JP2016182569A - Vibration actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To enable stable vibration even in a thin and flat movable element, thereby eliminating the complexity of assembly and generating various modes of vibration that can realize haptics. What can be done. A movable element 2 having a weight portion 2A, a frame 3 having a support plane 30, and a plurality of rolling elements 4 interposed between the movable element 2 and the support plane 30 so as to be freely rollable. A plurality of elastic members 5 disposed between the mover 2 and the frame 3 and elastically supporting the mover 2 along different directions on the support plane 30; and a magnet 8 fixed to the mover 2 side. And a plurality of drive units 6 for driving the mover 2 in different directions along the support plane 30 in combination with the coil 7 fixed on the support plane 30 side. The coil 7 includes a weight of the mover 2. And an alternating current having a resonance frequency set by the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5 is input. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a vibration actuator.

  A vibration actuator is a device that transmits a signal generated by an electronic device to an operator or a carrier of the electronic device by vibration, and is provided in various electronic devices such as a portable information terminal including a mobile phone.

  The vibration actuator is an electromagnetic drive type that vibrates a spring-supported mover by attaching one of a coil and a magnet to the mover side and the other to the stator side, and passing an alternating current of resonance frequency through the coil. Actuators are known. Conventionally, such a vibration actuator is provided with two shafts that extend in the vibration direction and both ends are fixed to the housing, a spring receiving portion through which the shaft passes, and the shaft penetrates. And a weight part connected to the magnet and disposed between the spring receiving part and the housing, and a spring having one end supported by the weight part and the other end supported by the spring receiving part. (See Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2011-97747 A

  In order to effectively transmit the vibration of the vibration actuator to the operator or the carrier of the electronic device, it is necessary to increase the weight of the mover. On the other hand, with the reduction in thickness of electronic equipment, there is a demand for a reduction in thickness of vibration actuators disposed therein. For this reason, the mover of the vibration actuator has a flat size that is thin and thin while ensuring its weight, thereby achieving both effective vibration and reduced thickness. I am trying.

  It is difficult to vibrate the movable element in a stable state in a vibration actuator including such a thin and flat movable element. The above-described conventional vibration actuator obtains stable vibration of the mover in the casing by restricting the vibration of the mover by the two shafts. However, in order to obtain a stable vibration by slidingly supporting the mover with the two shafts, it is necessary to adjust the parallelism of the two shafts with high positional accuracy, and the assembly becomes complicated. was there.

  In addition, the vibration actuator is expected as an actuator for realizing haptics (skin sensory feedback), and for that purpose, it is required to generate vibrations in various modes. On the other hand, since the conventional vibration actuator can only obtain simple uniaxial vibration along the shaft, there is a problem that it cannot respond to such a request.

  This invention makes it an example of a subject to cope with such a problem. In other words, even a thin and flat mover can enable stable vibration without using two shafts, thereby eliminating the complexity of assembly and realizing various haptics. It is an object of the present invention to be able to generate various types of vibrations.

In order to achieve such an object, the vibration actuator according to the present invention has the following configuration.
A mover having a weight portion, a frame having a support plane, a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the mover and the support plane and held in a freely rolling manner, and the mover and the frame And a plurality of elastic members that elastically support the mover along different directions on the support plane, a magnet fixed to the mover side, and a coil fixed to the support plane side And a plurality of drive units that drive the mover in different directions along the support plane, and the coil has a resonance that is set by the weight of the mover and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member. A vibration actuator, wherein an alternating current having a frequency is input.

