Patent ID: 6989624

Claim:
A vibration wave driving apparatus comprising: a vibration element including a first member joined with an electro-mechanical energy conversion element and a second member, said electro-mechanical energy conversion element being sandwiched between said first member and said second member; a moving element in contact with a surface of said vibration element; and a supporting member adapted to fix said vibration element to an external apparatus, wherein said first member has a contact portion of a diameter larger than a diameter of said electro-mechanical energy conversion element and a projection portion, wherein said contact portion of said first member contacts said moving element through a surface opposite to the surface with which said electro-mechanical energy conversion element is joined, and the projection portion of said first member is located inside of said moving element, wherein the supporting member passes through the projection portion of said vibration element and inside of said moving element, and wherein when a frequency of an alternating signal which is applied to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element of said vibration element is varied, said vibration element is formed so as to make dynamic stiffnesses different on both sides of a boundary defined by said contact portion, so that a ratio of vibration displacements in the same direction, each of which is generated on one of both ends of said vibration element, is varied.