JPH06296380A - Stackable telescopic actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To improve manufacturing efficiency (mass productivity) and achieve low prices. [Structure] A plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 are integrally formed via bent portions 22. Odd unit insulation board 21 from the bottom
, The front electrode 24 is formed on the front surface, and the back electrode 25 is formed on the back surface of the even-numbered unit insulating substrate 21. Further, all the front electrodes 24 are connected in series by the wiring portion 26 formed on the surface of the unit insulating substrate 21 and the bent portion 22, and similarly,
All the back electrodes 25 are connected in series by the wiring portion 27 formed on the back surface. Each bent portion 22 formed in advance in a plane
By alternately bending in the opposite directions, a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 are laminated at a predetermined interval to manufacture a laminated electrostatic actuator. This actuator is provided with each wiring part 2
When a voltage is applied between the electrodes 24 and 25 through the electrodes 6 and 27, an electrostatic attractive force is generated between the front electrodes 24 and the back electrode 25, and the distance between the electrodes 24 and 25 is equal to that of the bent portion 22. Shrinks against elastic force.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrostatic or electromagnetic attraction force or repulsive force acting between electrodes or coils which are formed by laminating a plurality of unit insulating substrates having electrodes or coils formed thereon at predetermined intervals. The present invention relates to a stack type expansion / contraction actuator that expands and contracts in the stacking direction to generate a driving force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a laminated expansion / contraction actuator of this type, for example, a laminated electrostatic actuator as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-186179 is known. In this laminated electrostatic actuator, by stacking a plurality of unit electrostatic actuators having a pair of electrodes facing each other with a predetermined gap, the expansion / contraction displacement amount (driving force) in the stacking direction is increased. It was done. In this structure, each unit electrostatic actuator has a structure in which the supporting plates of the opposing electrodes are connected by an elastic connecting member such as a leaf spring.

Such a laminated telescopic actuator is
It is known that the gap distance between the electrodes greatly affects the expansion / contraction characteristics of the actuator. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned laminated electrostatic actuator, the electrostatic attractive force F is calculated by the following equation (1).

F = (ε · S · V ² ) / 2d ² (1) where ε is the dielectric constant of the gap between the electrodes, S is the electrode area, V is the applied voltage, and d is the gap interval. . As is apparent from the above formula (1), the electrostatic attractive force F increases as the gap distance d decreases, if the applied voltage is constant.

[0005]

The above-mentioned known laminated type electrostatic actuator employs an elastic connecting member such as a leaf spring as a means for forming a gap between the electrodes. When the size is reduced to less than 10 microns, it is very troublesome to manage the elastic coefficient of each elastic connecting member and to join the electrode supporting plate and the elastic connecting member. In addition, in order to expand and contract this actuator, wiring for applying a voltage to each electrode is required, but in the case of the above-mentioned known example, an aerial wiring is performed for each electrode or along each elastic connecting member. It is necessary to perform wiring, and in combination with the above-mentioned circumstances, there is a drawback that the manufacturing process becomes very complicated, the manufacturing efficiency (mass productivity) decreases, and the cost increases. In addition, the expansion and contraction of the actuator also applies a large stress to the connecting portion of the wiring, which reduces the reliability of the wiring and the expansion and contraction of the actuator is hindered by this wiring, resulting in expansion and contraction displacement (driving force). May decrease.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the manufacturing efficiency (mass productivity) and realize a low price, and to improve the reliability of wiring. Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide a laminated expansion / contraction actuator capable of preventing a decrease in expansion / contraction displacement (driving force) due to wiring.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a laminated telescopic actuator of the present invention is a unit insulating substrate having an electrode or coil formed on the front surface and a unit insulating substrate having an electrode or coil formed on the back surface. The insulating substrate and the insulating substrate are alternately and integrally connected to each other through the bent portions, and the front and back surfaces of the unit insulating substrate and the bent portion are provided with wiring portions for electrically connecting electrodes or coils on the respective surfaces. The unit insulating substrates are formed and are alternately bent in the opposite directions to the front and back sides, so that the unit insulating substrates are laminated at predetermined intervals.

