Folded Beam Displacement Amplifier for Low Voltage Mirror Tilting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mirror apparatuses require high voltage and increased power consumption to achieve significant tilting, and thermal actuators struggle to tilt mirrors perpendicularly due to their plane-based drive mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A displacement enlarging mechanism where a beam is folded back across a substrate and driven by an actuator to tilt a mirror, allowing for increased tilting angles with reduced voltage and improved safety, utilizing a thermal actuator to generate drive force through heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If voltage to piezoelectric element is increased to increase mirror tilting amount, then tilting angle is improved, but power consumption increases and expensive power source is necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The beam is folded back in a direction crossing the upper surface of the substrate, transforming the actuator's linear displacement into amplified rotational motion. This dimensional transformation allows small linear movements to produce large angular tilting without increasing power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The beam is configured with a folded-back curved structure instead of a straight configuration. This curvature enables the beam to amplify the actuator's linear displacement into larger rotational movement at the mirror, achieving greater tilting angles with the same input voltage
2Use of energy by moving object
If thermal actuator is used to obtain great drive amount with low voltage, then power consumption is reduced, but mirror tilting in direction crossing the mirror surface becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The folded-back beam configuration transforms the thermal actuator's linear expansion in the plane into rotational motion that produces tilting in a direction crossing the mirror surface. This dimensional transformation enables perpendicular tilting capability while maintaining low power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The folded-back curved beam structure converts the planar expansion of the thermal actuator into out-of-plane rotational motion, enabling the mirror to tilt in directions crossing its surface while using low-power thermal actuation
3Length of moving object
If beam is folded back to increase tilting amount, then device complexity increases, but tilting performance is improved
Solution Approach 1:
The folded-back curved beam provides significant tilting amplification through its geometry alone, eliminating the need for complex mechanical linkages or multi-stage mechanisms. The curvature itself acts as the amplification mechanism, simplifying the overall device structure
Solution Approach 2:
By folding the beam back in a direction crossing the substrate surface, the design creates a compact three-dimensional structure that achieves large tilting angles without requiring additional components or complex mechanisms, maintaining device simplicity
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
The mechanism enables significant mirror tilting with low drive voltage, reducing power consumption and enhancing safety while allowing for perpendicular tilting, thus overcoming the limitations of traditional mirror apparatuses.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal actuator configured to heat a drive beam by power distribution to obtain drive force by thermal expansion of the drive beam
Data Source
AI summary
A displacement enlarging mechanism includes a substrate, a fixing portion provided at the substrate, an actuator coupled to the fixing portion, a beam extending in a direction substantially parallel to an upper surface of the substrate and having a base end side has been coupled to the actuator and coupled to the fixing portion and having folded back in a direction crossing the upper surface of the substrate, and a coupling portion and a mirror coupled to a folded-back portion formed by folding back of the beam. The actuator drives the beam to push or pull the beam from the base end side in the direction of the folded-back portion.