions 15 provided on the three arm portions 8a to 8c. In this way, the assembly of the spherical actuator 1 is completed. Needless to say, the assembling of the spherical actuator 1 is not limited to that described above, and may be assembled by various other methods.

  The imaging unit 2 is fixed by bringing the imaging unit 2 into contact with the mounting surface 7 a of the pedestal unit 7 and screwing a fixing screw (not shown) into the mounting hole 17. Thereby, the imaging device 10 provided with the spherical actuator can be assembled. Here, since the mounting surface 7a of the pedestal portion 7 is formed in a flat shape, the photographing portion can be easily attached without processing the photographing portion 2 and / or the pedestal portion 7. The fixing method of the imaging unit 2 is not limited to a fixing method using a fixing screw, and various other fixing methods such as bonding to the mounting surface 7a of the pedestal unit 7 with an adhesive may be used.

Next, the operation of the spherical actuator 1 of this example will be described.
First, when a voltage is applied from a piezoelectric element driving power source (not shown) to the piezoelectric element 24 of the driving force generator, minute vibrations are generated due to the electrostriction phenomenon of the piezoelectric element 24. The generated minute vibration is transmitted to the plurality of contact pieces 23, and the plurality of contact pieces 23 resonate. Here, surface wave vibrations such as flexural vibrations and stretching vibrations are generated on the surfaces of the plurality of contact pieces 23. At this time, antinodes and nodes of vibration are generated at specific positions in the row of the plurality of contact pieces 23 arranged in an annular shape. Then, by adjusting the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element 24, the positions of the antinodes and nodes of the vibration generated in the row of the plurality of contact pieces 23 move one after another. As a result, a traveling wave traveling in the circumferential direction is generated in the row of the plurality of contact pieces 23.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of contact pieces 23 are in contact with the surface of the support member 3. Therefore, a traveling wave traveling in the circumferential direction generated in the plurality of contact pieces 23 is transmitted to the support member 3 by a frictional force. Here, the support member 3 is fixed by the fixing member 2 and cannot rotate. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the movable member 5 having the three driving force generation portions 9 a to 9 c rotates so as to slide on the surface of the support member 3.

  In this example, as described above, the three driving force generating portions 9a to 9c are urged toward the support member 3 by the elastic portions 15 provided on the three arm portions 8a to 8c. And the several contact piece 23 provided in the three drive force generation | occurrence | production parts 9a-9c forms the rounded surface 23a which has the curvature same as the surface curvature of a supporting member. Therefore, the plurality of contact pieces 23 of the three driving force generation units 9a to 9c and the support member 3 can be reliably contacted, and the plurality of contact pieces 23 of the three driving force generation units 9a to 9c and the support member 3 can be contacted. Increases contact force. As a result, the frictional force between the plurality of contact pieces 23 and the support member 3 can be increased, and the output of the movable member 5 can be improved.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the spherical actuator 1 of this example, the shaft diameter of the fixed member 4 is set to be larger than the interval between the adjacent driving force generators in the three driving force generators 9 a to 9 c provided on the movable member 5. It is small. Therefore, the movable member 5 can be rotated by avoiding the fixed member 4 between the three driving force generators 9a to 9c. As a result, it is possible to prevent the three driving force generation portions 9a to 9c of the movable member 5 from coming into contact with the fixed member 4 to narrow the movable range. And the spherical actuator 1 of this example can rotate the movable member 5 to the angle which the base part 7 and the fixing member 4 contact | abut. Thereby, the movable range around the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction can be improved (in this example, the movable range around the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is 300 °).

  Depending on the rotation direction, the three driving force generation units 9a to 9c and the fixing member 4 may contact each other. In that case, before rotating the movable member 5 around the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction, the movable member 5 is moved to Z so that the fixed member 4 is positioned in the gap between the three driving force generation units 9a to 9c. Rotate around the axial direction. Thereby, it can avoid that the three drive force generation | occurrence | production parts 9a-9c and the fixing member 4 contact | abut. Therefore, as described above, the movable member 5 can be rotated with respect to the Z-axis direction to move the gaps between the three driving force generators 9a to 9c. The movable member 5 and the imaging unit 2 that is the rotated member can be rotated to an angle at which the 7 and the fixed member 4 abut.

  Further, in the conventional spherical actuator 100, as shown in FIG. 14, since the three stators 103a to 103c are fixed, the three stators 103a to 103c are arranged like the spherical actuator 1 of the present example shown above. The gap between the three stators 103a to 103c cannot be moved by rotation. Therefore, when the rotor 102 is rotated in the direction in which the three stators 103a to 103c are arranged, the member to be rotated comes into contact with the three stators 103a to 103c. Further, in the conventional spherical actuator 100, as the pivoted member becomes larger, the distance between the pivoted member attached to the spherical rotor 102 and the three stators 103a to 103c becomes closer, so that the pivoting range is further narrowed. Become. Further, if the size of the rotated member is larger than the interval between the three stators 103a to 103c, the rotated member cannot be rotated in the direction in which there is a gap between the three stators 103a to 103c. The rotation range becomes narrower.

