US 7,615,909 B2
Surface acoustic wave motor
Masahiro Kirigaya, Kyotanabe (Japan); Masahiro Sato, Nara (Japan); Youhei Ishigami, Shijonawate (Japan); Kazuo Sawada, Katano (Japan); and Minoru Kurosawa, Yokohama (Japan)
Assigned to Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd, Osaka (Japan); and Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan)
Appl. No. 11/910,047
PCT Filed Mar. 27, 2006, PCT No. PCT/JP2006/306077
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Sep. 28, 2007,
PCT Pub. No. WO2006/104070, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 05, 2006.
Claims priority of application No. 2005-091019 (JP), filed on Mar. 28, 2005; and application No. 2005-209150 (JP), filed on Jul. 19, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2008/0252171 A1, Oct. 16, 2008
Int. Cl. H03H 9/25 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 310—313R  [310/313 B; 310/313 D; 310/316.01; 310/316.02] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A surface acoustic wave motor comprising:
a surface acoustic wave substrate;
a slider placed to contact a surface of the surface acoustic wave substrate while being provided with an applied pressure;
a driving interdigital electrode(s) provided on the surface of the surface acoustic wave substrate and connected to an external power supply for generating a driving surface acoustic wave in the surface acoustic wave substrate so as to drive the slider by a frictional force which is generated on a contact surface of the slider with the surface acoustic wave substrate based on the surface acoustic wave and the applied pressure to the slider; and
recovery interdigital electrodes placed on the surface of the surface acoustic wave substrate forward and backward in the direction of travel of the surface acoustic wave for recovering energy of a surface acoustic wave, unused to drive the slider, in the surface acoustic wave, and for using the recovered energy to generate a surface acoustic wave,
wherein the surface acoustic wave motor further comprises phase adjusting means for matching the phase of the surface acoustic wave generated by the recovery interdigital electrode to the phase of the driving surface acoustic wave generated by the driving interdigital electrode.