[0008]

The present invention is applicable to both a laminated electrostatic actuator and a laminated electromagnetic actuator. For example, when it is applied to a laminated electrostatic actuator,
The electrodes on the front surface side (hereinafter referred to as “front electrodes”) and the electrodes on the back surface side (hereinafter referred to as “back electrodes”) are arranged alternately, and a gap exists between these front electrodes and back electrodes. And, since each front electrode and each back electrode are connected by separate wiring portions formed at the bent portions, respectively,
A voltage can be applied between all the front and back electrodes through each wiring portion. By applying this voltage, an electrostatic attractive force is generated between each front electrode and the back electrode, and the distance between each electrode contracts and displaces against the elastic force of the bent portion. Only the actuator operates so as to contract. After that, when the voltage application is released, the actuator returns to its original state due to the elasticity of the bent portion. When assembling this actuator, the simple work of bending,
A plurality of unit insulating substrates can be laminated and assembled, and the wiring work to each electrode after this lamination and assembling becomes unnecessary.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a laminated electrostatic actuator will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the stacking type expansion / contraction actuator, and FIG. 2 is a development view of a state before a bending step, which will be described later, viewed from the front side.

This laminated electrostatic actuator is constructed by laminating a plurality of substantially square unit insulating substrates 21 at predetermined intervals. Each of these unit insulating substrates 21 is integrally formed with a plate-shaped or film-shaped insulator (for example, polyimide) having a predetermined spring property together with a bent portion 22 that connects the unit insulating substrate 21 to each other. In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 are connected in a horizontal row via bent portions 22. Further, the unit insulating substrate 21 located on one end side (the left end side in FIG. 2) is provided with a lead-out portion 23 having substantially the same shape as the bent portion 22.

Further, in FIG. 2, a square electrode (hereinafter referred to as "front electrode") 24 is formed on the surface of an odd-numbered unit insulating substrate 21 counting from the left side by a conductor pattern such as printing or vapor deposition, Even-numbered unit insulating substrate 21
Has a square electrode on the back (hereinafter referred to as "back electrode")
25 are formed in the same manner, whereby the front electrode 24
And the back electrode 25 are alternately arranged.
The front electrodes 24 are connected in series by a wiring portion 26 formed on the surface of the unit insulating substrate 21 and the bent portion 22 with a conductor pattern. Similarly, each back electrode 25 is connected to the unit insulating substrate 21.
Also, they are connected in series by a wiring portion 27 formed on the back surface of the bent portion 22. Each wiring portion 26, 27 is a lead portion 23.
The extension portion 23 is electrically connected to a power supply line (not shown).

In this case, the bent portions 22 which are formed in a plane in advance are alternately bent 180 ° in opposite directions along the center folding curves AA and BB (see FIG. 2). (A-A
Lines are valley fold lines, and BB lines are mountain fold lines). As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 are laminated at a predetermined interval to manufacture a laminated electrostatic actuator. Each unit insulating substrate 21 is elastically supported by the bent portions 22 located on both sides thereof. Also, the curve A
In order to perform bending at -A and BB easily and accurately, a pair of dummy electrodes 28 are provided on one side of each bent portion 22 on both sides of the bending curves AA and BB. Are formed so as to be line-symmetrical at a predetermined interval. This allows
The bending curves A-A and B-B of the bent portion 22 have a relatively lower bending rigidity than the portions on both sides of which the dummy electrodes 28 are formed. -A,
B-B makes it easy to bend.

