Abstract: A piezoelectric drive device includes two vibrators having vibrating portions with piezoelectric elements and transmitting portions placed in the vibrating portions and transmitting drive forces to a driven member (e.g. a slider), and a fixing portion having through holes (first through hole, second through hole) into which pins or screws are inserted. The two vibrators are placed adjoiningly along a drive direction of the slider, and the fixing portion is placed between the two vibrators and fixing the two vibrators.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a piezoelectric stick-slip-motor and control method. An exemplary method to enable speed variation of the piezoelectric stick-slip-motor with a reduced noise generation, includes: applying a cyclic sawtooth-waveform drive voltage signal with a constant frequency in which the drive voltage (V) increases to and decreases from a peak voltage (Vp) for operating the motor with a constant speed; and changing the motor speed by gradually increasing or decreasing the gradient (dV/dt) of increasing the drive voltage (V) to the peak voltage (Vp) with each subsequent sawtooth-waveform drive voltage signal cycle (C) while keeping the frequency of the drive voltage signal constant.

Abstract: A method of controlling a piezoelectric driving apparatus including a vibration section that has a piezoelectric element and a transmission section that transmits vibration of the vibration section to a driven body, and, by energization of the piezoelectric element, vibrates the vibration section in a combination of longitudinal vibration and bending vibration to cause the transmission section to perform an elliptical motion and to move the driven body by the elliptical motion, the method of controlling the piezoelectric driving apparatus including switching, according to an external force received by the driven body, a drive algorithm of the piezoelectric driving apparatus between a first drive mode in which a separation amplitude, which is an amplitude of the longitudinal vibration, is changed while a feed amplitude, which is an amplitude of the bending vibration, is constant and a second drive mode in which both the feed amplitude and the separation amplitude are changed.

Abstract: An electric generator (10) that comprises:—a first layer (11) based on a polyvinyl polymer;—a second layer (12) made of graphite or graphene in contact with the first layer (11);—a first electrical contact (13) connected to the first layer (11); and—a second electrical contact (14) connected to the second layer (12).

Abstract: An actuator and tactile sensation providing apparatus include an actuator including a piezoelectric element, a vibration plate, and a support. The vibration plate has the piezoelectric element joined thereto and vibrates in accordance with displacement of the piezoelectric element. The support supports the vibration plate and is configured so that an end of the vibration plate is displaced more in a longitudinal direction than in a normal direction of the vibration plate in accordance with displacement of the piezoelectric element. The angle between the vibration plate and the support is acute. The tactile sensation providing apparatus can further include an object of vibration configured to provide a tactile sensation to a user by vibration of the vibration plate being transmitted to the object of vibration.

Abstract: A microelectronics device, in particular a thin-film electronics device, having at least one bearer substrate and having at least one pyramidally layered, piezo stack situated on the bearer substrate, which stack has at least one piezo element and at least one electrode, in particular a floor electrode, and having at least one contact opening situated on the at least one electrode. The microelectronics device has a diffusion blocking element that is situated on the at least one electrode at least partly at a distance from the piezo element, and/or the contact opening forms a contact surface that is at most as large as one one-thousandth of a surface of the at least one piezo element, and/or a length of an electrical path from the at least one contact opening to the at least one piezo element corresponds to at least twice the circumference of the at least one contact opening.

Abstract: Drive-embedded dither pickoff embodiments for a dither motor of a ring laser gyroscope are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a dither motor comprising an outer rim; a hub section; and a plurality of reeds that couple the hub section with the outer rim. A first pickoff embedded drive transducer is mounted on a first side of at least one reed. The first pickoff embedded drive transducer includes a first pickoff section, and a first drive section that is separated from the first pickoff section by a first insulative gap. A second pickoff embedded drive transducer is mounted on a second side of the at least one reed in a back-to-back relationship with the first pickoff embedded drive transducer. The second pickoff embedded drive transducer includes a second pickoff section, and a second drive section that is separated from the second pickoff section by a second insulative gap.

Abstract: A device and a method for producing haptic feedback are disclosed.

Abstract: An ultrasound transducer may include: a plurality of capacitive ultrasound transducer elements; and a base having a largest dimension sized and shaped to be disposed with an external ear canal, wherein the plurality of capacitive ultrasound transducers is mounted on the base. Each capacitive ultrasound transducer element and the ultrasound transducer are specifically constructed to achieve select desired performance characteristics. The ultrasound transducer may have an angular beam spread through a gaseous medium of greater than 15 degrees and an attenuation loss through the gaseous medium of greater than 10 dB measured at a distance 12.5 mm to 25 mm along a primary transmission axis of the ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound transducer may be particularly useful for characterizing fluid behind an ear drum to diagnose otitis media.

Abstract: A device for preventing unwanted opening of a locked enclosure includes a lock bolt moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position. A lever arm is movable between disengaged and engaged positions and moves the lock bolt between the locked and unlocked positions. A rotary element is engageable with the lever arm in the engageable position. The rotation of the rotary element when the rotary element is engaged with the lever arm moves the lock bolt between the locked and unlocked positions. A pin normally blocks the lever arm from moving from the disengaged position to the engageable position. A rotatable output gear moves a rack gear and the pin to unblock the lever arm and thereby allowing the lever arm to engage with the rotary element to allow a user to rotate the rotary element to move the lock bolt between the locked and unlocked positions.

