Vibration actuator and electronic device

Abstract

To realize a compact design at low cost, have impact resistance, and generate a suitable bodily sensation with high output. [Solution] The vibration actuator has a movable body including a disk-shaped magnet, a pair of magnetic cores fixed to the front and back surfaces of the disk-shaped magnet, and a pair of spring stop parts connected to the magnetic core; a pair of elastic support parts each equipped with a vibration-damping member and connected to the spring stop parts to support the movable body; a fixed body to which the elastic support parts are connected with a ring-shaped protective wall part, a pair of ring-shaped coils, and a magnetic shield arranged on the outer periphery of the movable body, and which houses the movable body in a state where it can vibrate in the axial direction; and a resin case which has an opening in the peripheral wall part for wiring to supply power to the ring-shaped coils, closes the upper and lower surfaces of the peripheral wall part, and houses the fixed body, the lid part of the resin case ensuring a movable space which is the movable range of the movable body, while being of a height which abuts against the movable body when the elastic support parts are extended, limiting the movable range of the movable body.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vibration actuator and an electronic device equipped with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, electronic devices with vibration functions are equipped with vibration actuators as vibration generation sources. By driving the vibration actuators and transmitting vibrations to the user to allow the user to experience them, electronic devices can notify the user of incoming calls and improve the sense of operation and realism. Here, electronic devices include portable devices that can be carried, such as portable game terminals, controllers (game pads) for stationary game consoles, portable communication terminals such as mobile phones and smartphones, portable information terminals such as tablet PCs, and wearable terminals that can be attached to clothing, the arm, etc.

[0003] As an example of a vibration actuator having a structure that can be miniaturized and mounted on a portable device, a vibration actuator used in a pager or the like is known, as shown in Patent Document 1.

[0004] This vibration actuator has a pair of plate-like elastic bodies supported by the opening edges of a cylindrical frame so as to face each other, and in addition, a yoke with a magnet attached is fixed to a raised central portion of one of the pair of plate-like elastic bodies, which has a spiral shape, and the yoke is supported within the frame.

[0005] The yoke and the magnet constitute a magnetic field generator, and the coil is attached to the other plate-like elastic body and placed in the magnetic field of the magnetic field generator. The coil is made of enameled wire, which is copper wire with resin baked onto its surface, and is a so-called air-core coil using self-bonding wire, and requires a small space for placement. By switching between currents of different frequencies and applying them through an oscillator circuit to this coil, the pair of plate-like elastic bodies are selectively resonated to generate vibration, and the yoke vibrates within the frame in the direction of the center line of the frame.

[0006] In this vibration actuator, the distance between the magnet and the coil, and between the yoke and the coil, is made larger than the distance between the yoke and the inner peripheral wall of the frame. As a result, in the event of an external impact, the yoke collides with the inner peripheral wall of the frame first, preventing the yoke or magnet from coming into contact with the coil, thereby preventing damage to the coil.

[0007] In reality, however, the yoke having the magnet collides with the frame, and the pair of plate-shaped elastic bodies that elastically support the movable body having the yoke are likely to be damaged by the impact.

[0008] For this reason, Patent Document 1 discloses, as a second embodiment, a configuration in which a shaft along which the movable body slides in the vibration direction is provided in the fixed body, so that even if an impact is received from the outside, the movable body, that is, the yoke, is not moved by the shaft to the inner surface of the frame body, thereby preventing collision with the frame body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3748637 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] However, in conventional vibration actuator configurations in which a shaft along which a movable body slides is attached to a fixed body, although the shaft can regulate the movement of the movable body and increase impact resistance, there is a risk that the movable body will slide against the shaft when driven, generating sliding noise.

[0011] There is a problem that the generation of noise due to contact, such as vibration noise, reduces the vibration expressiveness of the vibration actuator itself. For this reason, it is desirable for a vibration actuator that vibrates as a vibrating body by driving a movable body to output a suitable tactile vibration that can be fully felt by the user while minimizing vibration noise and having a high vibration expressiveness. In addition, it is desirable for the cost to be low compared to the conventional method using an air core coil.

[0012] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a vibration actuator and electronic device that can be miniaturized at low cost, is impact resistant, and generates a suitable bodily vibration with high output. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] One aspect of the vibration actuator of the present invention is A movable body including a disk-shaped magnet, a pair of magnetic cores fixed to the front and back surfaces of the disk-shaped magnet, and a pair of spring stoppers connected to the magnetic cores; A pair of elastic support parts, each of which is a flat leaf spring connected to the spring stop part and extending in a radial direction, and which supports the movable body, the pair of elastic support parts being provided with a vibration damping member; A ring-shaped protective wall portion disposed on an outer periphery of the movable body, and a pair of coils wound in a ring shape around the outer periphery of the protective wall portion; a central wall portion extending from the protective wall portion to an outer circumferential side so as to separate the pair of coils at a position of the vibration center of the movable body in the axial direction, the central wall portion having a connection portion at an outer circumferential end portion to which wiring for supplying power to the coils is connected; a ring-shaped magnetic shield disposed on the outer periphery of the pair of coils, the elastic support portion being connected to the movable body, The above Stored in a state where it can vibrate in the axial direction The magnetic shield has a shield opening that opens at a center position of the length in the axial direction and in which the connection portion is disposed. A fixed body; The above For wiring case a resin case that has an opening in a peripheral wall portion, closes an upper surface and a lower surface of the peripheral wall portion, and houses the fixed body; The lid portion of the resin case is configured to secure a movable space which is the movable range of the movable body, while being of a height which abuts against the movable body when the elastic support portion is extended, thereby limiting the movable range of the movable body.

[0014] One aspect of the electronic device of the present invention is A configuration is adopted in which the vibration actuator having the above configuration is mounted. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a compact device at low cost, and it is also possible to generate shock-resistant, high-output, and suitable bodily-sensible vibrations. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is an external perspective view showing a vibration actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vibration actuator. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the vibration actuator with the case removed. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a movable body to which an elastic support portion is fixed. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a movable body and an elastic support portion. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a plan view of an elastic support portion provided with a damping portion. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an elastic support part with a damping part. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the coil assembly with the electromagnetic shield portion removed. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the case body. [Figure 11] This is a view of the lid from the back side. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a magnetic circuit configuration of the vibration actuator. [Figure 13] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the relative movement state between a coil and a magnet. [Figure 14] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the relative movement state between a coil and a magnet. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a coil bobbin portion having a terminal entangling portion. [Figure 16]4 is a side view of the coil bobbin portion as viewed from the terminal binding portion side. FIG. [Figure 17] 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 16. [Figure 18] FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of a portion X in FIG. [Figure 19] 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a relationship between a coil assembly and a case for explaining a winding lead-out portion having a terminal tying portion. FIG. [Figure 20] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a contact portion between a coil bobbin and an electromagnetic shield portion in the coil assembly. FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the coil assembly shown in FIG. [Figure 22] 4 is a perspective view of the coil assembly shown in FIG. 3, as viewed from the terminal binding portion side. [Figure 23] 4 is a side view of the coil assembly shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the terminal binding portion side. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the coil assembly. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a modified example of the coil assembly. [Figure 26] 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a vibration actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the cutaway side; [Figure 27] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the vibration actuator with a cable connected to the terminal binding portion. [Figure 28] 28 is an enlarged view of a connection portion between the terminal binding portion and the cable shown in FIG. 27. [Figure 29] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a case protrusion. [Diagram 30] 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the case protrusion portion. FIG. [Diagram 31] FIG. 2 shows a cable end. [Diagram 32] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing modified examples of the cable end portion. [Diagram 33] 23 is a diagram showing a modified example of the connection portion between the terminal binding portion and the cable in FIG. 22. [Diagram 34] 5A to 5C are vertical cross-sectional views showing an assembly process for the vibration actuator. [Diagram 35]11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of an electronic device in which the vibration actuator is mounted. [Diagram 36] 11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of an electronic device in which the vibration actuator is mounted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0018] [Overall configuration of vibration actuator] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a vibration actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vibration actuator, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vibration actuator with the case removed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a movable body to which an elastic support part is fixed, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the movable body and the elastic support part. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the elastic support part with a damping part, and FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the elastic support part with a damping part. FIG. 8 is a view showing a coil assembly with an electromagnetic shield part removed, and FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the coil assembly. Note that the terms "upper" and "lower" in this embodiment are given for convenience to make it easier to understand, and refer to one side and the other side of the vibration direction of the movable body in the vibration actuator. In other words, when the vibration actuator is mounted on an electronic device (see FIG. 35 and FIG. 36), it does not matter if it is upside down or left and right.

[0019] The vibration actuator 1 according to the first embodiment is mounted as a vibration generating source in electronic equipment such as a portable game terminal device (for example, a game controller GC shown in FIG. 35) and realizes the vibration function of the electronic equipment. Such electronic equipment also includes portable devices such as smartphones (for example, a portable terminal M shown in FIG. 36). The vibration actuator 1 is mounted in each device such as a portable game terminal device or a portable device, and vibrates when driven to notify the user of an incoming call and to provide a sense of operation and realism.

[0020] 1 and 2, the vibration actuator 1 of this embodiment accommodates a movable body 20 within a hollow case 10 so that the movable body 20 can vibrate between the upper and lower end faces with the vibration direction being the axial direction (vertical direction) of the case 10. When the movable body 20 within the case 10 moves, the vibration actuator 1 itself functions as a vibrating body.

[0021] The vibration actuator 1 comprises a movable body 20 having a magnet 30 and movable body cores 41, 42, a fixed body 50 having coils 61, 62, and plate-shaped elastic support members 81, 82 that support the movable body 20 relative to the fixed body 50 so that it can freely reciprocate.

[0022] In the vibration actuator 1, the coils 61, 62, the magnet 30, and the movable body cores 41, 42 form a magnetic circuit that vibrates the movable body 20. When electricity is applied to the coils 61, 62 from a power supply unit (for example, the drive control unit 203 shown in FIGS. 35 and 36), the coils 61, 62 and the magnet 30 cooperate to cause the movable body 20 to reciprocate in the vibration direction within the case 10.

