SHEAR DEFORMATION-TYPE BIMORPHIC PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shear deformation-type bimorphic piezoelectric actuator. The actuator includes at least a pair of shear deformation-type piezoelectric ceramic members which are polarized in the height direction thereof, coated with metal electrodes on both sides thereof and attached to opposite sides of a metal block to constitute a piezoelectric bimorph. The ceramic members are forced to undergo a face shear deformation or a resonance deformation upon receiving a driving voltage, whereby the metal block and the output head mounted thereon are driven to generate an elliptical motion, which in turn drives a rotor or a carriage to move. Taking advantage of the small dimension of the ceramic members and the enhanced displacement attributed to the piezoelectric bimorph structure, the piezoelectric actuator disclosed herein is suitable for manufacturing a miniature piezoelectric motor with high power output.

Claims

1. A piezoelectric actuator comprising: a metal block comprising two oppositely arranged side surfaces, an upper surface connecting the two side surfaces, and a lower surface arranged opposite to the upper surface; a first pair of ceramic members, each comprising a first driving surface, a second driving surface arranged opposite to and separate from the first driving surface by a thickness, an output surface connecting the first driving surface to the second driving surface, and a fixed surface arranged opposite to and separate from the output surface by a height, wherein the thickness is shorter than the height, and wherein the first driving surface is coated with a first electrode and a second electrode arranged side-by-side with each other, and the second driving surface is coated with a counter electrode, with the first electrode coated on the first driving surface being electrically connected to the first electrode coated on the second driving surface, the second electrode coated on the first driving surface being electrically connected to the second electrode coated on the second driving surface, and the first electrodes being electrically insulated from the second electrodes, and wherein the first pair of ceramic members are polarized along a polarization direction orthogonal to the thickness direction and attached at the second driving surfaces thereof to the two side surfaces of the metal block, respectively, so that the counter electrodes are electrically connected to the metal block; and an output head protruding outward from the upper surface of the metal block.

2. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 1, wherein the metal block further comprises oppositely arranged front and rear surfaces connected with the two side surfaces, the upper surface and the lower surface, and wherein the piezoelectric actuator further comprises a second pair of ceramic members which are structurally identical to the first pair of ceramic members, and the second pair of ceramic members are attached at the second driving surfaces thereof to the front and rear surfaces, respectively.

3. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 1, wherein one of the first pair of ceramic members has a polarization direction pointing toward the output surface, and the other one of the first pair of ceramic members has a polarization direction pointing toward the fixed surface.

4. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 3, wherein the first pair of ceramic members are configured in form of a cubic or cuboid board, respectively.

5. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 4, wherein the output head is located in a central portion of the upper surface of the metal block.

6. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 5, wherein the output head is located at a position on the upper surface corresponding to a gap between the first electrodes and the second electrodes.

7. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 5, wherein the metal block is made of soft metal material selected from the group consisting of aluminum and aluminum alloys.

8. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 7, wherein the output head is integrally formed with the metal block.

9. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 2, wherein one of the first pair of ceramic members has a polarization direction pointing toward the output surface, and the other one of the first pair of ceramic members has a polarization direction pointing toward the fixed surface.

10. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 9, wherein the first pair of ceramic members are configured in form of a cubic or cuboid board, respectively.

11. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 10, wherein the output head is located in a central portion of the upper surface of the metal block.

12. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 11, wherein the output head is located at a position on the upper surface corresponding to a gap between the first electrodes and the second electrodes.

13. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 11, wherein the metal block is made of soft metal material selected from the group consisting of aluminum and aluminum alloys.

14. The piezoelectric actuator of claim 13, wherein the output head is integrally formed with the metal block.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The above and other objects, features and effects of the invention will become apparent with reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing that a conventional d15 piezoelectric actuator undergoes deformation upon receiving a voltage;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a piezoelectric actuator according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a d14 piezoelectric ceramic member according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing the process for manufacturing the piezoelectric ceramic member according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a piezoelectric actuator according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention; and

