Inertial Drive Actuator Integrated Electrode Position Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inertial drive actuators face challenges in accurate assembly and position detection due to the separate components of the drive shaft and detection member requiring precise spacing and parallelization, which complicates the assembly process and reduces efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An inertial drive actuator design featuring a vibration substrate with moving bodies and electrodes, where the first and second electrodes are arranged to bridge divided regions, with an insulating film between them, allowing for electrostatic force control and position detection using capacitance, simplifying assembly and enhancing detection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the drive shaft and detection member are provided as separate members, then the actuator can be assembled with modular components, but it becomes difficult to arrange them with good accuracy in terms of spacing and parallelization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the drive shaft and detection member into a single integrated member that includes both the drive shaft portion and the detection member portion. This integration eliminates the need for separate assembly of these components, thereby ensuring precise spacing and parallelization between the electrodes without compromising modular assembly ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated member serves multiple functions: it acts as both the drive shaft for transmitting motion and the detection member for position detection. By combining these functions into one component, the patent achieves both modular assembly benefits and high positioning accuracy simultaneously.
2Ease of repair
If the drive shaft and detection member are provided as separate members, then component replacement and maintenance become easier, but assembly efficiency deteriorates due to difficulty in aligning their axes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the drive shaft and detection member into a single integrated member, which eliminates the time-consuming alignment process during assembly while maintaining the ability to replace or maintain the integrated unit as a whole, thus improving assembly efficiency without sacrificing ease of repair.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate drive shaft and detection member are used, then design flexibility is improved, but position detection accuracy deteriorates due to misalignment between movement and detection axes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the drive shaft and detection member into one component with coaxial arrangements, ensuring that the movement axis and detection axis are perfectly aligned. This integration maintains design flexibility while eliminating misalignment issues that would otherwise degrade position detection accuracy.
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 design facilitates easy assembly and high accuracy in position detection by eliminating misalignment issues between the movement and detection axes, achieving stable and precise position sensing with reduced complexity and size.
Implementation Method 1
applies a voltage to cause an electrostatic force to act between the first electrode and the second electrode thereby controlling a frictional force acting between the vibration substrate and the first and second moving bodies
Implementation Method 2
a position detection unit that detects the position of the moving body relative to the vibration substrate based on the capacitance of a portion in which the first electrode and the second electrode are opposed to each other
Implementation Method 3
movement unit that causes the vibration substrate to reciprocate relative to the fixed member, a first moving body and a second moving body provided on the vibration substrate that move with reciprocating movement of the vibration substrate by inertia
Implementation Method 4
When a drive pulse with a waveform having a moderate rise and a subsequent steep fall is applied to a piezoelectric element, which is a kind of electro-mechanical transducer, the piezoelectric element expands slowly at the moderate rise of the drive pulse and contracts quickly at the steep fall of the drive pulse
Data Source
AI summary
To provide an inertial drive actuator that is easy to assemble and achieves high accuracy in position detection, the actuator has a fixed member, a vibration substrate, a piezoelectric element (movement unit), first and second moving bodies that moves relative to the vibration substrate by inertia, a first electrode provided on the surface of each of the first and second moving bodies, a second electrode provided on a surface of the vibration substrate, an insulating film provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, a drive unit, and a position detection unit that detects the position of the moving body with respect to the vibration substrate based on capacitance of the portion in which the first electrode and the second electrode are opposed to each other.