Abstract: A vibration device is provided that includes a vibration element with a piezoelectric vibrator and a driving device that causes the vibration element to vibrate. The vibration element includes a translucent body and the piezoelectric vibrator is electrically coupled to the driving device. The driving device includes a first circuit that applies an electric signal to the piezoelectric vibrator to render the vibration element in a resonant state, a second circuit that applies an electric signal to the piezoelectric vibrator according to a feedback signal output from the piezoelectric vibrator, and a switch that switches coupling between the first circuit and the piezoelectric vibrator and coupling between the second circuit and the piezoelectric vibrator at a certain timing.

Abstract: Embodiments of the subject invention relate to a small modular self-contained surface plasma device for decontamination of air and surfaces within enclosed volumes. Embodiments of the subject invention relate to a method and apparatus using the technical process of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) surface plasma generation from ambient atmosphere for decontamination of air and surfaces within enclosed volumes. The primary application mode is for preservation of perishable commodities within industrial shipping containers through reduction of surface spoilage organisms and destruction of evolved gaseous ethylene that causes premature ripening. Additional implementations include deployment for oxidation of surfaces and/or container atmospheres in applications to diminish or eradicate pesticides, toxins, chemical residues, and other natural or introduced contaminants. Other embodiments envisioned include incorporation of device capabilities and or ancillary modules for feedback input (e.g.

Abstract: A piezoelectric resonator includes a vibrating part having a pair of principal surfaces in an obverse-reverse relationship, and a side surface configured to couple the pair of principal surfaces to each other, and a protruding part which is provided to the vibrating part, and is configured to transmit a drive force generated by a vibration of the vibrating part to a driven part, wherein the vibrating part has a pair of vibrating plates including a first vibrating plate and a second vibrating plate stacked on one another in afirst direction in which the pair of principal surfaces are arranged side by side, the first vibrating plate has a flexural vibrating piezoelectric element configured to flexurally vibrate the vibrating part in a third direction perpendicular to a second direction in which the driven part and the protruding part are arranged side by side in a plan view of the principal surfaces, either one or both of the first vibrating plate and the second vibrating plate have a stretching vibrating piezo

Abstract: A method of treating a calculi mass can include using an ultrasonic probe to produce acoustic energy and fragment the mass. The method can include varying the frequency at which fragmentation occurs to treat the mass with a resonant frequency. The ultrasonic probe can have a distal tip for contact with the mass, where the tip has a morphology for concentrating stress on the mass. The ultrasonic probe can have two or more ultrasonic horns to allow for higher voltage and power levels.

Abstract: A high-torque and high-precision ultrasonic motor with a self-protection function and an implementation mode of the high-torque and high-precision ultrasonic motor are provided. In the device, a gasket encloses an output shaft of an ultrasonic motor body. A harmonic reducer encloses a shell of the ultrasonic motor body. A motor shaft penetrates through the ultrasonic motor body. The end, close to the motor shaft, of the ultrasonic motor body is defined as a top end, and the bottom end of the motor shaft is sequentially enclosed with an encoder support and a high-precision encoder assembly. The gasket, the harmonic reducer, the encoder support and the high-precision encoder assembly are sequentially arranged from the ultrasonic motor body to the bottom end of the motor shaft. After the ultrasonic motor body decelerates and increases torque, the motor shaft outputs rotating speed and torque.

Abstract: A lens barrel includes an element displaced by application of voltage; an elastic body having a contact surface coming into contact with the element, a drive surface to produce a vibration wave by displacement of the element, and a plurality of grooves; a moving element come into contact with the drive surface and rotated by the vibration wave; an annular ring rotated by rotating of the moving element; and a lens moved in an optical axis direction by rotating of the annular ring; wherein the element mainly contains a material having potassium sodium niobate, potassium niobate, sodium niobate, or barium titanate, wherein a value of [(T/B)÷W] is in a range of 0.84 to 1.94, where T represents a depth of the groove, B represents a distance from a bottom part of the groove to the contact surface, and W represents a radial width of the elastic body.

Abstract: A driving device that can be prevented from being damaged is provided. Abase member includes a frame-shaped part that rotatably supports a movable part via a shaft part provided on an inner circumference side of the frame-shaped part, and an elastic structural part extending to an outer circumference side of the frame-shaped part. The elastic structural part of the base member is joined to the pedestal, and this allows the difference in amount of thermal deformation generated on the base member and the pedestal to be absorbed by deformation of the elastic structural part, thereby preventing the driving device from being damaged.

Abstract: Transformer assembly has an input terminal, principal housing with main chamber for high voltage coil(s) having plurality of taps, low voltage coil(s) and retaining oil. An auxiliary housing extends outwardly from principal housing and is fluidly connected to main chamber so that auxiliary housing contains oil. A potential transformer; load tap changer having a controller, a motor and a plurality of switches; electrical wiring connected to taps, switches within auxiliary housing chamber are submerged by oil within auxiliary chamber; load tap change controller can adjust taps while the switches and electrical connections are submerged in oil of auxiliary housing chamber. The upper level of oil in the main housing chamber is at a level equal to or above the switches of the load tap changer. The auxiliary housing has an access opening and cover. System apparatus with frames, having beams, lattices and cable guides for routing cables for assembly.

Abstract: A piezoelectric vibrator has a first frequency region where the phase difference between a pickup signal representing the vibration of the piezoelectric vibrator and a drive signal that drives the piezoelectric vibrator does not monotonously change in accordance with the frequency of the drive signal and a second frequency region where the phase difference monotonously changes in accordance with the frequency of the drive signal. A method for controlling a piezoelectric driving apparatus including the piezoelectric vibrator controls the frequency of the drive signal in such a way that pickup voltage representing the amplitude of the pickup signal is fixed in the first frequency region and controls the frequency of the drive signal in such a way the pickup voltage is fixed with the phase difference maintained smaller than or equal to a prespecified value in the second frequency region.