In the laminated electrostatic actuator having the above-mentioned structure, when positive and negative voltages are applied to the wiring portions 26 and 27 led out on both sides of the lead-out portion 23, the wiring portions 26 and 27 are discharged.
A voltage is applied between all front electrodes 24 and back electrodes 25 through 27. By this voltage application, an electrostatic attractive force obtained by the above-mentioned formula (1) is generated between each front electrode 24 and the back electrode 25, and the distance between each electrode 24, 25 becomes the elastic force of the bent portion 22. The actuator is contracted and displaced to a balanced position, and the entire actuator is contracted by the integrated value of the contracted displacement amount. After that, when the application of the voltage is released, the actuator returns to its original state due to the elasticity of the bent portion 22.

According to the first embodiment described above, when the laminated electrostatic actuator is assembled, the bending portion 2 is previously prepared.
The plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 connected by 2 are connected to the front electrode 2
4, the back electrode 25, the wiring portions 26 and 27, and the dummy electrode 28 are patterned, and the bent portions 22 are alternately bent in the opposite directions, whereby the unit insulating substrates 21 are laminated at predetermined intervals. , To manufacture a laminated electrostatic actuator. Therefore, it is possible to stack and assemble a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 by a simple operation of bending, and wiring work to each electrode 24, 25 after the stacking and assembling becomes unnecessary, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency (mass productivity). ) Can be greatly improved,
The price can be reduced. Moreover, since the electrodes 24 and 25 are electrically connected to each unit insulating substrate 21 by the wiring portions 26 and 27 patterned on the bent portion 22,
Unlike the conventional external wiring, the wiring portions 26 and 27 do not interfere with the expansion and contraction operation of the laminated electrostatic actuator, and it is possible to prevent the expansion and contraction displacement amount (driving force) from decreasing due to the wiring.
The reliability of wiring can also be improved.

Incidentally, in order to prevent springback (bending back) of each bent portion 22 after bending, each bent portion 22 may be heat-treated in the bending process.

In the first embodiment, in the unfolded state (state before the bending step), the plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 and the bent portions 22 are connected so as to be aligned in a horizontal row. The present invention is not limited to this, and as in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example, the connecting direction of the unit insulating substrate 21 (the position of the bent portion 22) is changed by 90 °, for example. The unit insulating substrates 21 may be connected so as to be arranged in the diagonal direction as a whole. Also in the second embodiment, each bending portion 22 is formed by bending the bending line AA, BB at the center thereof.
(See Fig. 4) Alternately bend 180 ° in opposite directions (line A-A indicates valley fold line, line BB indicates mountain fold line),
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 are laminated at predetermined intervals to manufacture a laminated electrostatic actuator. The configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment are given and the description thereof is omitted.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The positions of the bent portions 22 after bending are sequentially changed by 90 °, and the bent portions 22 are distributed in good balance on the four sides of the laminated electrostatic actuator. Therefore, the bent portion 2
There is an advantage that a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 can be easily stacked straight in the stacking axial direction without the bending error due to 2 being biased to one side of the actuator.

On the other hand, FIGS. 5 to 7 show a third embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a laminated electrostatic actuator. Here, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the laminated electrostatic actuator, FIG. 6 is a development view of a state before adhesion of a spacer member 31 which will be described later viewed from the front side, and FIG. 7 is a state immediately before the bending process from the front side. The developed view (electrodes 24, 25 and wiring parts 26, 2
7 is omitted).

In the third embodiment, the spacer member 31 is sandwiched between the unit insulating substrates 21 in order to accurately control the gap distance between the unit insulating substrates 21 when the bent portions 22 and 30 are bent. I am making it. In this case, FIG. 6 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the unit insulating substrate 21 having the front electrode 24 before the bending process is bonded to the back electrode 2 by attaching one spacer member 31 to each of both sides of the front surface along the connecting direction.
The unit insulating substrate 21 having 5 has, for example, 1 at the center of the back surface.
The book spacer member 31 is adhered along the connecting direction. Further, in FIGS. 6 and 7, the number of even-numbered bent portions 22 counted from the left side is only one as in the first embodiment, but the odd-numbered bent portions 30 are provided at both ends of the unit insulating substrate 21. The two bent portions 30 are respectively formed, and one side of the unit insulating substrate 21 is connected at two places. With this configuration, when the bent portions 22 and 30 are bent, one spacer member 31 is positioned corresponding to each bent portion 22 and 30. 2
Regarding the bent portion 30 of the book, the wiring portion 26 on the front surface side and the wiring portion 27 on the back surface side are formed in different bent portions 30.

