Flextensional transducer
AssigneeImage Acoustics, Inc.
InventorJohn L. Butler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An acoustic transducer for providing large displacements particularly at low acoustic frequencies is formed from a minimum of three curved shells which are attached to each other at their ends. The shells are driven by a ring or corresponding number of attached piezoelectric or magnetostrictive type rod or bar drivers which take the form of a regular polygon. The curved shells are attached to the ends of the driver and vibrate with magnified motion as the rods execute extensional motion. As the polygon expands the curved shells deform and produce additional motional in the same radial direction resulting in a large total displacement and corresponding large acoustic output.
Claims20
A flextensional polygon transducer comprising,
- a hollow resilient housing including at the least three inwardly curved shells each having opposite ends,
- a transduction drive means including at the least three drive members each having opposite ends,
- means commonly securing ends of the drive members to ends of each of the curved shells at at least three connection points corresponding to said at least three shells and drive members,
- and means for exciting said transduction drive means to cause the curved shells to move additively with both translational and bending motions in the same direction to enhance acoustic output,
- said curved shells being disposed inside of the transduction drive means.
A flextensional polygon transducer comprising,
- a hollow resilient housing including at the least three inwardly curved shells each having opposite ends,
- a transduction drive means including at the least three drive members each having opposite ends,
- means commonly securing ends of the drive members to ends of each of the curved shells at at least three connection points corresponding to said at least three shells and drive members,
- and means for exciting said transduction drive means to cause the curved shells to move additively with both translational and bending motions in the same direction to enhance acoustic output,
- wherein there are included four curved shells and four corresponding drive members with the drive members disposed outside of the shells and each drive member connected at their ends to the end of a corresponding shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.