Ultrasonic motor and method of fabricating

• US 6,400,064 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2000
• Issued: 06/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Takashi, Nagaya, Toshiatsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Dougherty, Thomas M.
• Application Number:
  US09/680,449
• Time in Patent Office: 606 Days
• Field of Search: 310/358, 310/323.03
• US Class Current: 310/323.03
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/163 Motors with ring stator

Abstract

An ultrasonic motor capable of producing a high output and a method of fabricating the same are disclosed. The ultrasonic motor has a drive source 100 including a piezoelectric device 1 and a transducer 21, in close contact with each other, in which the product of the piezoelectric constant d31, the admittance Ym and the mechanical quality factor Qm measured under the conditions of the drive source 100 is not less than 63×10^{31 10} m·S/V.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic motor comprising an annular piezoelectric device, a transducer arranged on the piezoelectric device, a rotary member in pressure contact with the transducer, and means for applying two different types of high frequency AC voltages about 90 degrees apart in phase from each other to the piezoelectric device thereby to generate a traveling wave in the transducer and thus to frictionally drive the rotary member,

wherein the product of the piezoelectric constant d31 constituting the piezoelectric characteristic obtained by the resonance-antiresonance method for a drive source including the piezoelectric device and the transducer in close contact with each other, the admittance Ym and the mechanical quality factor Qm, i.e. d31×

Ym×

Qm≧

63×

10<sup>−

10</sup> m·

S/V.

2. An ultrasonic motor according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation of the piezoelectric characteristic according to the resonance-antiresonance method for the drive source with the piezoelectric device and the transducer in close contact with each other is preferably conducted by applying a sine wave of ±

1 V within a frequency range containing the resonance-antiresonance frequency of the motor in one of the two phases in which a high-frequency AC voltage is applied for driving the ultrasonic motor.

3. An ultrasonic motor according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive layer 2 to 10 μ

m thick inserted between the piezoelectric device and the transducer constituting the drive source.

4. An ultrasonic motor comprising an annular piezoelectric device, a transducer arranged on the piezoelectric device, a rotary member in pressure contact with the transducer, and means for applying two types of high frequency AC voltages about 90 degrees apart in phase from each other to the piezoelectric device thereby to generate a traveling wave in the transducer and thus to frictionally drive the rotary member,

wherein the composition of the piezoelectric device is given by a general formula

5. A method of fabricating an ultrasonic motor comprising an annular piezoelectric device, a transducer arranged on the piezoelectric device, a rotary member in pressure contact with the transducer, and means for applying two types of high frequency AC voltages about 90 degrees apart in phase from each other to the piezoelectric device thereby to generate a traveling wave in the transducer and thus to frictionally drive the rotary member, comprising the steps of:

measuring the resonance-antiresonance characteristic of the impedance by applying the sine wave of ±

1 V to a drive source including the piezoelectric device and the transducer in close contact with each other in the frequency range containing the resonance-antiresonance frequency of the motor in one of the two phases of the applied high-frequency AC voltage,

measuring the piezoelectric constant d31, the admittance Ym and the mechanical quality factor Qm obtained from he resonance-antiresonance characteristic, and

selecting the drive source in such a manner that the product of the piezoelectric constant d31, the admittance Ym and the mechanical quality factor Qm is given as d31×

Ym×

Qm≧

63×

10<sup>−

10</sup> m·

S/V.

6. A method of fabricating an ultrasonic motor according to claim 5, further comprising an adhesive layer 2 to 10 μ

m thick interposed between the piezoelectric device and the transducer making up the drive source.