Also in this third embodiment, each bent portion 2
2 and 30 are alternately arranged in the center in the folding curves AA and BB (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) in the opposite direction to the spacer member 31.
Bend it until the unit insulating substrate 21 contacts (A-A
Line represents a valley fold line, and BB line represents a mountain fold line). As shown in FIG.
The laminated electrostatic actuator is manufactured by stacking with the sandwiched therebetween. The configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment are given and the description thereof is omitted.

According to the third embodiment, each wiring portion 26,
When a voltage is applied between all the front electrodes 24 and the back electrodes 25 through 27, an electrostatic attractive force obtained by the above-mentioned formula (1) is generated between each of the front electrodes 24 and the back electrodes 25, and the unit insulating substrate A part of the part 21 other than the part to which the spacer member 31 is adhered is bent and deformed to a position in which it is balanced with its elasticity, and the entire actuator is contracted by the integrated value of the amount of deformation. After that, when the voltage application is released, the actuator returns to its original state due to the elasticity of the unit insulating substrate 21 itself.

In the third embodiment, since the bent portions 22 and 30 are not deformed and are fixed by the spacer member 31 even during the expansion / contraction operation, the wiring portion 26 formed on the bent portions 22 and 30. , 27 has no external force of expansion and contraction action, and the reliability of wiring can be further improved. In addition, the gap distance between the unit insulating substrates 21 depends on the spacer member 31.
Since it is accurately regulated by the above, it is possible to manage the gap interval with high accuracy, reduce variations in the expansion and contraction displacement amount (driving force) of the actuator, and improve the quality.

The first to third embodiments described above are
Although the present invention is applied to the laminated electrostatic actuator, the present invention is also applicable to the laminated electromagnetic actuator. Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a laminated electromagnetic actuator will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described with reference to. Here, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the laminated electromagnetic actuator, FIG. 9 is a development view of the state before the bending process viewed from the front side, and FIG. 10 is a development view of the state before the bending process viewed from the back side. is there.

In the fourth embodiment, the front thin film coil 41 is formed of copper foil or the like in place of the front electrode 24 of the first embodiment, and similarly, the back thin film coil 42 is formed in place of the back electrode 25. ing. The thin film coils 41 and 42 are connected in series by the wiring portions 43 and 44 formed on the unit insulating substrate 21 and the bent portion 22, and the wiring portions 43 and 44 are connected to the lead portion 2 respectively.
It is extended to 3 and is electrically connected to a power supply line (not shown) at the lead-out portion 23.

Also in the fourth embodiment, each bent portion 22
In the center of the curved lines AA, BB (Figs. 9 and 10).
Alternately turn 180 degrees in the opposite direction (see A) (A-
(A line indicates a valley fold line, and BB line indicates a mountain fold line). As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of unit insulating substrates 21 are laminated at predetermined intervals to manufacture a laminated electromagnetic actuator.
The configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment described above,
The same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are used and the description thereof is omitted.

According to the fourth embodiment, each wiring portion 43,
Through 44, all front and back thin film coils 41 and back thin film coils 4
When a current is applied to the thin film coil 2, a magnetic attraction force or a repulsive force acts between the thin film coils 41 and 42 due to the electromagnetic force generated from the thin film coils 41 and 42, and the distance between the thin film coils 41 and 42 is equal to that of the bent portion 22. It expands and contracts to a position where it balances the elastic force, and operates so that the entire laminated electromagnetic actuator expands and contracts by the integrated value of the expansion and contraction amount. After that, when the current is turned off, this laminated electromagnetic actuator returns to its original state due to the elasticity of the bent portion 22.

