ACOUSTIC VELOCITY MICROPHONE USING A BUOYANT OBJECT
First Claim
1. A directional acoustic sensor, comprising:
- a sensor frame structure;
a support means; and
a buoyant object suspended in the sensor frame structure using the support means that has a feature size smaller than a wavelength of the highest frequency of an acoustic wave in air and that receives three-dimensional movement of the air excited by the acoustic wave that is used to derive a particle velocity of the acoustic wave.
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Abstract
Embodiments of a directional acoustic sensor or acoustic velocity microphone are disclosed that include a sensor frame structure, a support means, and a buoyant object. The buoyant object is suspended in the sensor frame structure using the support means. The buoyant object has a feature size smaller than a wavelength of the highest frequency of an acoustic wave in air. The buoyant object receives three-dimensional movement of the air excited by the acoustic wave. The three-dimensional movement that the buoyant object receives is detected using a detection means. A particle velocity of the acoustic wave is derived from the three-dimensional movement of the buoyant object using the detection means. The detection means can be an optical detection means, an electromagnetic detection means, or an electrostatic detection means. An acoustic image of the acoustic wave can be determined by distributing two or more directional acoustic sensors a multi-dimensional array.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A directional acoustic sensor, comprising:
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a sensor frame structure; a support means; and a buoyant object suspended in the sensor frame structure using the support means that has a feature size smaller than a wavelength of the highest frequency of an acoustic wave in air and that receives three-dimensional movement of the air excited by the acoustic wave that is used to derive a particle velocity of the acoustic wave. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for determining a particle velocity of an acoustic wave, the method comprising:
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suspending a buoyant object with a feature size that is smaller than a wavelength of the highest frequency of an acoustic wave in air in a sensor frame structure using a support means, detecting three-dimensional movement that the buoyant object receives from the air excited by the acoustic wave using a detection means; and deriving a particle velocity of the acoustic wave from the three-dimensional movement of the buoyant object using the detection means.
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19. A method for determining an acoustic image of an acoustic wave, the method comprising:
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distributing two or more directional acoustic sensors in a multi-dimensional array, wherein each directional acoustic sensor of the two or more directional acoustic sensors includes a sensor frame structure, a support means, and a buoyant object suspended in the sensor frame structure using a support means that has a feature size smaller than a wavelength of the highest frequency of an acoustic wave in air and that receives three-dimensional movement of the air excited by the acoustic wave; detecting three-dimensional movement of each directional acoustic sensor of the two or more directional acoustic sensors using a detection means; deriving a particle velocity of the acoustic wave from the three-dimensional movement of each buoyant object of each directional acoustic sensor of the two or more directional acoustic sensors producing a plurality of particle velocities of the acoustic wave using the detection means; and calculating an acoustic image of the acoustic wave from the a plurality of particle velocities and known locations of the multi-dimensional array using a processor. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification