EP0251599A2 - Acoustic transducer - Google Patents
Acoustic transducer Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0251599A2 EP0251599A2 EP87305474A EP87305474A EP0251599A2 EP 0251599 A2 EP0251599 A2 EP 0251599A2 EP 87305474 A EP87305474 A EP 87305474A EP 87305474 A EP87305474 A EP 87305474A EP 0251599 A2 EP0251599 A2 EP 0251599A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- transducer
- acoustic
- piezoelectric
- piezoelectric material
- acoustic transducer
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 24
- 239000008393 encapsulating agent Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 7
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000002033 PVDF binder Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229920002981 polyvinylidene fluoride Polymers 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000013307 optical fiber Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 abstract description 3
- KRHYYFGTRYWZRS-UHFFFAOYSA-M Fluoride anion Chemical compound [F-] KRHYYFGTRYWZRS-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 abstract 1
- 238000005538 encapsulation Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000011149 active material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000003491 array Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000704 physical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B06—GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL
- B06B—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, e.g. FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL
- B06B1/00—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency
- B06B1/02—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy
- B06B1/06—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction
- B06B1/0688—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction with foil-type piezoelectric elements, e.g. PVDF
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
- H04R17/00—Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers
Definitions
- This invention relates to an acoustic transducer. It relates particularly to a transducer body capable of being used in a passive sonar system.
- transducer body for a passive sonar system there is a requirement to provide a useful transducer surface having a comparatively large area, for example an area of fifteen centimetres square.
- the required thickness of this body is expected to be quite small, for example 0.025m.
- cost of the final transducer body One way in which the cost might be reduced would be to reduce the area of active material used in each transducer. However, to reduce the area of active material can frequently produce unwelcome side effects in that the overall perfomance of the transducer is degraded.
- an acoustic transducer comprising a piezoelectric material having a linear shape and which is arranged in the form of a flat spiral within a body of encapsulant material.
- the piezoelectric material is a polyvinylidene fluoride plastics material in the form of a coaxial cable, a piezoelectric rubber composition or an optical fibre.
- the spiral shape may have a pitch which is varied at different positions around the circumference of the spiral so that the sensitivity of the resulting transducer will be varied in its response to signals coming from different directions.
- the choice of encapsulant material used to form the transducer body can also be varied as necessary to produce a required acoustic sensitivity in the finished transducer.
- the invention also comprises a large area planar hydrophone having an array of acoustic transducers as just described.
- the acoustic transducer l comprises a length of a piezoelectric material 4 which is arranged in the form of a flat spiral shape.
- the piezoelectric material 4 was a polyvinylidene fluoride coaxial cable.
- the spiral shape is supported in a body 2 of encapsulant material.
- the dimensions of the body 2 were 0.025 metres thick by fifteen centimetres square.
- the terminal 3 allows the transducer l to be readily connected to the other components of a passive sonar system so that the transducer output can be utilized.
- the transducer l In operation, when the acoustic transducer l is mounted on the hull surface of a marine vessel and connected in a passive sonar system, the transducer will be able to pick up sounds and pressure variations from the environment for processing in the system.
- a number of the transducers l may be mounted side-by-side like tiles on a wall to provide a large area hydrophone which will have a high sensitivity to the incoming signals.
- a transducer may be constructed in which during the winding of the spiral shape the pitch of the spiral is varied at particular positions round the circumference. This then will act to vary the sensitivity of the resulting transducer across its face so that, after encapsulation, the same variation will be apparent in the completed transducer body. This provision can have a beneficial effect on the beamforming performance of large arrays.
- the sensitivity of a hydrophone is additionally dependent on the physical properties of the encapsulation material.
- the careful choice of encapsulation material therefore can give one a further control over the acoustic sensitivity of the resulting hydrophone.
- the acoustic transducer of the invention was found to enable the construction of a high performance large area planar hydrophone at a comparatively low cost.
- the transducer was also able to be easily tailored to produce specific performance characteristics.
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to an acoustic transducer. It relates particularly to a transducer body capable of being used in a passive sonar system.
- In the design of a transducer body for a passive sonar system there is a requirement to provide a useful transducer surface having a comparatively large area, for example an area of fifteen centimetres square. The required thickness of this body is expected to be quite small, for example 0.025m. There are various ways in which such a large area might be constructed but a major constraint is generally the cost of the final transducer body. One way in which the cost might be reduced would be to reduce the area of active material used in each transducer. However, to reduce the area of active material can frequently produce unwelcome side effects in that the overall perfomance of the transducer is degraded.
- We have now discovered an alternative construction which can allow the manufacture of a relatively low cost transducer body to be carried out without having a serious loss in the expected performance of the body.
- According to the invention, there is provided an acoustic transducer comprising a piezoelectric material having a linear shape and which is arranged in the form of a flat spiral within a body of encapsulant material.
- Preferably, the piezoelectric material is a polyvinylidene fluoride plastics material in the form of a coaxial cable, a piezoelectric rubber composition or an optical fibre.
- The spiral shape may have a pitch which is varied at different positions around the circumference of the spiral so that the sensitivity of the resulting transducer will be varied in its response to signals coming from different directions. The choice of encapsulant material used to form the transducer body can also be varied as necessary to produce a required acoustic sensitivity in the finished transducer.
- The invention also comprises a large area planar hydrophone having an array of acoustic transducers as just described.
- By way of example, a particular embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, the single Figure of which shows a plan view of a acoustic transducer.