[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the piezoelectric actuator according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Unless specified otherwise, the following terms as used in the specification and appended claims are given the following definitions. It should be noted that the indefinite article a or an as used in the specification and claims is intended to mean one or more than one, such as at least one, at least two, or at least three, and does not merely refer to a singular one. In addition, the terms comprising/comprises, including/includes and having/has as used in the claims are open languages and do not exclude unrecited elements. The term or generally covers and/or, unless otherwise specified. The terms about and substantially used throughout the specification and appended claims are used to describe and account for small fluctuations or slight changes that do not materially affect the nature of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a piezoelectric actuator 1 according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention, which comprises a pair of d14 ceramic members 10, a metal block 20 and an output head 30.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the piezoelectric ceramic member 10, which comprises an output surface 11 and two oppositely arranged driving surfaces 12 and 13. In this embodiment, the output surface 11 is rectangular in shape and has a short side L1 and a long side L2, while the two driving surfaces 12 and 13 are respectively connected to the two long sides L2 of the output surface 11. The fixed surface 14 is arranged opposite to the output surface 11 and used to anchor the ceramic member 10 on a motor (not shown). Preferably, the ceramic member 10 is configured in form of a cubic or cuboid board, where the two driving surfaces 12 and 13 are spaced apart by a thickness equal to the short side L1, and the output surface 11 is spaced apart from the fixed surface 14 by a height h. In this embodiment, the length of the long side L2 of the output surface 11 is substantially equal to the height h of the ceramic member 10, whereas the length of the short side L1 of the output surface 11 (i.e., the thickness of the ceramic member 10) is substantially smaller than the height h.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the ceramic member 10 of the piezoelectric actuator 1 according to the invention is produced as follows: Step 1: coating a polarizing electrode 81 on the output surface 11 and the fixed surface 14 of the ceramic member 10, respectively; Step 2: applying a DC voltage along a direction perpendicular to the output surface 11, so that the ceramic member 10 is polarized in a polarization direction 200 which is orthogonal to the thickness L1; Step 3: removing the polarizing electrodes 81 from the output surface 11 and the fixed surface 14; and Step 4: coating a layer of electrode material, such as silver paste, onto the driving surfaces 12 and 13 of the ceramic member 10 to form a first electrode 121, a second electrode 122 and a counter electrode 131.

[0024] The metal block 20 is generally in form of a cubic or cuboid body and comprises two side surfaces 21 arranged opposite to and preferably parallel to each other, on which the second driving surfaces 13 of the ceramic members 10 are attached. The metal block 20 includes an upper surface 22 connecting the two side surfaces 21, and a lower surface 23 arranged opposite to and preferably parallel to the upper surface 22. The metal block 20 further comprises a front surface 24 and a rear surface 25 which are arranged opposite to and preferably parallel to each other. The front surface 24 and the rear surface 25 are connected with, and preferably arranged perpendicular to, the two side surfaces 21, the upper surface 22 and lower surface 23, respectively. According to the invention, the metal block 20 combines with at least one pair of oppositely arranged piezoelectric ceramic members 10 to constitute a piezoelectric bimorph. When the pair of ceramic members 10 deform, the metal block facilitates the occurrence of resonance to amplify the displacement, thereby causing elliptical motion of the output head 30 located on the metal block 20 and achieving the technical effect of increasing the output power. Therefore, the metal block 20 can be made of any soft metal material that can achieve this purpose. In a preferred embodiment, suitable soft metal material for producing the metal block 20 includes, but is not limited to, aluminum and aluminum alloys.

[0025] The output head 30 is arranged to protrude outward from the upper surface 22 of the metal block 20. The output head 30 serves to amplify the lateral displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 1 and provide good contact with the object to be driven. The position of the output head 30 on the upper surface 22 can be selected according to actual needs. Preferably, the output head 30 is located in the central portion of the upper surface 22 and, more preferably, at a position on the upper surface 22 corresponding to the gap between the first electrode 121 and the second electrode 122. In one embodiment, the output head 30 is integrally formed with the metal block 20. In an alternative embodiment, the output head 30 is separately made of the same or different material as the metal block 20, for example, the output head 30 can be made of alumina ceramic and then assembled onto the upper surface 22 of the metal block 20.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the first driving surface 12 of the ceramic member 10 is provided with the first electrode 121 and the second electrode 122, respectively. The first electrode 121 and the second electrode 122 are arranged side by side and extend from a position near the fixed surface 14 to a position near the output surface 11. The first electrode 121 and the second electrode 122 are substantially disconnected from each other and, thus, are electrically insulated from each other. The second driving surface 13 is provided with a counter electrode 131. Upon attaching the second driving surface 13 to the side surface 21 of the metal block 20, the counter electrode 131 is electrically connected to the metal block 20 to constitute a common electrode for the input power source. The two first electrodes 121 on the pair of ceramic members 10 are connected in parallel to form a common electrode and electrically connected to a voltage source, while the two second electrodes 122 are connected in parallel to form another common electrode and electrically connected to another voltage source. As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of ceramic members 10 may be attached in such manner that one of the ceramic members 10 has a polarization direction pointing upwardly toward the output surface 11, while the other one of the ceramic members 10 has a polarization direction pointing downwardly toward the fixed surface 14.

