Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080203950 | Drive unit - The drive unit, being small in drive noise, includes an electromechanical transducer element | 08-28-2008 |
20080265805 | Method and Apparatus for Operation of a Piezo-Actuator - A piezo-actuator is actuated in a first operating mode (B | 10-30-2008 |
20080265806 | Method of driving a driving device - A driving device includes an electro-mechanical transducer having first and second end portions opposite to each other in an expansion/contraction direction, a stationary member coupled to the first end portion of the electro-mechanical transducer, a vibration friction portion mounted to the second end portion of the electro-mechanical transducer, and a moving portion frictionally coupled to the vibration friction portion, whereby moving the moving portion in the expansion/contraction direction of the electro-mechanical transducer. The moving portion is driven by equalizing a constant expanding speed of the electro-mechanical transducer with a constant contracting speed of the electro-mechanical transducer and by setting a constant rest time interval after one of contraction of the electro-mechanical transducer and expansion of the electro-mechanical transducer. | 10-30-2008 |
20090001908 | System and Method of Providing a Thermally Stabilized Fixed Frequency Piezoelectric Optical Modulator - A device for generating controlled vibration in an uncontrolled temperature environment includes a driving circuit that generates a signal having a first frequency and has a temperature-sensitive driving unit, a vibratory element coupled to the driving unit that vibrates at the first frequency according to the generated signal, and a temperature control circuit to control the temperature of the driving unit. | 01-01-2009 |
20090009109 | METHOD FOR DRIVING ULTRASONIC MOTOR - A method for driving an ultrasonic motor having an actuator section includes: a step of starting the ultrasonic motor by applying an AC voltage with a first frequency to the actuator section; a voltage detection step of detecting a voltage generated at the actuator section while lowering a driving frequency from the first frequency to a second frequency at which the ultrasonic motor stops; a starting step of starting the ultrasonic motor with a third frequency; and a driving step of changing the driving frequency from the third frequency to a lower frequency such that the driving frequency has a value within an operation frequency range, wherein the operation frequency range is within a range on a higher frequency side than the driving frequency at which a maximum voltage is detected in the voltage detection step. | 01-08-2009 |
20090039806 | ULTRASONIC MOTOR DRIVING METHOD AND ULTRASONIC MOTOR - There is provided a method of driving an ultrasonic motor configured so that two alternating voltages having a predetermined difference between respective phases and having predetermined drive frequencies are applied to a laminated piezoelectric body that has driving parts abutting a member to be driven, whereby simultaneous excitation of vertical and bending vibrations and hence excitation of an elliptical vibration occur in the piezoelectric body, and the driving parts receiving drive force from the elliptical vibration drive the driven member. The method includes performing wear particle removal drive at a fixed frequency during regular reciprocal drive so as to intermittently interrupt the regular drive, the regular drive being such that the driving parts repeatedly reciprocally drive the driven member within a predetermined range, and the wear particle removal drive being such that the driving parts reciprocally drive the driven member within a removal drive range wider than the predetermined range. | 02-12-2009 |
20090121662 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATOR - A semiconductor device controls an electrostatic actuator having first and second electrodes formed so as to come close to each other when transition occurs from opened state to closed state by electrostatic attraction against elastic force. The semiconductor device includes: a voltage generation unit generating different applied voltages to be applied to the first and second electrodes; a control unit controlling the voltage generation unit to switch the applied voltages; and a detection unit detecting voltage of the first or second electrode or a rate of change in the voltage. The control unit controls a target voltage of the voltage generation unit to be switched from a first voltage to a second voltage lower than the first voltage according to a detection output by the detection unit. | 05-14-2009 |
20090309521 | Driver for MEMS device - A driver for electrically causing a MEMS device to change shape or position includes an amplifier having a first feedback loop and a second feedback loop. The first feedback loop stabilizes output voltage and the second feedback loop reduces current changes through the MEMS device to zero. | 12-17-2009 |
20090322260 | ELECTROSTATIC MICROACTUATOR - Electrostatic microactuators are described in which stationary electrodes ( | 12-31-2009 |
20090322261 | Microcomputer for controlling ultrasonic motor, and method for controlling ultrasonic motor - A microcomputer that controls an ultrasonic motor includes a storage unit that stores a compare register value, and a digital/analog (D/A) conversion set value, a D/A converter that generates an amplitude control signal with an amplitude value corresponding to the D/A conversion set value, a timer that generates a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal with a frequency corresponding to the compare register value, a central processing unit (CPU) that reads the D/A conversion set value, and the compare register value from the storage unit, and that sets the D/A conversion set value and the compare register value to the D/A converter and the timer, respectively, and an output circuit that generates the control signal with the amplitude of the amplitude control signal, and the frequency of the PWM signal, in response to the amplitude control signal and the PWM signal. The compare register value allows for determining a frequency of the control signal corresponding to a target rotation speed that is targeted by the ultrasonic motor. The D/A conversion set value allows for determining an amplitude of the control signal corresponding to the target rotation speed that is targeted by the ultrasonic motor. | 12-31-2009 |
20100001666 | MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEM WITH ACTUATORS - The invention relates to a micro-electro-mechanical system comprising a ciliary actuator ( | 01-07-2010 |
20100033116 | CONTROL DEVICE FOR AN ULTRASONIC PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR - A control device for an ultrasonic piezoelectric actuator including a first stage supplied by a DC voltage source and including a mechanism forming a second DC voltage above that voltage delivered by the DC voltage source, and a second stage including a mechanism amplifying the second voltage and chopping the voltage obtained by excitation of the actuator with the chopped voltage, under control of a computer. The amplifying mechanism includes an inductor in electrical resonance with the piezoelectric actuator. The inductor is connected to the first stage so as to constitute, during formation of the second voltage, a secondary winding of a transformer forming part of a flyback voltage converter introduced into the first stage to develop the second voltage. The control device may find application to control of a fuel injector in an internal combustion engine. | 02-11-2010 |
20100052579 | DRIVE CIRCUIT FOR A CAPACITIVE LOAD - A drive circuit comprising: a direct current power source; a control unit for supplying control signals; a power switch topology comprising a first switch and a second switch each having an input terminal, an output terminal, and a control terminal, the input terminals being respectively connected to the power source, the control terminals being connected to the control unit for receiving the control signals there from, the output terminals being connected to a node; and an inductance connected with a capacitive load in series between the node and the power source, wherein the control signals control the switches to alternately conduct to thereby cause the node to output a pulse signal. | 03-04-2010 |
20100109579 | RESONATOR HAVING A STATOR COUPLED TO THREE STATOR VOLTAGES - A resonator includes a translator, a stator, and a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to provide first and second translator voltages and first through third stator voltages, wherein the translator is configured to move with respect to the stator at a resonant frequency of the resonator in response to the control circuit. | 05-06-2010 |
20100117565 | ACTIVE SCANNER BOW COMPENSATOR - An active scanner bow compensator for use with a scanner is described. The scanner includes a moveable scanning platform supported within a frame. The active scanner bow compensator supports the scanner and includes a frame of reference, sensors, and an actuator. The sensors detect out-of-plane motion of the scanning platform relative to the frame of reference, and the actuators compensate for the out-of-plane motion by adjusting the orientation of the frame relative to the frame of reference. The active scanner bow compensator may be used in atomic force microscopy applications. | 05-13-2010 |
20100181944 | MICROMECHANICAL COMPONENT AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A MICROMECHANICAL COMPONENT - A micromechanical component includes a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode being moveable relative to the second electrode in a main direction of movement, and the first electrode and/or the second electrode being configured such that a movement of the first electrode parallel to the main direction of movement results in a modification of the average distance in a region of overlap of the projection of the first electrode with the projection of the second electrode, both perpendicular to the main direction of movement and in a main plane of extension. | 07-22-2010 |
20100201289 | HIGH-SPEED ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATION OF MEMS-BASED DEVICES - A micro-electro mechanical device includes a first structure, a second structure offset from the first structure by a gap. The first structure is configured to be electrostatically actuated to deflect relative to second structure. A pulse generator is configured to combine at least two different pulses to electrostatically drive at least one of the first structure and the second structure between an initial position and a final position. | 08-12-2010 |
20100201290 | PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR FAULT RECOVERY SYSTEM AND METHOD - The present invention provides a system and method of piezoelectric fault recovery comprising: monitoring a set of operational piezoelectric elements of a piezoelectric actuator, detecting a failure of an element of the set, removing the failed element from the set, and rerouting the drive signal sent to the element according to a predetermined behavior preference. | 08-12-2010 |