[0023] In vibration actuator 1 of this embodiment, movable body 20 moves back and forth in the axial direction of coils 61, 62, i.e., the vibration direction, inside coils 61, 62 held by coil bobbin part 52, due to bobbin body part (coil protection wall part) 522 arranged between movable body 20 and the coils 61, 62. The axial direction of coils 61, 62 is the vibration direction of movable body 20, the magnetization direction of magnet 30, and also the axial direction of coil bobbin part 52.

[0024] When the movable body 20 is not moving and not vibrating, the center of the length in the vibration direction is arranged to face the center of the length in the vibration direction of the coil bobbin part 52 at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the movable body 20 via the elastic support parts 81 and 82. At this time, it is preferable that the movable body 20 is located at a position balanced with the coils 61 and 62 so as not to contact the bobbin main body part 522 of the coil bobbin part 52. In this embodiment, it is preferable that the center of the length in the vibration direction of the magnet 30 and the movable body cores 41 and 42 is arranged at a position facing the center of the length in the vibration direction between the coils 61 and 62 separated from each other above and below in a direction perpendicular to the vibration direction. Note that a magnetic fluid may be interposed between the bobbin main body part 522 and the movable body 20.

[0025] In this embodiment, the vibration actuator 1 is configured by providing a drive unit 13 having coils 61, 62, a coil bobbin portion 52, a movable body 20 and elastic support portions 81, 82 within a case 10 having a case main body 11 and a lid portion 12, as shown in Figure 3.

[0026] <Movable body 20> The movable body 20 is supported by elastic support members 81, 82 connected at the upper and lower ends inside the cylindrical coil bobbin portion 52 of the fixed body 50 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the inner circumferential surface 522a of the bobbin main body portion 522. In other words, the movable body 20 is supported within the vibration actuator 1 so as to be capable of reciprocating in the direction in which the lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 face each other. The movable body 20 is provided in the drive unit 13 shown in FIG. 3.

[0027] 2, 4 and 5, the movable body 20 has a magnet 30, movable body cores 41, 42, spring stop portions 22, 24, and fixed pins 26, 28. In this embodiment, the movable body cores 41, 42 and the spring stop portions 22, 24 are arranged in series on both sides in the vibration direction (up and down directions in the drawings) centered on the magnet 30. In the movable body 20, the magnet 30 and the outer peripheral surfaces 20a of the movable body cores 41, 42 face each other inside the inner peripheral surface 522a of the bobbin main body portion 522 with a predetermined gap therebetween.

[0028] When the movable body 20 moves in the vibration direction, the outer circumferential surface 20a moves back and forth along the inner circumferential surface 522a without coming into contact with it.

[0029] The magnet 30 is magnetized in the vibration direction. In this embodiment, the magnet 30 is formed in a disk shape, and the front and back surfaces 30a and 30b, which are separated in the vibration direction, have different polarities. The front and back surfaces 30a and 30b of the magnet 30 are two magnetized surfaces that are separated in the extension direction of the axes of the coils 61 and 62.

[0030] The magnet 30 is disposed so as to be positioned at a distance from the coils 61, 62 (details of which will be described later) on the radially inner side of the coils 61, 62. Here, the "radial direction" refers to a direction perpendicular to the axes of the coils 61, 62 and also perpendicular to the vibration direction. This "spacing" in the radial direction is the spacing between the coils 61, 62 including the bobbin body 522 and the magnet 30, and is a spacing that allows them to move in the vibration direction of the movable body 20 without contacting each other. That is, in this embodiment, the "spacing" refers to a predetermined spacing between the bobbin body 522 and the magnet 30.

[0031] In this embodiment, the magnet 30 is disposed radially outwardly so as to face the center of the bobbin main body 522. The magnet 30 may have a shape other than a disk shape, such as a cylindrical shape or a plate shape, as long as it is disposed inside the coils 61, 62 with two magnetized surfaces facing the direction in which the axes of the coils 61, 62 extend. In addition, it is desirable that the axial center of the magnet 30 coincides with the axial center of the movable body 20.

[0032] Movable cores 41 and 42 are provided on the front and back surfaces 30a and 30b of the magnet 30, respectively.

[0033] The movable cores 41 and 42 are magnetic bodies and function as a yoke, and together with the magnet 30 and the coils 61 and 62, form a magnetic circuit. The movable cores 41 and 42 concentrate the magnetic flux of the magnet 30, allowing it to flow efficiently without leakage, and effectively distribute the magnetic flux flowing between the magnet 30 and the coils 61 and 62.

[0034] In addition to functioning as part of the magnetic circuit, the movable body cores 41 and 42 also function as a main body part of the movable body 20, a function for fixing the spring stop parts 22 and 24, and a function as a weight.

[0035] In this embodiment, the movable body cores 41, 42 are formed in the shape of annular flat plates having the same surface shape as the magnet 30. The movable body cores 41, 42 are fixed to the magnet 30 so that their outer circumferential surfaces are flush with the outer circumferential surface of the magnet, and together with the outer circumferential surface of the magnet, form the outer circumferential surface 20a of the movable body 20.

[0036] In this embodiment, the movable body cores 41 and 42 are the same member formed in the same way, and in this embodiment, they are provided symmetrically above and below the magnet 30, with the magnet 30 at the center, sandwiching the magnet 30. The movable body cores 41 and 42 are attracted to the magnet 30, and are fixed to the magnet 30 by, for example, a thermosetting adhesive such as epoxy resin or an anaerobic adhesive.

[0037] The movable body cores 41, 42 each have a fitting opening 411, 421 in which the upper and lower spring stop parts 22, 24 fit. The fitting openings 411, 421 are provided so that the axes of the upper and lower spring stop parts 22, 24, i.e., the central axes of the elastic support parts 81, 82, are positioned on the central axis of the movable body 20. The fitting openings 411, 421 contact the inserted spring stop parts 22, 24 at three or four points to accurately fix them on their axes, and support the upper and lower spring stop parts 22, 24 so that they are positioned on the axis of the movable body 20. The fitting openings 411, 421 adjust the degree of opening in the movable body cores 41, 42 to adjust the weight of the movable body 20 and set a suitable vibration output.

[0038] In this embodiment, when the movable body 20 is not vibrating, the movable body cores 41, 42 are positioned inside (radially inside) the coils 61, 62 so as to face each of the coils 61, 62 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the coils 61, 62.

[0039] The movable body cores 41 and 42 form a movable body side magnetic circuit together with the magnet 30. In this embodiment, it is preferable that the height position of the upper surface of the movable body core 41 above the magnet 30 faces the center position in the height direction (vertical direction) of the upper coil 61. In addition, it is preferable that the height position of the lower surface of the movable body core 42 below the magnet 30 faces the center position in the height direction (vertical direction) of the lower coil 62.

[0040] The spring stop parts 22, 24 have a function of fixing the movable body side magnetic circuit to the elastic support parts 81, 82, and also function as a weight for the movable body 20. The spring stop parts 22, 24 are provided symmetrically so as to sandwich the magnet 30 and the movable body cores 41, 42, and increase the vibration output of the movable body 20.

[0041] In this embodiment, the spring stop portions 22, 24 are shaft-shaped bodies arranged along the central axis of the movable body 20, and are interposed between the movable body cores 41, 42 and the elastic support portions 81, 82.

[0042] In this embodiment, the spring stop portions 22, 24 are formed in the same shape and have joint portions 222, 242 and spring fixing portions 224, 244. The joint portions 222, 242 and the spring fixing portions 224, 244 are each connected in the vibration direction (specifically, the vertical direction).

[0043] The spring stop parts 22 and 24 have a through hole penetrating therethrough. The spring stop parts 22 and 24 may function as weight adjustment parts by adding weights to the through holes. By adding weights to the through holes, the movable body 20 can be made heavier, and the vibration output of the movable body 20 can be increased.

[0044] The joint parts 222, 242 are joined to the movable body cores 41, 42, respectively. Specifically, one end side of the joint parts 222, 242 is inserted into and fitted into the fitting openings 411, 421 of the movable body cores 41, 42, respectively. In the present embodiment, the spring stop parts 22, 24 are fixed to the movable body cores 41, 42 by press-fitting, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be fixed by adhesion using, for example, a thermosetting adhesive such as epoxy resin or an anaerobic adhesive.

[0045] The upper spring fixing part 224 constitutes one end of the movable body 20 in the vibration direction, i.e., the upper end of the movable body 20, and is joined to an inner periphery 802 which is the end on the inner diameter side of the upper leaf spring which is the elastic support part 81. On the other hand, the lower spring fixing part 244 constitutes the other end of the movable body 20 in the vibration direction, i.e., the lower end of the movable body 20, and is joined to an inner periphery 802 which is the end on the inner diameter side of the lower leaf spring which is the elastic support part 82.

[0046] The spring fixing parts 224, 244 are provided so as to protrude upward and downward from the joint parts 222, 242, respectively, and their tips are joined to the inner peripheries 802, 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 via fixing pins 26, 28, respectively.

[0047] The fixing pins 26, 28 firmly fix the elastic support parts 81, 82 and the movable body 20 so that they do not come off due to vibration of the movable body 20.

[0048] In this embodiment, the fixing pins 26, 28 are formed in the same shape and each have an axial pin body 262, 282 that can be press-fitted into the spring fixing portion 224, 244, and a flange 264, 284 provided on the edge portion on one end side of the pin body 262, 282.

[0049] Specifically, the pin bodies 262, 282 of the fixing pins 26, 28 are fixed by press-fitting the inner circumferential parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 into the through holes of the spring fixing parts 224, 244 through the openings of the inner circumferential parts 802 with the inner circumferential parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 overlapping the spring fixing parts 224, 244. As a result, the flanges 264, 284 sandwich the inner circumferential parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 between them and the spring fixing parts 224, 244, and firmly join them. The inner circumferential parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 and the spring fixing parts 224, 244 may be joined by welding, adhesion, crimping, or the like, or further by a combination of welding, adhesion, and crimping.

