Vibration Generator Spring Attachment for Miniaturization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vibration generators face challenges in miniaturization and thinness due to errors in spring attachment, which affect vibration characteristics and manufacturing ease, especially when using a thick and short spring configuration with central yoke fixation, and issues with nipping errors leading to inconsistent spring span and vibration force across a wide frequency band.
Innovation Solution
The vibration generator features a spring arrangement where the outer end portion is nipped by the housing and the inner end portion is fixed to the yoke's outer circumferential part, with projecting parts connecting them, allowing for elastic deformation and reducing the impact of assembly errors on spring span, using an elastomeric material for improved vibration characteristics and miniaturization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If the plate spring is fixed by being superposed at the center of the yoke, then the device can be made thinner, but the spring span becomes sensitive to attachment errors leading to inconsistent vibration characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The spring attachment structure transitions from central superposition to outer circumferential arrangement. The inner end portion of the spring is positioned at the outer circumferential part of the yoke rather than at the center, changing the spatial dimension of attachment. This dimensional change allows the spring span to be less sensitive to attachment errors while maintaining thin device profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The yoke's outer circumferential part is pre-formed with a nipping structure that automatically positions the spring's inner end portion. This preliminary structural preparation ensures that during assembly, the spring is correctly positioned without requiring high-precision manual alignment, thereby reducing attachment errors and maintaining consistent spring span.
2Length of moving object
If a short spring is selected to avoid device becoming large in size, then device miniaturization is achieved, but attachment errors directly become span errors affecting vibration characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The spring attachment moves from the central axis to the outer circumferential region of the yoke. This dimensional relocation allows the use of short springs without amplifying attachment errors into span errors, because the outer circumferential positioning provides a more stable reference that decouples attachment precision from span accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer circumferential part of the yoke acts as an intermediary structure between the spring and the housing. It provides a stable mounting interface that reduces the direct transmission of attachment errors to the spring span, thereby allowing short springs to be used effectively without compromising vibration characteristic consistency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an elastomeric material is used for the spring to increase attenuation rate, then wide band vibration is achieved, but the spring must be formed thick which conflicts with device thinness
Solution Approach 1:
The spring material is changed to elastomeric material, which fundamentally alters the physical parameters of the spring. This material change increases the attenuation rate, enabling wide band vibration characteristics. The parameter change in material composition allows the spring to achieve desired vibration performance while maintaining compatibility with thin device requirements.
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 ensures uniform vibration characteristics and simplifies manufacturing by isolating attachment errors from spring span errors, enabling a wider band of strong vibration force and device miniaturization while maintaining retentivity and accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a spring (6) elastically supporting the mover (4, 5, 7a, 7b) to allow the mover (4, 5, 7a, 7b) to vibrate in the central axis direction (C)
Implementation Method 2
the first mover generates vibrations and the second mover generates sounds by the operation of magnetic force generated by the magnet and electromagnetic force generated by a current flowing through the coil
Implementation Method 3
the first mover generates vibrations and the second mover generates sounds by the operation of magnetic force generated by the magnet and electromagnetic force generated by a current flowing through the coil
Implementation Method 4
a vibration generator is made up of a first mover composed of a magnet supported by a plate spring and a yoke, and a stator composed of a coil fixed to a housing, or a second mover composed of a coil fixed on a vibrating plate in place of the stator. Then, the first mover generates vibrations and the second mover generates sounds by the operation of magnetic force generated by the magnet and electromagnetic force generated by a current flowing through the coil. This kind of vibration generator has conventionally adopted a system of resonating a vibration system, composed of a plate spring and a mover, by electrifying the coil with almost the same frequency as the resonance frequency of the vibration system
Data Source
AI summary
A vibration generator 1 has an attachment structure of a spring by which the attachment error of the spring elastically supporting a mover composed of a magnet and a yoke does not become the error of the span of the spring to make it possible to improve the ease and yield of manufacture. The vibration generator 1 includes a mover which is composed of a magnet 5 and yokes 4, 7a and 7b, and a spring 6 which is composed of an integrally molded article made of an elastomeric material and elastically supports the mover to allow the mover to vibrate in the central axis direction C. The spring is arranged on the outside of a coil 3 in a radial direction thereof and extends along the radial direction. An outer end portion 6a in the radial direction is nipped by two parts 2 and 8 in the central axis direction to be fixed to the housings 2 and 8, and an inner end portion 6b in the radial direction is nipped by two parts 7a and 7b constituting the outer circumferential part of the yoke in the central axis direction to be fixed to the outer circumferential part of the yoke. The outer end portion and the inner end portion have projecting parts formed to project from an elastic deformation section 6c, connecting the outer end portion and the inner end portion to each other, into two directions along the central axis.