Patent ID: 6885615

Claim:
A piezoelectric actuator for moving a target object, comprising: a base frame; and a motion stimulator including: a vibrating plate including piezoelectric material and reinforcing support material stacked upon each other, said reinforcing support material being effective for restricting unloaded vibratory movement of said vibrating plate, wherein said vibrating plate is not in contact with said target object, to a longitudinal direction substantially parallel to the surface plane of said vibrating plate; and a support arm having a first end fixed to said base frame and a second end fixed to a side of said vibrating plate at a point within the longitudinal extremes of said vibrating plate, said support arm providing an elastic force for urging a longitudinal end of said vibrating plate to abut against said target object such that said longitudinal direction is aligned toward said target object; wherein, when said piezoelectric material vibrates, said vibrating plate is caused to vibrate and drive said target object.