  On the other hand, in the spherical actuator 1 of the present example, the imaging unit 2 that is a rotated member is attached to the pedestal unit 7 of the movable member 5 having the three driving force generation units 9a to 9c. Furthermore, the imaging unit 2 is attached to the pedestal unit 7 on the side opposite to the direction in which the driving force generation units 9a to 9c are arranged. Therefore, there is no possibility that the imaging unit 2 contacts the fixed member 4 and the three driving force generation units 9a to 9c. As a result, the rotation range of the spherical actuator 1 of the present example is kept constant without being affected by the size of the imaging unit (member to be rotated) 2.

  Further, since the spherical actuator of this example has the plurality of contact pieces 23 arranged in an annular shape, the rotation direction of the movable member 5 can be stabilized. Furthermore, since the movable member 5 is rotated by friction drive, it is not necessary to provide a brake mechanism, and the number of parts can be reduced. And in the spherical actuator 1 of this example, since a magnetic field does not generate | occur | produce, it is hard to receive to the influence of a magnetic field. As a result, the spherical actuator 1 of this example can be used even in a strong magnetic field environment.

  Furthermore, according to the imaging device 10 including the spherical actuator 1 as described above, the photographing unit 2 can be tilted by 90 ° or more with respect to the Z-axis direction as shown in FIG. Then, the movable member 5 can be rotated 360 ° around the Z-axis direction while being tilted with respect to the Z-axis direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, when this imaging device 10 is used for pipe inspection or the like, the pipe wall of the pipe T can be reliably photographed.

Next, a second embodiment according to the spherical actuator of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the imaging device including the spherical actuator according to the second embodiment as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the spherical actuator according to the second embodiment as viewed from the back side. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state in which the movable member is rotated. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to what has the same structure as the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the spherical actuator 30 according to the second embodiment is configured to have a spherical support member 3, a fixing member 4 that fixes the support member 3, and a support member 3 that is movable. The movable member 35 is supported.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the movable member 35 according to this embodiment includes a substantially triangular base 37, three arms 38a, 38b, 38c attached to the base 37, and three arms. It has three driving force generation parts 9a, 9b, 9c fixed to 38a, 38b, 38c. The pedestal portion 37 is formed as a substantially triangular frame. The pedestal portion 37 is provided with three fixing surfaces 42 a, 42 b, 42 c for fixing the three arm portions 38 a to 38 c and three attachment portions 41, 41, 41 for fixing the imaging unit 2. . The three fixing surfaces 42a to 42c are formed by cutting out the vertices of the base portion 37 having a substantially triangular shape. The three attachment portions 41 a to 41 c are provided inside each side of the frame body in the pedestal portion 37.

  Since the three arm portions 38a to 38c according to the present embodiment have the same configuration, only the first arm portion 38a will be described here. The first arm portion 38a has a spiral shape and has a flat portion 48 at substantially the center. The diameter of the outermost circle of the first arm portion 38a is set to be approximately the same as the diameter of the first driving force generating portion 9a. The first arm portion 38 a is provided with elasticity by being formed in a spiral shape, and substantially the whole is configured as the elastic portion 45.

  Further, the first arm portion 38 a has a fixed piece 43 and an opening hole 44. The fixed piece 43 is formed at one end of a spiral in the first arm portion 38a. The fixing piece 43 is provided with a screw hole. The first arm portion 38 a is fixed to the first fixing surface 42 a of the pedestal portion 37 by screwing the fixing screw 17 into the screw hole of the fixing piece 43. The second and third arm portions 38b and 38c are fixed to the second and third fixing surfaces 42b and 42c of the pedestal portion 37, respectively. The opening hole 44 is formed by opening a flat portion 48 located substantially at the center of the first arm portion 38a. By fitting the fixing portion 21 of the first driving force generating portion 9a into the opening hole 44, the first driving force generating portion 9a is fixed to the first arm portion 38a. The second and third driving force generators 9b and 9c are fixed to the second and third arm portions 38b and 38c, respectively.

  Since other configurations are the same as those of the spherical actuator 1 described above, description thereof is omitted. Also with such a spherical actuator 30, as shown in FIG. 12, the movable member 35 can rotate around multiple directions around the support member 3. Since the three driving force generation portions 9a to 9c of the movable member 35 can be prevented from coming into contact with the fixed member 4 in the rotation operation around the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, the spherical actuator 1 described above. The same effect can be obtained.

