High-power underwater transducer with improved performance and reliability characteristics and method for controlling said improved characteristics
AssigneesFred M. Dellorfano, Jr., Donald P. Massa
InventorFrank Massa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A piezoelectric ceramic cylinder is positioned between a vibratile piston and a matched rigid mass element. To prevent corona, the electrodes on the ceramic cylinder are covered with an insulating material in the region near the edges of the electrodes where a corona might otherwise form. A low-loss rubber compound and a molded rubber support cradles the transducer assembly. A special manufacturing technique uses a standard weight supported on the cylinder to affect the resonant frequency of the cylinder and enable them to be segregated into classes according to their resonant characteristics.
Claims11
An electroacoustic transducer comprising a vibratile piston having an outer surface for generating sound waves, said piston having an inner plane surface, an open cup-shaped housing structure having an outer peripheral wall portion, the inner shape of said wall portion being contoured to provide a clearance for said piston, a flat plane surface forming the inner base of said cup-shaped housing, a resilient gasket means for sealing the inner rear plane surfaces of said piston and the inner flat base portion of said housing, means comprising a flexible elastomer bonded to the front surface of said piston and to the peripheral edge of said cup-shaped housing structure whereby said piston and said housing structure are flexibly mounted and sealed in concentric relationship, electroacoustic transducer means, inertial mass means, and means for bonding said transducer means between said piston and said inertial mass means whereby mechanical oscillatory forces generated by said transducer means are simultaneously imparted to drive said vibratory piston and said inertial mass.
A method of adjusting the resonant frequency of an electroacoustic transducer including a polarized ceramic tube mechanically coupled between a vibratile piston and an inertial mass element to simultaneously transmit oscillatory forces to both said piston and said element, said method including the steps of:
- (1) measuring the mechanical compliance of said ceramic tube;
- (2) selecting a weight having a magnitude which corresponds to the magnitude of the compliance of the particular ceramic tube;
- and (3) attaching said selected weight to said piston in combination with said measured ceramic tube.
A method for measuring the compliance of a polarized ceramic transducer element having opposite vibrating surfaces including the following steps:
- (1) mounting said ceramic element with its opposite vibrating surfaces in intimate contact with two standard weight members;
- (2) measuring the resonant frequency of said ceramic element in combination with the said two standard weight members;
- and (3) segregating the ceramic tubes into groups corresponding to differences in said measured resonant frequency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.