PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCER FOR DATA ENTRY DEVICE
First Claim
1. A transmitter pen, comprising:
- a writing tip;
a piezoelectric transducer located near said writing tip, said piezoelectric transducer having a piezoelectric shell having an outer surface and an inner surface, and having a bottom edge and a top edge, said inner surface defining an inner region, an outer conductive layer on said outer surface of said piezoelectric shell, an inner conductive layer on said inner surface of said piezoelectric shell; and
means for applying a voltage to said inner conductive layer and said outer conductive layer.
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Abstract
A piezoelectric transducer is provided, in which a piezoelectric shell has conductive layers on the outside and inside of the shell, which are adapted to be connected to a signal input source. When the conductive layers are activated, the piezoelectric layer resonates to produce an output signal waveform from the shell structure. An alternative embodiment includes a flat piezoelectric layer with opposing conductive layers, which is then formed into a shell structure. In preferred embodiments, an inner spool is located within the shell structure, which acts to increase the output sound pressure level for the transducer. To increase the sound pressure level further, the inner spool preferably includes a recessed area, which defines a void between the inner conductive layer on the shell and the recessed area. The void acts to increase the characteristic output sound pressure level for the transducer. In some embodiments, the piezoelectric transducer is placed into a data entry device, such as a transmitter pen, and is used to transmit a signal from the pen to one or more receivers, which can be used to accurately determine the location of the pen, in relation to an electronic tablet or white board. The transmitter pen preferably includes a writing pen, wherein the writing tip extends through the shell structure of the piezoelectric transducer.
32 Citations
78 Claims
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1. A transmitter pen, comprising:
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a writing tip;
a piezoelectric transducer located near said writing tip, said piezoelectric transducer having a piezoelectric shell having an outer surface and an inner surface, and having a bottom edge and a top edge, said inner surface defining an inner region, an outer conductive layer on said outer surface of said piezoelectric shell, an inner conductive layer on said inner surface of said piezoelectric shell; and
means for applying a voltage to said inner conductive layer and said outer conductive layer. - 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 transducer, comprising:
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a piezoelectric shell having an outer surface and an inner surface, and having a bottom edge and a top edge, said inner surface defining an inner region;
an outer conductive layer on said outer surface of said piezoelectric shell; and
an inner conductive layer on said inner surface of said piezoelectric shell. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A transducer, comprising:
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a generally rectangular piezoelectric film having an outer surface, an inner surface, and having a bottom edge, a top edge, a first side edge and a second side edge said inner surface defining an inner region;
an outer conductive layer on said outer surface of said piezoelectric film;
an inner conductive layer on said inner surface of said piezoelectric film;
whereby said first side edge and said second side edge of said piezoelectric film are connected to form a continuous shell with a hollow region defined therein. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A process for forming a transducer, comprising the steps of:
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forming an outer conductive layer and an inner conductive layer on opposing sides of a generally rectangular piezoelectric film layer having a bottom edge, a top edge, a first side edge and a second side edge;
rolling said piezoelectric film layer into a shell having a hollow region defined therein, wherein said first side edge and said second side edge overlap to form an overlapping region; and
forming a connection between said first side edge and said second side edge within said overlapping region. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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Specification