Noise produced during phase-difference changes is minimized without decreasing the responsiveness of a vibration-wave motor. A lens-side MCU for a lens barrel controls a drive apparatus that applies a drive voltage to the vibration-wave motor by outputting an A-phase drive signal and a B-phase drive signal thereto. The lens-side MCU uses, for example, a drive-voltage setting unit and a duty-cycle change unit to change the drive voltage. Also, the lens-side MCU is provided with a phase-difference change unit that changes the phase difference between the A-phase drive signal and the B-phase drive signal. When driving the vibration-wave motor, the lens-side MCU changes the drive voltage to V.sub.reg, and when the phase-difference change unit is changing the aforementioned phase difference, the drive voltage is changed to V.sub.1, V.sub.1 being greater than zero and less than V.sub.reg.

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.

A control device of a piezoelectric drive device includes a drive pulse signal generation unit that generates a binary drive pulse signal, a drive signal generation unit that generates a drive signal which is applied to the piezoelectric element for drive from the drive pulse signal, a detection pulse signal generation unit that generates a detection pulse signal by binarizing the detection signal which is output from the piezoelectric element for detection, and a phase difference acquisition unit that acquires a phase difference between the drive pulse signal and the detection pulse signal, based on a rising edge and a falling edge of the drive pulse signal and a rising edge and a falling edge of the detection pulse signal.

A single hybrid motor of the present invention has a rotor, a first stator, a first torsional vibrator, a first longitudinal vibrator, a first template, and a first connecting element. One end of the first connecting element is connected with the rotor, the first torsional vibrator, the first longitudinal vibrator, the first template, the first elastic block and the second elastic block. The first elastic block is disposed between the rotor and the first torsional vibrator. The second elastic block is disposed between the first template and the first longitudinal vibrator. Adjusting the length of the first elastic block or/and the second elastic block allows the first torsional vibrator and the first longitudinal vibrator of the single hybrid motor to obtain a plurality of sets of resonance frequencies within a degeneracy range.

Drive device (1) for driving a spindle (90) with a spindle axis A90, which is accommodated in a spindle space (39) extending along a longitudinal axis of the spindle space, the drive device (2) comprising a first actuator device (10, 210) and a second actuator device (20, 220) which can be reversibly varied when actuated along a first actuator axis L.sub.1 or a second actuator axis L.sub.2, an actuating device (40, 140, 240), a frame device (30, 130, 230), the arrangement comprising the frame device (30, 130, 230) and the actuating device (40, 140, 240) comprising at least two contact surface sections (51, 52, 151, 152, 254, 264) provided for contact with two different contact areas (91, 92) of the spindle (90) to rotate the spindle (90), wherein the frame device (30, 130, 230) is designed as a structurally continuous component which completely surrounds the spindle space (39), the first actuator device (10) and the second actuator device (20), drive motor and method for driving a spindle (90).

Provided is a method for controlling an ultrasonic motor to reduce noise sounding during low-speed rotation in a surveying instrument adopting the ultrasonic motor for a rotary shaft, and a surveying instrument for the same. In a method for controlling an ultrasonic motor according to an aspect of the present invention, in a low-speed rotation range of an ultrasonic motor, a ratio of an acceleration period as a time of application of the drive signal in a control cycle is controlled, and a time to start the acceleration period is randomly shifted for each control cycle. In a method for controlling an ultrasonic motor according to another aspect, a time to start the acceleration period is regularly shifted for each control cycle. In a method for controlling an ultrasonic motor according to still another aspect, second-half acceleration control and first-half acceleration control are alternately repeated.

A piezoelectric ultrasonic motor includes: a drive piezoelectric material wherein a plurality of piezoelectric elements, which are polarized by opposite polarities along a circumferential direction around a rotation shaft, are alternately arranged, and a vibration-control piezoelectric material wherein a plurality of piezoelectric elements, which are arranged along a circumferential direction around the rotation shaft and polarized by opposite polarities, are arranged to correspond to the plurality of piezoelectric elements of the drive piezoelectric material, wherein AC power and another AC power having a phase difference with respect to the AC power are respectively applied to the piezoelectric material and the vibration-control piezoelectric material, in a vibration damping area of the drive piezoelectric material.

A piezoelectric driving device includes a piezoelectric vibrating body and a driving circuit. The piezoelectric vibrating body includes a contact which comes into contact with a driven member, and a piezoelectric element which generates vibration in accordance with a driving voltage. The driving circuit sets a driving frequency of the driving voltage to a first frequency and starts the driving at the time of initiation from a stopped state, and sets the driving frequency of the driving voltage to a second frequency lower than the first frequency in a driving state after the initiation.

A simple rugged motor has a stator and a rotor formed by stacked silicon steel sheets operates by having a plurality of major and minor coil windings of the stator individually electrified under signals of a control unit, so as to steadily drive a rotor thereof. The simple rugged motor further has an orbit coupling balance assembly engaging an orbiting scroll for a corresponding fixed scroll disposed in a compression chamber to orbit for air compression, so as to form a scroll compressor. Or the simple rugged motor has a coupling assembly engaging a female screw compressor rotor to compress the air by a rotatable male screw compressor rotor disposed in a compression chamber, so as to form a screw compressor.

A control circuit of a piezoelectric driving device includes: a signal generation unit that inputs a state inspection signal to a plurality of piezoelectric elements connected to each other in parallel; and a state detection unit that detects a state of the plurality of piezoelectric elements based on a state detection signal generated from the plurality of piezoelectric elements in accordance with the state inspection signal.