20100201291 | MULTI-ELEMENT PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR DRIVER - A multi-element piezoelectric actuator and driver is presented that allows greater control over the dynamic displacement response of a piezoelectric actuator. A system comprises a piezoelectric driving apparatus configured to transmit a plurality of waveform signals to a corresponding plurality of piezoelectric elements of a piezoelectric actuator. The piezoelectric driving apparatus comprises a waveform generator to generate a waveform configured to operate a piezoelectric element, a plurality of channels coupled to the waveform generator and configured to be electrically coupled the piezoelectric elements of the piezoelectric actuator, a channel comprising an input configured to receive a waveform, a driving amplifier electrically coupled to the input and configured to amplify the waveform, and an output configured to transmit the waveform and configured to be electrically coupled to a piezoelectric element. | 08-12-2010 |
20100201292 | ELECTROSTATIC DRIVE, METHOD FOR OPERATING A MICROMECHANICAL COMPONENT HAVING AN ELECTROSTATIC DRIVE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING AN ELECTROSTATIC DRIVE - An electrostatic drive having at least three intermediate frames, each two adjacent intermediate frames being connected to one another via at least one intermediate spring whose longitudinal directions lie on a first axis of rotation, and intermediate electrode fingers being situated on frame girders oriented parallel to the first axis of rotation of the intermediate frames, and having an outer frame that surrounds the intermediate frames and that is connected to the outermost intermediate frame via at least one outer spring whose longitudinal direction lies on a second axis of rotation that is oriented non-parallel to the first axis of rotation, and outer electrode fingers being situated on frame girders oriented parallel to the second axis of rotation of the outer frame and of the outermost intermediate frame of the at least three intermediate frames. In addition, a micromechanical component having this electrostatic drive, a method for operating such a micromechanical component, and methods for manufacturing the electrostatic drive and the micromechanical component are described. | 08-12-2010 |
20100213882 | DRIVE UNIT - A drive unit includes an ultrasonic actuator having an actuator body formed using a piezoelectric element, and a driving element provided on the actuator body and configured to output a driving force by moving according to the vibration of the actuator body, and a control section configured to induce the vibration in the actuator body by applying a first and a second AC voltages having a same frequency and different phases to the piezoelectric element. The control section adjusts the first AC voltage and the second AC voltage so that the first AC voltage and the second AC voltage have different voltage values from each other. | 08-26-2010 |
20100219778 | METHOD OF DRIVING VIBRATION WAVE MOTOR AND DEVICE FOR DRIVING THE SAME - A method of driving a vibration wave motor, which enables proper frequency control of an AC voltage applied to the motor according to the rotational speed difference between the actual and target rotational speeds of the motor, even if frequency-rotational speed characteristics are not stored in advance. A target rotational speed of a moving member is set. A ratio of an amount of increase or decrease in a rotational speed of the moving member to an amount of update of a frequency of the AC voltage and a rotational speed difference between the target rotational speed and an actual rotational speed of the moving member are calculated. The amount of update of the frequency is calculated by dividing the calculated rotational speed difference by the calculated ratio. The frequency of the AC voltage is updated by using the calculated amount of update of the frequency. | 09-02-2010 |
20100225255 | DRIVE ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A DRIVE ELEMENT - A drive element is provided having a substrate, a seismic mass, a drive electrode and a counter-electrode, one of the two electrodes being connected to the substrate and the other of the two electrodes being connected to the seismic mass; and the drive electrode and the counter-electrodes being provided for the excitation of motion of the seismic mass in a main direction of motion; and in addition, the drive electrode includes a first and a second partial electrode, which are switchable separately from each other. | 09-09-2010 |
20100237807 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BIASING CMUT ELEMENTS - A system and method for biasing a capacitive ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) device with a circuit that includes a CMUT that includes a first plate and a second plate that form a membrane structure; a circuit voltage source at a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible voltage; a bias voltage source that applies a bias voltage greater than a CMOS compatible voltage and is applied to the first plate; and readout electronics with an input connected on the second plate side of the circuit. | 09-23-2010 |
20100259202 | APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CONTINUOUS WAVEFORMS WITH PROGRAMMABLE SHAPES - Devices and methods are provided for boosting a battery voltage and driving an actuator with programmable voltage shapes. In one embodiment, there is provided a device (e.g., an actuator driver) that includes: a boost circuit coupled to the actuator and a battery; a switch driver coupled to the boost circuit; at least one current source coupled to the actuator; a switch-driver amplifier coupled to the switch driver and the at least one current source; and a microcontroller or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) coupled to and controlling the at least one current source to apply a shaped voltage to the actuator. | 10-14-2010 |
20100264856 | Operating method and driving means of a piezolinear drive - Operating method of a piezolinear drive having a group of piezo stack actuators which drive a rotor, in which the actuators constitute a multilayer ceramic arrangement situated on a common substrate, wherein a first stack part within the stack of the multilayer arrangement is formed as a longitudinal actuator, and a second stack part as a shearing actuator, and the latter being at least indirectly in clamping and shearing contact with the rotor, and at least two identical actuators being situated next to each other in order to perform alternate clamping and advancing movements in the step operation for a rough positioning operation in the step mode, wherein the adjacent actuators of the group are controlled to perform alternate clamping and advancing movements, with control signals being derived from a speed-proportional control variable. | 10-21-2010 |
20100270954 | DRIVING APPARATUS, OPTICAL APPARATUS, AND DRIVING SIGNAL CONTROL CIRCUIT - A driving apparatus includes a piezoelectric element which undergoes expansion/contraction motion by a driving signal; a driving shaft which is mounted on the piezoelectric element, and undergoes reciprocating movement according to the expansion/contraction motion of the piezoelectric element; a first movement member which is friction-engaged with the driving shaft, and moves due to the reciprocating movement of the driving shaft; and a first control portion which applies driving signals to the piezoelectric element; the first control portion applies driving control pulse signals when the first movement member is to be moved, and applies stop control pulse signals when the stopped first movement member is not to be moved to put the first movement member into a vibration-arrested state. By this means, the stopped first movement member can be smoothly moved, and the first movement member in motion can be smoothly stopped. | 10-28-2010 |
20100295487 | ULTRASONIC MOTOR DRIVING METHOD - An ultrasonic motor driving method, which drives the piezoelectric elements into two-two or three-three groups; within two-two group, one of the output terminals of the first and second piezoelectric elements are connected to the first and third nodes respectively, and the other terminals of the first and second piezoelectric elements are both connected to the second node which is the common ground terminal, the adjacent piezoelectric elements in one two-two group are polarized in sequence of “++−−”. Within three-three group, one of the output terminals of the first to third piezoelectric elements are connected to the first to third nodes respectively, and the other terminals of the first to third piezoelectric elements are all connected to the fourth node which is the common ground terminal, all piezoelectric elements are polarized in forward direction. Alternating voltage of two-phase in orthogonal or three-phase in symmetry is obtained by controlling the three-phase bridge inverting circuit to power each piezoelectric element. Therefore the voltage amplitude of the power supply and the number of transistors could be decreased effectively, and as a result the efficiency of driving circuit could be improved. | 11-25-2010 |
20110018475 | ULTRASONIC MOTOR - An ultrasonic motor in which driving signals of two phases are applied to a vibrator having a driving member in contact with a driven member to simultaneously generate a longitudinal vibration and a flexural vibration, thereby generating an elliptic vibration in the vibrator, and the driving member frictionally drives the driven member upon obtaining a driving force from the elliptic vibration, is configured as follows. Namely, the ultrasonic motor includes a driving phase difference switching unit which switches a driving phase difference serving as a phase difference between the driving signals of the two phases, and changes a switching cycle of the driving phase difference. | 01-27-2011 |
20110068718 | VIBRATION-TYPE MOTOR CONTROLLER AND OPTICAL APPARATUS - A vibration-type motor controller controls a driving speed of a vibration-type motor relatively moving a vibrating body in which a vibration is excited by an electromechanical energy conversion element 20 to which a first frequency signal and a second frequency signal having a phase difference are applied, and a contacting body which contacts the vibrating body. The vibration-type motor controller includes a speed controller 1 configured to alternately switch a frequency control which changes frequencies of the first and second frequency signals while fixing the phase difference and a phase difference control which changes the phase difference while fixing the frequency so that at least one of a plurality of frequency controls or a plurality of phase difference controls are included to increase and decrease the driving speed of the vibration-type motor. | 03-24-2011 |
20110080121 | DRIVING DEVICE - Provided is a driving device having an electromechanical transducer, a driving member, a moving member and a driving circuit. The driving circuit outputs a driving voltage at a frequency lower than that where the driving speed of the moving member is at maximum, and changes the drive frequency of the driving voltage so that the drive frequency has a negative correlative relationship with the ambient ten aperature. The change rate of the drive frequency to a change of the ambient temperature in the negative correlative relationship is larger than a change rate of a frequency where the driving speed of the moving member is at maximum to an increase of the ambient temperature, and the change rate permits the driving speed of the moving member to increase when the ambient temperature increases. | 04-07-2011 |
