Pressure pulse source operable according to the traveling wave principle
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsGeorg Koehler, Ulrich Schaetzle, Arnim Rohwedder, Martin Scheidt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pressure pulse source for generating acoustic pressure pulses in an acoustic propagation medium has a foil arrangement formed by a number of electrically contacted piezoelectric foils stacked directly on top of one another with no interstices between the foils, and employs a drive system for driving the individual foils in succession according to the traveling wave principle.
Claims23
A pressure pulse source for generating acoustic pressure pulses in an acoustic propagation medium comprising:
- a foil arrangement of a plurality of electrically contacted, piezoelectric foils stacked directly on top of one another with no interstices therebetween;
- said foil arrangement having a first end face from which said pressure pulses emerge, and an opposite end face, and a backing, consisting of a piezoceramic transducer having electrical contacts, disposed against said opposite end face of said foil arrangement;
- and
- means for driving said piezoelectric foils and said piezoceramic transducer according to the traveling wave principle for causing each of said piezoelectric foils and said piezoceramic transducer to produce acoustic waves for generating pressure pulses.
A pressure pulse source for generating acoustic pressure pulses in a propagation medium comprising:
- a foil arrangement of a plurality of electrically contacted, piezoelectric foils, each driveable produce an acoustic wave, stacked directly on one another with no interstices therebetween;
- said foil arrangement having a first end face from which said pressure pulse emerge, and an opposite end face, and a backing, consisting of a piezoceramic transducer having electrical contacts, disposed against said opposite end face of said foil arrangement;
- and
- means for individually driving each of said piezoelectric foils and said piezoceramic transducer with a sequence of high-voltage pulses, each high-voltage pulse in said sequence being simultaneously supplied to all of said piezoelectric foils and piezoceramic transducer, for causing each of said piezoelectric elements and piezoceramic transducer to generate respective acoustic waves which additively superimpose to form an output pressure pulse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.