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.

A vibration type motor includes a vibration plate configured to vibrate by a piezoelectric element, a friction member including a contact surface for the vibration plate, and configured to move relative to the vibration plate as the vibration plate vibrates, and an adhesive member provided on the contact surface of the friction member. The vibration plate includes a protrusion that protrudes toward a side opposite to the piezoelectric element. The protrusion includes a sidewall portion, at least one contact portion that contacts the contact surface, and a flat portion provided between the contact portion and the sidewall portion. The adhesive member has an opening that avoids a moving range of the contact portion. The opening in the adhesive member is located outside the sidewall portion. An end of the adhesive member is located outside the friction member.

Provided is a vibration wave motor, including: a vibration body; a friction member; a press member configured to pressurize the vibration body against the friction member; a base member configured to fix the friction member; and a damping member configured to damp vibration, wherein the vibration body and the friction member are configured to move relative to each other, wherein the friction member includes: a first surface having a first region held in abutment against the vibration body; and a second surface, which is a back surface of the first surface, and has a second region held in abutment against the base member, wherein at least one of the first surface and the second surface has a third region held in contact with the damping member, and wherein positions of the first region and the third region in a pressurizing direction of the press member are different from each other.

A piezoelectric drive device includes a vibrating body, a support portion formed integrally with the vibrating body, and a piezoelectric element formed of a first electrode film, a piezoelectric body film, and a second electrode film on at least one surface of the vibrating body.

An oscillatory wave motor includes a piezoelectric element, an elastic member that includes a projecting portion, a friction member that moves relative to the elastic member and includes a contact surface in contact with the projecting portion, and pressing unit that brings the projecting portion into contact under pressure with the contact surface in a pressing direction that is a direction of a perpendicular line of the contact surface. The projecting portion includes a spherical portion formed in a center of the projecting portion, a contact portion formed on or near a center of the spherical portion, a flat portion formed around the spherical portion, and a corner portion formed around the flat portion. The spherical portion, the flat portion and the corner portion are configured to have a uniform thickness and to have flexibility in the pressing direction with the contact portion as a center.

A manufacturing method for an electromechanical drive element comprises providing (S10) of an excitation body comprising at least one volume of electromechanical material. The excitation body has a metal plate integrated as a surface of the excitation body. The excitation body being arranged to cause shape changes of the electromechanical material and the metal plate when the volume(s) of electromechanical material being excited by a voltage signal. A composite drive pad is provided (S20). The composite drive pad comprises a metal portion directly joined to a ceramic portion. After the providing of a composite drive pad, the metal portion of the composite drive pad is irreversibly attached (S30) to the metal plate of the excitation body by use of a metal-based bond. An electromechanical drive element and an electromechanical motor using such an electromechanical drive element are also disclosed.

A vibration actuator includes an electro-mechanical transducer, a vibrating body fixed to the electro-mechanical transducer, the vibrating body being vibrated by applying a voltage to the electro-mechanical transducer, and a driven body contacting the vibrating body. The driven body is frictionally driven by a vibration of the vibrating body. The driven body includes a first extended portion extending from a main body portion of the driven body towards an inside diameter side of the vibrating body, a second extended portion extending from the first extended portion towards the outside diameter side of the vibrating body, and a contact surface provided at a tip of the second extended portion. The contact surface contacts the vibrating body. The first extended portion, the second extended portion, and the contact surface are each capable of elastically deforming in a rotational axis direction of the driven body.

A vibration wave motor comprises a vibrator including a piezoelectric element and a vibrating body, a friction member including a first surface configured to come into contact with the vibrator, and a second surface, which is a surface on the opposite side of the first surface, the vibrator and the friction member moving relative to each other in a driving direction by a vibration generated by the vibrator, a supporting member configured to support the friction member on the second surface side; and a pressure member configured to bring the vibrator and the friction member into pressure contact with each other. A fixing portion configured to fix the friction member to the supporting member is provided in the friction member. The vibrator can move to a position where at least part of the vibrator and the fixing portion overlap each other in a pressure direction of the pressure member.

Disclosed is a vibration wave motor including: a vibrator provided with a piezoelectric element and a vibration plate; a frictional member having a frictional contact surface coming into contact with the vibrator; a fixing member having a recess to which the frictional member is fixed; and pressurizing unit that pressurizes the vibrator toward the frictional member, wherein the vibrator and the frictional member make relative movement using vibration generated from the vibrator, a fixing material for fixing the frictional member is provided between the frictional member and the fixing member, and the frictional member is fixed by coming into contact with the fixing member.

The invention relates to an assembly for an ultrasonic motor, comprising an actuator body, an actuator retainer that accommodates the actuator body, an actuator bearing, and a friction element driven by the actuator body, wherein there is planar frictional contact between the actuator body and the friction element and the assembly has an optimized tilt axis, about which the actuator retainer and/or the friction element can be pivoted and which is arranged at a distance from the center of gravity of the actuator body and is shifted in the direction of the section of the friction element touched by the actuator body.