20110095711 | SINGLE-STAGE ZERO-CURRENT SWITCHING DRIVING CIRCUIT FOR ULTRASONIC MOTOR - The present invention relates to a single-stage zero-current switching driving circuit for ultrasonic motor, which comprises: a buck-boost converter and a zero-current switching resonant inverter. The driving circuit according to the present invention integrates the buck-boost converter and the resonant inverter into a single-stage structure, so that the buck-boost converter and the resonant inverter share an active switch and a trigger signal, and therefore, the circuit is simplified and the loss caused by stage switching is reduced. Moreover, the buck-boost converter operates in a discontinuous-conduction mode (DCM), which allows the circuit to have high power factor, and enables the active switch to be capable of zero-current switching (ZCS), so that the loss caused by switching is largely reduced. In the driving circuit according to the present invention, there's no interaction of power between the buck-boost converter and the resonant inverter, so that the two circuits can be analyzed individually. Therefore, the driving circuit according to the present invention having simplified circuit, low loss caused by switching, and low manufacturing cost, can be a competitive product after being commercialized. | 04-28-2011 |
20110095712 | Ultrasonic motor device - An ultrasonic motor device includes: an ultrasonic motor that moves an object; a detecting unit that detects movement of the object; and a control unit that drives the ultrasonic motor according to a first driving signal before detection of the movement of the object, and drives the ultrasonic motor according to a second driving signal, which is different from the first driving signal, after detection of the movement of the object. | 04-28-2011 |
20110101894 | Methods for reducing power consumption of at least partially resonant actuator systems and systems thereof - A method, computer readable medium, and a system for reducing power consumption of an at least partially resonant actuator system includes adjusting a driving system with an actuator controller computing device configured to provide a driving signal including a delay interval during a transition in the driving signal. The driving system provides the driving signal with the delay interval to an at least one partially resonant actuator device. | 05-05-2011 |
20110101895 | METHODS FOR HYBRID VELOCITY CONTROL OF AT LEAST PARTIALLY RESONANT ACTUATOR SYSTEMS AND SYSTEMS THEREOF - A method, computer readable medium, and system for controlling velocity of an at least partially resonant actuator system in accordance with embodiments of the present invention includes determining with an actuator controller computing device a sequence of full bridge and half bridge outputs to control an output velocity of an at least partially resonant actuator device. The actuator controller computing device controls a driver system to output a driving signal based on the determined sequence of full bridge and half bridge outputs. The driver system provides the driving signal to the at least one at least partially resonant actuator device. | 05-05-2011 |
20110121765 | Driver for piezoelectric actuator - A driver for a piezoelectric actuator includes a pulse width modulator and an output amplifier packaged as a single semiconductor device, preferably on a single semiconductor die. The driver includes a first boost converter that supplies power to the output amplifier, which preferably has programmable gain. A second amplifier, for driving the gate of a switching transistor in the first boost converter, is powered by a second boost converter. The piezoelectric actuator provides tactile feedback for the keyboard or the display in a battery operated electronic device. | 05-26-2011 |
20110121766 | INERTIAL DRIVING ACTUATOR - An inertial driving actuator includes a fixing member, a moving element that is fixed to the fixing member and generates a small displacement by extension and contraction, an oscillation substrate that is fixed to the moving element and is moved linearly reciprocally by the small displacement, and a moving body that is moved by reciprocal movement of the oscillation substrate. The moving body has a first electrode. The oscillation substrate has a second electrode, the area of the facing portion of the second electrode and the first electrode changing continuously as the moving body moves. The actuator further includes a frictional force controller that controls a frictional force generated between the oscillation substrate and moving body, and a position detector that detects the position of the moving body on the basis of the electrostatic capacitance of the facing portion of the first electrode and the second electrode. | 05-26-2011 |
20110133676 | CONDUCTIVE POLYMER ACTUATOR DEVICE, CONDUCTIVE POLYMER ACTUATOR CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD - An actuator is provided with a conductive polymer film portion, an electrode, and an electrolyte portion, and by detecting a waveform of a current that flows upon application of a voltage between the conductive polymer film portion and the electrode, a displacement amount of the actuator is detected so that based on the displacement amount thus detected, a voltage is applied to the conductive polymer film portion so that the displacement amount of the actuator is adjusted. | 06-09-2011 |
20110193501 | ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATOR APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME - According to one embodiment, a method of driving an electrostatic actuator includes a first electrode provided on a substrate, a second electrode arranged above the first electrode to be movable in a vertical direction, and an insulating film provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, includes boosting a power supply voltage to generate a driving voltage of the electrostatic actuator, and applying the driving voltage to each of the first electrode and the second electrode when setting the electrostatic actuator in an up state. | 08-11-2011 |
20110193502 | Stable Electro-Mechanical Actuators - An electro-mechanical actuator includes a comb drive and a deformable connector. The comb drive has a first capacitor plate and a second capacitor plate. The capacitor plates have teeth capable of inter-digitating. The deformable connector is configured to apply a mechanical restoring force to the first capacitor plate. The deformable connector is configured to restore the first capacitor plate to be at an equilibrium rest position in response to no control voltage being applied across the capacitor. The comb drive is more engaged at the equilibrium rest position than at a mechanical stability threshold of the comb drive. The capacitor plates are disengaged at the equilibrium rest position. | 08-11-2011 |
20110227511 | DRIVING UNIT OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - A driving unit of a vibration-type actuator includes a command unit, a change making unit, an AC signal generating unit, and a filter unit. The command unit outputs a command signal that directs at least one of a frequency, an amplitude, and a phase difference of an AC signal. The change making unit makes a change to the command signal and outputs the command signal. The AC signal generating unit generates a generated AC signal in which at least one of a frequency, an amplitude, and a phase difference of the generated AC signal is modulated in accordance with the output of the change making unit. The filter unit selectively dampens a frequency component, of at least one of the output signal of the change making unit and an output signal of the AC signal generating unit, that excites vibration other than vibration in a predetermined vibration mode. | 09-22-2011 |
20110248652 | CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - A control circuit is provided for a vibration-type actuator that generates a vibration wave in a vibrating member by applying an alternating voltage, and relatively rotates a moving member contacting protrusions of the vibrating member. The control circuit includes a feedback control circuit and a repetitive compensator. The feedback control circuit subjects the vibration-type actuator to feedback control based on a deviation between a relative speed between the moving member and the vibrating member and a command speed or a deviation between a relative position between the moving member and the vibrating member and a command position. The repetitive compensator provides a repetitive period that is set to T/(an integral multiple of fs), where T is a period of rotation of the moving member, and fs is a spatial frequency of a speed deviation based on a contact area distribution between the protrusions and the moving member. | 10-13-2011 |
20110260658 | METHODS FOR OPERATING AN ELECTROSTATIC DRIVE, AND ELECTROSTATAIC DRIVES - A method for operating an electrostatic drive having a stator electrode and an actuator electrode which are designed as multilayer electrodes having subunits includes: predeflecting the actuator electrode with respect to the stator electrode from its non-energized starting position into a first end position by applying a first potential to the first stator electrode subunit, and applying a second potential which is different from the first potential to the first actuator electrode subunit, and applying a third potential which is different from the first potential and the second potential, to the second stator electrode subunit and to the second actuator electrode subunit. | 10-27-2011 |
20110279066 | Method and Device for Controlling a Solid Body Actuator - In a discharge process of the solid body actuator ( | 11-17-2011 |
20110285329 | Method and Device for Controlling the Rotation Speed of a Piezoelectric Motor Rotor - The present invention relates to a method of controlling the speed of rotation of a piezoelectric motor comprising at least one step of determining the variation of the speed of rotation as a function of the frequency of the excitation voltages of the piezoelectric motor for the actual temperature of the piezoelectric material. | 11-24-2011 |
20110285330 | DRIVER CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A CAPACITIVE ELEMENT - The disclosure pertains to a method of charging or discharging a capacitive element, such as a piezoelectric crystal. The disclosure also pertains to a device that implements charging of a capacitive element according to said method. The device comprises a bipolar buck-boost converter, whereby a capacitive element can be charged with both positive and negative voltages. The discharge of the capacitive element is provided with energy recovery and feedback to the device's power supply. | 11-24-2011 |
20110298400 | CONTROL APPARATUS OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR AND CONTROL METHOD OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - Provided is a control apparatus of a vibration-type actuator for generating an elliptical motion of contact portions by a common alternating current signal including a frequency determining unit for setting a frequency of the alternating current signal. The frequency determining unit sets the frequency of the alternating current signal for changing an ellipticity of the elliptical motion, within a frequency range such that ellipticity changing frequency ranges set for the vibrators are overlapped, and the ellipticity changing frequency ranges are set for the vibrators as frequency ranges between an upper limit and a lower limit, such that the lower limit is a maximum resonant frequency at a time of changing the ellipticity, and the upper limit is larger than the lower limit and is a maximum frequency for the relative movement of the driving member. | 12-08-2011 |
20110298401 | PIEZO-ELECTRIC ACTUATOR DRIVE CIRCUIT AND PIEZO-ELECTRIC ACTUATOR DEVICE FURNISHED WITH SAME - To provide a piezo-electric actuator drive circuit capable of efficiently driving a piezo-electric actuator. The present invention is a piezo-electric actuator drive circuit ( | 12-08-2011 |
