Back to results
US 2002/0159336 A1Published application
Baffled ring directional transducers and arrays
OwnerDavid A. Brown, Boris Aronovinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to a directional electro-acoustic transducer and arrays of transducers of the cylindrical or ring electro-mechanical type in conjunction with a partial conformal acoustic baffle. Such a device has very desirable directional beam patterns that are nearly frequency independent over a significant frequency range and the radiation is has a characteristic broadband frequency response due to multimode excitation.
Claims18
An underwater sound transducer comprising;
- a vibrating member having a cylindrical surface, said vibrating member comprised of an electro-mechanical transducer;
- an acoustic baffle, partially surrounding said cylindrical surface of said electro-mechanical transducer;
- said acoustic baffle serving a function as to reduce the acoustical radiation from said electro-mechanical transducer in a particular direction
- wherein said acoustic baffle is suitably mechanically isolated from the direct mechanical vibrations of the surface of said electro-mechanical transducer,
- wherein said mechanical isolation may be accomplished by suitable means such as by using a thin water layer or a highly compliant isolation element in order to reduce acoustic re-radiation by said acoustic baffle;
- said electro-mechanical transducer having a part of its cylindrical surface open to a fluid, said part of cylindrical surface without said acoustic baffle, wherein providing means to strongly couple mechanical vibrations of said electro-mechanical transducer into acoustic vibrations in the fluid to which the transducer is immersed.
3 more elements
An underwater sound transducer comprising;
- a vibrating member having a spherical surface, said vibrating member comprised of an electro-mechanical transducer;
- an acoustic baffle with hemispherical surface, partially surrounding said spherical surface of said electro-mechanical transducer;
- said acoustic baffle serving a function as to reduce the acoustical radiation from said electro-mechanical transducer in a particular direction, said electro-mechanical transducer having a part of its spherical surface open to a fluid, said part of spherical surface without said acoustic baffle, wherein providing means to strongly couple mechanical vibrations of said electro-mechanical transducer into acoustic vibrations in the fluid to which the transducer is immersed.
An underwater sound transducer comprising;
- a vibrating member having a ellipsoidal surface with convex or concave, inverted elliptical sides, said vibrating member comprised of an electro-mechanical transducer;
- an acoustic baffle with ellipsoidal surface, partially surrounding said ellipsoidal surface of said electro-mechanical transducer;
- said electro-mechanical transducer having a part of its ellipsoidal surface open to a fluid, said part of ellipsoidal surface without said acoustic baffle, wherein providing means to strongly couple mechanical vibrations of said electro-mechanical transducer into acoustic vibrations in the fluid to which the transducer is immersed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.