A drive control circuit restores a holding force when a vibrator and a driven body have been left at a standstill for a long time period and when they are used in a high-humidity environment. A drive circuit outputs an alternating-current signal, which is to be applied to an electro-mechanical energy conversion element, based on an output from a control unit. The control circuit controls the drive circuit with first timing such that elliptical motion produced in the vibrator takes a path of which a component parallel to a driving direction of the driven body is large as compared to such a path that a speed at which the driven body is driven is the maximum. The first timing is different from second timing with which relative positions of the vibrator and the driven body are changed.

A vibration driving device that achieves low cost and high accuracy while reducing driving load. A drive unit has a vibrator with a projection and generates driving force by vibrating the vibrator. A first unit has a contact portion with which the projection is in pressure contact in a first direction. A second unit rotates relative to the first unit around a rotation axis parallel to the first direction by the driving force. Three or more support members are between the first and second units in the first direction to support the first and second units rotatably. The support members are positioned such that, during relative rotation of the first and second units, a contact point at which the projection contacts the contact portion is always located in at least one of triangular areas formed by connecting any three support members with straight lines when viewed in the first direction.

An aspect of the present invention relates to a vibration element comprising: a substrate; a ceramic layer containing glass and provided on the substrate; and a piezoelectric element comprising an electrode layer fixed to the substrate with the ceramic layer therebetween and a piezoelectric layer, wherein the piezoelectric layer, the electrode layer, the substrate, and the ceramic layer are integrated by the piezoelectric layer, the electrode layer, the substrate, and the ceramic layer being sintered together at a sintering temperature of from 800° C. or higher to 940° C. or lower.

A piezoelectric drive device includes a piezoelectric drive portion which includes a contact portion capable of coming into contact with a driven body and a piezoelectric material, and a drive circuit which drives the piezoelectric drive portion. The drive circuit sets an allowable maximum output torque Tlim or less to an allowable output torque range, sets output torque Td of the piezoelectric drive portion so as to be within the allowable output torque range, and operates the piezoelectric drive portion. The allowable maximum output torque Tlim is expressed by the following Expression (1).
Tlim=r1×μk×Ns×fs  (1)
In the expression, r1 is a distance between a rotation center of the driven body and a contact position of the contact portion, μk is a dynamic friction coefficient between the driven body and the contact portion, Ns is a pressing force by which the contact portion presses the driven body when an operation of the piezoelectric drive portion stops, and fs is a coefficient of 1 or less.

Provided is a vibration type driving device enabling multidirectional driving of a moving body while considering a difference in transfer characteristics of the synthesized driving force of a plurality of motors between at least two mutually crossing directions.

A vibration actuator that is capable of bringing a vibration body into pressure contact with a driven body stably during long time while reducing obstruction of excitation of vibration in the vibration body by the pressure force. The driven body is in contact with the vibration body by pressure force given by a pressing member. A vibration isolation member is arranged between the vibration body and the pressing member. The vibration body and the driven body move relatively by vibrations in first and second vibration modes that are excited in the vibration body by applying alternating voltage to a piezoelectric device on the vibration body. Face pressure that acts to the piezoelectric device by the pressure force from the pressing member in first and second areas that respectively include nodal lines in the first and second vibration modes and their vicinities is higher than that in the other area.

A vibration type actuator providing a satisfactory actuator performance even when an increase in speed is achieved and having a contact spring. The actuator includes a vibrator equipped with an electrical-mechanical energy conversion element, an elastic member to which the electrical-mechanical energy conversion element is fixed, and a protrusion provided on the elastic member. The vibrator can generate an elliptic movement in the protrusion. A driven body is configured to come into contact with the protrusion and to make a relative movement with respect to the vibrator. The protrusion includes a contact portion having a contact surface contacting the driven body, a continuous side wall portion protruding with respect to one end surface of the elastic member and forming a hollow structure, and a connection portion connecting the contact portion and the side wall portion and exhibiting flexibility in a direction normal to the contact surface.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a driver of a vibrator including: a control section; and an alternating current signal generation section configured to generate an alternating current signal based on an output from the control section, and to apply the alternating current signal to the vibrator, wherein the control section is configured to lower a frequency of the alternating current signal, and to change, after the frequency change, at least one of a voltage ratio and a phase difference of the alternating current signal such that the ellipse ratio of the elliptical motion changes from a first ellipse ratio to a second ellipse ratio, the second ellipse ratio has a larger ratio of a component in a moving direction in the elliptical motion to a component in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction in the elliptical motion than the first ellipse ratio.

A vibration wave motor includes a vibrator, a friction member having a sliding surface, a guide member, a flexible substrate, and a fixing member configured to fix the friction member, the guide member, and the flexible substrate. The vibrator and the friction member move relative to each other in a predetermined direction. The fixing member includes a substrate-fixing portion configured to fix the flexible substrate, which includes a joint portion, an extending portion extending along the predetermined direction, a bent portion configured to reverse and turn back the extending portion, and a fixed portion to be fixed to the substrate-fixing portion. The flexible substrate is fixed on a surface of the substrate-fixing portion provided in a direction opposite to a direction in which the vibrator is brought into pressure-contact with the friction member.

The piezoelectric vibrator element is miniaturized, and at the same time, the vibration leakage is suppressed. The piezoelectric vibrator element is formed so that the total length L1 of the piezoelectric vibrator element, the length L2 of the base, the width L3 of the connection part, the length L4 of the support arm part fulfill all of the following conditions A through C, Condition A: 0.1≦L2/L1≦0.2, Condition B: 0.4≦L3/L2≦0.6, Condition C: L4/L1≧0.7. While the miniaturization is realized by shortening the base due to the condition A, the distance via the base can be elongated due to the condition B. Further, by increasing the length of the support arm parts due to the condition C, it is possible to increase the total mass of the path transmitting the vibration to absorb the vibration to thereby further suppress the vibration leakage.