20120007527 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATOR - A semiconductor device applies a hold voltage Vhold to an upper electrode of an electrostatic actuator and a ground voltage to a lower electrode. After the semiconductor device sets the voltage of the lower electrode to a test voltage Vtest, it eliminates the hold voltage Vhold from the upper electrode and places the voltage of the upper electrode in a high impedance state. The potential difference between the upper electrode and the lower electrode is set to Vhold−Vtest=Vmon. Thereafter, the voltage of the lower electrode is returned to the ground voltage. Whether the electrostatic actuator is placed in an open state or in a closed state is determined by measuring the capacitance between the electrodes based on the amount of drop of the voltage of the upper electrode due to capacitance coupling at the time. With this operation, the state of the electrostatic actuator can be simply and accurately determined, and when it is determined that charging and the like occur to the electrostatic actuator, it can be promptly returned to a normal operation state. | 01-12-2012 |
20120025743 | CONTROL APPARATUS FOR VIBRATION WAVE DRIVEN APPARATUS - A control apparatus detects the relative position between a vibration member and a driving-member-side vibration detection portion on the basis of a signal that shows a vibrational state of the vibration member and a signal output from the driving-member-side vibration detection portion, the driving-member-side vibration detection portion being provided on a driving member and detecting a vibration of the driving member. | 02-02-2012 |
20120086366 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC SELF-SENSING OF DIELECTRIC ELASTOMER ACTUATORS - A system and method is provided for determining the capacitance between electrodes of an artificial muscle or dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). The method comprises measuring the voltage difference between the electrodes of the DEA, the first derivative of that voltage with respect to time, and the total instantaneous current through the DEA, then calculating the capacitance of the DEA as the difference between the total instantaneous current through the DEA and the product of the voltage between the electrodes and an error term, divided by the first derivative of the voltage between the electrodes with respect to time. The capacitance may then be used to derive estimates of the leakage current, charge upon the DEA, and/or the physical state of the DEA, thereby implementing self-sensing to allow closed-loop feedback control of DEA actuation. | 04-12-2012 |
20120086367 | ACTUATING DEVICE, MICROSYSTEM DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A MICROMECHANICAL ACTUATOR - A method, actuating device, and microsystem device are described for controlling a micromechanical actuator, which has a rechargeable capacitor for generating a mechanical motion of the micromechanical actuator, a memory having a lookup table containing previously computed data of signal shapes for controlling the micromechanical actuator, and a driver circuit having a driver circuit control unit for processing the previously computed data, a power stage for generating the signal shapes, and an output for outputting the signal shapes, corresponding to previously computed data, to the micromechanical actuator's rechargeable capacitor. The micromechanical actuator has a limiting device, between the output of the driver circuit and the micromechanical actuator, which is for limiting a voltage excursion of the signal shapes output by the driver circuit, which are usable for generating the mechanical motion by recharging the micromechanical actuator's rechargeable capacitor. The micromechanical actuator's power consumption is reducible by limiting the voltage excursion. | 04-12-2012 |
20120091927 | METHOD OF MEASURING AND EVALUATING MECHANICAL OUTPUTS OF PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS, CONTROLLING METHOD OF THE SAME, AND APPARATUS USING THOSE METHODS - The present invention relates to a method of measuring and evaluating rigidity of a target object or mechanical output, such as force, displacement, and mechanical energy generated by a piezoelectric actuator and applied to the target object, according to only a measured value of electric quantity without use of a mechanical sensor, and a method of controlling the piezoelectric actuator, and a device using these methods. | 04-19-2012 |
20120098468 | ELECTROMECHANICAL MOTOR - An electromechanical motor includes an actuator assembly and a body to be driven in a driving direction. The actuator assembly has an actuator backing, a first actuator and a second actuator. The actuators are mechanically attached by a respective single attachment to the actuator backing at a first end of the actuators. The actuators have a respective interaction portion constituting a second end opposite to the first end in an actuator direction transverse to the driving direction. The interaction portions are arranged for interaction with an interaction surface of the body by a respective contact area. The actuators include a respective unimorph member arranged for causing a movement of the respective contact area as a response of a respective electrical signal. The respective movements are transverse to the actuator direction, to the driving direction, and to each other. | 04-26-2012 |
20120104978 | Device for resonantly driving a micromechanical system - A device is provided for resonantly driving a micromechanical system, which includes at least one seismic mass supported by spring vibrations, at least one drive for driving the vibration of the seismic mass and at least one element that is motionally coupled to the seismic mass. Furthermore, the device includes at least one detection element for detecting a relational parameter, that changes with the vibration of the seismic mass, between the motionally coupled element and the detection element, the detection element being equipped to cause an interruption of the vibration drive when a predetermined value of the relational parameter is reached. | 05-03-2012 |
20120119684 | SPHERICAL ULTRASOUND MOTOR AND CONTROL METHOD FOR A SPHERICAL ULTRASOUND MOTOR - A substantially spherical rotor can be controlled with accuracy even in a relatively low speed rotation. In controlling rotational motions of a rotor | 05-17-2012 |
20120133307 | PIEZOELECTRIC VIBRATOR DRIVING CIRCUIT - One embodiment provides a piezoelectric vibrator driving circuit for driving a piezoelectric vibrator, the piezoelectric vibrator having an equivalent circuit in which an LC series resonance circuit, an equivalent resistor Rx connected in series thereto and a damping capacitor Co connected in parallel to them are provided, the driving circuit is configured: to detect a driving current Iz flowing through the entire piezoelectric vibrator; to detect a damping current Iy flowing through the damping capacitor Co; to calculate a series resonance current Ix flowing through the LC series resonance circuit by subtracting the detected damping current Iy from the detected driving current Iz; and to perform a phase adjustment so that a phase difference between the calculated series resonance current Ix and a driving voltage Ve to be applied to the piezoelectric vibrator becomes approximately 0. | 05-31-2012 |
20120194107 | CONTROL APPARATUS FOR CAPACITIVE ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCER, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE CAPACITIVE ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCER - Provided is a control apparatus and control method for a capacitive electromechanical transducer with small decrease in transmission/reception efficiency, and with sets of transmission/reception characteristics with different frequency ranges. The apparatus has cells each including first and second electrodes facing each other via a gap; includes a driving/detecting unit and an external stress applying unit. The driving/detecting unit performs at least one of causing the second electrode to vibrate and transmit elastic waves by generating an AC electrostatic attractive force between the electrodes, and detecting a change of capacity between the electrodes, the change being caused by the second electrode vibrating upon receipt of elastic waves. The external stress applying unit changes the external stress applied to the second electrode. The driving/detecting unit adjusts frequency characteristics by changing a parameter defining the frequency domain used in a transmitting/receiving operation, corresponding to the change of the external stress. | 08-02-2012 |
20120200239 | ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATOR APPARATUS - According to one embodiment, an electrostatic actuator apparatus includes a first voltage generation circuit configured to generate a first voltage, a first switch connected between the first voltage generation circuit and a first node, a second voltage generation circuit configured to generate a second voltage, a second switch connected between the second voltage generation circuit and a second node, a capacitor connected between the first node and the second node, an electrostatic actuator having a drive electrode connected to the first node, and a control circuit configured to perform an operation of sequentially turning on the first switch, turning off the first switch and turning on the second switch when the electrostatic actuator is driven. | 08-09-2012 |
20120200240 | VIBRATION-TYPE DRIVE APPARATUS, AND CONTROL METHOD FOR VIBRATION-TYPE DRIVE APPARATUS - A drive apparatus includes: an electromechanical transducer element wherein mechanical displacement will occur when a voltage is applied thereto, a drive member that is moved by the electromechanical transducer element, a moving member that engages with the drive member so as to be able to make a slipping displacement relative to the same, regulating members for limiting the movement of the moving member by coming into contact with the moving member, a drive circuit for applying a cyclical drive voltage to the electromechanical transducer element, a detecting circuit for detecting the impedance of the electromechanical transducer element, and an evaluating means for determining that the moving member is in contact with one of the regulating members when the value detected by the detecting circuit is not less than a prescribed value. | 08-09-2012 |
20120274243 | DRIVING CIRCUIT FOR VIBRATION APPARATUS - The present invention provides a driving circuit for a vibration apparatus which drives an object using a vibration wave generated by an electro-mechanical energy conversion element is equipped with an electrical resonance circuit, and which is capable of reducing harmonic components of an alternating voltage applied to an electro-mechanical energy conversion element. The electrical resonance circuit includes an electrostatic capacity of the conversion element, plural inductors connected in series with the conversion element, and a capacitor connected at one end between the plural inductors and connected in parallel with the conversion element. The electrical resonance circuit has at least two resonance frequencies including a first frequency and a second frequency and satisfies the relation: | 11-01-2012 |
20120286704 | DRIVE CONTROL APPARATUS AND DRIVE CONTROL METHOD FOR VIBRATION WAVE DRIVING APPARATUS - Provided are a drive control apparatus and a drive control method for a vibration wave driving apparatus enabling a wider dynamic range and increased quietness. The drive control apparatus for a vibration wave driving apparatus of the present invention is a drive control apparatus for a vibration wave driving apparatus in which, by providing a drive signal to a vibrator provided with an electro-mechanical energy conversion device, a driven part in contact with the vibrator is relatively moved, wherein, when the driven part is activated by changing a frequency of the drive signal, a time throughout which the drive signal is made to be in an off state is provided every time the frequency is changed. | 11-15-2012 |