[0050] Since the spring stop parts 22, 24 are disposed at both ends (upper and lower ends) of the movable body 20 that are spaced apart from the movable body side magnetic circuit in the vibration direction, the weight of the movable body 20 is not disposed on the outer periphery side of the movable body magnetic circuit. This does not restrict the arrangement space of the coils 61, 62 located opposite each other on the outer periphery side of the movable body side magnetic circuit, i.e., the outer periphery side of the movable body 20, and in other words, the distance between the movable body magnetic circuit and the coils 61, 62 is not increased, and the efficiency of electromagnetic conversion is not reduced. Therefore, the weight of the movable body 20 can be suitably increased, and high vibration output can be achieved.

[0051] In addition, because spring stop parts 22, 24 have both a weight function and a spring fixing function, there is no need to assemble the members having each function separately. By simply providing spring stop parts 22, 24 in the movable body side magnetic circuit, the upper leaf spring and the lower leaf spring which are elastic support parts 81, 82 can be easily attached to movable body 20 together with the weight, improving the ease of assembly.

[0052] Spring stop parts 22, 24 may be made of a magnetic material, but are preferably made of a non-magnetic material. If spring stop parts 22, 24 are made of a non-magnetic material, the magnetic flux from movable body core 41 will not flow upward, and the magnetic flux from movable body core 42 will not flow downward, and can flow efficiently to the coils 61, 62 located on the outer periphery of movable body cores 41, 42.

[0053] Moreover, the spring stop parts 22, 24 are preferably formed from a material (for example, a specific gravity of about 16 to 19) having a higher specific gravity than materials such as silicon steel plate (specific gravity of steel plate is 7.70 to 7.98). For example, tungsten can be used as the material of the spring stop parts 22, 24. This allows the mass of the movable body 20 to be increased relatively easily even when the outer dimensions of the movable body 20 are set in the design or the like, and allows the desired vibration output to be sufficiently felt by the user to be realized.

[0054] <Fixed body 50> Fixed body 50 holds coils 61, 62, and supports movable body 20 radially inside coils 61, 62 via elastic support portions 81, 82 so as to be freely movable in the vibration direction (coil axial direction, axial direction of movable body 20).

[0055] The fixed body 50 includes a case 10 , coils 61 and 62 , a coil bobbin portion 52 , and an electromagnetic shield portion 58 .

[0056] The coil bobbin portion 52 holds the coils 61, 62 wound around its outer circumferential surface, surrounds the magnet 30 with its inner circumferential surface 522a, and guides the movement of the movable body 20 having the magnet 30.

[0057] The coil bobbin portion 52 is a cylindrical body formed of a resin such as a phenol resin, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), etc. In the present embodiment, the coil bobbin portion 52 is made of a material containing a phenol resin such as bakelite, which has high flame retardancy.

[0058] The coil bobbin portion 52 is made of a material containing phenolic resin, which increases flame retardancy and improves safety during operation even if heat is generated by Joule heat when a current flows through the coils 61 and 62. In addition, the dimensional accuracy is improved, and the positional accuracy of the coils 61 and 62 is also improved, which reduces variation in vibration characteristics.

[0059] The coil bobbin portion 52 has a cylindrical bobbin body portion 522, flange portions 526-528 protruding radially from the outer periphery of the bobbin body portion 522, a terminal entangling portion (coil wire connection portion) 53, a movable range forming portion 54, and a communication groove portion 55.

[0060] In the coil bobbin portion 52, the coils 61, 62 are wound between the flange portions 526-528 (coil attachment portions 52b, 52c). The coils 61, 62 are covered by an electromagnetic shield portion 58 that is positioned via a terminal pull-out portion 90 of the coil bobbin portion 52 and a positioning engagement portion 529. For convenience, the terminal entanglement portion (coil connection portion) 53 may be illustrated and described as terminal entanglement portions (coil connection portions) 53-1, 53-2.

[0061] An inner peripheral surface 522a of the bobbin body 522 is disposed facing the outer peripheral surface of the movable body 20 with a predetermined interval therebetween. This predetermined interval is an interval that allows the movable body 20 to move in the axial direction, which is the vibration direction, without coming into contact with the inner peripheral surface 522a when moving in the vibration direction. The bobbin body 522 is configured to inhibit contact between the magnet 30 and the coils 61, 62, and the movable body 20 can move back and forth along the inner peripheral surface 522a without coming into contact with it.

[0062] The bobbin body 522 functions as a protective wall that protects the coils 61, 62 from collisions when the movable body 20 arranged inside is driven. The thickness of the bobbin body 522 is set to a thickness that provides a strength that does not affect the coils 61, 62 on the outer periphery even if the moving movable body 20 comes into contact with the bobbin body 522.

[0063] On the outer periphery side of the bobbin body 522, coils 61, 62 are arranged side by side in the coil axis direction so as to surround the outer periphery surfaces of the movable body cores 41, 42 of the movable body 20 (the magnet 30 and the outer periphery surfaces of the movable body cores 41, 42).

[0064] Specifically, the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin body 522 is provided with flanges 526 to 528 as well as with concave coil attachment portions 52b and 52c (see FIGS. 2 and 9) that open radially outward on the outer circumferential side.

[0065] Coil attachment portions 52b, 52c are provided so as to be partitioned by flange portions 526 to 528. Coils 61, 62 are wound around coil attachment portions 52b, 52c between flange portions 527, 528 so as to sandwich flange portion (central wall portion, hereinafter also referred to as "central flange portion") 526 in the vibration direction.

[0066] The central flange portion 526 is provided in an annular shape and has a circular outer periphery. A wiring portion 9 is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the central flange portion 526, and has a function of wiring the coil winding and processing the terminal state of the coil. The wiring portion 9 includes a terminal pull-out portion 90 provided with a terminal entangling portion 53, and a communication groove portion 55 in which the coil winding that connects the coils 61, 62 is wired.

[0067] 8, 9, 15, and 16, terminal winding portion 53 winds the coils 61, 62 together and functions as a connector connecting portion that connects to an external device. Terminal winding portion 53 connects coils 61, 62 to an external device (for example, a power supply portion of a drive control portion or the like), and power is supplied to coils 61, 62.

[0068] Terminal binding portion 53 is a conductive member protruding from the outer periphery of bobbin main body 522, and is a rod-shaped body in this embodiment. In this embodiment, terminal binding portion 53 is provided by press-fitting a base end portion into the outer periphery of coil bobbin portion 52, specifically, into the outer periphery of central flange portion 526 disposed at the center in the vibration direction.

[0069] The terminal entangling portion 53 is provided on a terminal pull-out portion 90 that protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the flange portion 526 in the center of the vibration actuator 1 in the vibration direction. The terminal pull-out portion 90 pulls out the ends of the windings of the coils 61 and 62 to the outside of the vibration actuator 1 via the terminal binding portion 53 .

[0070] Terminal pull-out portion 90 protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of central flange portion 526, and thus has a predetermined radial length, a thickness in the vibration direction, and a circumferential width at flange portion 526, thereby ensuring a press-fit margin for terminal entangling portion 53. This enables terminal pull-out portion 90 to firmly hold terminal entangling portion 53, and allows terminal entangling portion 53 to be stably fixed when assembled to coil bobbin portion 52.

[0071] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 17, terminal pull-out portion 90 protrudes outward from outer diameter R of central flange portion 526. Terminal tying portion 53 is provided to protrude outward from this outward protruding portion. The terminal entangling portion 53 together with the terminal pull-out portion 90 protrudes outward from the outer diameter R. This prevents the terminal entangling portion 53 from contacting the electromagnetic shield portion 58 that is disposed to surround the coil bobbin portion 52 after assembly. The electromagnetic shield portion 58 will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the terminal pull-out portion 90 fits into an opening 582 of the electromagnetic shield portion 58. This allows the terminal pull-out portion 90 to function as a rotation stopper for the electromagnetic shield portion 58.

[0072] The terminal lead-out portion 90 is provided in the central flange portion 526 in close proximity to (adjacent to) the communication groove portion 55 .

[0073] A coil winding that connects coils 61 and 62 is inserted into communication groove portion 55. In communication groove portion 55 of the present embodiment, the winding directions of the coil windings that form coils 61 and 62 are reversed above and below communication groove portion 55.

[0074] The communication groove 55 is formed in a notch shape that opens radially outward at the outer periphery of the central flange 526 and penetrates in the vibration direction. Specifically, the connection groove 55 has at least a bottom wall 55a that forms a groove-shaped bottom, and a side wall (one side wall) 55b in the bottom wall 55a that is far from the terminal binding portion 53, and has a portion formed in a notch shape by the bottom wall 55a and the far side wall 55b. The notch portion has a function of locking the winding so that the winding does not come off when one of the coils 61 and 62 is wound and arranged, and then the other is wound and arranged by reversing the winding direction. The connection groove 55 of this embodiment is formed in a U-shape in plan view with both side walls standing upright at both ends separated in the circumferential direction with the bottom wall 55 as the bottom surface.

[0075] 17, in the communication groove 55, the side wall 55b far from the terminal entangling portion 53 is formed to be positioned at an acute angle on the terminal entangling portion 53 side with respect to a normal n of the outer peripheral surface of the outer diameter R of the central flange portion 526 that passes through the joint between the far side wall 55b and the bottom wall 55a in a plan view. As a result, in the communication groove 55, the angle α formed by the side wall 55b far from the terminal entangling portion 53 and the bottom wall 55a is set to form an acute angle on the terminal entangling portion 53 side with respect to the normal n.

[0076] Therefore, when arranging the coils 61, 62 by winding the coil windings in the upside-down direction around the coil mounting portions 52b, 52c, the coil windings are reliably engaged with the communicating groove portion 55 so as not to come out of the communicating groove portion 55, and are suitably guided to the desired coil mounting portions 52b, 52c. Therefore, the coils 61, 62 can be easily assembled to the coil bobbin portion 52.

[0077] In addition, the wiring portion 9 has a coil guide portion 92 at the central flange portion 526 that guides the coil winding from the terminal binding portion 53 to the position of the first turn (e.g., a corner portion) in the coil winding portion of the coil bobbin portion 52 (one of the coil mounting portions 52b, 52c).

[0078] The coil guide portion 92 is provided on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces (surfaces separated in the vibration direction) of the central flange portion 526. In the present embodiment, the coil guide portion 92 is formed in the central flange portion 526 at portions adjacent to the terminal pull-out portion 90 and the communication groove portion 55 on both circumferential sides.

