Patent ID: 7786651

Claim:
A micromotion mechanism having an ultrasonic motor, comprising: a fixing base; a moving element supported to be movable in a moving axis direction with respect to the fixing base; an oscillation element having a rectangular geometry including a first plane parallel to the moving axis direction and provided with a plurality of projections and a second plane parallel to the first plane for exciting a plurality of oscillation modes by applying a high frequency voltage signal; and a holding mechanism for holding the oscillation element with respect to the fixing base, wherein the holding mechanism does not include any high-nonlinearity elements, and comprises a high rigidity material that is not a friction sliding unit or a rubber member, which are high nonlinearity elements, and wherein the holding mechanism comprises a thin leaf spring provided parallel to a fixing surface of the oscillation element, and wherein the thin leaf spring comprises a thick portion not functioning as a spring at a central portion thereof, and holds a drive direction of the oscillation element with high rigidity by fixing the thick portion to a part of the second plane of the oscillation element.