20120299514 | TRANSFORMER AND PRIMING CIRCUIT THEREFOR - The invention relates to transformers. More particularly, the invention relates to transformers using (preferably electrostatic and more preferably dielectric elastomer) transducers such as generators and actuators. The invention further provides a priming circuit therefor. | 11-29-2012 |
20130049645 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A FLEXIBLE DISPLAY - A flexible display control apparatus includes a direct current-to-alternating current (DC-AC) converter to convert a DC driving voltage to an AC driving voltage having a period, a controller to determine whether to provide the DC driving voltage or the AC driving voltage to an ionic layer, a driving unit to drive cells included in the ionic layer based on the provided DC driving voltage or the AC driving voltage, and a display having a shape that is modified to correspond to an input according to the driven cells. | 02-28-2013 |
20130049646 | ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING AND OPERATING THE SAME - An energy conversion device, and methods of manufacturing and operating the same. The energy conversion device includes: a monolithic single-crystal silicon layer that includes a plurality of doping regions; a vibrator that is disposed in the single-crystal silicon layer and is connected to a doping region of the plurality of doping regions; a first diode that is a PN junction diode and allows an input signal applied to the vibrator to pass therethrough; and a second diode that is a PN junction diode and allows a signal output from the vibrator to pass therethrough. | 02-28-2013 |
20130069563 | Ultrasonic-Motor-Driving Device and Ultrasonic Motor Unit - An ultrasonic-motor-driving device is provided which allows fine adjustment of the periods of driving waves that are generated by a driving-wave-generating portion. A driving device for an ultrasonic motor includes a driving-wave-generating portion. The driving-wave-generating portion generates signals for driving piezoelectric elements included in the ultrasonic motor. The driving-wave-generating portion is constructed capable of generating rectangular waves including a plurality of rectangular waves with different periods. | 03-21-2013 |
20130076273 | ROW AND COLUMN ACTUATOR CONTROL - In one embodiment, a device is provided that includes: | 03-28-2013 |
20130076274 | ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATOR CONTROL - In one embodiment, a device is provided that includes: a cascaded electrostatic actuator defining a stack in a substrate having a plurality of gaps between parallel plate electrodes; and a controller configured to drive the cascaded electrostatic actuator to open and close selected ones of the gaps. | 03-28-2013 |
20130076275 | ELECTROSTATIC PARALLEL PLATE ACTUATORS WHOSE MOVING ELEMENTS ARE DRIVEN ONLY BY ELECTROSTATIC FORCE AND METHODS USEFUL IN CONJUNCTION THEREWITH - An actuator apparatus is provided that includes at least one actuator device, each actuator device including an array of moving elements, each individual moving element is operative to be constrained to travel alternately back and forth along a respective axis responsive to an individual first electrostatic force operative thereupon, wherein each moving element has an at-rest position and is driven away from its at rest position solely by the first electrostatic force; and at least one electrode operative to apply a controlled temporal sequence of potential differences with at least one individual moving element from among the array of moving elements thereby to selectably generate the first electrostatic force; and a controller operative to receive the digital input signal and to control at least one of the at least one electrode and the individual moving element to apply the sequence of potential differences. | 03-28-2013 |
20130106317 | Varying Capacitance Rotating Electrical Machine | 05-02-2013 |
20130106318 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND DRIVE METHOD OF ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATOR | 05-02-2013 |
20130169198 | ZERO-VOLTAGE-SWITCHING (ZVS) PIEZOELECTRIC DRIVING CIRCUIT - A zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) piezoelectric driving circuit, suitable for use in a switching type power converter. It receives an input DC voltage from a half-bridge driving circuit, and through switching of an high-side switch set and a low-side switch set of the half-bridge driving circuit, converts it to an AC voltage and provides it to a piezoelectric element to drive a load. Wherein, a shunt circuit is connected electrically between the half-bridge driving circuit and the piezoelectric element for zero-voltage-switching (ZVS). Namely, when the high-side switch set and the low-side switch set are both switched off, the shunt circuit resonates with its parasitic capacitance, so that the high-side switch set and the low-side switch set perform ZVS, thus realizing ZVS in a wide range of frequency and a large range of load. | 07-04-2013 |
20130207574 | CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ULTRASONIC MOTORS - A method for controlling an ultrasonic motor coupled to a motor driver circuit, comprises obtaining a position of a first encoder coupled to the ultrasonic motor, calculating an error between the position of the first encoder and a target position, and sending a control signal to the motor driver circuit to control the ultrasonic motor to adjust the position of the first encoder based the calculated error. | 08-15-2013 |
20130241446 | UNNECESSARY VIBRATION DETECTION APPARATUS AND DRIVING CONTROL APPARATUS OF VIBRATION TYPE ACTUATOR - An unnecessary vibration detection apparatus of a vibration type actuator includes an AC voltage generation unit that generates a plurality of AC voltages having a driving frequency; a vibration detection unit that outputs a vibration detection signal of the vibration type actuator; and an unnecessary vibration detection unit that detects an unnecessary vibration component by generating a signal for cancelling the vibration component of the driving frequency in the vibration detection signal by controlling amplitudes of a plurality of AC signals which are used for generating the plurality of AC voltages. | 09-19-2013 |
20130249445 | CONTROL APPARATUS OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - Information regarding a rotational speed is detected by utilizing a variation in the amplitude at a frequency corresponding to the number of a plurality of protrusions of a vibrating member generated in an S-phase signal detected from a vibration detection electrode of a vibration-type actuator. | 09-26-2013 |
20130257318 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR INDIVIDUAL ADDRESSING AND NOISE REDUCTION IN ACTUATOR ARRAYS - Apparatus for generating a target physical effect, at least one attribute of which corresponds to at least one characteristic of a digital input signal sampled periodically, the apparatus comprising a multiplicity of electrostatic actuator elements, each comprising a moving element moving between first and second electrodes, the multiplicity of electrostatic actuator elements including Nr first subsets (R-subsets) of actuator elements and Nc second subsets (C-subsets) of actuator elements, wherein a first partitioning of the multiplicity of actuator elements yields the Nr first subsets (R-subsets) and a second partitioning of the multiplicity of actuator elements yields the Nc second subsets (C-subsets); a first plurality of Nr electrical connections (R-wires) interconnecting the moving elements of actuator elements in each R-subset, such that the moving element of any actuator element in each individual R-subset is electrically connected to the moving elements of all other actuator elements in the individual R-subset, and electrically isolated from the moving elements of all actuator elements not in the individual R-subset; a second plurality of Nc electrical connections (A-wires) interconnecting the first electrodes of actuator elements in each C-subset, such that the first electrode of any actuator element in each individual C-subset is electrically connected to the first electrode of all other actuator elements in the individual C-subset, and electrically isolated from all actuator elements not in the individual C-subset; a third plurality of Nc electrical connections (B-wires) interconnecting the second electrodes of actuator elements in each C-subset, such that the second electrode of any actuator element in each individual C-subset is electrically connected to the second electrode of all other actuator elements in the individual C-subset, and electrically isolated from all actuator elements not in the individual C-subset; and a controller electrically connected to the first, second and third pluralities of electrical connections, operative to receive a digital input signal, and to apply one of a predetermined, finite set of electric potentials to each of said electrical connections respectively, such that resulting movements of the moving elements together produce the desired physical effect. | 10-03-2013 |
20130264972 | CONTROL METHOD FOR CONTRACT-TYPE GEL ACTUATOR AND CONTROL DEVICE - A method for controlling a displacement in the thickness direction of the contraction-type gel actuator having an effect of contraction in the thickness direction by applying a voltage between an anode and a cathode between which a gel which includes a dielectric polymeric material is interposed, which includes performing feedback control of an applied voltage, with a sampled value of a displacement when the applied voltage acts on the contraction-type gel actuator, according to the following equation (1): | 10-10-2013 |
20130271044 | DRIVE CIRCUIT AND PHYSICAL QUANTITY MEASURING DEVICE - In order for keeping the amplitude of the excitation current of a vibrator constant irrespective not only of the temperature variation but also of the manufacturing variation and the variation in frequency, a comparison control circuit for controlling the amplitude of the drive signal for exciting the vibrator includes a comparative voltage supply circuit for supplying the comparative voltage, and the comparative voltage supply circuit generates the comparative voltage with a constant current source and a second resistor made of a material the same as a material of a first resistor included in a current-voltage conversion circuit. | 10-17-2013 |
20130278179 | DRIVE UNIT - A drive unit includes an ultrasonic actuator having an actuator body formed using a piezoelectric element, and a driving element provided on the actuator body and configured to output a driving force by moving according to the vibration of the actuator body, and a control section configured to induce the vibration in the actuator body by applying a first and a second AC voltages having a same frequency and different phases to the piezoelectric element. The control section adjusts the first AC voltage and the second AC voltage so that the first AC voltage and the second AC voltage have different voltage values from each other. | 10-24-2013 |
20130278180 | ACTUATOR AND METHOD FOR DRIVING ACUATOR - An actuator is provided which can be driven with a simple configuration and by simple control. The actuator comprises a thin film made of a shear piezoelectric material, a first electrode formed on a first main surface of the thin film, and a second electrode formed on a second main surface of the thin film. The actuator is characterized in that driving force is generated on at least one end edge of the thin film by applying a predetermined AC voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode. | 10-24-2013 |