Abstract: Aspects of this disclosure relate to an acoustic wave resonator with hyperbolic mode suppression. The acoustic wave resonator can include a piezoelectric layer, an interdigital transducer electrode, a temperature compensation layer, and a mass loading strip. The mass loading strip can be a conductive strip. The mass loading strip can overlap edge portions of fingers of the interdigital transducer electrode. A layer of the mass loading strip can have a density that is at least as high as a density of a material of the interdigital transducer electrode. The material of the interdigital transducer can impact acoustic properties of the acoustic wave resonator.

Abstract: The disclosed technology features methods for the manufacture of electrical components such as ultrasound transducers. In particular, the disclosed technology provides methods of creating an ultrasonic transducer by connecting one or more multi-layer printed circuits to an array of ultrasound transducer elements. In one embodiment, the printed circuits have traces in a single layer that are spaced by a distance that is greater than a pitch of the transducer elements to which the multi-layer printed circuit is to be connected. However the traces from all the layers in the multi-layer printed circuit are interleaved to have a pitch that is equal to the pitch of the transducer elements. The disclosed technology also features ultrasound transducers produced by the methods described herein.

Abstract: Provided is a vibration wave driving apparatus comprising: a vibration actuator; and a driven member configured to be driven by the vibration actuator, wherein the vibration actuator includes: a vibrator having an electric-mechanical energy conversion element and an elastic member to which the electric-mechanical energy conversion element is fixed; a pressurizing member configured to pressurize the vibrator; a contacting member configured to pressurizing-contact with the vibrator by pressurizing the vibrator by the pressurizing member and move relative to the vibrator; an outputting member configured to output a driving force to the driven member, the driving force generated by the relative-moving of the contacting member to the vibrator, and wherein the driven member includes an output transmission member configured to hold the outputting member in a direction of the relative-moving with a predetermined spring force.

Abstract: A method for operating an electromechanical element, comprising the following steps: by controlling a first control section which is deformable by an electrical voltage by a first voltage signal generation of adjusting movements of a friction element which is arranged on the electromechanical element and which is provided for frictional contact with an element to be driven, controlling of a second control section which is deformable by an electrical voltage by a second voltage signal, which comprises a signal section, the frequency of which compared to the first voltage signal is by a factor, an actuator, a drive device with an actuator and a motor with a drive device and an element to be driven.

Abstract: A vibrating actuator includes a contact body and a vibrating body that vibrates, has an energy conversion element, and has an elastic body in contact with the contact body to move relative to each other from the vibration. The contact body has a base part, a thin plate part, a support part, and a friction member. The thin plate part extends from the base part toward an annular center axis of the base part and the support part is disposed at an end of the thin plate part. The friction member is disposed to the support part as a member separate from the support part and in contact with the elastic body. Density of the friction member is higher than density of the thin plate part. A weight ratio of the thin plate part to a total weight of the friction member and the support part is 0.5 to 1.5.

Abstract: The invention discloses a differential compliant displacement reducer, and relates to three technical solutions with similar working principles. The three technical solutions have the following characteristics: firstly, the three technical solutions all relate to an outer frame and all belong to a differential compliant displacement reducer circumferentially formed by extending upward and downward along both ends of the driver, and the working principle is similar; secondly, the differential motion of the three technical solutions comes from the difference caused by deformation of the upper and lower or inclined upper and lower deformable parts of the driver in the differential compliant displacement reducer; thirdly, compared with a traditional displacement amplifier, the three technical solutions all belong to the displacement reducer, the structure is simpler than that of the existing displacement amplifier; and fourthly, the three technical solutions can be matched with a macro-motion platform.

Abstract: An energy harvesting system can be used to exploit freely available flow energy with a piezoelectric device(s). The system may include a piezoelectric device and a flow disruptor, such as a blunt body that creates flow turbulence and flow characteristic randomization that can increase movement response from the piezoelectric device and enhance electrical power generation. Multiple piezoelectric devices may be linked to each other to enhance movement of a less-influenced piezoelectric device from translated movement of a more-influenced piezoelectric device and create more electrical power than a single piezoelectric device subjected to the same flowing fluid.

Abstract: The invention relates to a stroke transmitter for an actuator device. The stroke transmitter comprises a first and a second conversion unit, which are mechanically connected to one another in series, wherein the first conversion unit is designed as a hydraulic conversion unit, it can be connected to an actuator on its drive side and it is connected to the drive side of the second conversion unit on its output side, wherein the second conversion unit is designed as a cable system and has an output element on its output side. The invention also relates to an actuator device comprising an actuator and a stroke transmitter mechanically connected in series with the actuator.

Abstract: A resonator includes a vibration portion that has a substrate having a main surface, a lower electrode on the main surface of the substrate, a piezoelectric film on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode on the piezoelectric film. A frame surrounds at least part of the vibration portion. Opening grooves having different widths in a first direction in a plan view of the main surface are provided in a periphery of the vibration portion. In a plan view of the main surface, the upper electrode is provided so as to be spaced from an outer edge of the substrate by a gap which is along the first direction, such that a length of the gap in a region where a width of the opening groove is large is larger than a length of the gap in a region where a width of the opening groove is small.

Abstract: A scanner comprises a mirror, a first piezoelectric actuator, a second piezoelectric actuator, a third piezoelectric actuator, a fourth piezoelectric actuator, a first connecting member, a second connecting member, a first mirror spring, a second mirror spring, a stationary member, a first plurality of actuator springs, a second plurality of actuator springs, a third plurality of actuator springs, a fourth plurality of actuator springs, a first plurality of electrodes, and a second plurality of electrodes. The scanner is driven by piezoelectric actuators. A method of fabricating the scanner comprises the steps of providing a wafer; oxidation; deposition; patterning; and applying a singulation process.