[0079] The coil guide portion 92 connects the joint between the central flange portion 526 and the outer peripheral surface of the bobbin body portion 522 at the coil attachment portions 52b, 52c and the terminal binding portion 53 by means of an inclined portion 93 formed by steps on the upper and lower surfaces of the central flange portion 526.

[0080] 18 shows coil guide portion 92-1, which guides between coil mounting portion 52c and terminal binding portion 53-1 in coil mounting portion 52c, of coil guide portion 92. Step Y is the step between the height level of central flange portion 526 (height level of the upper surface of central flange portion 526), ​​which is approximately the same height position as the joining position with the outer circumferential surface of coil main body portion 522 in coil mounting portion 52c, and a height level position lower than that and closer to terminal binding portion 53.

[0081] The inclined portion 93 has a step surface between the upper surface of the central flange portion 526 and a surface at a height level position adjacent to the terminal binding portion 53, due to a step Y. This step surface is arranged to rise from the surface at a height level position adjacent to the terminal binding portion 53, and extends in the circumferential direction from the base end side of the terminal binding portion 53, while inclining toward the bottom surface sides of the coil attachment portions 52b and 52c.

[0082] 18, for example, the coil guide portion 92-1 winds the coil winding around the terminal winding portion 53-1, and then guides the coil winding by the inclined portion 93 so as to draw it toward the coil attachment portion 52c of the coil bobbin portion 52. This makes it possible to stabilize the position of the first turn of the winding and to preferably position the coil 62, compared to the case where the coil winding is directly drawn from the terminal winding portion 53-1 to the coil attachment portion 52c.

[0083] When winding the coil winding from the terminal binding portion 53 around the coil mounting portions 52b, 52c, the coil guide portion 93 can stabilize the position of the first turn of the winding at the coil mounting portions 52b, 52c, thereby suppressing defects during the process.

[0084] This allows the vibration actuator 1 to be assembled by performing each of the steps of winding the winding around the terminal winding section 53, forming the upper and lower coils, and finally winding the winding around the terminal winding section 53 in a single flow. This makes it possible to easily automate the coil formation process and the like, and realize a vibration actuator with an efficient assembly structure.

[0085] The flange portions 527, 528 are provided at both ends spaced apart in the axial direction (which is the vibration direction and the up-down direction in this embodiment) of the bobbin body portion 522, and constitute the upper and lower ends of the coil bobbin portion 52. The flange portions 527, 528 (collectively referred to as "both end flange portions" and each referred to as "end flange portion") are provided so as to protrude radially from the outer periphery of the bobbin body portion 522 to both ends in the vibration direction. As shown in Figs. 16 and 20, the both end flange portions 527, 528 have the same diameter portions 527b, 528b as the outer periphery portion 526a of the central flange portion 526, and these same diameter portions abut against the inner circumferential surface of the electromagnetic shield portion 58.

[0086] In the coil bobbin portion 52, an outer circumferential portion 526a of the central flange portion 526 and uniform diameter portions 527b, 528b of the flange portions 527, 528 form a recessed portion that opens in the radial direction and into which the electromagnetic shield portion 58 fits. The electromagnetic shield portion 58 is positioned in this recessed portion so as to surround the coils 61, 62. Furthermore, the electromagnetic shield portion 58 is stably fixed to the coil bobbin portion 52 by abutting against the outer circumferential portion 526a and the uniform diameter portions 527b, 528b of the flange portions 527, 528, and can be stably fixed even if the height dimension (length in the vibration direction) of the electromagnetic shield portion 58 becomes large.

[0087] Elastic support portions 81 and 82 are fixed to flange portions 527 and 528 at their ends (upper and lower ends in this embodiment) that are located away from flange portion 526.

[0088] The movable range forming portions 54 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the coil bobbin portion 52, and form a vibration range between the lid portion 12 and bottom portion 114 of the case 10 and the movable body 20 when the coil bobbin portion 52 is housed within the case 10.

[0089] Movable range forming portions 54 are protruding sides protruding in the vibration direction (vertical direction) from each of flange portions 527, 528. Movable range forming portions 54 are provided at a predetermined interval on upper and lower circular opening end faces (also referred to as "upper end face" and "lower end face") 527a, 528a of flange portions 527, 528. Upper end face 527a is the opening end face on one side, and lower end face 528a is the opening end face on the other side.

[0090] Flange portion 527 has protruding movable range forming portion 54 that protrudes in the vibration direction, and has a top surface receiving portion that receives lid portion 12 via movable range forming portion 54. Flange portion 528 has protruding movable range forming portion 54 that protrudes in the vibration direction, and has a bottom surface receiving portion that receives bottom portion 114 via movable range forming portion 54.

[0091] 21, movable range forming portion 54 fits into positioning grooves 808 provided in elastic support portions 81, 82 to position elastic support portions 81, 82 in the radial direction. Movable range forming portion 54 has a circumferential length and a predetermined thickness, and positioning groove 808 is formed corresponding to this. In this embodiment, movable range forming portion 54 fits into positioning groove 808 to restrict radial and circumferential movement of elastic support portions 81, 82, thereby positioning elastic support portions 81, 82.

[0092] Since the elastic support parts 81, 82 are positioned relative to the coil bobbin part 52 by fitting the protruding movable range forming part 54 into the positioning groove 808, the positions of the elastic support parts 81, 82 in each individual drive unit 13 can be set uniformly, and the elastic support parts 81, 82 can be stably positioned relative to the coil bobbin part 52. This restricts the movement of the elastic support parts 81, 82 in the rotational direction, suppresses variation in the elastic support parts 81, 82 as a product, and achieves stable characteristics.

[0093] Moreover, the movable range forming portions 54 are provided at equal intervals around the axis of the coil bobbin portion 52. In the present embodiment, the movable range forming portions 54 are provided in three locations at equal intervals around the axis of the coil bobbin portion 52.

[0094] In addition, by receiving each of the elastic support portions 81, 82 at the three movable range forming portions 54, snagging and friction when inserting the movable body 20 into the coil bobbin portion 52 are reduced, making it easy to assemble and to position the movable body 20 and the coil bobbin portion 52.

[0095] The coil bobbin portion 52 is accommodated in the case 10 with the movable range forming portions 54 at the upper and lower ends abutting the edges of the lid portion 12 and the edges of the bottom portion 114, and is fixed to the edges of the bottom portion 114.

[0096] In this embodiment, flange portions 527 and 528 have positioning engagement portions 529 that engage with electromagnetic shield portion 58 to position electromagnetic shield portion 58 in a position surrounding coils 61 and 62 .

[0097] Positioning engagement portion 529 engages with engaged portion 589 of electromagnetic shield portion 58. In this embodiment, positioning engagement portion 529 is a concave groove that opens toward central flange portion 526 on the outer periphery of each of flange portions 527, 528, and engages with engaged portion 589 that is convex.

[0098] In this way, positioning engagement portions 529 for positioning the electromagnetic shield portion are provided on the outer periphery of flange portions 527, 528, i.e., the outer diameter portion of coil bobbin portion 52. Due to the engagement between positioning engagement portion 529 and engaged portion 589, electromagnetic shield portion 58 can be positioned without misalignment with respect to coils 61, 62 wound around coil bobbin portion 52, thereby obtaining stable magnetic characteristics. Also, compared to the case where electromagnetic shield portion 58 is positioned only by the engagement between terminal pull-out portion 90 and opening 582 and then assembled to coil bobbin portion 52, only terminal pull-out portion 90 is not subjected to a load and is not deformed during assembly.

[0099] In this way, the terminal entangling portion 53 of the terminal pull-out portion 90 does not deform due to the load applied to the terminal pull-out portion 90, and deformation of the terminal entangling portion 53 is suppressed, allowing the vibration actuator to be stably manufactured. Note that adhesive portions may be provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the flange portions 526-528, which have the same outer diameter, and the electromagnetic shield portion 58 may be fixed to each of the flange portions 526-528 via the adhesive portions. This allows stable vibration characteristics to be achieved.

[0100] <Coil> In the vibration actuator 1, the coils 61, 62 vibrate in the axial direction of the coils 61, 62 (the magnetization direction of the magnet 30), and are used, together with the magnet 30 and the movable body cores 41, 42, to generate a drive source for the vibration actuator 1. When driven (vibrating), current is passed through the coils 61, 62, and together with the magnet 30, they form a voice coil motor.

[0101] Coils 61, 62 are disposed on coil attachment portions 52b, 52c, and in this embodiment, coils 61, 62 are disposed at positions facing movable body cores 41, 42 in a direction perpendicular to the vibration direction.

[0102] The coils 61 and 62 are held in the coil bobbin part 52 so that the center position of the length in the coil axis direction (vibration direction) is substantially the same position (including the same position) in the vibration direction as the center position of the length in the vibration direction of the movable body 20 (the center position in the vibration direction of the magnet 30). Note that the coils 61 and 62 in this embodiment are configured to be wound in opposite directions to each other, and configured so that currents flow in opposite directions when energized.

[0103] Respective ends of the coils 61, 62 are wound and connected to the terminal winding portion 53 of the flange portion 526. The coils 61, 62 are connected to a power supply unit (for example, the drive control unit 203 shown in FIGS. 35 and 36) via the terminal winding portion 53. For example, each end of the coils 61, 62 is connected to an AC supply unit via the terminal winding portion 53, and an AC power source (AC voltage) is supplied from the AC supply unit to the coils 61, 62. As a result, the coils 61, 62 can generate thrust between the magnet and the magnet that allows them to move toward and away from each other in their axial directions.

[0104] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 16, the coils 61 and 62 are first connected by winding one end of the coil to the terminal winding portion 53-1. The other end of the winding, one end of which is connected to the terminal winding portion 53-1, is guided by the coil guide portion 92-1 (arrow D1) to a position where the first turn is to be formed in the coil attachment portion 52c. At this first turn position, the winding is wound counterclockwise (arrow D2) to form the first turn, and counterclockwise winding (indicated by arrows D2 to D3) is repeated in sequence. As a result, the coil 62 is disposed in the coil attachment portion 52c.