20130285577 | DIELECTRIC ELASTOMER SELF-SENSING USING PLANE APPROXIMATION - The present invention provides a method for obtaining feedback parameters related to the state of a dielectric elastomer (DE). The method comprises introducing a small-scale oscillation to the voltage difference between electrodes of the DE, monitoring or repeatedly measuring several measurable electrical characteristics of the DE, deriving other relevant data from the measurements, deriving an equation for a plane of best fit through the relevant data when defined as orthogonal axes, and deriving the feedback parameters from coefficients of the plane equation. The method thus provides important feedback regarding the capacitance, leakage current and/or electrode resistance of the DE. Also disclosed are a computer program and a system adapted to perform the method. | 10-31-2013 |
20130293161 | DIGITAL CONTROL FOR A MICROELECTROMECHANICAL ELEMENT - A control circuit for a microelectromechanical element includes: a waveform generator, which is designed to generate a digital trigger signal for the microelectromechanical element, a modulator, which is designed to oversample the digital trigger signal, to subject the signal to a noise shaping, and to output the oversampled and noise-shaped digital trigger signal; and a digital driver device, which is designed to drive the microelectromechanical element using the oversampled and noise-shaped digital trigger signal. | 11-07-2013 |
20130307440 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ELECTRICALLY EXCITING AN ACTUATOR FOR AN ULTRASONIC MOTOR - The invention relates to a method for electrically exciting a piezoelectric actuator of an ultrasonic motor having a mechanical resonance frequency F | 11-21-2013 |
20130334987 | DRIVER FOR CAPACITIVE LOADS - A method for driving a piezoelectric transducer is provided. An input signal is received. At least one of a plurality of modes is selected for a buck-boost stage from a comparison of a desired voltage on a capacitor to a first threshold and a second threshold, where the desired voltage is determined from the input signal. The piezoelectric transducer is then driven substantially within the audio band using the desired voltage on the capacitor using an H-bridge that changes state with each zero-crossing. | 12-19-2013 |
20130334988 | DRIVING DEVICE AND DRIVING CIRCUIT FOR A VIBRATION ACTUATOR - A driving device, including a drive signal generating section configured to variably control a frequency or an amplitude of an application voltage to a vibration member, including: a variable period setting section configured to output a value of a PWM period, the set value being set so that an average value of PWM periods in one target period of the application voltage is one fraction of an integer number of the target period by variably adjusting the PWM periods in an aperiodic manner; a drive waveform information output section; and a variable period PWM signal generating section configured to generate a PWM signal based on the set value of the PWM period output from the variable period setting section and drive waveform information of the application voltage, wherein the drive signal generating section is a digital circuit. | 12-19-2013 |
20130334989 | DRIVING DEVICE FOR VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR AND MEDICAL SYSTEM USING SAME - A driving device for a vibration-type actuator of the present invention is a driving device for driving a vibration-type actuator disposed in a magnetically shielded room. The driving device includes a linear amplifier is configured to receive a signal based on a driving waveform for driving the vibration-type actuator and output a driving voltage to be applied to the vibration-type actuator. | 12-19-2013 |
20140001984 | RESONATOR | 01-02-2014 |
20140009088 | DRIVING CIRCUIT FOR VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - An apparatus includes a vibration-type actuator and a driving circuit. The vibration-type actuator includes a vibration member and a moving member, wherein the vibration member includes an electro-mechanical energy conversion element and the moving member is configured to move relative to the vibration member. The driving circuit includes a capacitor and an inductor connected in series with the capacitor to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element. In an example, parameters of the driving circuit are set such that, when a series resonance frequency of the inductor and the capacitor is denoted by fs and a resonance frequency of the vibration member is denoted by fm, a condition 0.73·fm01-09-2014 | |
20140042935 | PIEZOELECTRIC DRIVING CIRCUIT AND PIEZOELECTRIC DRIVING METHOD - A piezoelectric driving circuit and a driving method thereof are provided. The piezoelectric driving circuit drives a piezoelectric circuit by using a first driving switch connected to one end of a piezoelectric circuit, a second driving switch corresponding to the first driving switch and connected to the other end of the piezoelectric circuit, and a sensing resistor for sensing a current flowing in the piezoelectric circuit. A fire angle and a duty cycle of an upper switch are adjusted such that a peak of a sense voltage generated in the sensing resistor at a timing at which the first driving switch is turned on, in a state in which the second driving switch is turned on. | 02-13-2014 |
20140055060 | LINEARIZED CONTROL OF PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR TO REDUCE HYSTERESIS - An exemplary piezoelectric actuator includes a piezoelectric transducer that exhibits displacements when energized with corresponding voltages. A control system is electrically connected to the piezoelectric transducer so as to provide the transducer with the voltages. The control system includes feedback of displacements of the transducer as functions of respective voltage commands and feed-forward of electrical currents passing through the transducer as functions of the respective voltages applied to the transducer. The control system further has a feedback controller connected to receive transducer-displacement data corresponding to the voltages applied to the transducer. The control system further can include a current-feed-forward amplifier connected to receive transducer-current data corresponding to the voltages applied to the transducer. Such a control system facilitates reduction of hysteresis in controlled actuation of the actuator. | 02-27-2014 |
20140062346 | SWITCHED CAPACITOR CHARGE PUMP DRIVER FOR PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR - A switched capacitor charge pump driver for piezoelectric actuator includes a power source, a first switching capacitor and a piezoelectric actuating circuit, wherein during being at a first state, the first capacitor is charged by the power source; during being at a second state, the first capacitor is discharged to the piezoelectric actuator in the actuating circuit. The switched capacitor charge pump driver for piezoelectric actuator can expand the application of charge controller to a broader frequency range, especially at low frequencies and effectively decrease the hysteresis of piezoelectric stack over a large frequency range even at a quasistatic state. In addition, a method for driving piezoelectric actuator by a switched capacitor charge pump is provided. | 03-06-2014 |
20140125257 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR OPERATING A PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR - A method for operating a piezoelectric actuator which may be activated with the aid of an activation signal. The piezoelectric actuator is operable in a passive and in an active operating mode. The piezoelectric actuator is activated without a functional operating request if the piezoelectric actuator is in a passive operating mode. | 05-08-2014 |
20140145649 | DRIVING APPARATUS OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR, METHOD OF CONTROLLING DRIVING VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR, AND IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS - A driving apparatus of a vibration-type actuator includes a driving circuit configured to drive a vibration unit including a plurality of vibrators, a detection unit configured to detect a sum of power consumption consumed by the plurality of vibrators, and a driving frequency setting unit configured to set a driving frequency within a frequency range depending on the sum of power consumption detected by the detection unit. | 05-29-2014 |
20140159620 | ACTUATOR DRIVE DEVICE - An actuator drive device is configured to drive an actuator. The actuator drive device includes a storage section for storing a drive condition of the actuator, a processor for calculating and outputting drive signal D(t) based on a drive base signal V(t) calculated based on the drive condition with respect to time t, and a generator for outputting, based on the drive signal D(t) calculated, a driving signal for driving the actuator. The drive base signal V(t) is a sum of a fundamental wave and at least one harmonic wave of the fundamental wave. The processor is operable to determine the coefficient a | 06-12-2014 |
20140191691 | CONTROL APPARATUS OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR AND CONTROL METHOD OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - Provided is a control apparatus of a vibration-type actuator for generating an elliptical motion of contact portions by a common alternating current including a frequency determining unit for setting a frequency of the alternating current. The frequency determining unit sets the frequency of the alternating current for changing an ellipticity of the elliptical motion, within a frequency range such that ellipticity changing frequency ranges set for the vibrators are overlapped, and the ellipticity changing frequency ranges are set for the vibrators as frequency ranges between an upper limit and a lower limit, such that the lower limit is a maximum resonant frequency at a time of changing the ellipticity, and the upper limit is larger than the lower limit and is a maximum frequency for the relative movement of the driving member. | 07-10-2014 |
20140217929 | STICTION RESISTANT MEMS DEVICE AND METHOD OF OPERATION - A MEMS device ( | 08-07-2014 |
20140217930 | System and Method for Efficient Drive of Capacitive Actuators with Voltage Amplification - A circuit for driving a plurality of capacitive actuators, the circuit having a low-voltage side, a high voltage side and a flyback transformer between the two. The low-voltage side comprises first and second pairs of low-side switches connected in series across an input voltage. The flyback transformer has a primary winding connected to the two pairs of switches. The high-voltage side has a pair of switches connected between the secondary winding of the flyback transformer and a ground and a plurality of capacitive loads and bidirectional switches to connect the loads to the secondary winding of the flyback transformer and a ground. | 08-07-2014 |
20140217931 | DRIVE CIRCUIT AND PHYSICAL QUANTITY MEASURING DEVICE - In order for keeping the amplitude of the excitation current of a vibrator constant irrespective not only of the temperature variation but also of the manufacturing variation and the variation in frequency, a comparison control circuit for controlling the amplitude of the drive signal for exciting the vibrator includes a comparative voltage supply circuit for supplying the comparative voltage, and the comparative voltage supply circuit generates the comparative voltage with a constant current source and a second resistor made of a material the same as a material of a first resistor included in a current-voltage conversion circuit. | 08-07-2014 |