  The vibration actuator of the present invention having such a feature vibrates the mover on the support plane via the rolling elements, so that even a thin and flat mover can be supported without using two shafts. Stable vibration can be obtained along the plane. Since the rolling element does not require precise position adjustment with respect to the mover or the support plane, it is possible to eliminate the complexity of assembly. Since the movable element can be driven in different directions on the support plane to generate various modes of vibration, haptics can be realized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing ((a) is an external appearance top view, (b) is XX sectional drawing) of the vibration actuator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an internal top view (cover open state) of the vibration actuator which concerns on embodiment (1st Embodiment) of this invention. FIG. 3 is an internal plan view of the vibration actuator according to the embodiment of the present invention (first embodiment) ((a) is a state where a mover is removed, and (b) is a diagram showing a drive unit including a coil and a magnet). It is an internal top view (cover open state) of the vibration actuator which concerns on embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. FIG. 6 is an internal plan view of a vibration actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention (second embodiment) ((a) is a state where a mover is removed, and (b) is a diagram showing a drive unit including a coil and a magnet). It is explanatory drawing which showed the portable electronic device (mobile information terminal) provided with the vibration actuator which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An embodiment (first embodiment) of the vibration actuator of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The vibration actuator 1 includes a mover 2, a frame 3, a rolling element 4, an elastic member 5, and a drive unit 6.

  The mover 2 is a member that vibrates within the frame 3 with a required weight, and includes a weight portion 2A. Here, the mover 2 indicates all members that vibrate integrally with the weight portion 2A. The mover 2 has a flat shape that is large and thin in plan so as to meet the demand for thinning while securing a required weight.

  The frame 3 is a member that supports the vibration of the mover 2, and the illustrated example has a box shape including a bottom 3A, a cover 3B, and a side wall 3C. A support plane 30 is formed on the bottom 3 </ b> A, and the mover 2 vibrates along the support plane 30.

  A plurality of rolling elements 4 are arranged, are interposed between the movable element 2 and the support plane 30 and are held so as to be freely rotatable, and can be formed of a spherical body as shown in the figure. In the illustrated example, the rolling element 4 is movably held by a holding portion 4A provided on the support plane 30. However, a holding portion 4A may be provided on the movable element 2 side.

  A plurality of elastic members 5 are arranged, arranged between the mover 2 and the frame 3, and elastically support the mover 2 along different directions on the support plane 30. The elastic member 5 has one end attached to the side wall 3C of the frame 3 and the other end attached to the mover 2, thereby elastically supporting the mover 2 that moves in an arbitrary direction on the support plane 30. Yes.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the elastic member 5 is a coil spring 5A to 5D, the two coil springs 5A and 5B are arranged along one axis direction (axis P1 direction) on the support plane 30, and the other two coil springs 5C, 5D is arranged along the other axis direction (axis P2 direction) on the support plane 30. The axis P1 and the axis P2 here are axes orthogonal to each other on the support plane 30.

  The drive unit 6 is configured by a combination of a coil 7 and a magnet 8, the coil 7 is fixed to the support plane 30 side of the frame 3, and the magnet 8 is fixed to the mover 2 side. As shown in FIG. 3A, the coil 7 fixed on the support plane 30 is wound along the support plane 30, and a coil 7A in which the linear portion is arranged along the axis P1 described above, The straight portion includes a coil 7B disposed along the axis P2 (axis orthogonal to the axis P1) described above. Each coil end of the coil 7 (7A, 7B) is connected to an input terminal 9A drawn out to the outside of the frame body 3 through wiring of the circuit board 9 arranged on the support plane 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, two magnets 8A and 8B are arranged on the movable element 2 side corresponding to the two coils 7A and 7B, and the first drive unit is composed of the coil 7A and the magnet 8A. 6A is comprised, and the 2nd drive part 6B is comprised by the coil 7B and the magnet 8B. The magnet 8A has a magnetization direction along the axis P2, and the magnet 8B has a magnetization direction along the axis P1 orthogonal thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the magnet 8 fixed to the mover 2 side and the support plane 30 are set by supporting the mover 2 on the rolling elements 4 arranged on the support plane 30. An interval is maintained, and the coil 7 is disposed within the interval. By using the support plane 30 as a magnetic material and arranging the yoke 10 on the opposite side of the magnet 8 from the side facing the coil 7, a magnetic flux is formed from the magnet 8 through the linear portion of the coil 7 toward the support plane 30. Then, when a current flows through the coil 7, a driving force (Lorentz force) along the support plane 30 acts on the magnet 8. The direction of the driving force of the first driving unit 6A is the direction of the axis P2, and the direction of the driving force of the second driving unit 6B is the direction of the axis P1.