Abstract: An apparatus for a load tap changer includes a first primary winding electrically connected to a first contact, the first contact configured to connect to one of a plurality of taps in a load tap changer; a second contact, the second contact configured to connect to one of the plurality of taps in the load tap changer; a magnetic core; and a control circuit including: a secondary winding configured to magnetically couple to the first primary winding and the magnetic core; and an electrical network electrically connected to the secondary winding, the electrical network being configured to prevent magnetic saturation of the magnetic core during switching of the first or second contact.

Abstract: A piezoelectric motor includes a driven member rotating around a rotation axis, and a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators rotating the driven member by transmitting drive forces to the driven member. The plurality of piezoelectric vibrators includes a first piezoelectric vibrator and a second piezoelectric vibrator at a larger distance from the rotation axis than the first piezoelectric vibrator. The control method for the driven member includes, for acceleration of the driven member, rotating the driven member by the drive force of the second piezoelectric vibrator when a rotation velocity of the driven member is lower than a first velocity, and rotating the driven member by the drive force of the first piezoelectric vibrator when the rotation velocity of the driven member is equal to or higher than the first velocity.

Abstract: An example electrostatic machine includes a number of stator plates, each having a stator electrode and rotationally fixed to a housing, a shaft at least partially defined within the housing and configured to rotate about an axis, and a number of rotor plates, each having a rotor electrode and rotational fixed to the shaft. The electrostatic machine includes a dielectric fluid disposed in the housing, and that fills a gap between the stator plates and the rotor plates. The electrostatic machine includes a seal associated with the shaft, where the seal includes a material compatible with the dielectric fluid.

Abstract: An ultrasonic motor is provided that includes a stator having a vibrator and first to fourth piezoelectric elements, a rotor, and a wiring member including an insulating substrate and first and second wirings. The piezoelectric elements are dispersedly arranged along the circumferential direction of a traveling wave circulating around an axial direction so that the traveling wave is generated by the vibrator being vibrated. The first and third piezoelectric elements face each other across the center of a traveling wave. The first wiring is electrically connected to the first and third piezoelectric elements, and the second wiring is electrically connected to the second and fourth piezoelectric elements. The second wiring passes over the third piezoelectric element from the second piezoelectric element side and extends toward the side of fourth piezoelectric element.

Abstract: A vibration actuator suppressed in generating abnormal noise while realizing size reduction. The vibration actuator includes a vibration element having a piezoelectric element and an elastic member, and a contact body in contact with the vibration element. The contact body has a direction in which the vibration element and the contact body move relative to each other as a longitudinal direction and a square bar shape substantially uniform in width and thickness in the longitudinal direction, and includes a first section and a second section which are formed with respective R surfaces different in curvature radius on an edge extending in the longitudinal direction, in an area where the contact body performs frictional sliding on the vibration element.

Abstract: A converter circuit and related technique for providing high power density power conversion includes a reconfigurable switched capacitor transformation stage coupled to a magnetic converter (or regulation) stage. The circuits and techniques achieve high performance over a wide input voltage range or a wide output voltage range. The converter can be used, for example, to power logic devices in portable battery operated devices.

Abstract: A novel piezo-driven cell injection system with force feedback overcomes the unsatisfied force interaction between the pipette needle and embryos in conventional position control. By integrating semiconductor strain-gage sensors for detecting the cell penetration force and the micropipette relative position in real time, the developed cell microinjection system features high operation speed, confident success rate, and high survival rate. The effectiveness of the developed cell injection system is experimentally verified by penetrating zebrafish embryos. The injection of 100 embryos are conducted with separate position control and force control. Results indicate that the force control enables a survival rate of 86%, which is higher than the survival rate of 82% produced by the position control in the same control environment. The experimental results quantitatively demonstrate the superiority of force control over conventional position control for the first time.

Abstract: A control method for a piezoelectric drive device having a vibrating portion including a piezoelectric element and a transmitting portion, synthesizing longitudinal vibration and flexural vibration by energization to the piezoelectric element to vibrate the vibrating portion and make elliptic motion of the transmitting portion, and moving a driven member by the elliptic motion of the transmitting portion, includes controlling a movement amount of the driven member by changing amplitude of the longitudinal vibration with amplitude of the flexural vibration kept constant.

Abstract: A vibration actuator that is capable of reducing difference of vibration velocities when a contact member is driven using a plurality of vibrators includes a vibrator device and the contact member, which moves relative to the vibrator device. The vibrator device includes the plurality of vibrators, which are connected in series, and a plurality of inductors, which are connected in parallel to the respective vibrators.

Abstract: In this invention we introduce the concept of energy injection in a resonant circuit with initial conditions which is part of almost all of the present topologies. The patent will present in details several methods of energy injection in a resonant circuit with initial conditions and how it is applies to different topologies. The patent presents also a simple and economical method of driving the clamp switch in a flyback topology operating in discontinuous mode and a bias circuit in a flyback topology wherein the output voltage varies over a large range.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product are provided. The apparatus may be a regulator circuit. The regulator circuit includes a first voltage regulator to regulate a first input voltage to the first voltage regulator, the first voltage regulator including a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS), a second voltage regulator to regulate a second input voltage to the second voltage regulator, and a switch circuit to selectively activate at least one of the first voltage regulator or the second voltage regulator. In one aspect, the second voltage regulator includes an N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS). In one aspect, the second voltage regulator comprises a two-stage operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) circuit. In an aspect, the first voltage regulator is coupled to the second voltage regulator.