20140265943 | Ultrasonic Transducer Control - A first controller can have a greater number of output lines than a second controller has input lines. The first controller can receive an ultrasonic transducer control signal and provide a first portion of the control signal to the first processor, where the length of the first portion is less than or equal to the number of input lines of the second processor. The first processor can send portions of the control signal to a plurality of second processors. Each of the plurality of second processors can have a number of input lines less than the number of output lines of the first processor. Portions of the control signal can be sent through the output lines of the first processor to the plurality of second processors at substantially the same time. | 09-18-2014 |
20140285121 | MODULATION SCHEME FOR DRIVING A PIEZO ELEMENT - The present disclosure is directed to a modulation scheme for driving a piezo element. In one embodiment, a device may comprise, for example, a piezo element, voltage rails and bridge circuitry. The bridge circuitry may be coupled between the piezo element and the voltage rails. The bridge circuitry may include at least signal sources configured to generate drive signals that cause the piezo element to generate mechanical movement while being coupled to at least one of the voltage rails. In the same or a different embodiment the bridge circuitry may further include comparators, the output of the comparators being usable to determine the resonant frequency of the piezo element. The operating frequency of the bridge circuitry may be configured based on the resonant frequency of the piezo element. | 09-25-2014 |
20140292233 | DRIVING CIRCUIT FOR VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR - A driving circuit to drive a vibration member comprising an electro-mechanical energy conversion element includes a transformer connected in parallel to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element. The transformer includes a primary coil configured such that an alternating voltage is applied to the primary coil, and a secondary coil connected to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element in parallel, and an inductor connected to the primary coil in series, Parameters of the driving circuit are set such that, when a frequency of a peak voltage applied to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element is denoted by fe and a driving frequency of the vibration member is denoted by fd, a condition fe<1.5·fd is satisfied. | 10-02-2014 |
20140306623 | INTEGRATED MEMS DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING - A method of operating a system including a MEMS device of an integrated circuit die includes generating an indicator of a device parameter of the MEMS device in a first mode of operating the system using a monitor structure formed using a MEMS structural layer of the integrated circuit die. The method includes generating, using a CMOS device of the integrated circuit die, a signal indicative of the device parameter and based on the indicator. The device parameter may be a geometric dimension of the MEMS device. The method may include, in a second mode of operating the system, compensating for a difference between a value of the signal and a target value of the signal. The method may include re-generating the indicator after exposing the MEMS device to stress and generating a second signal indicating a change in the device parameter. | 10-16-2014 |
20140306624 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN ACTIVE MATERIAL ACTUATOR - A system for controlling an active material actuator includes an active material actuator configured to actuate when energized, a power supply configured to supply electrical power, and a control circuitry including a plurality of circuits and configured to selectively establish an electrical connection between the active material actuator and the power supply upon receipt of an activation signal. The control circuitry is configured to de-energize at least one of the circuits when no activation signal is received by the control circuitry in order to minimize parasitic current drawn from the power supply. | 10-16-2014 |
20140327377 | SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR EMITTING AN ULTRASONIC SIGNAL - A system for emitting an ultrasonic signal is provided. The system includes a first ultrasonic transducer and a second ultrasonic transducer. A plate of the first ultrasonic element faces a plate of the second ultrasonic element such that the plate of the first ultrasonic element is spaced apart from the plate of the second ultrasonic element by a gap. During operation of the first and second ultrasonic transducers, a uniform or omnidirectional ultrasonic signal may be emitted from the gap. | 11-06-2014 |
20140327378 | DRIVER DEVICE AND DRIVING METHOD FOR DRIVING A CAPACITIVE LOAD, IN PARTICULAR AN ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER - The present invention relates to a driver device ( | 11-06-2014 |
20140340001 | ARRANGEMENT FOR DRIVING AND DRIVE METHOD FOR A PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR - A method is disclosed for driving a piezoelectric actuator with a piezoelectric stack, which is operated as an actuating element of an injector. The piezoelectric stack is polarized during production by a polarization process initially with a first field strength, which results in a first length of the piezoelectric stack. According to the method, the piezoelectric stack is driven during operation at a second field strength, which is smaller than the first field strength, wherein a setpoint length for the piezoelectric stack is defined depending on the second field strength. In addition, a change in length caused by depolarization from the setpoint length of the piezoelectric stack is monitored. Then, when a predetermined threshold value for the change in length is reached, the piezoelectric stack is operated at a third field strength until the setpoint length for said piezoelectric stack is reached. | 11-20-2014 |
20140340002 | DRIVING CONTROL APPARATUS AND DRIVING CONTROL METHOD FOR ULTRASONIC MOTOR - To keep velocities of a plurality of ultrasonic motors equal; and to suppress the deterioration of the performance, the occurrence of noise and the decrease of the life have been unavoidable problems, a first drive signal and/or a second drive signal are values that are corrected by values obtained from characteristics of a first ultrasonic motor, which are detected by making a second ultrasonic motor generate a standing wave and making the first ultrasonic motor generate a traveling wave, and characteristics of the second ultrasonic motor, which are detected by making the first ultrasonic motor generate a standing wave and making the second ultrasonic motor generate a traveling wave. | 11-20-2014 |
20150069934 | REGENERATIVE DRIVE FOR PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCERS - A method for regenerative driving of one or more transducers includes, for each of a plurality of driving cycles, enabling a number of transducers for driving, configuring a configurable capacitive energy storage element based on the number of enabled transducers and a desired overall capacitance, transferring a predetermined quantity of energy from a power supply to a first inductive energy transfer element, distributing the predetermined quantity of energy from the first inductive energy transfer element to the configurable capacitive energy storage element and to one or more other capacitive energy storage elements, each of the other capacitive energy storage elements coupled to an associated transducer, transferring energy from the one or more capacitive energy storage elements and from the configurable capacitive energy storage element to a second inductive energy transfer element, and transferring energy from the second inductive energy transfer element to the power supply. | 03-12-2015 |
20150091476 | DEVICE FOR DRIVING PIEZO-ACTUATOR AND DRIVING METHOD THEREFOR - A device for driving a piezo-actuator comprises: a signal generating unit for generating signals having a constant frequency; and a modulation unit for modulating the signals generated from the signal generating unit and outputting the modulated signals, wherein the modulation unit comprises a density modulation unit which performs a first mode for repeating an operation for outputting an input signal at a first constant number and an operation for blocking the input signal at a second constant number, and which performs a second mode for repeating an operation for outputting the input signal during a first period and an operation for blocking the input signal during a second period. The device for driving the piezo-actuator and the method therefor can reduce the noise generated when the piezo-actuator for an automatic focus function of a camera is driven. | 04-02-2015 |
20150091477 | CAPACITIVE ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCER - The present invention relates to an electromechanical transducer capable of arbitrarily varying the amount of deflection of a vibrating membrane for every element. The electromechanical transducer includes a plurality of elements including at least one cell that includes a first electrode and a second electrode opposed to the first electrode with a gap sandwiched therebetween and a direct-current voltage applying unit configured to be provided for each element and to separately apply a direct-current voltage to the first electrodes in each element. The first electrodes and the second electrodes are electrically separated for every element. | 04-02-2015 |
20150102750 | APPARATUS FOR DRIVING PIEZO ACTUATOR AND METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME - There are provided an apparatus for driving a piezo actuator and a method of driving the same. The apparatus includes: a control unit generating a digital control signal and converting the digital control signal into an analog control signal; a driving unit amplifying and not inverting the analog control signal to generate a first driving signal and amplifying and inverting the analog control signal to generate a second driving signal, with respect to a predetermined common voltage, and applying the first and second driving signals to both terminals of a piezo actuator; and an offset determining unit determining an offset in the first and second driving signals based on a voltage according to a current flowing in the piezo actuator, wherein the control unit generates the digital control signal to have an intermediate level in a predetermined offset detection section. | 04-16-2015 |
20150108923 | METHOD FOR CURRENT-CONTROLLING AT LEAST ONE PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR OF A FUEL INJECTOR OF AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - Method for controlling a piezoelectric actuator acting on valve elements to open or close a fuel injector respectively allowing or preventing fuel injection into a combustion chamber of an engine, the method includes:
| 04-23-2015 |