[0105] Next, the winding on the other end side of the coil 62 is guided by the coil guide section 92-2 through the communication groove section 55 (indicated by arrow D4) to the position of the first turn of the coil mounting section 52b with the winding direction reversed (see arrow D5) in the communication groove section 55. The winding is wound in the coil mounting section 52b in the opposite direction to that of the coil mounting section 52c, here clockwise (indicated by arrows D6 to D7). The winding is wound clockwise in sequence, so that the coil 61 is disposed on the coil mounting section 52b. Note that in this embodiment, the coils 61 and 62 are formed of a single winding, but this is not limiting and the coils 61 and 62 may be formed of separate coils. In this configuration, when separate coils are formed by winding the windings in the same direction, they supply currents in different directions when driven.

[0106] The coil axes of the coils 61 and 62 are preferably arranged coaxially with the axis of the coil bobbin portion 52 or the axis of the magnet 30 . The coils 61 and 62 are formed into a cylindrical shape by winding a coil wire around the coil attachment parts 52b and 52c from the outside of the coil bobbin part 52. With this configuration, the coil bobbin part 52 having the coils 61 and 62 can be assembled without using a self-bonding wire in order to maintain the cylindrical bodies of the coils 61 and 62. In other words, since there is no need to use air-core coils as the coils, the cost of the coils 61 and 62 themselves can be reduced, and therefore the cost of the entire vibration actuator can be reduced.

[0107] Furthermore, inside the case 10, the coils 61 and 62 have their outer circumferential surfaces surrounded by the electromagnetic shielding portion 58, are sealed within the coil mounting portions 52b and 52c, and are fixed within the coil mounting portions 52b and 52c by adhesion or the like. In this embodiment, the coils 61 and 62 are fixed to the bobbin body portion 522 and all of the flange portions 526 to 528 by adhesion. Therefore, the joining strength between the coils 61 and 62 and the coil bobbin portion 52 can be increased, and even when a large impact is applied, the coils 61 and 62 are not damaged as compared to a configuration in which the movable body is in direct contact with the coil.

[0108] <Electromagnetic shielding part 58> The electromagnetic shield part 58 is a cylindrical magnetic body that surrounds the outer circumferential surface of the coil bobbin part 52 and is disposed in a position that covers the radially outer side of the coils 61, 62. The electromagnetic shield part 58 constitutes a fixed body side magnetic circuit together with the coils 61, 62 and prevents leakage of magnetic flux to the outside of the vibration actuator 1 in the movable body side magnetic circuit, that is, the magnetic circuit constituted together with the magnet 30 and the movable body cores 41, 42.

[0109] The electromagnetic shield section 58 is disposed so that the center of the length of the electromagnetic shield section 58 in the vibration direction is at the same height as the center of the vibration direction of the magnet 30 disposed inside. The shielding effect of this electromagnetic shield section 58 can reduce magnetic flux leaking to the outside of the vibration actuator.

[0110] Furthermore, the electromagnetic shielding portion 58 can increase the thrust constant in the magnetic circuit to improve the electromagnetic conversion efficiency. The electromagnetic shielding portion 58 utilizes the magnetic attraction force of the magnet 30 to function as a magnetic spring together with the magnet 30, and can reduce the stress when the elastic support portions 81 and 82 are made into mechanical springs, thereby improving the durability of the elastic support portions 81 and 82.

[0111] The electromagnetic shield portion 58 is provided with an opening 582 through which the terminal binding portion 53 passes. As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the opening 582 fits into the terminal lead-out portion 90 and functions as a rotation stopper for the electromagnetic shield portion 58 relative to the coil bobbin portion 52 in the circumferential direction.

[0112] In the present embodiment, opening 582 is formed in a shape that is longer in the circumferential direction than in the vertical direction in the central part of the main body of electromagnetic shield part 58. As a result, electromagnetic shield part 58 is present above and below opening 582, and therefore, imbalance in the magnetic attraction force in the magnetic circuit and leakage magnetic flux can be kept to a minimum in a well-balanced manner.

[0113] In this embodiment, this opening 582 is configured to be provided in the center of the electromagnetic shielding portion 58 in the vertical direction (vibration direction), but it may be provided in any configuration that allows the terminal binding portion 53 of the coil bobbin portion 52 it houses to protrude to the outside.

[0114] For example, a drive unit 13A shown in FIGS. 24 and 25 differs from the drive unit 13 only in the configuration of an electromagnetic shield portion 58A.

[0115] The electromagnetic shield part 58A of the drive unit 13A has an opening 582A formed by cutting out one opening side of the cylindrical electromagnetic shield part 58A.

[0116] That is, the opening 582A of the electromagnetic shield part 58A is formed so as to penetrate the cylindrical electromagnetic shield part 58A and open at the opening edge part on one side. In this way, when the opening 582 is formed so as to open on one side in the electromagnetic shield part 58A, the electromagnetic shield part 58A can be assembled by being fitted on the coil bobbin part 52A in the axial direction from the opening side on one side. This makes it easy to assemble the electromagnetic shield part 58A to the coil bobbin part 52A. In particular, even if the vibration actuator is made smaller and thinner, it is possible to provide an opening in the electromagnetic shield part 58A, and this improves the ease of assembly.

[0117] Further, the electromagnetic shield portion 58 has an engagement portion 589 formed in a convex shape at the opening edge portion that opens on both axial sides, and the engagement portion 589 engages with the positioning engagement portion 529 . The engaged portion 589 is provided at a position corresponding to the positioning engaging portion 529. When the engaged portion 589 engages with the positioning engaging portion 529, the electromagnetic shield portion 58 is restricted from moving in the circumferential direction and the up-down direction with respect to the coil bobbin portion 52, and is positioned at a position surrounding the coils 61, 62.

[0118] <Elastic support parts 81, 82> The elastic support portions 81 and 82 support the movable body 20 so as to be capable of reciprocating movement relative to the fixed body 50 in the vibration direction.

[0119] The elastic support parts 81, 82 are disposed to sandwich the movable body 20 in the vibration direction of the movable body 20, and are bridged between both the movable body 20 and the fixed body 50 so as to intersect with the vibration direction. In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the elastic support parts 81, 82 are disposed spaced apart from each other at both ends (upper and lower ends) of the movable body 20 that are spaced apart in the vibration direction, and are connected to the fixed body 50. In this embodiment, the elastic support parts 81, 82 are disposed facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the vibration direction.

[0120] The elastic support members 81, 82 are attached to the movable body 20 such that their inner circumferential portions 802 are fitted into both ends (spring fixing portions 224, 244) that are separated in the axial direction (vibration direction) of the movable body 20, and the outer circumferential fixing portion 806 side protrudes radially outward (radially).

[0121] The elastic support parts 81, 82 support the movable body 20 so as not to come into contact with the fixed body 50 when the movable body 20 is not vibrating and when it is vibrating. Even if the elastic support parts 81, 82 come into contact with the inner circumferential surface 522a of the bobbin main body part 522 of the movable body 20 when the movable body 20 is driven (vibrating), the magnetic circuit, specifically, the coils 61, 62 are not damaged. The elastic support parts 81, 82 may be configured with any material as long as they elastically support the movable body 20 so as to be freely movable. In this embodiment, the elastic support parts 81, 82 are the same members having the same configuration.

[0122] The elastic support parts 81 and 82 are each a plurality of flat leaf springs. The movable body 20 may have three or more leaf springs as the plurality of elastic support parts 81 and 82. The plurality of leaf springs are attached along a direction perpendicular to the vibration direction.

[0123] The elastic support parts 81, 82, which are leaf springs, have a shape in which an annular inner circumferential part 802, which is the inner spring end, and an outer circumferential fixed part 806, which is the outer spring end, are joined by a deforming arm 804 that is an arc-shaped in a plan view and elastically deforms. The deforming arm 804 and the outer circumferential fixed part 806 form the outer circumferential part 807 of each of the elastic support parts 81, 82. The deformation of the deforming arm 804 causes the inner circumferential part 802 and the outer circumferential fixed part 806 to be relatively displaced in the axial direction.

[0124] The elastic support portions 81 and 82 have an outer peripheral fixed portion 806 joined to the fixed body 50 and an inner peripheral portion 802 joined to the movable body 20 .

[0125] In this embodiment, the leaf springs serving as elastic support members 81 and 82 are formed by sheet metal processing using stainless steel plate, and more specifically, are thin, flat, disk-shaped spiral springs. Because elastic support members 81 and 82 are flat, it is possible to improve positional accuracy, i.e., improve processing accuracy, compared to conical springs.

[0126] In this embodiment, the multiple elastic support members 81, 82 are oriented in the same spiral direction, and one end of each of them, the outer periphery fixed portion 806, is fixed to the fixed body 50, and the other end of them, the inner periphery portion 802, is fixed to the movable body 20.

[0127] In this manner, in this embodiment, a plurality of spiral leaf springs are used as the elastic support parts 81, 82, and are attached to both ends of the movable body 20 that are spaced apart in the vibration direction, thereby elastically supporting the movable body 20 with respect to the fixed body 50. As a result, when the amount of movement of the movable body 20 increases, the movable body moves in a translational direction (here, a direction on a plane perpendicular to the vibration direction) while rotating slightly. If the spiral directions of the plurality of leaf springs are opposite to each other, the plurality of leaf springs will move in a buckling direction or a pulling direction relative to each other, preventing smooth movement.

[0128] In this embodiment, the elastic support members 81, 82 are fixed to the movable body 20 so that the spiral directions are the same. Therefore, even if the amount of movement of the movable body 20 increases, the elastic support members 81, 82 can move smoothly, i.e., deform, resulting in a larger amplitude and increasing the vibration output. However, depending on the desired vibration range of the movable body 20, the multiple elastic support parts 81, 82 may be designed so that their spiral directions are opposite to each other.

[0129] The plate-like elastic support parts 81, 82 are disposed with respect to the movable body 20 such that the inner circumferential parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 overlap the spring fixing parts 224, 244 that constitute the end parts of the movable body 20 in the vibration direction. As described above, the inner circumferential parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 are fixed by being clamped between the flanges 264, 284 of the fixing pins 26, 28 and the spring fixing parts 224, 244.

