Driving apparatus of vibration-type actuator, method of controlling driving vibration-type actuator, and image pickup apparatus

Abstract

A driving apparatus of a vibration-type actuator includes a driving circuit configured to drive a vibration unit including a plurality of vibrators, a detection unit configured to detect a sum of power consumption consumed by the plurality of vibrators, and a driving frequency setting unit configured to set a driving frequency within a frequency range depending on the sum of power consumption detected by the detection unit.

1 . A driving apparatus of a vibration-type actuator, comprising:
 a driving circuit configured to drive a vibration unit including a plurality of vibrators;   a detector configured to detect a sum of power consumption consumed by the plurality of vibrators; and   a driving frequency setting unit configured to set a driving frequency within a frequency range based on the sum of power consumption detected by the detector.   
     
     
         2 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets the driving frequency such that in a case where the sum of power consumption detected by the detector is greater than a value, the driving frequency is fixed or the driving frequency is set to a value greater than a frequency at which the sum of power consumption increases across the value. 
     
     
         3 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets the driving frequency such that in a case where a rate of change of the sum of power consumption detected by the detector with respect to the driving frequency is greater than a value, the driving frequency is fixed or set to a value greater than a frequency at which the rate of change increases across the value. 
     
     
         4 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 3 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets the driving frequency such that in a case where a sign of the rate of change of the sum of power consumption detected by the detector with respect to the driving frequency changes from positive to negative, the driving frequency is fixed or the driving frequency is set to a value greater than a frequency at which the sign of the rate of change changes from positive to negative. 
     
     
         5 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 3 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets a start frequency to a value at which the rate of change of the sum of power consumption detected by the detector with respect to the driving frequency increases, and the driving frequency setting unit sweeps the driving frequency to a value at which a driving speed and the power consumption increase. 
     
     
         6 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets a frequency of a driving signal within the frequency range to suppress an abrupt reduction in the driving speed or an increase in electric power beyond a value. 
     
     
         7 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the detector that detects the sum of power consumption consumed by the plurality of vibrators is an unit configured to detect power consumption of the driving circuit. 
     
     
         8 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets the driving frequency to be less than a previous value of the driving frequency in response to detecting the sum of power consumption by the detector until the sum of power consumption detected by the detector exceeds a value. 
     
     
         9 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the driving frequency setting unit sets the driving frequency to be less than a previous value of the driving frequency in response to detecting a rate of change of the sum of power consumption by the detector with respect to the driving frequency until the rate of change of the sum of power consumption detected by the detector exceeds a value. 
     
     
         10 . The driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 , wherein the vibration-type actuator comprising:
 a vibration unit including a plurality of vibrators each including an electromechanical transducer and each configured to vibrate in response to an application of a voltage, and   a driven element pressed against the plurality of vibrators such that the driven element is driven via friction and the driven element moves relatively with respect to the vibration unit.   
     
     
         11 . An image pickup apparatus comprising:
 a vibration-type actuator; and   the driving apparatus of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         12 . A method of controlling driving of a vibration-type actuator, comprising:
 detecting a sum of power consumption consumed by a plurality of vibrators; and   controlling a driving frequency within a frequency range based on the detected sum of power consumption.   
     
     
         13 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency includes, in a case where the detected sum of power consumption is greater than a value, fixing the driving frequency or controlling the driving frequency to be greater than a frequency of a driving voltage at which the sum of power consumption increases across the value. 
     
     
         14 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency includes, in a case where a rate of change of the detected sum of power consumption with respect to the driving frequency is greater than a value, fixing the driving frequency or controlling the driving frequency to be greater than a frequency of a driving voltage at which the rate of change of the sum of power consumption increases across the value. 
     
     
         15 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency includes, in a case where a sign of the rate of change of the detected sum of power consumption with respect to the driving frequency changes from positive to negative, fixing the driving frequency or controlling the driving frequency to be greater than a frequency of a driving voltage at which the sign of the rate of change changes from positive to negative. 
     
     
         16 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency comprising:
 setting a start frequency to a value at which a rate of change of the detected sum of power consumption with respect to the driving frequency increases, and   sweeping the driving frequency to a value at which a driving speed and the power consumption increase.   
     
     
         17 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency includes setting a frequency of a driving signal within the frequency range to suppress an abrupt reduction in a driving speed or an increase in electric power beyond a value. 
     
     
         18 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the detecting of the sum of power consumption consumed by the plurality of vibrators includes detecting power consumption of a driving circuit. 
     
     
         19 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency includes controlling the driving frequency to be less than a previous value of the driving frequency until the detected sum of power consumption exceeds a value. 
     
     
         20 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the controlling of the driving frequency includes controlling the driving frequency to be less than a previous value of the driving frequency until a rate of change of the detected sum of power consumption with respect to the driving frequency exceeds a value. 
     
     
         21 . The method of controlling driving of the vibration-type actuator according to  claim 12 , wherein the vibration-type actuator comprising:
 a vibration unit including a plurality of vibrators each including an electromechanical transducer and each configured to vibrate in response to an application of a voltage to the electromechanical transducer, and   a driven element pressed against the plurality of vibrator so as to be driven via friction.