Patent ID: 8421908

Claim:
An actuator comprising: a movable part deformable in accordance with heat generation; and a control section controlling the amount of deformation of said movable part, wherein said movable part is structured with a plurality of portions including a base portion, a force generating portion, and a heat generating portion being stacked, said force generating portion generating force in accordance with heating, said heat generating portion generating heat in accordance with a current supply, said force generating portion generating force in accordance with heating of said force generating portion due to heat generation of said heat generating portion which is caused in accordance with the current supply to said heat generating portion, so that said generated force causes deformation of said base portion, said force generating portion, and said heat generating portion to thereby deform said movable part, an electrical resistance in said heat generating portion changes in accordance with deformation of said heat generating portion, said control section controls the amount of deformation of said movable part by detecting the amount of deformation of said movable part based on the electrical resistance in said heat generating portion and making a control so as to supply to said heat generating portion a current necessary for obtaining a desired amount of deformation based on a result of the detection of the amount of deformation.