Quad and dual cantilever transduction apparatus

• US 8,659,211 B1
• Filed: 03/29/2013
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Image Acoustics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Image Acoustics, Inc.
• Inventors: Butler, John L., Butler, Alexander L.
• Primary Examiner(s): San Martin, J.
• Application Number:
  US13/853,329
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 310/370, 310330-332, 310/337, 310/323.21, 367/155, 367157- 58, 367162-165, 367/176
• US Class Current: 310/332
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/06 operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices per se H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0603 using a piezoelectric bender, e.g. bimorph
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/00 Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers piezoelectric or electrostrictive elements in general H10N30/00; details of piezoelectric or electrostrictive motors, generators or positioners H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/06 comprising two or more styli or transducers H04R17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/00 Piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10N39/00
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/2042 Cantilevers, i.e. having one fixed end

Abstract

An electro-mechanical transducer is disclosed, which provides a very low frequency wide band response from a bender (or benders) using piezoelectric cantilevers or center mounted free edge disc, providing additive output between the resonant frequencies achieving this response at great depths under equivalent free flooded conditions with additionally improved response with silicone rubber to reduce the acoustic cancellation associated with the dipole mode of vibration of the bender.

Claims

1. A piezoelectric free-flooded bilaminar or trilaminar bender transducer comprised of a piezoelectric bender array, a stiff mass and a compliant RTV silicone rubber mass to create a difference in impedance between front and back sides of the bender array reducing the cancelling between the two radiating sides and providing greater output with a more omni-directional rather than dipole radiation pattern.

2. The piezoelectric cantilever bender transducer of claim 1 including a support stem, a backing plate, and at least a pair of dual in-line cantilevers mounted on the stem connected to the stiff mass that also is for supporting the back plate on which silicone rubber is mounted and directed toward the benders.

3. The piezoelectric bender disc transducer of claim 1 including a stem connected to the mass and a back plate on which is mounted the compliant RTV silicone rubber mass and directed toward the bender.

4. The piezoelectric bender transducer of claim 1 including an additional low frequency Helmholtz type resonator formed from the dynamic mass of the water column behind the benders and the compliance of the silicone rubber.

5. A cantilever bender transducer with a minimum of four electromechanically active bending beam tines each having inner and outer tine ends and opposed sides, a center support member, the inner ends of respective tines commonly supported at a the center support member, one pair of tines connected to the center support member and the other pair of tines, also connected to the center support member but extending in the opposite direction to the one pair of tines, and with at least two of the bending beam tines being activated, each said at least two active tines comprised of an inactive substrate and opposed piezoelectric plates forming the opposed sides and integrally formed with said inactive substrate, said inactive substrate and piezoelectric plates being coterminous so that the inactive substrate and opposed piezoelectric plates bend together when excited, a voltage source for driving said active tines, and a rubber mass that is disposed adjacent to said tines.

6. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 5 with an end mass connected to at least one tine and providing an improved coupling coefficient.

7. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 5 further including two tie rods for compression of the piezoelectric material.

8. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 5 wherein the rubber mass comprises a silicone RTV mass.

9. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 5 wherein the transducer is free flooded with one of water and an interior gas or oil backing, and excited by ceramic or single crystal piezoelectric or electrostrictive material with separated electrodes for excitation of opposite phased bending motion operating in the 33 or 31 mode.

10. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 5 operating in one of a symmetric mode and an anti-symmetric mode.

11. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 10 including one of operating in the symmetric mode over part of the frequency band and operating in the anti-symmetric mode over the remaining part of the frequency band, and operating simultaneously in the symmetric and anti-symmetric modes.

12. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 5 electro mechanically driven with, piezoelectric ceramic, single crystal material, electrostrictive, magnetostrictive variable reluctance, or magnetic materials or principles.

13. A cantilever tri-laminar bender transducer with two electro-mechanically bending circular or square plates, a center support post having opposed ends for respectively supporting the two circular or square plate, each said plates comprised of an inactive substrate and opposed piezoelectric plates forming the opposed sides and integrally formed with said inactive substrate, said inactive substrate and piezoelectric plates being coterminous so that the inactive substrate and opposed piezoelectric plates bend together when excited, a voltage source for driving said plates in a planar bending mode through phase reversed excitation, and a rubber mass that is disposed adjacent to said plates.

14. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 13 wherein said rubber mass comprises a silicone RTV mass.

15. A cantilever bender transducer comprising:

a plurality of electromechanically active bending beam tines each having inner and outer tine ends and opposed sides;

a center support member having opposed one and other sides;

the inner ends of respective tines commonly supported at the center support member;

one pair of tines of the plurality connected to the one side of the center support member and the other pair of tines of the plurality connected to the other side of the center support member and extending in the opposite direction to the one pair of tines;

each tine comprised of an inactive substrate and opposed piezoelectric plates forming the opposed sides and integrally formed with said inactive substrate, said inactive substrate and piezoelectric plates being coterminous so that the inactive substrate and opposed piezoelectric plates bend together when excited;

a voltage source for driving said tines; and

a rubber mass that is disposed adjacent to said tines.

16. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 15 wherein said rubber mass comprises a silicone RTV mass.

17. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 15 including an end mass connected to at least one tine and providing an improved coupling coefficient.

18. A cantilever bender transducer comprising:

at least one electro-mechanical bender member;

a mounting plate;

a center mass;

a stem member for connecting the at least one electro-mechanical bender member with the center mass;

at least one rubber mass mounted from said mounting plate and disposed adjacent to said center mass; and

a voltage source for driving said bender member.

19. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 18 wherein the bender member is mounted by the stem member so as to be cantilevered therefrom.

20. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 18 wherein the center mass is secured to the mounting plate.

21. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 20 including a pair of separate rubber masses mounted to the backing plate and disposed on opposed sides of the center mass.

22. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 18 wherein the at least one bender member is round or square shaped.

23. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 18 wherein said rubber mass comprises a silicone RTV mass.

24. The cantilever bender transducer of claim 18 including a stack of electro-mechanical bender members.