Electro-mechanical transduction apparatus

DETAILED DESCRIPTION To accomplish the foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention there is now described herein an improved electro-mechanical transduction apparatus primarily embodied herein as an electro-mechanical spring that may be used in a number of different applications such as for a valve, actuator or underwater sound transducer.
The apparatus of the present invention may be used individually or in tandem to create mechanical motions.
Of particular interest in accordance with one embodiment of the invention there is provided a low frequency piston type transducer capable of large magnified displacements when driven by piezoelectric or magnetostrictive means.
The concepts of the present invention permit fabrication of a device in compact size.
The compactness of the invention is due at least in part to the arrangement of the drive member being disposed in an orthogonal manner to the output motion.
In accordance with the invention there is provided an electro-mechanical transduction apparatus that is comprised of a flextensional transducer shell having orthorgonally disposed first and second shell axes, and a transduction drive means having opposed ends.
Means are provided for connecting the transduction drives at its opposed ends to the flextensional transducer shell in a position disposed along a first shell axis.
The first axis is preferably a major axis of the shell and the second axis is a minor axis, thus providing amplification of motion occasioned by the transduction drive means, in particular along the minor axis of the shell.
A mass load is connected to the flextensional transducer shell at at least one location along the second shell axis.
Means are provided for exciting the transduction drive means to cause the shell to move in the direction of the first axis to in turn provide complimentary shell motion in the direction of the second axis for driving the mass load.
In accordance with further features of the present invention the flextensional transducer shell may be of different shape configurations