Patent 7755254 was granted and assigned to NGK Insulators on July, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A honeycomb-type piezoelectric/electrostrictive element includes a honeycomb structure section having a partition wall which partitions cells passing through the honeycomb structure section in an axial direction, and an electrode as an internal electrode disposed on an inner wall surface of the cell to internally cover the entire inner wall surface, wherein the partition wall is formed of a piezoelectric/electrostrictive body, and the honeycomb structure section can be deformed by applying a voltage between the electrodes disposed in the cells adjacent through the partition wall.