Electromechanical transducer utilizing poisson ratio effects

Claim 1

A FORCE TRANSDUCING ELEMENT COMPRISING A SOLID ELASTIC CYLINDRICAL BODY MEMBER THAT IS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AN AXIAL FORCE APPLIED TO THE ENDS THEREOF AND RESPONSIVE TO SAID FORCE TO CHANGE THE RADIAL DIMENSION OF THE BODY AS AN INVERSE FUNCTION OF THE CHANGE IN AXIAL LENGTH, SAID CYLINDRICAL BODY MEMBER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL RECESS FORMED THEREIN; A POLARIZED PIEZEOELECTRIC RING COMPRISING AN ANNULAR MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF CONCENTRIC CYLINDRICAL SURFACES, SAID POLARIZED PIEZOELECTRIC RING BEING MOUNTED WITHIN SAID CYLINDRICAL RECESS WITH THE OUTER CYLINDRICAL SURFACE OF SAID ANNULAR MEMBER IN INTIMATE CONTACT WITH THE WALL OF SAID BODY MEMBER IN SAID CYLINDRICAL RECESS, SAID RING PRESSING RADIALLY AGAINST SAID WALL OF SAID BODY MEMBER AS SAID RADIAL DIMENSION OF SAID BODY MEMBER CHANGES WHEREBY ELECTRIC SIGNALS ARE DEVELOPED BETWEEN SPACED APART AREAS OF SAID RING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MAGNITUDE OF THE AXIAL FORCE APPLIED TO SAID CYLINDRICAL BODY MEMBER; AND ELECTRODES CONNECTED TO SAID RING AT SAID SPACED APART AREAS FOR DETECTING SAID ELECTRICAL SIGNALS DEVELOPED IN SAID RING BY THE APPLICATION OF AN AXIAL FORCE TO SAID BODY MEMBER.