[0027] The piezoelectric actuator 1 is driven to generate resonance on the side surfaces 15 of the ceramic members 10 upon receiving a pulse-shaped driving voltage (an AC driving electric field), thereby exciting a face shear vibration. When a voltage is applied to drive the first electrode 121 and the counter electrode 131, a composite deformation is generated, so that the mass points at the junction of the first electrodes 121 and the second electrodes 122 undergo an elliptical motion, thus providing a lateral driving force. When a voltage is applied to drive the second electrode 122 and the counter electrode 131, the elliptical motion of the mass points occurs in the opposite direction and produces a reverse driving force. Therefore, by selectively driving the first electrode 121 or the second electrode 122 with a control signal, the output head 30 is able to drive a driven object, such as a rotor or a carriage 50, to move forward or backward through friction contact with the driven object.

[0028] In practical applications, the fixed surfaces 14 of the ceramic members 10 are placed to abut from above against a preloaded spring mounted in a piezoelectric motor, so that the bottom of the piezoelectric actuator 1 is restrained to increase the displacement of the output surface 11. This also causes the output head 30 to protrude from the piezoelectric motor, so that it can come into contact with a driven object, such as a rotor or a carriage (not shown). The preloaded spring is so configured that it makes the piezoelectric motor have good contact with the driven object, whereby the propulsive force generated by the piezoelectric motor can be transmitted effectively to the driven object. The piezoelectric actuator 1 may be further provided at two sides thereof with a fixed spring, respectively, as a means to reduce the internal gap of the piezoelectric motor, thereby minimizing the output loss during operation (not shown).

[0029] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a piezoelectric actuator 1 according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention. Compared with the piezoelectric actuator 1 described in the first preferred embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 1 not only comprises a pair of piezoelectric ceramic members 10 attached to the two side surfaces 21 of the metal block 20 but also includes an additional pair of piezoelectric ceramic members 10 attached to the front surface 24 and the rear surface 25, respectively. The ceramic members 10 are structurally identical to the ceramic members 10, but are operationally independent of the ceramic members 10 by receiving voltage from a different power source. Since the ceramic members 10 and 10 are arranged at an angle with respect to each other, for example, at an angle of about 90 degrees, the respective pairs of parallel-connected electrodes coated on the ceramic members 10 or 10 can be selectively operated by switching the driving power source to alter the direction of the elliptical motion generated by the output head 30, thereby changing the driving direction of the piezoelectric actuator 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, by selectively applying voltage to the parallel-connected pair of first electrodes 121 or second electrodes 122, the pair of ceramic members 10 can be simultaneously driven to push the carriage 50 forward or backward along the X-axis direction. Similarly, by adjusting a control signal to simultaneously apply voltage to the parallel-connected pairs of electrodes 121 and/or electrodes 122 and/or electrodes 121 and/or electrodes 122 to selectively drive the pairs of ceramic members 10 and/or 10, six combinations of motions may be generated for driving the carriage 50 to move freely on a two-dimensional plane with the X-axis and Y-axis, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0030] The shear deformation-type piezoelectric actuator disclosed herein is configured in form of a piezoelectric bimorph incorporating one or more pairs of d14 ceramic members, thus achieving the effects of amplifying deformation and enhancing output power. The piezoelectric motor that incorporates the actuator herein is able to generate a high power density per unit volume or per weight (power density=Watt/Kg or Watt/m.sup.3) upon receiving a small voltage. Therefore, it is very suitable for applications that require small operation space, fast operation speed, high positioning precision, low power supply and low noise, such as lens focusing mechanisms used in mobile phones and slim-type notebook computers. Moreover, the shear deformation-type bimorphic piezoelectric actuator disclosed herein has extremely simple structural arrangement and driving control circuit, which are conducive to realizing miniaturization of a piezoelectric motor.

[0031] While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments above, it should be recognized that the preferred embodiments are given for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention and that various modifications and changes, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.