A vibration type motor (1) includes a vibrator (111) that includes a piezo element (111a), a contacting portion (111c), and a holding portion (111d), and generates a first vibration and a second vibration, a friction member (112) that makes frictional contact with the contacting portion of the vibrator, a holding member (113) that holds the holding portion of the vibrator, and a biasing member (114) that biases the holding portion of the vibrator to the holding member, and a condition of A3/A1<A4/A2 is satisfied where A1 and A2 are respectively amplitudes of the contacting portion in the first vibration and the second vibration, and A3 and A4 are respectively amplitudes of the holding portion in the first vibration and the second vibration in a state where the vibrator is not held by the holding member.

A driving device that causes a movable body to move stably with minimal backward movement. The driving device includes a plate-shaped driving unit with an elastic body and a piezoelectric element joined to a main surface of the elastic body. Moreover, the movable body is disposed into a cavity of the elastic body and is moved by being pitch fed when the driving unit is driven. The driving unit vibrates with flexural vibration and one more other vibration modes or with vibration of a coupled mode in which the flexural vibration and the other vibration mode are coupled with each other.

A vibration actuator includes a vibrator including a shaft, an output transmission member penetrated by the shaft, and configured to rotate about the axis of the shall, and a fixed member configured not to move relative to the shaft and configured to move relative to the output transmission member. The fixed member includes a base portion and a projection portion protruding from the base portion to the output transmission member side, the vibration actuator includes a pressure reception member between the base portion and the output transmission member in an axial direction of the shaft, and wherein the projection portion and the output transmission member are in contact with each other in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft, and the projection portion and the output transmission member are not in contact with each other in the axial direction of the shaft.

In a vibrating-element driving circuit including a transformer and a coil as elements for stepping up a voltage, an improvement in a circuit efficiency of the driving circuit is achieved. The vibrating-element driving circuit includes a transformer, and an inductor connected to a primary side of the transformer, wherein an alternating voltage is applied to a primary winding coil of the transformer, an electro-mechanical energy conversion element of the vibration-type actuator is connected in parallel to a secondary winding coil of the transformer, the inductor is connected in series to the primary winding coil of the transformer, and wherein when the inductance of the inductor is Le1, the inductance of the primary winding coil of the transformer is L1, and Ka=L1/Le1, then the following is satisfied: 1Ka10.

Provided is a method of manufacturing an oscillator, including: arranging an electrode on a piezoelectric ceramics free from being subjected to polarization treatment, to thereby provide a piezoelectric element; bonding the piezoelectric element and a diaphragm to each other at a temperature T1; bonding the piezoelectric element and a power supply member to each other at a temperature T2; and subjecting the piezoelectric ceramics to polarization treatment at a temperature T3, in which the temperature T1, the temperature T2, and the temperature T3 satisfy a relationship T1>T3 and a relationship T2>T3.

A vibration wave actuator has a vibration member including an elastic member and an electro-mechanical energy transducer, and a contact member in contact with the vibration member, and the contact member and the vibration member move relative to each other. The vibration wave actuator includes a detected portion configured to move, together with the contact member, relative to the vibration member, and a detection unit configured to move, together with the vibration member, relative to the contact member to detect displacement information or position information for the detected portion. The vibration member has two projections provided side by side in a direction intersecting with the direction of the relative movement. The contact member contacts the two projections. The detection unit and the detected portion are located between the contact member and the vibration member when viewed from the direction of the relative movement.

A vibration actuator includes a vibrator including an electromechanical transducer and an elastic body, a vibrator fixing member configured to hold the vibrator, a driven member configured to come into frictional contact with the vibrator so as to move relative to the vibrator, a pressing portion configured to press the vibrator against the driven member, a guide portion configured to guide the vibrator in a direction in which the vibrator moves, and a vibration damping member disposed between the vibrator fixing member and the movable plate. The guide portion includes a movable plate configured to move integrally with the vibrator, a rolling member configured to roll in the direction in which the vibrator moves, and a press-and-hold member configured to press the rolling member against the movable plate.

A composite panel includes a matrix, actuator elements disposed within the matrix or secured to an exterior surface of the composite panel, a plurality of slits, and an electrical termination area coupled to the shape memory fibers/elements. The plurality of slits are arranged parallel to each other and extend through at least a portion of a thickness of the composite panel. A power supply is configured to apply a burst voltage to the shape memory fibers/elements to change a shape of the composite panel, thereby modifying an airflow extending across the composite panel during operation.

A piezo actuator includes a piezo motor element having a top and a bottom surface, and a connection element having arms with flexure hinges for contacting the piezo motor element at different fixation positions located at node positions of a bending mode of the piezo motor element. The flexure hinges are such that the piezo motor element is allowed to move in the normal direction and the flexure hinges being stiff in the tangential direction, wherein the flexure arms are fixed to the piezo motor element with a fixation means.

A vibration wave motor includes a vibration plate having a flat plate portion and protruding portions, a piezoelectric element that performs high-frequency vibration, a friction member contacting the protruding portions, and a first natural vibration mode and a second natural vibration mode, which are excited in the vibration plate by the high-frequency vibration, the vibration plate and the friction member moving relatively to each other, maximum amplitude generated on tip ends of the protruding portions by the first natural vibration mode is larger than maximum amplitude generated on tip ends of the protruding portions by the second natural vibration mode, a resonance frequency of the first natural vibration mode is lower than a resonance frequency of the second natural vibration mode, and amplitudes of the first natural vibration mode and the second natural vibration mode in a frequency range at a time of drive substantially coincide with each other.