Patent ID: 7382583

Claim:
A rotary piezoelectric microactuator comprising: a substrate; a post fixed to the substrate; a rotatable frame connected to the post by a plurality of post flexures, the post flexures permitting rotary movement of the frame about an axis through the post; a single piezoelectric driver having a portion fixed to the substrate and a movable portion having bidirectional linear displacement along a first line; a connecting rod having its length oriented generally orthogonal to said first line and having a driver end connected to the driver movable portion and a frame end connected to the rotatable frame at a radius from the axis of the post; a linkage connecting the driver movable portion to the driver end of the rod and causing the driver end of the rod to move in a generally linear direction substantially orthogonal to said first line, the linkage amplifying the displacement of driver movable portion, whereby the frame end of the rod exhibits a generally linear displacement greater than the generally linear displacement of the movable portion of the driver in response to movement of the movable portion of the driver; an anchor fixed to the substrate and connected to the movable portion of the driver by an anchor flexure, the anchor flexure permitting the generally linear movement of the movable portion of the driver along said first line and preventing movement generally orthogonal to said first line; and a driver flexure connecting the driver fixed portion to the driver end of the rod, the driver flexure substantially preventing movement of the driver end of the rod along said first line.