A small appliance device, in particular a body-care appliance device, in particular a shaving apparatus device, beard-trimming device, hair-trimming device, epilating appliance device, tattooing appliance device, toothbrush device or the like, has a drive unit which comprises at least one drive element, wherein the drive element comprises at least one magnetically shape-shiftable material.

An electric linear repetitive pulsed drive for an operation of apparatuses, in particular for an operation of apparatuses for improving an efficiency of which a working energy that is output in a pulsed manner, with at the same time low repetition frequencies, is advantageous, includes a magnetic circuit with an air gap and an electric coil, a magnetic shape-memory adjustment element and a reset unit, and a control electronics unit, wherein the electric linear repetitive pulsed drive outputs its energy in discrete-time fashion, bundled in short time intervals, that is in pulses.

To reduce the construction effort and also to make it smaller, the detector coil (6) is formed in the detector head (7) of a magnetostrictive position sensor (100) in a semiconductor chip (2), in which at the same time also the evaluation circuit (16) is formed andif biased electrically and by means of direct currentalso the then necessary separate bias coil (18).

A magnetoelectric energy harvester having excellent power generation performance and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The magnetoelectric energy harvester includes a magnetostrictive material portion including a magnetostrictive material which generates a mechanical deformation when being magnetized. The magnetoelectric energy harvester also includes a piezoelectric material portion which has a bending vibration mode and includes a piezoelectric material which produces power by receiving a mechanical deformation force from the magnetostrictive material portion.

Structures for a sensor and methods of forming such structures. A sensing element includes a free magnetic layer, a pinned magnetic layer, and a non-magnetic conductive spacer layer between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer. A dummy element is positioned outside of an outer boundary of the sensing element. The dummy element is detached from the sensing element.

A robot hand apparatus includes a holder having a bendable sucking surface that sucks an object; a magnetic elastic body arranged at the holder and formed of an elastic material containing magnetic particles; and a magnetic-field generator that is arranged at the holder and applies a magnetic field to the magnetic elastic body to change a coefficient of elasticity of the magnetic elastic body. When the magnetic-field generator applies a magnetic field to the magnetic elastic body, a flexible portion and a hardened portion having a bigger coefficient of elasticity than that of the flexible portion are formed in the magnetic elastic body. When the holder holds the object, in a state in which the sucking surface is bent at a position corresponding to the flexible portion, a region of the sucking surface between the position and a distal end of the holder sucks the object.

Magnetoelectric devices based on piezoelectric/magnetostrictive bilayers are provided. Also provided are methods of using the devices to modulate or to sense the magnetization of the magnetostrictive material. The devices include an island of magnetostrictive material that is strain-coupled to a thin layer of a piezoelectric material at an interface. A bottom electrode is placed in electrical communication with one surface of the piezoelectric film, and an unpaired top electrode is placed in electrical communication with a second, opposing surface of the piezoelectric film.

An apparatus may include a rotatable permanent magnet exhibiting a magnetic field. Alternatively, the actuation apparatus may include a set of coils configured to generate a rotatable magnetic field. The apparatus may further include a magnetic shape memory (MSM) element including MSM material and having a long axis, where the MSM element is configured to contract locally in a first part in response to local exposure to a first component of the magnetic field that is substantially perpendicular to the long axis and to not contract locally in a second part that is exposed to a second component of the magnetic field that is not substantially perpendicular to the long axis. The apparatus may include a first fixed magnet positioned at a first end of the MSM element and a second fixed magnet positioned at a second end of the MSM element.

A state detection apparatus includes a state detection sensor that is attached to an architecture and that detects a state of the architecture, a power supp that generates power on the basis of vibration of the architecture, and a controller that controls the state detection sensor and the power supp. The controller supplies power to the state detection sensor to drive the state detection sensor in a case where a voltage by power generation exceeds a first threshold (threshold voltage), and acquires state information to be used for diagnosing the state of the architecture on the basis of a signal indicating a detection result received from the state detection sensor.

An actuator device includes at least one actuator element, which consists at least partially of a magnetically shape-shiftable material and which is configured at least for the purpose of causing a movement of at least one actuation element in at least one direction of movement by means of a contraction, and having a magnetic contraction unit, which is configured for the purpose of supplying a magnetic field acting upon the actuator element in order to generate a contraction of the actuator element. In the region of the actuator element, field lines of the magnetic field are aligned at least substantially parallel to the direction of movement.