A vibration actuator, which is capable of being miniaturized or obtaining stable drive performance, moves a vibration body and a contact body relatively. The vibration actuator includes a support member that supports the vibration body. The support member includes a vibration section joined to the vibration body, a first fixing section and a second fixing section that are provided on opposite sides of the vibration body for fixing the support member at a predetermined position, a first support section that connects the vibration section with the first fixing section to support the vibration body, a second support section that connects the vibration section with the second fixing section to support the vibration body, and conduction members that extend from the vibration body to the first fixing section, extend from the vibration body to the second fixing section, and supply electric power to the vibration body.

A linear actuator has a base, a linear guide coupled to a flat, planar side of the base and extending in a travel length of an object to be moved, a contact plate extending along the flat, planar side of the base, and a carriage. The carriage includes an enclosure formed of an acoustically isolating material, a moving element configured to move along the guide and is coupled to the enclosure, a piezoelectric element including a contact site in physical contact with the contact plate, and a housing elastically holding the piezoelectric element, the housing coupled to the enclosure with no direct contact with the moving element. An electrical power source is in electrical communication with the piezoelectric element, wherein the power source energizes the piezoelectric element to effectuate movement of the carriage along the linear guide via the physical contact between the contact site and the contact plate.

Electrical connections are created between the actuator frame of a piezoelectric MEMS scanning mirror system and the substrate separate from the structural adhesive creating the mechanical bond between the actuator frame and the substrate. A structural bond (with no conducive properties) is formed between the actuator frame and the substrate. After the bond is fully formed, separate electric connections can be created by one or both of: 1) coating the actuator frame with a coating that enables a surface of the actuator frame to be wire bondable and creating a wire bond between the actuator frame and the substrate; or 2) depositing a trace of conductive material on the outside edge of the mechanical bond between the actuator frame and the substrate and a final protection layer may be applied over the conductive trace to protect the trace from mechanical or environmental damage.

An electrical connection structure for connecting a piezoelectric element and an electrical circuit to each other with a conductive adhesive is described. The electrical connection structure includes an epoxy, a conductive component surrounded by the epoxy, and a trace feature implemented on top of the electrical connection structure.

Provided is a vibration actuator including: a vibrator including an elastic body and an electro-mechanical energy conversion element; a contact body provided so as to be brought into contact with the vibrator; a flexible printed board configured to feed power to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element; and a temperature detection unit provided on a region of the flexible printed board, in which the flexible printed board and the electro-mechanical conversion element overlap each other.

The lens apparatus includes an optical system, a voltage transformation unit, and an actuator. A first lens unit of the optical system is moved toward the object side during zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end. The voltage transformation unit includes coils. The actuator is configured to be driven by a voltage output from the voltage transformation unit and to move a part of the lens units in the optical system during focusing. The coil is disposed at a position that is separated from a position of a most object-side surface of the optical system at the wide-angle end, toward the image side by a maximum or more moving amount of the first lens unit, and is closer to the object side than a most image-side surface of the optical system at the wide-angle end.

A lens apparatus includes a base barrel, a lens movable to an object side and an image side relative to the base barrel, an actuator configured to move the lens, a drive board that includes an electric element configured to drive the actuator, and a board holding member configured to hold the drive board and attached to the base barrel from the object side.

A piezoelectric drive device includes a vibrating part, and a control unit that controls vibration of the vibrating part, wherein the vibrating part includes a piezoelectric material having a first surface and a second surface in a front-back relation, a drive electrode having a first electrode arranged at the first surface and a second electrode arranged at the second surface, and vibrating the piezoelectric material when a drive signal from the control unit is input to the second electrode, and a detection electrode having a third electrode arranged at the first surface and a fourth electrode arranged at the second surface, and outputting a detection signal according to the vibration of the piezoelectric material to the control unit via the fourth electrode, and the first electrode and the third electrode are separated on the first surface, and the second electrode and the fourth electrode are separated on the second surface.

Provided is a vibration wave motor including: 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, wherein the vibrator and the friction member move relative to each other in a second direction, wherein the fixing member includes a substrate-fixing portion configured to fix the flexible substrate, wherein the flexible substrate includes: a joint portion; a first extending portion extending along the second direction; a bent portion configured to reverse and turn back the first extending portion; and a fixed portion to be fixed to the substrate-fixing portion, and wherein 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.

A light-emitting module structure comprises a support substrate and a micro-module disposed on or in the support substrate that extends over only a portion of the support substrate. The micro-module comprises a rigid module substrate, an inorganic light-emitting diode, a power source, and a control circuit. The inorganic light-emitting diode, the power source, and the control circuit are disposed on or in the module substrate and the control circuit receives power from the power source to control the inorganic light-emitting diode to emit light. A light conductor is disposed on or in the support substrate and in alignment with the micro-module so that the inorganic light-emitting diode is disposed to emit light into the light conductor and the light conductor conducts the light beyond the micro-module to emit the light from the light conductor.