A novel ultrasonic motor with a built-in clutch mechanism for a force-feed-back actuator

A force-feed-back actuator used for a haptic virtual reality system requires a rapid reactive force generation in order to present the realistic touch of surface roughness and hardness on a virtual object. In general, an ultrasonic motor (USM) has a quick response; however, a torque free condition that gives no feeling to a user does not exist on a USM. One solution of this problem is to have a static clutch mechanism within a USM. A novel ultrasonic motor equipped with a clutch mechanism is proposed and examined.