Patents by Inventor Masafumi Tsukada

Masafumi Tsukada has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7656073
    Abstract: A driving device, small in size and light in weight, is to stabilize the position of a surface-deforming element while reducing the effect of gravity thus enabling stable transfer and positioning. The driving device is structured to hold a movable member integrated with a piezoelectric vibrator and a lens by a shaft provided at a tip of a spring extended from an inner surface to center of a passageway. The shaft extends through an opening formed in a protrusion of the movable member. By a tensile force of the spring, the movable member at its outer periphery is pulled radially and held. When applying a voltage with a waveform changing sharply to the piezoelectric vibrator, the movable member flexes maximally upward or downward to have a reduced diameter and an increasing acceleration thereby making a movement. Then, when a frictional force increases, the protrusion is held at a point where the movable member moves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2010
    Assignee: Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yutaka Doshida, Hiroshi Kishi, Masafumi Tsukada, Katsuei Ishida
  • Publication number: 20060119218
    Abstract: A driving device, small in size and light in weight, is to stabilize the position of a surface-deforming element while reducing the effect of gravity thus enabling stable transfer and positioning. The driving device is structured to hold a movable member integrated with a piezoelectric vibrator and a lens by a shaft provided at a tip of a spring extended from an inner surface to center of a passageway. The shaft extends through an opening formed in a protrusion of the movable member. By a tensile force of the spring, the movable member at its outer periphery is pulled radially and held. When applying a voltage with a waveform changing sharply to the piezoelectric vibrator, the movable member flexes maximally upward or downward to have a reduced diameter and an increasing acceleration thereby making a movement. Then, when a frictional force increases, the protrusion is held at a point where the movable member moves.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Publication date: June 8, 2006
    Inventors: Yutaka Doshida, Hiroshi Kishi, Masafumi Tsukada, Katsuei Ishida