  Then, by inputting an alternating current having a resonance frequency set by the weight of the mover 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5 to the coil 7, the mover 2 to which the magnet 8 is fixed moves along the support plane 30. Vibrate.

  At this time, by using the support plane 30 as a magnetic body, the mover 2 is attracted to the support plane 30 side by the magnetic attractive force generated between the magnet 8 and the support plane 30 and is separated from the plurality of rolling elements 4. Without vibration, the support plane 30 is vibrated stably. The support plane 30 should just be a magnetic body in the part corresponding to the coil 7. Alternatively, a coil yoke that is a magnetic body may be provided between the support plane 30 and the coil 7.

  The vibration actuator 1 including the elastic member 5 (coil springs 5A to 5D) and the drive unit 6 (the first drive unit 6A and the second drive unit 6B) is moved by the current input to the coil 7 of the drive unit 6. Various forms of vibrations can be applied to 2.

  As an example, linear vibrations in different directions are obtained by selectively driving some of the plurality of driving units 6. Specifically, the current input to the coil 7A of the first drive unit 6A is turned off, and the second drive unit 6B has a resonance frequency set by the weight of the mover 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5. By inputting an alternating current, linear vibration along the axis P1 can be obtained. Also, an alternating current having a resonance frequency set by the weight of the mover 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5 is input to the coil 7A of the first drive unit 6A, and the current input to the second drive unit 6B is turned off. Thus, linear vibration along the axis P2 can be obtained.

  As another example, an alternating current having a resonance frequency set by the weight of the mover 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5 is applied to each of the coil 7A of the first drive unit 6A and the coil 7B of the second drive unit 6B. Input these AC currents to have the same phase. According to this, the movable element 2 can be linearly vibrated in an arbitrary direction on the support plane 30 by arbitrarily setting the effective value of the current input to the coils 7A and 7B.

  As another example, an alternating current having a resonance frequency set by the weight of the mover 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5 is applied to each of the coil 7A of the first drive unit 6A and the coil 7B of the second drive unit 6B. Input them and set them as alternating current with phase difference. According to this, the movable element 2 can be caused to vibrate circularly or elliptically on the support plane 30 by arbitrarily setting the effective value of the current input to the coils 7A and 7B and arbitrarily setting the phase difference thereof. it can.

  As described above, the vibration actuator 1 appropriately controls the alternating current input to the coils 7A and 7B (the alternating current having the resonance frequency set by the weight of the movable element 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5). It is a stable vibration along the support plane 30 and can generate various modes of vibration.

  4 and 5 show another embodiment (second embodiment) of the vibration actuator of the present invention. The same parts as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In this embodiment, the plurality of drive units 6 includes two drive units 6 (first drive unit 6A and second drive unit 6B) that are driven along a uniaxial direction (axis P1 direction), and others that are orthogonal to the uniaxial direction. It consists of two drive parts 6 (3rd drive part 6C, 4th drive part 6D) driven along an axial direction (axis P2 direction).

  The first drive unit 6A and the second drive unit 6B here are coils 7A and 7B having linear portions along the axis P2 on the support plane 30 and correspondingly along the axis P1 on the support plane 30. Magnets 8A and 8B having a magnetized direction are provided. On the other hand, the third drive unit 6C and the fourth drive unit 6D include coils 7C and 7D having linear portions along the axis P1 on the support plane 30 and correspondingly the axis P2 on the support plane 30. Are provided with magnets 8C and 8D having a magnetizing direction along the axis.

