Actuator With Separated Outer Axis Driver Unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional MEMS actuators face challenges with size, weight, driving force, resonance frequency, and vibration issues due to the dual functionality of the outer movable unit, which affects their performance in raster scanning operations.
Innovation Solution
The actuator design separates the outer axis driver unit from the support, allowing it to rotate independently and reducing the size and weight of rotatable components, while the inner axis driver unit provides rotational force, thereby increasing resonance frequency and driving force capability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the outer movable unit is configured to both support the driven unit and rotate itself using a driver coil, then the actuator can provide biaxial drive, but the size and weight of the actuator increase
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is divided into separate functional units: the outer movable unit serves only as a support structure, while a distinct outer axis driver unit provides rotation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall weight while maintaining biaxial drive capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver coil is extracted from the outer movable unit and placed in a separate outer axis driver unit. This extraction removes the weight of the coil from the rotating mass, reducing the moment of inertia and allowing faster rotation while maintaining the support function of the outer movable unit.
2Device complexity
If the outer movable unit has dual functionality to support and rotate, then the actuator structure is compact, but the resonance frequency of the outer movable unit cannot be sufficiently increased
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the support function (outer movable unit) from the rotation function (outer axis driver unit), the outer movable unit can be designed with higher stiffness and lower mass moment of inertia, thereby increasing its resonance frequency without compromising structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The resonance frequency is increased by changing the physical parameters of the outer movable unit, specifically reducing its mass and increasing its stiffness through the separate driver unit configuration, allowing it to operate at higher frequencies suitable for raster scanning.
3Speed
If the outer movable unit uses a driver coil for rotation, then the actuator can achieve rotation around the outer axis, but insufficient driving force is provided for non-resonant drive operation
Solution Approach 1:
The driver coil is taken out from the outer movable unit and placed in a separate outer axis driver unit that is fixed to the support. This allows the coil to be larger and more powerful without increasing the rotating mass, providing sufficient driving force for non-resonant operations while maintaining fast response capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables high-performance drive operations, including raster scanning, with reduced unwanted vibrations and improved stability by decoupling the support and rotation functions, resulting in enhanced driving force and resonance frequency.
Implementation Method 1
a first coil unit configured to rotate around the first axis, and a first magnetic field applying unit configured to generate a magnetic field in a single direction so as to apply, to the first coil unit, a rotational force that rotates the first coil unit around the first axis
Data Source
AI summary
An actuator according to the present invention includes a support 20 that supports a driven unit 10, and outer axis driver units DSa, DSb that are separate and independent from the support 20 and configured to rotate the support 20. This configuration allows providing a sufficient rotational driving force around the outer, second axis AX2 by reducing size and weight of the related rotatable components and thus by reducing rotational moments thereof, and also allows increasing the resonance frequency of the support 20. As such, the actuator according to this embodiment provides a high-performance drive operation such as a raster scanning operation, for example.