Driving mechanism using shape-memory alloy
AssigneeMinolta Co., Ltd.
InventorsYOSHIHARU TANAKA, JUNICHI TANII, SHOICHI MINATO
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Abstract
The present invention aims at providing a driving mechanism which is capable of selectively driving a plurality of driven members by a single drive source, thus being advantageous for minimization of devices. A transmission changeover unit 32 is provided for selectively transmitting a drive force from a motor 31 to a specific one of driven members 33, 34. Transmission changeover is achieved by utilizing a shape change of a shape-memory alloy 64 by heating.
Claims29
A driving mechanism comprising:
- a driven member biased toward one direction from an initial position;
- a locking mechanism for retaining the driven member at the initial position against a biasing force;
- a shape-memory alloy of which transformation into a memorized shape by electric heating is used for lock release operation for releasing the lock by the locking mechanism;
- and
- a controller by which electric heating of the shape-memory alloy for releasing the lock is completed after a predetermined period of time has passed since the start of electricity supply.
A driving mechanism comprising:
- a driven member biased toward one direction from an initial position;
- a locking mechanism for retaining the driven member at the initial position against a biasing force;
- a shape-memory alloy of which transformation into a memorized shape by electric heating is used for lock release operation for releasing the lock by the locking mechanism;
- an operative member for releasing the lock;
- and
- a controller by which electric heating of the shape-memory alloy for releasing the lock is completed after a predetermined period of time has passed since the start of electricity supply.
A driving mechanism having a plurality of driven members, comprising:
- a first driving power source which is a motor;
- a second driving power source which is a shape-memory alloy;
- a transmission changeover mechanism for selectively transmitting a drive force from the first driving power source to a specific one of the plurality of driven members, wherein the transmission changeover mechanism performs a transmission changeover action by utilizing a shape change of the second driving power source.
A driving mechanism comprising:
- a driven member;
- a shape-memory alloy having a predetermined memorized shape;
- a driver for driving the driven member utilizing transformation of the shape-memory alloy;
- a sensor for detecting displacement of the driven member;
- and
- a controller for controlling the driver based on data from the sensor which detects displacement of the driven member.
A driving mechanism comprising:
- a driven member;
- a shape-memory alloy having a predetermined memorized shape;
- a driver for driving the driven member utilizing partial transformation of the shape-memory alloy;
- and
- a controller for controlling the driver.
A driving mechanism, comprising:
- a motor;
- a first driven member;
- a second driven member;
- and
- a transmission changeover mechanism for changing a first transmission which transmits a drive force from the motor to the first driven member into a second transmission which transmits the drive force from the motor to the second driven member, wherein the transmission changeover mechanism utilizes a shape change of a shape-memory alloy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.