  In this example, the first drive unit 6A and the second drive unit 6B apply a driving force in the same direction (axis P1 direction) to the mover 2, and the third drive unit 6C and the fourth drive unit 6D have the same direction (axis A driving force in the (P2 direction) is applied to the mover 2. Therefore, similarly to the above-described embodiment, by appropriately controlling the alternating current input to the coils 7A to 7D (the alternating current having the resonance frequency set by the weight of the movable element 2 and the elastic coefficient of the elastic member 5), Various modes of vibration can be obtained.

  Further, the vibration actuator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention vibrates the mover 2 through the plurality of rolling elements 4 along the support plane 30, so that the planar movement can be obtained without using a shaft that is difficult to adjust. Stable vibration can be obtained. At this time, since the magnet 8 is provided on the movable element side and the coil 7 is provided on the support plane 30 side, power supply to the coil 7 can be performed without affecting the vibration.

  Furthermore, the vibration actuator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be simply assembled by stacking components so that the rolling element 4 is disposed on the support plane 30 of the frame 3 and the movable element 2 is disposed thereon. It becomes possible. Thereby, since precise position adjustment can be omitted, the complexity of assembly can be eliminated.

  FIG. 6 shows a portable information terminal 100 as an example of an electronic device including the vibration actuator according to the embodiment of the present invention. The portable information terminal 100 including the vibration actuator 1 that can obtain a stable vibration and can be thinned can transmit the incoming and outgoing operations of the communication function and the operation start / end time to the user with a stable vibration. In addition, the portable information terminal 100 pursuing high portability or design can be obtained by thinning the vibration actuator 1.

  Furthermore, since the vibration actuator 1 can generate various types of vibrations, it can be transmitted to the user by changing the form of vibration according to the difference in the destination and the type of signal generated. it can. In addition, input information and display information on the touch panel can be transmitted to the operator by the difference in vibration. In this way, a portable information terminal having a haptic function can be provided by mounting the vibration actuator 1 capable of generating various forms of vibration.

  As an example of the electronic device, the vibration actuator 1 may be mounted on a controller of a game machine or a portable game device. By vibrating the vibration actuator 1 in various modes, the vibration mode can be changed and transmitted to the user as the game progresses.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the design can be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Is included in the present invention. In particular, in the embodiment described above, the drive direction of the drive unit 6 is two axes orthogonal to the axes P1 and P2. However, the axes P1 and P2 may be axes intersecting at an arbitrary angle, and the drive direction Is not limited to two axes, but can be a multi-axis having three or more axes.

1: vibration actuator, 2: mover, 2A: weight,
3: frame, 3A: bottom, 3B: cover, 3C: side wall, 30: support plane,
4: rolling element, 4A: holding part, 5: elastic member, 5A-5D: coil spring,
6: Drive unit,
6A: 1st drive part, 6B: 2nd drive part, 6C: 3rd drive part, 6D 4th drive part,
7 (7A, 7B): coil, 8 (8A, 8B): magnet,
9: Circuit board, 9A: Input terminal, 10: Yoke

Claims (6)

A mover having a weight portion;
A frame having a support plane;
A plurality of rolling elements interposed between the movable element and the support plane and held so as to be freely rotatable;
A plurality of elastic members disposed between the mover and the frame, and elastically supporting the mover along different directions on the support plane;
A combination of a magnet fixed to the mover side and a coil fixed to the support plane side, and a plurality of drive units for driving the mover in different directions along the support plane;
The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein an alternating current having a resonance frequency set by a weight of the mover and an elastic coefficient of the elastic member is input to the coil.   The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein the support plane is a magnetic body, or a magnetic body is provided on the support plane, and a yoke is disposed on the opposite side of the magnet from the side facing the coil. .   The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein a part of the plurality of driving units is selectively driven.   The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein an alternating current having a phase difference is input to each coil in the plurality of driving units.   The plurality of driving units include two driving units that are driven along a uniaxial direction and two driving units that are driven along another axis direction orthogonal to the uniaxial direction. 5. The vibration actuator according to any one of 4 above.   A portable information terminal comprising the vibration actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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