- As shown in the Figure, the acoustic transducer l comprises a length of a
piezoelectric material 4 which is arranged in the form of a flat spiral shape. Thepiezoelectric material 4 was a polyvinylidene fluoride coaxial cable. The spiral shape is supported in abody 2 of encapsulant material. The dimensions of thebody 2 were 0.025 metres thick by fifteen centimetres square. - One end of the length of material forming the transducer is brought out of the
encapsulant body 2 at aterminal 3. Theterminal 3 allows the transducer l to be readily connected to the other components of a passive sonar system so that the transducer output can be utilized. - In operation, when the acoustic transducer l is mounted on the hull surface of a marine vessel and connected in a passive sonar system, the transducer will be able to pick up sounds and pressure variations from the environment for processing in the system. A number of the transducers l may be mounted side-by-side like tiles on a wall to provide a large area hydrophone which will have a high sensitivity to the incoming signals.
- Where it is required that the acoustic transducer be made more sensitive to sound coming from one direction rather than from a different direction, a transducer may be constructed in which during the winding of the spiral shape the pitch of the spiral is varied at particular positions round the circumference. This then will act to vary the sensitivity of the resulting transducer across its face so that, after encapsulation, the same variation will be apparent in the completed transducer body. This provision can have a beneficial effect on the beamforming performance of large arrays.
- The sensitivity of a hydrophone is additionally dependent on the physical properties of the encapsulation material. The careful choice of encapsulation material therefore can give one a further control over the acoustic sensitivity of the resulting hydrophone.
- The acoustic transducer of the invention was found to enable the construction of a high performance large area planar hydrophone at a comparatively low cost. The transducer was also able to be easily tailored to produce specific performance characteristics.
- The foregoing description of an embodiment of the invention has been given by way of example only and a number of modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, instead of the length of piezoelectric material being a polyvinylidene fluoride coaxial cable, this could be of some other suitable material such as a piezoelectric rubber or an optical fibre material.
Claims (7)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8614940A GB2191909B (en) | 1986-06-19 | 1986-06-19 | Acoustic transducer |
GB8614940 | 1986-06-19 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0251599A2 true EP0251599A2 (en) | 1988-01-07 |
EP0251599A3 EP0251599A3 (en) | 1989-04-26 |
Family
ID=10599709
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP87305474A Withdrawn EP0251599A3 (en) | 1986-06-19 | 1987-06-19 | Acoustic transducer |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0251599A3 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2191909B (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1998034434A1 (en) * | 1997-02-04 | 1998-08-06 | Jingjiang Bi | Piezoelectric spring element |
CN109005491A (en) * | 2018-07-03 | 2018-12-14 | 惠州学院 | The MEMS matrix microphone of the tourist environment noise testing of golden spiral structure |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2256111B (en) * | 1991-04-11 | 1995-02-01 | Univ Southampton | Distributed sensors for active vibration control |
GB2482641B (en) | 2009-05-27 | 2015-03-11 | Silixa Ltd | Optical sensor and method of use |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB701962A (en) * | 1947-12-26 | 1954-01-06 | Zenith Radio Corp | Improvements in piezo-electric transducers |
FR2119482A5 (en) * | 1970-12-21 | 1972-08-04 | Ki | |
JPS60264200A (en) * | 1984-06-13 | 1985-12-27 | Shimada Phys & Chem Ind Co Ltd | Ultrasonic wave vibrator |
EP0174897A2 (en) * | 1984-09-12 | 1986-03-19 | NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. | Underwater piezoelectric arrangement |
Family Cites Families (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3240916C2 (en) * | 1982-11-05 | 1985-10-31 | Luther, Erich, Ing.(Grad.), 3003 Ronnenberg | Device for testing electrical circuit boards |
-
1986
- 1986-06-19 GB GB8614940A patent/GB2191909B/en not_active Expired
-
1987
- 1987-06-19 EP EP87305474A patent/EP0251599A3/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB701962A (en) * | 1947-12-26 | 1954-01-06 | Zenith Radio Corp | Improvements in piezo-electric transducers |
FR2119482A5 (en) * | 1970-12-21 | 1972-08-04 | Ki | |
JPS60264200A (en) * | 1984-06-13 | 1985-12-27 | Shimada Phys & Chem Ind Co Ltd | Ultrasonic wave vibrator |
EP0174897A2 (en) * | 1984-09-12 | 1986-03-19 | NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. | Underwater piezoelectric arrangement |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN, vol. 10, no. 137 (E-405)[2194], 21st May 1986; & JP-A-60 264 200 (SHIMADA RIKA KOGYO K.K.) 27-12-1985 * |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1998034434A1 (en) * | 1997-02-04 | 1998-08-06 | Jingjiang Bi | Piezoelectric spring element |
CN109005491A (en) * | 2018-07-03 | 2018-12-14 | 惠州学院 | The MEMS matrix microphone of the tourist environment noise testing of golden spiral structure |
CN109005491B (en) * | 2018-07-03 | 2023-06-13 | 惠州学院 | MEMS matrix microphone for measuring travel environmental noise with golden spiral structure |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0251599A3 (en) | 1989-04-26 |
GB8614940D0 (en) | 1986-10-29 |
GB2191909B (en) | 1989-12-20 |
GB2191909A (en) | 1987-12-23 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PUAI | Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012 |
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AK | Designated contracting states |
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PUAL | Search report despatched |
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17P | Request for examination filed |
Effective date: 19890929 |
|
RAP1 | Party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred) |
Owner name: GEC-MARCONI LIMITED |
|
17Q | First examination report despatched |
Effective date: 19911210 |
|
STAA | Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent |
Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN |
|
18D | Application deemed to be withdrawn |
Effective date: 19920422 |
|
RIN1 | Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected) |
Inventor name: FLAVELL, DAVID GRAHAM |