[0130] On the other hand, the outer circumferential fixing portion 806 of the upper elastic support portion 81 is fixed, at the radially outer side, to the upper end portion of the coil bobbin portion 52. Specifically, the outer circumferential fixing portion 806 of the elastic support portion 81 is fixed to a portion of the annular upper end surface 527a of the upper flange portion 527 forming the upper end portion of the coil bobbin portion 52, avoiding the movable range forming portion 54.

[0131] The outer circumferential fixing portion 806 of the elastic support portion 81 is sandwiched and fixed between the annular upper end surface 527a of the flange portion 527 and the pressing portion 128 of the lid portion 12 within the case 10. Note that the upper end surface 527a is an end surface on the upper side (one side) of the upper flange portion 527 of the upper side (one side) of the portion avoiding the movable range forming portion 54.

[0132] Moreover, the outer circumferential fixing portion 806 of the lower elastic support portion 82 is fixed, at the radially outer side, to the lower end portion of the coil bobbin portion 52. Specifically, the outer circumferential fixing portion 806 of the elastic support portion 82 is fixed to a portion of the annular lower end surface 528a of the lower flange portion 528 that forms the lower end portion of the coil bobbin portion 52, avoiding the movable range forming portion 54.

[0133] The outer circumferential fixing portion 806 of the elastic support portion 82 is fixed within the case 10 by being sandwiched between the annular lower end surface 528a of the flange portion 528 and a step portion 118 provided on the peripheral edge portion of the bottom portion 114.

[0134] In this manner, the elastic support parts 81, 82 are sandwiched between the opening end faces 527a, 528a of the upper and lower opening edge parts of the coil bobbin part 52 and the lid part 12 and the bottom part 114 of the case 10 in a state of being arranged in a direction perpendicular to the vibration direction. In addition, the movable body 20 is accommodated in the coil bobbin part 52 around which the coils 61, 62 are wound, and the inner peripheral parts 802 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 are fixed to the upper and lower ends of the movable body 20, and the outer peripheral fixing parts 806 of the elastic support parts 81, 82 are fixed to the upper end of the coil bobbin part 52. As a result, the drive unit 13 is configured with a defined positional relationship between the coils 61, 62 and the movable body 20, which makes it easy to arrange the drive unit 13 in the case 10.

[0135] In this embodiment, the elastic support members 81 and 82 are provided with a damping section (damper) 72 attached to the deforming arm 804 or to the deforming arm 804 and the outer periphery fixed section 806 as a damping means for damping vibrations generated in the elastic support member 81. The damping means suppresses resonance peaks in the elastic support member 81 and generates stable vibrations over a wide range.

[0136] The damping portion 72 of the present embodiment is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an elastomer having a T-shaped cross section, and has a plate-shaped flange 722 and a push-in portion 724 protruding from the center of the flange 722.

[0137] The damping portion 72 is positioned by inserting the pushing portion 724 between the spring portions from one side of the elastic support portion 81 (82), specifically between the outer periphery fixing portion 806 and the deformable arm 804, and bridging the flange 722 between the spring portions. The mounting portion 73 is made of a thermosetting resin or an adhesive that does not adhere to the elastic support portion 81 (82), and is fixed to the pushing portion 724 on the back side of the elastic support portion 81 (82) in a shape that does not allow the pushing portion 724 to come off between the spring portions. In Figs. 2, 12 to 14, 20, and 34, the damping portion 72 is illustrated as a single member that is fixed in a state in which the elastic support portion 81 (82) is sandwiched from both sides via the pushing portion 724. The damping portion 72 does not have to be an elastomer as long as it is made of a material having a damping function, and may be made of a thermosetting resin, an adhesive, or the like. The damping portion 72 may be configured in any manner so long as it is shaped to sandwich the elastic support portion 81 (82) from both sides between a plate-shaped flange and a separate member having the same function as the flange and joined at a push-in portion.

[0138] With this configuration, the damping section 72 damps sharp spring resonance in the elastic support section 81 (82) and prevents the vibration near the resonance frequency from becoming significantly large, which causes a large difference in vibration due to frequency. As a result, the movable body 20 can suppress the resonance peak before plastic deformation and generate stable vibration over a wide range without contacting the lid section 12 and the bottom section 114, and no abnormal noise is generated due to contact. The damping section 72 may be formed of any shape, material, etc., as long as it prevents the generation of sharp vibration in the elastic support section 81 (82).

[0139] <Case 10> Fig. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the case body, and Fig. 11 is a view of the lid portion as seen from the back side. As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 10 and 11, case 10 has a cylindrical case body 11 with a bottom having a peripheral wall portion 112 and a bottom portion 114, and a lid portion 12 that closes an opening portion 115 of case body 11.

[0140] The lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 constitute the top surface portion 122 and the bottom surface portion (bottom portion 114) of the vibration actuator 1 in this embodiment, and are disposed opposite the movable body 20 of the drive unit 13 at a predetermined distance in the vibration direction of the movable body 20. The lid portion 12 is provided hanging down from a part of the outer periphery of the top surface portion 122, and has a hanging portion 124 that engages with the notch 102 of the case body 11.

[0141] The lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 each restrict the range of movement of the movable body 20. The lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 function as a movement range restricting portion that serves as a hard stop for the movable body 20 (limiting the range of movement).

[0142] Specifically, the lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 regulate the movable range formed by the movable range forming portion 54. That is, the lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 regulate the length from the lid portion 12 and the bottom portion 114 to the edges (open end faces 527a, 528a of the upper and lower flange portions 527, 528) of the upper and lower ends of the drive unit 13 (coil bobbin portion 52). As a result, the hollow of the case 10 forms a movable body space, which is a space in which the movable body 20 moves.

[0143] In this way, the movable body space is set to a length within a range in which the elastic support parts 81 and 82 are not plastically deformed. Therefore, even if a force exceeding the movable range is applied to the movable body 20, the elastic support parts 81 and 82 contact the fixed body 50 (at least one of the lid part 12 and the bottom part 114) without being plastically deformed, so that the elastic support parts 81 and 82 are not damaged and reliability can be improved.

[0144] The cover 12 and the bottom 114 are provided with vent holes 126, 116, respectively, which penetrate therethrough. The vent holes 126, 116 each discharge compressed air generated by the reciprocating vibration of the movable body 20 inside the case 10 to the outside.

[0145] Fig. 26 is an external perspective view of a vibration actuator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, seen from the cut-out side. Also, Fig. 27 is an external perspective view of the vibration actuator with a cable W connected to the terminal lashing part 53, and Fig. 28 is an enlarged view of the connection between the terminal lashing part 53 and the cable W shown in Fig. 27.

[0146] As shown in FIG. 26, terminal lead-out portion 90 and hanging portion 124 of coil bobbin portion 52 are disposed in cutout 102 of case 10, and cutout 102 is closed by terminal lead-out portion 90 and hanging portion 124. As a result, the terminal entanglement portion 53 is disposed in a state where it protrudes outward from the notch 102 of the case 10, and connection to an external device can be easily made via the terminal entanglement portion 53.

[0147] In addition, a protrusion 119 for fixing the wiring is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the case 10. As shown in Fig. 27 and Fig. 28, the protrusion 119 for fixing the wiring is configured to be able to engage with the cable W connected to the terminal lashing part 53, and engages and holds the cable W. As a result, the end Wa of the cable W fixed by the protrusion 119 can be connected to the terminal lashing part 53 so as to be electrically connected with high precision.

[0148] It is preferable that the protrusion 119 is formed in the vicinity of the opening 582 into which the terminal pull-out portion 90 fits. This allows the cable W to be held in the vicinity of the terminal entangling portion 53, facilitating the operation of connecting the cable W to the terminal entangling portion 53.

[0149] 29, the protrusion 119 has a protruding piece 1192 that protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the case 10, and a vertical piece 1194 that protrudes from the tip of the protruding piece 1192 in a direction intersecting the protruding piece 1192, in this case, perpendicularly. The protruding piece 1192 and the vertical piece 1194, together with the outer circumferential surface, form a groove 1190 in which wiring can be performed, and the cable W is engaged by being fitted into this groove 1190 to fix the cable W.

[0150] In this embodiment, the protrusion 119 is formed by connecting a vertical piece 1194 from the tip of a protruding piece 1192 to form a T-shaped cross section. This allows the protrusion 119 to have two grooves 1190 sandwiching the protruding piece 1192. Therefore, the two wires of the cable W can be fitted and held in the grooves 1190, respectively, stabilizing the process and easily holding the wires themselves.

[0151] It is sufficient that the protrusion 119 is capable of holding the cable W so that the end Wa of the cable W can be connected to the terminal binding portion 53 with high electrical continuity. For example, the protrusion 119A for fixing the wiring shown in Fig. 30 may be configured to have a vertical piece 1198 that is joined perpendicularly to the tip of a protrusion piece 1196 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the case 10 and has an L-shaped cross section together with the protrusion piece 1196.

[0152] In protrusion 119A, groove 1190A is formed by protruding piece 1196, the outer circumferential surface, and vertical piece 1198. Protrusion 119A can hold two wires of cable W together in groove 1190A, and can obtain the same effect as T-shaped protrusion 119. It is preferable that the end Wa of the cable W is configured so as to be easily connectable to the terminal binding portion 53.

[0153] FIG. 31 shows an end Wa of a cable W. In this embodiment, the end Wa of the cable W is formed in a U-shape so as to be easily engaged with the pin-shaped terminal binding portion 53. Also, as shown in Fig. 32, the end Wa1 of the cable W may be formed in a ring shape with a portion cut out.

[0154] The end Wa having such a shape can be hooked and held by the terminal binding part 53, and soldering can be performed in the hooked state, i.e., in the positioned state. Therefore, the end Wa can be stably and reliably fixed to the terminal binding part 53 in a conductive state, and the conductive process can be easily performed.

[0155] <Operation of vibration actuator 1> The operation of the vibration actuator 1 will be described using as an example a case in which the magnet 30 is magnetized so that the front surface 30a on one side of the magnetization direction (the upper side in this embodiment) is an N pole and the back surface 30b on the other side of the magnetization direction (the lower side in this embodiment) is an S pole.

