Rotating apparatus, optical scanning apparatus, and image display apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10793418-B2
Application number	US-201815996930-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 4, 2018
Priority date	Dec 22, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

A rotating apparatus includes a folded back elastically deformable portion including a first piezoelectric element for deforming a first elastically deformable portion and a second piezoelectric element for deforming a second elastically deformable portion, and the rotating apparatus rotates a movable portion around a predetermined rotation axis, by respectively applying first and second driving voltage signals to the first and second piezoelectric elements, to deform the first and second elastically deformable portions. First and second connection positions have a relationship of being relatively the same or symmetrical across all folded back structures. The first connection position is where a signal line of the first driving voltage signal and the first piezoelectric element are connected, and the second connection position is where a signal line of the second driving voltage signal and the second piezoelectric element are connected.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rotating apparatus comprising:
a folded back elastically deformable portion including one or more first elastically deformable portions and one or more second elastically deformable portions, wherein a folded back structure is repeatedly formed one or more times, the folded back structure being formed by connecting a terminal end of a leading first elastically deformable portion of the one or more first elastically deformable portions to a starting end of a leading second elastically deformable portion of the one or more second elastically deformable portions at a leading folded back portion and connecting a terminal end of the leading second elastically deformable portion to a starting end of a next first elastically deformable portion of the one or more first elastically deformable portions at a next folded back portion;
a supporting portion configured to support a starting end side of the folded back elastically deformable portion;
a movable portion attached to a terminal end side of the folded back elastically deformable portion;
a first piezoelectric element provided at the one or more first elastically deformable portions to deform the one or more first elastically deformable portions;
a second piezoelectric element provided at the one or more second elastically deformable portions to deform the one or more second elastically deformable portions;
a piezoelectric element driver configured to rotate the movable portion around a predetermined rotation axis, by respectively applying a first driving voltage and a second driving voltage that are different from each other to the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element, to deform the one or more first elastically deformable portions and the one or more second elastically deformable portions;
a first signal line configured to connect the first piezoelectric element to the piezoelectric element driver; and
a second signal line configured to connect the second piezoelectric element to the piezoelectric element driver, wherein
the first piezoelectric element includes a first voltage applying electrode, a first piezoelectric layer, and a common potential electrode, and is configured such that a first lower electrode layer corresponding to the first voltage applying electrode or the common potential electrode, the first piezoelectric layer, and a first upper electrode layer corresponding to the common potential electrode or the first voltage applying electrode, are deposited on the one or more first elastically deformable portions,
the second piezoelectric element includes a second voltage applying electrode, a second piezoelectric layer, and the common potential electrode, and is configured such that a second lower electrode layer corresponding to the second voltage applying electrode or the common potential electrode, the second piezoelectric layer, and a second upper electrode layer corresponding to the common potential electrode or the second voltage applying electrode, are deposited on the one or more second elastically deformable portions,
one of a first lower electrode wiring connected to the first lower electrode layer or a first upper electrode wiring connected to the first upper electrode layer is the first signal line configured to apply the first driving voltage, and the other of the first lower electrode wiring or the first upper electrode wiring is a ground line,
one of a second lower electrode wiring connected to the second lower electrode layer or a second upper electrode wiring connected to the second upper electrode layer is the second signal line configured to apply the second driving voltage, and the other of the second lower electrode wiring or the second upper electrode wiring is the ground line, and
a first connection position and a second connection position have a relationship of being relatively the same positions or a relationship of being symmetrical positions, the first connection position being a position where the first signal line and the first voltage applying electrode of the first piezoelectric element are connected in the first piezoelectric element, and the second connection position being a position where the second signal line and the second voltage applying electrode of the second piezoelectric element are connected in the second piezoelectric element.

2. The rotating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
at each folded back portion of the folded back elastically deformable portion, the first lower electrode wiring and the second lower electrode wiring are positioned on an outer periphery side of the folded back portion than the first upper electrode wiring and the second upper electrode wiring.

3. The rotating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein at each folded back portion of the folded back elastically deformable portion, a connection position of the first lower electrode wiring with respect to the first piezoelectric element and a connection position of the second lower electrode wiring with respect to the second piezoelectric element, are positioned on an outer periphery side of the folded back portion, than a connection position of the first upper electrode wiring with respect to the first piezoelectric element and a connection position of the second upper electrode wiring with respect to the second piezoelectric element.

4. The rotating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element have a rectangular shape, and
the first lower electrode wiring and the first upper electrode wiring are each connected to the first piezoelectric element and the second lower electrode wiring and the second upper electrode wiring are each connected to the second piezoelectric element, at a position close to a corner of the first piezoelectric element or the second piezoelectric element.

5. The rotating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element have the same shape, and are respectively provided at the one or more first elastically deformable portions and the one or more second elastically deformable portions at relatively the same position.

6. The rotating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more first elastically deformable portions and the one or more second elastically deformable portions have the same shape across all of the folded back structures.

7. The rotating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a movable portion rotator configured to repeatedly rotate the movable portion around a second rotation axis that is substantially orthogonal to the predetermined rotation axis.

8. An optical scanning apparatus comprising:
a scanner configured to scan light that is output from a light outputter, wherein
the scanner uses the rotating apparatus according to claim 1 to scan the light with a light reflection surface of an optical member provided in the movable portion of the rotating apparatus.

9. An image display apparatus comprising:
an image scanning light outputter configured to output image scanning light based on image information; and
a scanner configured to two-dimensionally scan the image scanning light output from the image scanning light outputter, wherein
the scanner uses the rotating apparatus according to claim 7 to scan the image scanning light with a light reflection surface of an optical member provided in the movable portion of the rotating apparatus, and
the scanner repeatedly rotates the movable portion around the predetermined rotation axis to scan the image scanning light in one direction among an image horizontal direction and an image vertical direction, and the scanner repeatedly rotates the movable portion around the

Assignees

• Shinkawa Mizuki
• Hashiguchi Tsuyoshi
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shinkawa Mizuki
• Hashiguchi Tsuyoshi

Classifications

• G02B26/0858 Primary

  the reflecting means being moved or deformed by piezoelectric means · CPC title

• B81B3/00

  Devices comprising flexible or deformable elements, e.g. comprising elastic tongues or membranes (B81B5/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B27/0101

  characterised by optical features (G02B27/0172 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B26/101

  with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners (colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129) · CPC title

• B81B3/0018 Primary

  Structures acting upon the moving or flexible element for transforming energy into mechanical movement or vice versa, i.e. actuators, sensors, generators · CPC title