Electrostrictive or piezoelectric actuator device with a stroke amplifying transmission mechanism
US6294859A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 9, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 25, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 9, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02N2/043
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An actuator device (2) includes a piezoelectric or electro-strictive solid state actuator element (6) that is elongated upon application of an electric voltage thereto, and a transmission mechanism (8) that amplifies the stroke displacement of the actuator element. The transmission mechanism (8) includes a plurality of rigid frame members (12), including unitary frame members (12.1, 12.2) and divided frame members (12.3), and elastically flexible joints (10) that respectively interconnect the frame members. Each one of the divided frame members (12.3) is made up of a plurality of separate parallel link rods (16). Each flexible joint (10) is made up of a plurality of individual parallel hinge members (18) that respectively connect an end of each one of the link rods (16) to the adjacent unitary frame member (12.1, 12.2). By this division of the flexible joints and of the divided frame members into parallel sub-components, the cross-sectional thickness of each individual hinge member is reduced, and thereby the bending stiffness and the outer fiber strain of the material of the hinge members is significantly reduced while providing the same total tensile strength and tensile stiffnes…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.