US 7,411,335 B2Granted

Sonic or ultrasonic transducer

AssigneeEndress + Hauser GmbH + Co. KG

InventorsManfred Eckert, Frank Volz

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Abstract

A sonic or ultrasonic transducer, which is embodied as a radial oscillator. So that the sonic or ultrasonic transducer can be used at high temperatures, a matching layer is located between the radial oscillator and the atmosphere into which the ultrasonic signals are transmitted The matching layer is made from a material that has a dimensional stability up to a temperature which lies above the temperature at the installation location of the sonic or ultrasonic transducer. Furthermore, the matching layer is selected such that its material-specific coefficient of thermal expansion is greater than that of the materials of a piezoelectric unit and a coupling ring, and that the modulus of elasticity of the material of the matching layer is at least one order of magnitude smaller than that of the piezoelectric unit and/or the coupling ring.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A sonic or ultrasonic transducer, comprising:

a disc-shaped piezoelectric unit;
a ring-shaped coupling element surrounding said piezoelectric unit with a form- and force-fit;
a matching layer arranged in front of said piezoelectric unit in the direction of radiation of the sonic or ultrasonic waves;
and
a transmitting/receiving unit which excites said piezoelectric unit to execute radial oscillations, wherein:
said matching layer is made of a material which has dimensional stability up to a temperature lying above the temperature at the installation location of the sonic or ultrasonic transducer;
the material-specific coefficient of thermal expansion of the material of said matching layer is greater than that of the materials of said piezoelectric unit and/or said coupling element;
and
the modulus of elasticity of the material of said matching layer is at least one order of magnitude smaller than that of said piezoelectric unit and/or said coupling ring element.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/573,420Filed 20 Sep 2004
Priority: DE 103 44 74125 Sep 2003
Published: US 2007/0273249 A129 Nov 2007
Granted: 12 Aug 2008
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

B06B 1/067
With an electrode on the sensitive surface: which is used as, or combined with, an impedance matching layer
B06B 1/0662
Using a single piezoelectric element: with an electrode on the sensitive surface
B06B
Methods or apparatus for generating or transmitting mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic

Family

US 2007/0273249 A1Pre-grant publication · published 29 Nov 2007
US 7,411,335 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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