20150108924 | SYSTEM FOR DRIVING A PIEZOELECTRIC LOAD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME - A system for driving a piezoelectric load includes a direct current (DC) voltage source and a bi-directional DC-to-DC converter having a primary side coupled to the DC voltage source and a secondary side and comprising a control input configured to receive a first control signal configured to control conversion of a first voltage on the primary side of the bi-directional DC-to-DC converter to a second voltage on the secondary side of the bi-directional DC-to-DC converter. The driver system also includes a capacitor coupled to the secondary side of the bi-directional DC-to-DC converter and configured to remove a DC offset of the second voltage and includes a reactive load having a first terminal coupled to the capacitor and a second terminal coupled to the secondary side of the bi-directional DC-to-DC converter. | 04-23-2015 |
20150130374 | SWITCHED RESONANT ULTRASONIC POWER AMPLIFIER SYSTEM - A switched resonant power amplifier system for ultrasonic transducers is disclosed. The system includes an amplifier that receives and processes a driver output signal for generating a drive signal that is provided to an ultrasonic device for controlling output of the ultrasonic device. An output control circuit receives and processes a signal related to a feedback signal generated by the ultrasonic device and a divider reference signal, and generates a compensated clock signal that is adjusted for at least one of phase and frequency differences between the received feedback signal and the divider reference signal. A compensated drive circuit receives and processes the compensated clock signal for generating the divider reference signal, and for generating the driver output signal. | 05-14-2015 |
20150340585 | DRIVING APPARATUS OF PIEZO ACTUATOR AND METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME - A driving apparatus of a piezo actuator may include: a frequency controlling unit generating a driving frequency signal by sweeping a natural vibration frequency, and a piezo driving unit driving the piezo actuator according to the driving frequency signal by providing the driving frequency signal to the piezo actuator. The driving frequency signal may be in the range of ±5% of the natural vibration frequency. | 11-26-2015 |
20150344295 | SYSTEM FOR DRIVING AN ARRAY OF MEMS STRUCTURES AND CORRESPONDING DRIVING METHOD - A system for driving a MEMS array having a number of MEMS structures, each defining at least one row terminal and one column terminal, envisages: a number of row driving stages, each for supplying row-biasing signals to the row terminal of each MEMS structure associated to a respective row; a number of column driving stages, each for supplying column-biasing signals to the column terminal of each MEMS structure associated to a respective column; and a control unit, for supplying row-address signals to the row driving stages for generation of the row-biasing signals and for supplying column-address signals to the column driving stages for generation of the column-biasing signals. The control unit further supplies row-deactivation and/or column-deactivation signals to one or more of the row and column driving stages, for causing deactivation of one or more rows and/or columns of the MEMS array. | 12-03-2015 |
20150349237 | DRIVER FOR OPTICAL DEFLECTOR USING COMBINED SAW-TOOTH DRIVE VOLTAGE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - In a driver for driving an optical deflector including a mirror, a piezoelectric actuator and a piezoelectric sensor adapted to sense vibrations of the piezoelectric actuator, a saw-tooth voltage generating unit; a combined saw-tooth voltage generating unit; and a control unit, the control unit applies a saw-tooth voltage and its inverted voltage to the piezoelectric actuator; performs a low-pass filtering process using a cut-off frequency upon a sense voltage; calculates a half period of fluctuations included in a low-pass-filtered saw-tooth voltage; combines the low-pass-filtered saw-tooth voltage with a delayed low-pass-filtered saw-tooth voltage; and to applies a combined saw-tooth voltage and its inverted voltage to the piezoelectric actuator. | 12-03-2015 |
20150365022 | COUPLED CAPACITIVE AND MAGNETIC SERVO MOTOR SYSTEMS - A motor system comprises a rotor shaft, and a magnetic drive motor and a capacitive drive motor. An engagement system is configured for selectively engaging one or both of the magnetic drive motor and the capacitive drive motor with the rotor shaft, in order to rotate the rotor shaft at a desired rotational speed and generate a desired output torque. An actuator may be coupled to the rotor shaft in order to convert the rotational speed and/or output torque (or a rotational position of the rotor shaft) for operation on a load, for example to position the load rotationally or linearly with respect to the rotor axis, or to exert a force or torque on the load. | 12-17-2015 |
20150380633 | APPARATUS FOR DRIVING PIEZOELECTRIC ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR DRIVING PIEZOELECTRIC ELEMENT - An apparatus for driving a piezoelectric element may include: a control unit outputting a plurality of digital values using a lookup table; and a digital-to-analog converting unit converting the plurality of digital values into plurality of analog signals, respectively, wherein the control unit selects a plurality of pieces of data from the lookup table at first intervals so as to output the plurality of pieces of data as the plurality of digital values, respectively. | 12-31-2015 |
20160028328 | Varying Capacitance Rotating Electrical Machine - A varying capacitance rotating electrical machine provides capacitor elements, such as capacitor plates, that move with respect to each other as separated by a thin film of fluid, for example, air, on which one capacitor element floats. In one embodiment, multiple plates provide for three-phase operation. Narrow gaps provided by the floating capacitor elements increase the power density of the rotating electrical machine. | 01-28-2016 |
20160036353 | Increased Force Generation in Electroactive Polymers - Methods and systems are provided for combined direct current and alternating current activation of electroactive polymer devices. The combined direct current and alternating current activation may increase force generation compared to activation using direct current alone. For example, a method for actuating an electroactive polymer device may include providing the electroactive polymer device. The electroactive polymer device may include a first electrode and a second electrode electrically coupled to an electroactive polymer. The method may include applying a direct current across the electroactive polymer via the first and second electrodes. The method may include applying an alternating current across the electroactive polymer. The direct current and the alternating current may be effective to cause actuation of the electroactive polymer device. | 02-04-2016 |
20160056733 | PIEZOELECTRIC DRIVE CIRCUIT - A piezoelectric drive circuit includes a first circuit which applies a voltage to the piezoelectric element and includes a plurality of transistors. A second circuit removes the residual current of the piezoelectric element and includes a plurality of transistors, and among the transistors included in the first circuit and the second circuit, transistors operated by an input signal are simultaneously turned ON/OFF by receiving the same input signal. Thus, when using a piezoelectric element as the air valve, it is possible to reduce leakage of air. | 02-25-2016 |
20160072408 | METHOD AND TECHNIQUE TO CONTROL MEMS DVC CONTROL WAVEFORM FOR LIFETIME ENHANCEMENT - The present invention generally relates to a method of operating a MEMS DVC while minimizing impact of the MEMS device on contact surfaces. By reducing the drive voltage upon the pull-in movement of the MEMS device, the acceleration of the MEMS device towards the contact surface is reduced and thus, the impact velocity is reduced and less damage of the MEMS DVC device occurs. | 03-10-2016 |
20160072411 | PIEZOELECTRIC POWER GENERATION - Technologies are generally described for generating electrical power from piezoelectric power. Example devices/systems described herein may use one or more of a piezoelectric device, a plurality of solid particles, and/or a container. In various examples, an electrical power generator apparatus is described, where the apparatus may be configured to provide an electrical signal upon application of a mechanical stress to the piezoelectric device. Some example apparatus may also be configured to contain the plurality of solid particles in the container, which may be coupled to at least a portion of a surface of the piezoelectric device. When a mechanical force is exerted on the plurality of solid particles, the plurality of solid particles may be effective to receive at least a portion of the mechanical force and responsively apply the mechanical stress to the piezoelectric device. | 03-10-2016 |
20160072472 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR BI-STATE CONTROL OF NONLINEAR RESONATORS - A bi-state bifurcation-based control system and method for nonlinear resonators, which utilizes a control loop to servo on the edge of the bifurcation jump, either at the maximum “on” point prior to the Duffing bifurcation jump or along the rising edge of the parametric bifurcation. | 03-10-2016 |
20160090971 | Control Circuits For Electrochemical Pump With E-Valves - An electrochemical actuator drive system and method that provides for full control of an electrochemical pump system having at least three electrochemical actuators, including two valve actuators, and one pump actuator. The driving circuit is based on a standard H-bridge driving circuit wherein part of the circuit is shared among actuators. Because the system only needs to operate either the pump actuator or one of the valve actuators at any given time, part of the H-bridge driving circuit can be shared among the three actuators, thereby permitting the use of four half-bridge driving circuits. | 03-31-2016 |
20160094154 | PULSE-TRAIN DRIVE SYSTEM FOR ELECTROSTATIC GENERATORS AND MOTORS - A novel motor drive system has been described for use in electrostatic generator/motor systems based on the time variation of capacity of a rotating condenser comprised of segmented rotor and stator elements. It takes advantage of the fact that the motor action of such a system depends only on the rms value of the drive pulses, which therefore can be formed simply by periodically interrupting a high-frequency ac wave train. This new circuitry simplifies the drive system and takes advantage of recent developments of devices used in the art of inversion of dc voltages to high-frequency (tens of kiloHz) ac. | 03-31-2016 |
20160163953 | PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR DRIVING CIRCUIT, DRIVING SIGNAL GENERATING CIRCUIT, AND DEVICE AND METHOD OF DRIVING PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR USING THE SAME - A piezoelectric actuator driving device may include: a control unit receiving waveform information including information on an output waveform to output digital values for generating the output waveform; a sampling clock generation unit using the output waveform to generate a variable sampling clock; and a digital-to-analog conversion unit outputting analog values corresponding to the digital values based on the variable sampling clock. | 06-09-2016 |
20160173004 | SPACE VECTOR PULSE MODULATION BASED MOTOR DRIVER | 06-16-2016 |
20160173005 | CONTROL APPARATUS OF VIBRATION-TYPE ACTUATOR | 06-16-2016 |
20160190958 | MEMS DRIVER - Systems and methods provide actuator control. Actuator control is provided via charge control as opposed to voltage control. A driver for driving an actuator can include a charge pump for injecting charge into one or more capacitive elements of the actuator. The driver can further include a capacitance detection aspect for detecting the capacitance of the capacitive elements of the actuator to determine positioning of the actuator. | 06-30-2016 |