Patent ID: 7679264

Claim:
A driving mechanism, comprising: a case having a frame and a protective plate attached to the frame, the frame and the protective plate defining a chamber; an actuator comprising: an electro-mechanical conversion element, and a driving member which moves according to elongation and contraction of the electro-mechanical conversion element, and attached to a first end of the electro-mechanical conversion element; a weight member attached to a second end, opposite to the first end, of the electro-mechanical conversion element, the weight member being accommodated inside the chamber and made of an elastically deformable member and an exterior circumference of the weight member being spaced apart from the frame and the protective plate, such that an open space is defined between the protective plate and an entire surface, of the weight member, that opposes the protective plate; and a driven member frictionally engaged with the driving member, wherein the actuator allows the driven member to move along the driving member, and the actuator is supported by the case laterally in elongating and contracting directions of the electro-mechanical conversion element.