  Further, according to the spherical actuator 30 according to this embodiment, the elastic portion 45 is configured as a substantially whole of the arm portion 8 by forming the three arm portions 38a to 38c in a spiral shape and imparting elasticity. Yes. The size of the arm portion 38 is set to be substantially the same as that of the driving force generating portion 9. As a result, the arm portion 38 can be reduced, and the movable member 35 can be reduced in size. As a result, the entire spherical actuator 30 can be reduced in size, and the turning radius of the movable member 35 can be reduced. Furthermore, since the movable member 35 can be reduced in size, that is, reduced in weight, the driving force for rotating the movable member 35 can be suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention described in the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the imaging unit of the imaging device is used as the rotated member has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a robot arm may be attached to the pedestal as the pivot member, and the spherical actuator of the present invention may be used for the indirect part of the robot. Thus, the spherical actuator of the present invention can be applied to other devices that perform various rotational operations.

  In the above-described embodiment, the driving method using ultrasonic vibration using a piezoelectric element has been described as a driving method of the movable member. However, the driving method is not limited to this. For example, an electromagnetic type using an electromagnet is used. A driving method and other various driving methods can be applied.

  Furthermore, although the example using three driving force generation units has been described in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and four or more driving force generation units may be provided. Even when four or more driving force generators are provided, the distance between adjacent driving force generators in the driving force generator is larger than the fixing member that fixes the support member, as in the above-described embodiment. Widely set.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an imaging apparatus provided with a first embodiment of a spherical actuator of the present invention from the front side. It is a perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention from the back side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention. FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing a driving force generator according to the spherical actuator of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the drive force generation part with respect to the support member which concerns on the spherical actuator of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which rotated the movable member which concerns on 1st Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which rotated the movable member which concerns on 1st Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the example which used the imaging device of this invention for the piping inspection apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the imaging device provided with 2nd Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention from the front side. It is a perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention from the back side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which rotated the movable member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of the spherical actuator of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the imaging device provided with the conventional spherical actuator. It is a perspective view which shows the state which rotated the spherical rotor which concerns on the imaging device provided with the conventional spherical actuator.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,30 ... Spherical actuator, 2 ... Imaging part (to-be-rotated member), 3 ... Support member, 4 ... Fixed member, 5,35 ... Movable member, 7, 37 ... Base part, 7a ... Mounting surface, 8a, 8b , 8c, 38a, 38b, 38c ... arm part, 9a, 9b, 9c ... driving force generating part, 10 ... imaging device, 14, 44 ... opening hole, 15, 45 ... elastic part, 21 ... fixing part, 22 ... support Body, 23 ... contact piece, 24 ... piezoelectric element (vibration element)

Claims (7)

A spherical actuator that rotates a member to be rotated,
A support member having a curved surface portion;
A fixing member for fixing the support member;
A movable member that is rotatably supported by the support member and rotates along the surface of the support member;
The movable member is arranged with a predetermined interval, and a plurality of driving force generators that are in contact with the surface of the support member, a pedestal unit to which the rotated member is attached, and a predetermined interval between the pedestal unit. A plurality of arm portions that are provided open and to which the driving force generating portion is attached ;
The fixing member has a rod shape, and an axial diameter thereof is formed smaller than an interval between adjacent driving force generation portions in the plurality of driving force generation portions ,
The plurality of arm portions extend to the opposite side of the pedestal in the direction in which the pivoted member is attached, and the driving force generation portion is attached to a distal end portion in the extending direction.
The spherical actuator, wherein the plurality of arm portions are provided with elastic portions that urge the plurality of driving force generating portions toward the support member . The spherical actuator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of driving force generation units are arranged at substantially equal angular intervals with the support member as a center. The spherical actuator according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal portion has a mounting surface formed in a planar shape, and the pivoted member is mounted on the mounting surface. The driving force generation unit, according to claim 1, characterized in that it is composed of a plurality of contact pieces in contact with the surface of the support member are arranged annularly, a vibrating element for vibrating the plurality of contact pieces spherical actuator according to to 3. The spherical actuator according to claim 1 , wherein the support member is formed in a substantially spherical shape. The elastic part is formed by cutting out the arm part.
The spherical actuator according to claim 1, wherein: An imaging unit for taking an image;
A spherical actuator for rotating the imaging unit;
In an imaging device comprising:
The spherical actuator is
A support member having a curved surface portion;
A fixing member for fixing the support member;
A movable member that is rotatably supported by the support member and rotates along the surface of the support member;
The movable member is arranged with a predetermined interval, and a plurality of driving force generation units that are in contact with the surface of the support member, a pedestal unit to which the imaging unit is attached, and a predetermined interval between the pedestal unit. A plurality of arm portions to which the driving force generation portion is attached , and
The fixing member has a rod shape, and an axial diameter thereof is formed smaller than an interval between adjacent driving force generation portions in the plurality of driving force generation portions ,
The plurality of arm portions extend to a side opposite to a direction in which the imaging unit is attached to the pedestal, and the driving force generation unit is attached to a distal end portion in the extending direction.
The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of arm portions are provided with elastic portions that urge the plurality of driving force generation portions toward the support member .

Images