Composite type acoustic transducer

• US 4,242,541 A
• Filed: 12/18/1978
• Issued: 12/30/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Ando, Otaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Moffitt, James W.
• Application Number:
  US05/970,150
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 179/110 A, 179/111 R, 179/111 E, 179/115.5 PV
• US Class Current: 381/99
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/005 using a piezoelectric polymer
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 23/02 Transducers using more than one principle simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 9/025 Magnetic circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 9/047 in which the windings of the moving coil lay in the same plane

Abstract

A composite type acoustic transducer of a flat drive type electrodynamic transducer and a piezoelectric type transducer. A diaphragm has a membrane of any suitable shape made of high molecular piezoelectric material such as polyvinylidene fluoride, an electrode layer applied on one surface of a membrane, and a coil like conductor applied on the other surface of the membrane. A supporting member supports the diaphragm along its edge. A permanent magnet device produces a magentic field extending in parallel to a plane of the diaphragm and perpendicular to the coil like conductor. When an audio signal current passes through the coil like member and an audio signal voltage is applied across the electrode layer and the coil like conductor, the piezoelectric membrane shrinks and stretches, and at the same time a force to drive the membrane in a direction perpendicular to the diaphragm is generated due to an electromagnetic interaction between the current flowing through the coil-like conductor and the magnetic field.

Claims

1. A composite type acoustic transducer of a flat drive type acoustic transducer and of a piezoelectric type acoustic transducer comprising:

a diaphragm including a membrane made of high molecular piezoelectric material, an electrode layer applied on one surface of the membrane and a coil-like conductor applied on the other surface of the membrane;

means for supporting the diaphragm along its edge;

means for forming a magnetic field extending in parallel with the diaphragm and cooperating electromagnetically with the coil-like conductor;

means for supplying an audio signal current through said coil-like conductor; and

means for applying a voltage related to an audio signal to be reproduced across the electrode layer and the coil-like conductor.

2. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 1, wherein the diaphragm is supported in flat and the voltage applied across the electrode layer and the coil-like conductor is of a full-wave rectified audio signal voltage, whereby the diaphragm is caused to stretch upon the application of the voltage.

3. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 2 further comprising a resistor connected across the electrode layer and the coil like conductor, said resistor having a resistance value R smaller than 1/2C·

fmax, wherein C is a capacitance of the piezoelectric membrane and famx is the highest reproduction frequency.

4. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 1, wherein said diaphragm has a bimorph construction having at least two laminated piezoelectric membranes, and polarizing directions of the piezoelectric membranes and polarities of voltages applied across the membranes are so determined that at least one of the membranes stretches and the other one or more membranes shrink and vice versa upon the application of the voltages so as to generate a force for bending the diaphragm in the same direction as that of the force produced by the electromagnetic interaction between the magnetic field and the current flowing through the coil-like conductor.

5. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 4, wherein said diaphragm of bimorph construction comprises a first piezoelectric membrane having a first polarization direction, a second piezoelectric membrane having a second polarization direction which is opposite to the first direction, an electrode layer applied on the surface of the first membrane and a coil-like conductor applied on the surface of the second membrane.

6. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 4, wherein said diaphragm comprises first and second piezoelectric membrane having the same polarization direction, a first electrode layer sandwiched between the first and second membranes, a second electrode layer applied on the surface of the first membrane and a coil-like conductor applied on the surface of the second membrane.

7. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 4, wherein said diaphragm comprises first and second piezoelectric membranes having the same polarization direction, an electrode layer sandwiched between the first and second membranes, and first and second coil-like conductors applied on the surfaces of the first and second membranes, respectively.

8. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 1, wherein said diaphragm is supported along a curved plane and a force perpendicular to the diaphragm is generated due to the stretch and shrinkage of the membrane upon the application of the voltage.

9. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 8 further comprising a resilient body on which the diaphragm is placed.

10. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 9, wherein the resilient body has a curved surface on which said diaphragm is situated.

11. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 8, wherein said coil-like conductor comprises a coil-like portion situated at a centeral portion of the diaphragm and an electrode layer portion situated at a peripheral portion of the diaphragm.

12. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 1, wherein said coil-like conductor includes a plurality of leg portions which are connected in a zig-zag manner and extend in parallel with each other and said magnetic field forming means comprise a plurality of rod-shaped permanent magnets which arranged on a plane parallel to the diaphragm and extending in parallel with each other in the same direction as that of the leg portions of the coil-like conductor, the adjacent magnets having polarities opposite to each other.

13. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 12 further comprising at least one plate made of magnetic material and having a number of apertures formed therein, wherein said magnetic plate is arranged in parallel with the diaphragm and the magnets are secured onto an inner surface of the magnetic plate.

14. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 12, wherein said permanent magnets are formed by an integral magnetic plate which has been magnetized in accordance with a given pattern.

15. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 1, wherein said coil-like conductor comprises a plurality of concentric circular leg portions and said magnetic field forming means comprise a plurality of ring-shaped permanent magnets which are arranged concentrically on a plane parallel to the diaphragm, the adjacent magnets having polarities opposite to each other.

16. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 15 further comprising at least one plate of magnetic material arranged in parallel to the diaphragm and having a number of apertures formed therein, wherein said magnets are secured to the inner surface of the magnetic plate.

17. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 15, wherein said magnets are composed of an integral magnetic plate which has been magnetized in accordance with a given pattern.

18. A composite type acoustic transducer according to claim 1, wherein said diaphragm has one of rectangular, circular, oval and elliptical shapes.