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EP-4545193-B1 - VIBRATION ACTUATOR AND CONTACT-TYPE INPUT DEVICE

EP4545193B1EP 4545193 B1EP4545193 B1EP 4545193B1EP-4545193-B1

Inventors

  • SAKAGUCHI, KAZUTAKA
  • ISHITANI, Tomoya
  • TAKAHASHI, YUKI

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241022

Claims (9)

  1. A vibration actuator, comprising: a movable part that includes a coil, a core including both end portions protruding from the coil, and a weight fixed to the core, wherein the coil is wound around the core; a base part made of a magnetic body, the base part including yokes respectively facing the both end portions; at least one elastic part that supports the movable part in an elastically vibratable manner with respect to the base part; and a cover that accommodates the movable part and the at least one elastic part between the cover and the base part and forms a housing together with the base part, wherein a magnetic attraction force generated by energization of the coil displaces the movable part toward the base part to vibrate the movable part, and the base part includes a spacer that forms a gap between each of the both end portions and a corresponding one of the yokes, characterized in that the at least one elastic part includes a first connection portion and a second connection portion, the first connection portion is connected to the base part via the spacer, and the second connection portion is connected to the movable part.
  2. The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein the at least one elastic part is formed of a leaf spring and has a shape that is bent or curved at more than one location.
  3. The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein the at least one elastic part includes a plurality of elastic parts, the elastic parts are respectively disposed at both ends of the movable part in a direction orthogonal to a winding axis of the coil.
  4. The vibration actuator according to claim 3, wherein each of the elastic parts includes a pair of leaf springs having a line-symmetrical shape with respect to a line along the winding axis.
  5. The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein the base part includes, disposed thereon, a damper configured to contact a portion of the at least one elastic part, the portion being displaced together with the movable part.
  6. The vibration actuator according to claim 1, further comprising: a suppression member that suppresses displacement of the movable part toward the cover.
  7. The vibration actuator according to claim 6, wherein the suppression member is made of a material having low elasticity and damping property.
  8. The vibration actuator according to claim 1, wherein the yokes and the base part are each formed of stacked magnetic sheet metals.
  9. A contact-type input device in which the vibration actuator according to claim 1 is disposed on a back surface of an operation surface of the contact-type input device, the contact-type input device comprising: a control part that, in response to a contact operation of an operator on the operation surface, causes the coil to be energized to vibrate the movable part and present a haptic feeling to the operator.

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a vibration actuator and a contact-type input device including the same. Background Art Conventionally, an apparatus is known which uses a vibration actuator for applying vibration as a contact operation feeling (a sense of contact and operation) to the finger pad of an operator who is in contact with an operation surface such as a touchpad (PTL 1). PTL 1 discloses a module including a movable plate provided with an operation surface of a touchpad on one surface, a support member including a facing portion facing the other surface of the movable plate, a damper member connecting the movable plate with the support member, and an actuator that vibrates the movable plate. In the module, the actuator includes a coil and a magnet that face each other, one of the coil and the magnet is fixed to the other surface of the movable plate, and the other one of the coil and the magnet is fixed to the facing portion of the support member. PTL 2, PTL3 and PTL 4 describe further examples of vibration actuators and devices. Citation List Patent Literature PTL 1 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-067869PTL 2 US Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022/0103052 A1PTL 3 US Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019/0151895 A1PTL 4 US Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020/0136488 A1 Summary of Invention Technical Problem In the module disclosed in PTL 1, one of the coil and the magnet is fixed to the other surface of the movable plate, and the other one of the coil and the magnet is fixed to the facing portion of the support member. In PTL 1, miniaturization of the module is required, but when the module is miniaturized, the mountability of the coil and the magnet deteriorates, and satisfactory haptic feeling may not be obtained due to problems such as the positions at which the coil and the magnet are mounted. An object of the present invention is to provide a vibration actuator and a contact-type input device each capable of improving mountability and obtaining a satisfactory haptic feeling. Solution to Problem In order to achieve the above object, a vibration actuator according to the present invention is described in the appended claim 1. In order to achieve the above object, a contact-type input device according to the present invention is a contact-type input device in which the above-described vibration actuator is disposed on a back surface of an operation surface of the contact-type input device, the contact-type input device including: a control part that, in response to a contact operation of an operator on the operation surface, causes the coil to be energized to vibrate the movable part and present a haptic feeling to the operator. Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to improve mountability and obtain a satisfactory haptic feeling. Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a vibration actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention;FIG. 2 is an external side view of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 1;FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 1;FIG. 4 is a top view of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 1, illustrating a configuration in which a cover and a weight are removed from the vibration actuator;FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 1, illustrating a configuration in which a magnetic base is removed from the vibration actuator;FIG. 6A illustrates the behavior of an actuator main body, illustrating a non-excitation state;FIG. 6B illustrates the behavior of the actuator main body, illustrating an excitation state;FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a drive circuit that drives the actuator main body;FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the voltage supplied from the drive circuit illustrated in FIG. 7 to the actuator main body;FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a contact-type input device including the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 1;FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a vibration actuator according to a variation (variation 1) of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5;FIG. 11 is a top view of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 10, illustrating a configuration in which a cover and a weight are removed from the vibration actuator; andFIG. 12 is a bottom view of the vibration actuator illustrated in FIG. 10, illustrating a configuration in which a magnetic base is removed from the vibration actuator. Description of Embodiments Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. An orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) is used for the description in the present embodiment. The orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) is used commonly in the drawings described below. In the following, the width direction, the depth direction, and the height direction (thickness direction) of below-described