Patent ID: 8482182

Claim:
A driving apparatus, comprising: an electromechanical transducing element which undergoes expansion/contraction motion by a driving signal; a driving shaft which is mounted on the electromechanical transducing element, and undergoes reciprocating movement according to the expansion/contraction motion of the electromechanical transducing element; a driven member which is friction-engaged with the driving shaft, and moves due to the reciprocating movement of the driving shaft; and a driving signal control circuit which applies the driving signal to the electromechanical transducing element, wherein the driving signal control circuit applies a first driving signal when the driven member is to be moved, and applies a second driving signal when the driven member is not to be moved to put the driven member into a vibration-arrested state, wherein the second driving signal is a signal for which an interval from a forward-direction charging timing to a reverse-direction charging timing of the electromechanical transducing element, and an interval from the reverse-direction charging timing to the next forward-direction charging timing, are the same.