Although not shown, in this laminated electromagnetic actuator as well, the connecting direction of the unit insulating substrates 21 (the position of the bent portion 22) can be changed appropriately, or a spacer member can be sandwiched between the unit insulating substrates 21. It goes without saying that the configuration is good.

In addition, in the above-described first embodiment, a "pair" of dummy electrodes 28 are formed on each of the bent portions 22 to form the bending curves AA, B-.
It is formed so as to be line-symmetrical with respect to B, and A-A, B-
I tried to bend the B line easily and accurately,
As in the fifth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 11, each bent portion 2
2 "two pairs" of dummy electrodes 45 are formed on both sides of the curved line A-.
It may be formed so as to be line-symmetrical with respect to A and BB, and the rigidity of both side portions of each bent portion 22 may be made uniform.

Alternatively, as in the sixth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 12, instead of the dummy electrodes 28 and 45, a polygonal curve A-
A notch 46 is formed on A and BB, and the notch 46 lowers the bending rigidity of the folding curves AA and BB, so that the folding along the lines AA and BB is performed. The music may be easily and accurately performed. However, it goes without saying that the intended purpose of the present invention can be sufficiently achieved even if the cutout portion 46 and the dummy electrodes 28 and 45 are not provided.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but may be changed depending on the application of the actuator.
The shape of the unit insulating substrate 21 (the shape of the electrodes 24 and 25 and the thin film coils 41 and 42) may be changed to another shape such as a rectangle, a triangle or a circle, or the number of laminated unit insulating substrates 21 may be changed. May be accommodated in the frame-shaped guide rails so as to guide the displacement direction of each unit insulating board 21, and various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that it can be implemented.

[0031]

As is clear from the above description, according to the laminated type expansion / contraction actuator of the present invention, a plurality of unit insulating substrates can be laminated and assembled by a simple operation of bending, Each electrode (or coil) after assembly
Since the wiring work to is unnecessary, the manufacturing efficiency (mass productivity) can be greatly improved and the price can be reduced. Moreover, since each electrode (each coil) is electrically connected to each unit insulating substrate by the wiring portion formed in the bent portion, unlike the conventional external wiring, the wiring portion expands and contracts the actuator. It is possible to prevent the expansion and contraction displacement amount (driving force) from decreasing due to the wiring, and to improve the reliability of the wiring.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a development view of the state before the bending step in the first embodiment as seen from the front surface side.

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a development view of the state before the bending step in the second embodiment as seen from the surface side.

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a development view of a state before adhering a spacer member in a third embodiment as seen from the front surface side.

FIG. 7 is a development view of the state before the bending step in the third embodiment as seen from the surface side (illustration of electrodes and wiring portions is omitted).

FIG. 8 is an overall perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a development view of the state before the bending step in the fourth embodiment as seen from the front surface side.

FIG. 10 is a development view of the state before the bending step in the fourth embodiment as seen from the back surface side.

FIG. 11 is a development view around a bent portion showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a development view around a bent portion showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 ... Unit insulating substrate, 22 ... Bent portion, 23 ... Exit portion, 2
4 ... Front electrode (electrode), 25 ... Back electrode (electrode), 26, 2
7 ... Wiring part, 28 ... Dummy electrode, 30 ... Bent part, 31 ...
Spacer member, 41 ... Front thin film coil (coil), 42 ...
Back thin film coil (coil), 43, 44 ... Wiring part, 45 ...
Dummy electrode, 46 ... Notch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A unit insulating substrate having an electrode or a coil formed on its front surface and a unit insulating substrate having an electrode or a coil formed on its back surface are alternately and integrally connected through a bent portion, and the unit is also formed. On each of the front and back surfaces of the insulating substrate and the bent portion, a wiring portion for electrically connecting between the electrodes or coils of each surface is formed, and by bending each bent portion alternately in the opposite direction, A laminate type expansion / contraction actuator, characterized in that each unit insulating substrate is laminated at a predetermined interval.