Piezoelectric drive device, robot and printer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11205975-B2
Application number	US-201916520422-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 24, 2019
Priority date	Jul 25, 2018
Publication date	Dec 21, 2021
Grant date	Dec 21, 2021

Abstract

A piezoelectric drive device for vibrating a vibrating body to make a tip of a protruding part make a rotational motion of drawing an elliptic orbit to thereby drive a driven member, wherein the vibrating body includes a substrate, a driving piezoelectric element configured to vibrate the substrate, and a detecting piezoelectric element configured to detect a vibration of the substrate, the driving piezoelectric element includes a first driving piezoelectric element for making the vibrating body perform a stretching vibration in a first direction, and a second driving piezoelectric element for making the vibrating body perform a flexural vibration in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the detecting piezoelectric element is arranged with the first driving piezoelectric element in the first direction, and there is provided a voltage control section for controlling a magnitude of a voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A piezoelectric drive device comprising:
a vibrating body;
a protruding part coupled to the vibrating body; and
a voltage control section, wherein
the piezoelectric drive device vibrates the vibrating body to make a tip of the protruding part make a rotational motion of drawing an elliptic orbit to thereby drive a driven member having contact with the protruding part,
the vibrating body includes
a substrate,
a driving piezoelectric element configured to vibrate the substrate, and
a detecting piezoelectric element configured to detect a vibration of the substrate,

the driving piezoelectric element includes
a first driving piezoelectric element configured to make the vibrating body perform a stretching vibration in a first direction in which the vibrating body and the protruding part are arranged, and
a second driving piezoelectric element configured to make the vibrating body perform a flexural vibration in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in a plan view of the substrate,

the detecting piezoelectric element is arranged with the first driving piezoelectric element in the first direction, and
the voltage control section controls a magnitude of a voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element based on a signal output from the detecting piezoelectric element so that a variation in a swing in the first direction of the protruding part becomes smaller compared to a case in which the magnitude of the voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element is not controlled.

2. The piezoelectric drive device according to claim 1 , wherein
the smaller the signal output from the detecting piezoelectric element is, the higher the voltage control section makes the voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element.

3. The piezoelectric drive device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a biasing member configured to bias the vibrating body toward the driven member in the first direction.

4. The piezoelectric drive device according to claim 1 , wherein
the voltage control section controls a voltage to be applied to the second driving piezoelectric element based on a drive speed of the driven member.

5. The piezoelectric drive device according to claim 1 , wherein
the detecting piezoelectric element is disposed in a part including a node of the flexural vibration of the substrate.

6. The piezoelectric drive device according to claim 1 , wherein
the voltage control section continues an application of the voltage to the first driving piezoelectric element when switching a direction of the rotational motion of the protruding part to an opposite direction.

7. The piezoelectric drive device according to claim 1 , wherein
the voltage control section starts an application of the voltage to the first driving piezoelectric element, and then starts an application of a voltage to the second piezoelectric element when starting the rotational motion of the protruding part.

8. A robot comprising:
a piezoelectric drive device including
a vibrating body,
a protruding part coupled to the vibrating body, and
a voltage control section, wherein

the piezoelectric drive device vibrates the vibrating body to make a tip of the protruding part make a rotational motion of drawing an elliptic orbit to thereby drive a driven member having contact with the protruding part,
the vibrating body includes
a substrate,
a driving piezoelectric element configured to vibrate the substrate, and
a detecting piezoelectric element configured to detect a vibration of the substrate,

the driving piezoelectric element includes
a first driving piezoelectric element configured to make the vibrating body perform a stretching vibration in a first direction in which the vibrating body and the protruding part are arranged, and
a second driving piezoelectric element configured to make the vibrating body perform a flexural vibration in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in a plan view of the substrate,

the detecting piezoelectric element is arranged with the first driving piezoelectric element in the first direction, and
the voltage control section controls a magnitude of a voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element based on a signal output from the detecting piezoelectric element so that a variation in a swing in the first direction of the protruding part becomes smaller compared to a case in which the magnitude of the voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element is not controlled.

9. A printer comprising:
a piezoelectric drive device including
a vibrating body,
a protruding part coupled to the vibrating body, and
a voltage control section, wherein

the piezoelectric drive device vibrates the vibrating body to make a tip of the protruding part make a rotational motion of drawing an elliptic orbit to thereby drive a driven member having contact with the protruding part,
the vibrating body includes
a substrate,
a driving piezoelectric element configured to vibrate the substrate, and
a detecting piezoelectric element configured to detect a vibration of the substrate,

the driving piezoelectric element includes
a first driving piezoelectric element configured to make the vibrating body perform a stretching vibration in a first direction in which the vibrating body and the protruding part are arranged, and
a second driving piezoelectric element configured to make the vibrating body perform a flexural vibration in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in a plan view of the substrate,

the detecting piezoelectric element is arranged with the first driving piezoelectric element in the first direction, and
the voltage control section controls a magnitude of a voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element based on a signal output from the detecting piezoelectric element so that a variation in a swing in the first direction of the protruding part becomes smaller compared to a case in which the magnitude of the voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element is not controlled.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Saito Hidetoshi

Classifications

• H02N2/103 Primary

  by pressing one or more vibrators against the rotor · CPC title

• H02N2/10 Primary

  producing rotary motion, e.g. rotary motors · CPC title

• H02N2/142

  Small signal circuits; Means for controlling position or derived quantities, e.g. speed, torque, starting, stopping, reversing · CPC title

• H02N2/12

  Constructional details · CPC title

• H02N2/004

  Rectangular vibrators · CPC title