Broadband underwater acoustic transducer
OwnerDavid A. Brown, Boris Aronov +1inventors
InventorsDavid A. Brown, Boris Aronov, Corey L. Bachand
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Abstract
An efficient, broadband, underwater acoustic transducer having nominally a quasi-omnidirectional radiation pattern is realized with a plurality of thin walled radially vibrating hollow spherical piezoelectric transduction elements aligned axially. Each spherical transduction element is progressively smaller in diameter so as to enhance the combined frequency coverage and achieve the desirable radiation pattern. The transduction elements may be excited individually, or together electrically in series or in parallel combinations.
Claims21
A broadband electroacoustic transducer for producing broadband sound in a fluid medium, comprising a plurality of hollow spherical piezoelectric elements, said elements having different fundamental resonance frequencies as a result of different dimensions and/or different materials, said elements being aligned along an axis of rotational symmetry, whereby said elements produce surface vibrations causing inherent axisymmetric acoustic radiation.
A broadband electroacoustic transducer for operation in a fluid medium, comprising individual transduction elements, at least one of said elements is a hollow spherical piezoelectric element, and at least one of said elements is a hollow cylindrical piezoelectric element, the spherical element having a smaller diameter than the diameter of said cylindrical element, said elements are aligned asymmetrically, said cylindrical element or elements each having a height-to-radius ratio less than unity in order to produce acoustic radiation in both the direction of the axis of symmetry and simultaneously in the direction perpendicular to said axis of symmetry, wherein the largest of said cylindrical elements having the lowest resonance frequency is arranged closest to a base.
A broadband acoustic transducer consisting of a plurality of cylindrical-shell transduction elements where a provision is made to permit the passage of a propeller shaft for means of propulsion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.