[0156] In vibration actuator 1, movable body 20 is considered to correspond to the mass part in a vibration model of a spring-mass system, so when resonance is sharp (has a steep peak), the steep peak is suppressed by damping the vibration. By damping the vibration, the resonance becomes less steep, and the maximum amplitude value and maximum movement amount of movable body 20 at resonance do not vary, and vibration with an appropriate and stable maximum movement amount is output.

[0157] In the vibration actuator 1, a magnetic circuit as shown in Fig. 12 is formed. Furthermore, in the vibration actuator 1, the coils 61, 62 are arranged so that their coil axes are perpendicular to the magnetic flux of the movable body cores 41, 42 which sandwich the magnet 30 in the vibration direction.

[0158] Specifically, a magnetic flux flow mf is formed, which is emitted from the surface 30a side of the magnet 30, radiated from the movable body core 41 toward the coil 61 side, passes through the electromagnetic shield portion 58, and enters the magnet 30 from the movable body core 42 on the lower side of the magnet 30 via the coil 62.

[0159] Therefore, when electricity is applied as shown in FIG. 12, the magnetic field of magnet 30 interacts with the current flowing through coils 61 and 62, generating a Lorentz force in the -f direction in coils 61 and 62 according to Fleming's left-hand rule.

[0160] The Lorentz force in the -f direction is perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field and the direction of the current flowing through coils 61 and 62. Since coils 61 and 62 are fixed to fixed body 50 (coil bobbin portion 52), in accordance with the law of action and reaction, a force opposite to the Lorentz force in the -f direction is generated as a thrust in the F direction in movable body 20 having magnet 30. As a result, movable body 20 having magnet 30 moves in the F direction, that is, toward lid portion 12 (top surface portion 122 of lid portion 12) (see FIG. 13).

[0161] Furthermore, when the current flow direction of coils 61, 62 is switched to the opposite direction and current is passed through coils 61, 62, a Lorentz force is generated in the opposite direction, that is, in the F direction. Due to the generation of this Lorentz force in the F direction, in accordance with the law of action and reaction, a force opposite to this Lorentz force in the F direction is generated as a thrust (thrust in the -F direction) in movable body 20, and movable body 20 moves in the -F direction, that is, toward bottom 114 of fixed body 50 (see FIG. 14).

[0162] When vibration actuator 1 is not energized and not driven (not vibrating), a magnetic attractive force acts between magnet 30 and electromagnetic shield portion 58, functioning as a magnetic spring. The magnetic attractive force generated between magnet 30 and electromagnetic shield portion 58 and the restoring forces of elastic support portions 81, 82 that attempt to return to their original shapes cause movable body 20 to return to its original position.

[0163] The vibration actuator 1 comprises a fixed body 50 having coils 61, 62, and a movable body 20 having a magnet 30 arranged radially inside the coils 61, 62 and magnetized in the axial direction of the coils 61, 62. In addition, the vibration actuator 1 comprises flat elastic support members 81, 82 that elastically hold the movable body 20 movably in the vibration direction, which is the coil axial direction.

[0164] In addition, the coils 61, 62 are arranged on the outer periphery of the bobbin main body portion 522 of the coil bobbin portion 52, and the outer periphery 20a of the movable body 20 is arranged on the inner periphery of the bobbin main body portion 522 with a gap therebetween, and the outer periphery of the coils 61, 62 is surrounded by the electromagnetic shield portion 58.

[0165] The elastic support portions 81 and 82 support the movable body 20 at a predetermined distance from the inner peripheral surface 522a of the bobbin main body portion 522 so as not to come into contact with the movable body 20 when the movable body 20 is not vibrating or when the movable body 20 is vibrating.

[0166] Also, since the coils 61, 62 are arranged on the outer periphery of the bobbin body 522, that is, the coils 61, 62 are wound around the outer periphery of the bobbin body 522, costs can be reduced compared to when an air-core coil is used. Furthermore, the vibration actuator 1 is structured so that the drive unit 13 is housed inside the case 10, and the outer periphery of the peripheral wall 112 of the case 10 can be made smooth. This makes it possible to reliably and easily attach a cushioning material such as a sponge between the vibration actuator 1 and the mounting location when the vibration actuator 1 is attached to an electronic device.

[0167] The coils 61, 62 are disposed on the outer periphery of the coil bobbin portion 52, which is a coil holding portion disposed within the case 10. Therefore, in a configuration in which the coils 61, 62 are disposed on the inner periphery of the coil holding portion, there is no need to carry out the work of bringing out the ends of the coil wires to the outside in order to connect to an external device during assembly.

[0168] Furthermore, since the vibration actuator 1 is constructed by disposing the drive unit 13 inside the case 10, the elastic support parts 81, 82, which require high dimensional accuracy, can be fixed by assembling them to the coil bobbin part 52. This allows the arrangement of the movable body 20, including the fixing of the elastic support parts 81, 82, to be determined based on the coil bobbin part 52, thereby improving the accuracy of the vibration generation direction as a product. Specifically, simply by increasing the dimensional accuracy of the coil bobbin part 52, which is formed as a single component from, for example, resin, it is possible to easily position the coils 61, 62 and the movable body 20 (magnet 30) attached via the elastic support parts 81, 82 in an accurate positional relationship.

[0169] Furthermore, by attaching the electromagnetic shielding part 58 to the coil bobbin part 52 arranged inside the case 10 so as to surround the coils 61, 62, the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall part 112 of the case 10 becomes a smooth surface made of resin with good surface accuracy. This improves the bonding state of the member for attaching the cushioning material, for example, double-sided tape, and increases the bonding strength.

[0170] Furthermore, since the coil bobbin portion 52 is provided with the terminal entangling portion 53 protruding outward, entangling and soldering of the coil wire of the coil can be facilitated, and the coils 61, 62 can be easily connected to an external device.

[0171] Moreover, case 10 is formed of a bottomed cylindrical, i.e., cup-shaped, case body 11 and lid 12. This allows for a reduction in the number of parts and improved assembly as well as improved impact resistance compared to a configuration in which peripheral wall 112 and bottom 114 are separate.

[0172] Lid 12 is fixed to opening 115 of cup-shaped case body 11 by welding. As shown in Fig. 34, after coil bobbin 52 to which movable body 20 is attached via elastic support members 81 and 82 is accommodated in case body 11, lid 12 is fitted into opening 115 of case body 11 so as to close opening 115. Then, opening end 115a of opening 115 extending around lid 12 and onto lid 12 is crimped and bent, whereby lid 12 is fixed to case body 11.

[0173] Moreover, it is preferable that the cable W is fixed to these protrusions 119, 119A by adhesive. For example, as shown in Fig. 33, in the protrusion 119, the cable W is fixed by adhesive with the end Wa connected to the terminal binding portion 53. The region R1 shown in Fig. 33 indicates the adhesive region where the adhesive is applied.

[0174] By adhering the cable W at the protrusion 119, even if an external force is applied to the cable W, the cable W will not come off the terminal binding portion 53, thereby reducing the risk of malfunctions such as breakage.

[0175] In addition, compared to adhesive fixing, the fixing strength is improved and impact resistance can be increased. Furthermore, the process is simple and does not require complicated steps from coating to curing, so the tact time can be reduced.

[0176] Furthermore, in the vibration actuator 1, the movable body 20 is supported with a gap between the bobbin main body 522 and the fixed body 50 when it is not moving (not vibrating) and when it is moving (i.e., vibrating). This prevents the movable body 20 from coming into contact with the fixed body 50 while it is moving, i.e., vibrating.

[0177] Moreover, only when an impact is applied to the vibration actuator 1 itself, such as when the vibration actuator 1 is dropped, does the movable body 20 come into contact with the inner circumferential surface 522a of the bobbin body 522. In other words, only when an impact is applied, the movable body 20 and the bobbin body 522 move relatively within the range between the outer circumferential surface 20a of the movable body 20 and the inner circumferential surface 522a of the bobbin body 522, and the movable body 20 does not come into contact with the coils 61, 62.

[0178] Thus, according to the vibration actuator 1, unlike conventional vibration actuators, when an impact is applied to the vibration actuator, the movable body 20 is displaced and does not come into contact with the inner wall of the fixed body, thereby preventing the movable body 20 from causing an impact. In other words, the coils 61, 62 of the fixed body 50 are not damaged by an impact. Furthermore, the elastic support parts 81, 82 themselves are not deformed by an impact, and problems such as the movable body 20 becoming unable to move due to deformation of the elastic support parts 81, 82 can be eliminated.

[0179] In this way, the vibration actuator 1 has shock resistance and can output a suitable bodily sensation vibration with high vibration expression.

[0180] The vibration actuator 1 is driven by an AC wave input to the coils 61, 62 from a power supply unit (for example, the drive control unit 203 shown in Figs. 35 and 36). In other words, the current flow direction of the coils 61, 62 switches periodically, and a thrust in the F direction on the top surface 122 side of the lid 12 and a thrust in the -F direction on the bottom surface 114 side act alternately on the movable body 20. This causes the movable body 20 to vibrate in a vibration direction (the direction of the winding axis of the coils 61, 62 that is perpendicular to the radial direction of the coils 61, 62, or the magnetization direction of the magnet 30).

[0181] The following is a brief explanation of the driving principle of the vibration actuator 1. In the vibration actuator 1 of this embodiment, the mass of the movable body 20 is m [kg], the spring constant of the springs (elastic support members 81 and 82 which are springs) is K sp In this case, the movable body 20 has a resonance frequency F r Vibrates at [Hz].

[0182]

number

[0183] Since the movable body 20 is considered to constitute a mass part in a vibration model of a spring-mass system, the resonance frequency F of the movable body 20 is applied to the coils 61 and 62. r When an AC wave having a frequency equal to F is input, the movable body 20 enters a resonant state. r By inputting an AC wave having a frequency substantially equal to that of the movable body 20, the movable body 20 can be vibrated efficiently.

[0184] Below are equations of motion and circuit equations that show the driving principle of the vibration actuator 1. The vibration actuator 1 is driven based on the equation of motion shown in the following equation (2) and the circuit equation shown in the following equation (3).

