Design and Implementation of a Piezoelectric Clutch Mechanism Using Piezoelectric Buzzers

This paper investigates design, fabrication and test of a piezoelectric clutch mechanism, which contains a driving member connected to a DC motor and a driven member connected to a mechanical load. Each member comprises a piezoelectric disk, a shaft, a plastic lid and others. The connection between radiation surfaces of the piezoelectric disks is controlled according to electrical drives of the piezoelectric disks. In doing so, a thin disc piezoelectric buzzer is needed to perform the piezoelectric disk, and a power-driven transmission system is constructed to test the piezoelectric mechanism. Then, operating principles of the clutch mechanism, including inverse piezoelectric effect and ultrasonic levitation, for disconnecting the radiation surfaces are stated, and a flexural vibration mode of the piezoelectric buzzer for deriving the ultrasonic levitation is measured. Finally, an experimental setup for sensing speeds of the shafts and generating electrical sine sources is constructed to find the speeds of the shafts under different drive conditions.