[0185]

number

[0186]

number

[0187] That is, the mass m [kg], the displacement x(t) [m], and the thrust constant K f [N / A], current i(t) [A], spring constant K sp [N / m], damping coefficient D [N / (m / s)], etc. can be changed as appropriate within the range that satisfies formula (2). In addition, voltage e(t) [V], resistance R [Ω], inductance L [H], back electromotive force constant K e [V / (rad / s)] can be changed as appropriate within the range that satisfies formula (3).

[0188] In this way, in the vibration actuator 1, the mass m of the movable body 20 and the spring constant K sp The resonant frequency F is determined by r When the coils 61 and 62 are energized with an AC wave corresponding to the above, a large vibration output can be efficiently obtained.

[0189] Furthermore, the vibration actuator 1 satisfies equations (2) and (3) and is driven by a resonance phenomenon using the resonance frequency shown in equation (1). As a result, in the vibration actuator 1, the only power consumed in a steady state is the loss due to the damping section 72, and the actuator can be driven with low power consumption, that is, the movable body 20 can be vibrated in a linear reciprocating manner with low power consumption. Furthermore, by increasing the damping coefficient D, vibrations can be generated over a wide frequency range.

[0190] According to this embodiment, plate-shaped elastic support members 81, 82 are arranged above and below (in the vibration direction) the movable body 20, so that the movable body 20 can be stably driven in the vertical direction, and at the same time, the magnetic flux of the coils 61, 62 can be efficiently distributed from the upper and lower elastic support members 81, 82 of the magnet 30. This makes it possible for the vibration actuator 1 to achieve high-output vibration.

[0191] Furthermore, the fixed body 50 has a coil bobbin portion 52 that serves both to hold the coils 61, 62 and to protect the coils 61, 62 from the movable body 20. As a result, even if the fixed body 50 receives an impact, it can withstand the impact and does not cause damage such as deformation to the elastic support portions 81, 82. Furthermore, since the impact is transmitted to the coils 61, 62 via the resin bobbin main body portion 522, damage can be suppressed, resulting in a vibration actuator 1 with high reliability. In this way, the vibration actuator 1 can be made small at low cost, is shock resistant, and generates a suitable bodily vibration with high output.

[0192] (electronic equipment) Figures 35 and 36 are diagrams showing an example of a mounting form of the vibration actuator 1. Figure 35 shows an example in which the vibration actuator 1 is mounted on a game controller GC, and Figure 36 shows an example in which the vibration actuator 1 is mounted on a mobile terminal M.

[0193] The game controller GC is connected to the game console via wireless communication, for example, and is used by the user by grasping or holding it. The game controller GC here has a rectangular plate shape, and is operated by the user grasping the left and right sides of the game controller GC with both hands.

[0194] The game controller GC notifies the user of commands from the game machine main unit by vibration. Although not shown, the game controller GC also has functions other than command notification, such as an input operation unit for the game machine main unit.

[0195] The mobile terminal M is, for example, a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, etc. The mobile terminal M notifies the user of an incoming call from an external communication device by vibration, and realizes each function of the mobile terminal M (for example, a function that provides a sense of operation and a sense of realism).

[0196] 35 and 36, the game controller GC and the mobile terminal M each have a communication unit 201, a processing unit 202, a drive control unit 203, and vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206 which are vibration actuators 1 serving as drive units. Note that a plurality of vibration actuators 204, 205 are implemented in the game controller GC.

[0197] In the game controller GC and the mobile terminal M, the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206 are preferably mounted so that, for example, the main surface of the terminal and a surface perpendicular to the vibration direction of the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206, in this case the bottom surface of the bottom part 114, are parallel. The main surface of the terminal is the surface that contacts the user's body surface, and in this embodiment, means the vibration transmission surface that contacts the user's body surface and transmits vibration. Note that the main surface of the terminal and the bottom surface of the bottom part 114 of the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206 may be arranged so as to be perpendicular to each other.

[0198] Specifically, in the game controller GC, vibration actuators 204 and 205 are mounted so that the vibration direction is perpendicular to the surface that the operating user's fingertips, finger pads, or hand contacts, or the surface on which the operation unit is provided. In addition, in the case of the portable terminal M, vibration actuator 206 is mounted so that the vibration direction is perpendicular to the display screen (touch panel surface). As a result, vibrations in a direction perpendicular to the main surfaces of the game controller GC and the portable terminal M are transmitted to the user.

[0199] The communication unit 201 is connected to an external communication device via wireless communication, receives a signal from the communication device, and outputs it to the processing unit 202. In the case of a game controller GC, the external communication device is a game console main unit as an information communication terminal, and communication is performed according to a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). In the case of a mobile terminal M, the external communication device is, for example, a base station, and communication is performed according to a mobile communication standard.

[0200] The processing unit 202 converts the input signal into a drive signal for driving the vibration actuators 204, 205, 206 using a conversion circuit unit (not shown), and outputs the drive signal to the drive control unit 203. In the mobile terminal M, the processing unit 202 generates a drive signal based on the signal input from the communication unit 201 as well as signals input from various functional units (not shown, for example, an operation unit such as a touch panel).

[0201] The drive control unit 203 is connected to the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206, and is equipped with circuits for driving the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206. The drive control unit 203 supplies drive signals to the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206.

[0202] The vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206 are driven in accordance with a drive signal from the drive control unit 203. Specifically, in the vibration actuators 204, 205, and 206, the movable body 20 vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the main surfaces of the game controller GC and the mobile terminal M.

[0203] The movable body 20 may be configured to come into contact with the top surface 122 or the bottom surface 114 of the lid 12 via a damper every time it vibrates. In this case, an impact on the top surface 122 or the bottom surface 114 of the lid 12 caused by the vibration of the movable body 20, that is, an impact on the housing, is directly transmitted to the user as vibration. In particular, since the game controller GC is equipped with a plurality of vibration actuators 204, 205, one or both of the plurality of vibration actuators 204, 205 can be simultaneously driven according to an input drive signal.

[0204] The vibrations perpendicular to the body surface are transmitted to the body surface of the user in contact with the game controller GC or the mobile terminal M, so that the user can be given a sufficient bodily sensation. In the game controller GC, the bodily sensation of the vibration can be given to the user by one or both of the vibration actuators 204, 205, and highly expressive vibrations can be given, such as at least selectively giving strong and weak vibrations.

[0205] The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0206] The vibration actuator according to the present invention is also suitable for application to mobile devices (for example, mobile information terminals such as tablet PCs, mobile game terminals, and wearable terminals worn by the user) other than the game controller GC and the mobile terminal M. The vibration actuator 1 of this embodiment can also be used in electric beauty appliances such as facial massagers that require vibration, in addition to the mobile devices described above. [Industrial Applicability]

[0207] The vibration actuator of the present invention can be made compact at low cost, is impact resistant, and can provide the user with a suitable bodily vibration with high output, making it useful for incorporation into electronic devices such as game console terminals or mobile terminals. [Explanation of symbols]

[0208] 1. Vibration Actuator 9. Wiring section 10 Cases 11 Case body 12 Lid 13, 13A Drive unit 20 Movable body 20a Outer surface 30 Magnet 30a surface 30b back side 41, 42 Movable core 50 Fixed body 52, 52A Coil bobbin part (coil holding part) 52b, 52c Coil mounting section 53, 53-1, 53-2 Terminal tying part (coil connection part) 54 Movable range forming part (protrusion) 55 Connecting groove (groove) 58, 58A Electromagnetic shielding section 61 Coil (1st coil) 62 Coil (Second coil) 72 Damping section 73 Mounting part 81, 82 Elastic support part 90 Terminal drawer 92, 92-1, 92-2 Coil guide 93 Slope 112 Peripheral wall section 114 Bottom 115 Opening 116, 126 Ventilation holes 118 Step 119, 119A protrusion 122 Top section 124 Drooping part 128 Pressing part 201 Communications Department 202 Processing section 203 Drive control unit 204, 205, 206 Vibration actuator 222, 242 joint 224, 244 Spring fixing part 522 Bobbin body (coil protection wall) 522a Inner surface 526 Central flange section (central wall section) 526a Outer periphery 527, 528 Flange 527a Top surface 528a Lower end surface 529 Positioning engagement part 589 Engaged part 802 Inner circumference 804 Transformable Arm 806 Peripheral fixed part 807 Outer periphery 808 Positioning groove 1192, 1196 Projecting piece 1194, 1198 vertical piece

Claims

1. A movable body including a disk-shaped magnet, a pair of magnetic cores fixed to the front and back surfaces of the disk-shaped magnet, and a pair of spring stoppers connected to the magnetic cores; A pair of elastic support parts, each of which is a flat leaf spring connected to the spring stop part and extending in a radial direction, and which supports the movable body, the pair of elastic support parts being provided with a vibration damping member; a ring-shaped protective wall portion disposed on the outer periphery of the movable body, a pair of coils wound in an annular shape around the outer periphery of the protective wall portion, a central wall portion extending from the protective wall portion to the outer periphery so as to separate the pair of coils at the position of the vibration center of the movable body in the axial direction and having a connection portion at its outer periphery end portion to which wiring for supplying power to the coils is connected, and a ring-shaped magnetic shield disposed on the outer periphery of the pair of coils, which connects the elastic support portion and houses the movable body in a state in which it can vibrate in the axial direction, and the magnetic shield has a shield opening portion that opens at the center position of its length in the axial direction and in which the connection portion is disposed; a resin case that includes a case opening for the wiring in a peripheral wall portion, closes an upper surface and a lower surface of the peripheral wall portion, and houses the fixed body; The lid portion of the resin case has a height that ensures a movable space that is a movable range of the movable body, while contacting the movable body when the elastic support portion is extended, thereby limiting the movable range of the movable body. Vibration actuator.

2. The case opening is provided at a position corresponding to the shield opening.

2. The vibration actuator according to claim 1.

3. the resin case includes a hanging portion on the lid portion that closes the peripheral wall portion, and a notch portion on the peripheral wall portion that engages with the hanging portion, The case opening communicates with the notch.

2. The vibration actuator according to claim 1.

4. The lid of the resin case has an air hole.

2. The vibration actuator according to claim 1.

5. The resin case has a wiring fixing portion on the peripheral wall portion for fixing the wiring.

2. The vibration actuator according to claim 1.

6. A vibration actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is mounted on the device. electronic equipment.

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