Flexural-extensional electromechanical transducer

Claim 1

A COMPOSITE ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCER, ADAPTED TO TRANSMIT OR DETECT SOUND IN A LIQUID MEDIUM, AND HEREIN DEFINED IN TERMS OF ITS SOUND TRANSMISSION OPERATION COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A PLURALITY OF OPEN-ENDED TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS OF IDENTICAL NON-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTIONS, EACH OF SAID TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO VIBRATE IN THE FLEXURAL MODE OF VIBRATION FOR TRANSMITTING SOUND INTO SAID LIQUID MEDIUM AND SAID PLURALITY OF TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS BEING ARRANGED IN A LINEAR SERIES WHEREBY DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS FORM AN INTEGRALLY-OPERATIVE TUBULAR SOUND-TRANSMITTING MEANS ADAPTED TO TRANSMIT SOUND INTO SAID LIQUID MEDIUM; ELECTRICALLY-ACTUABLE ELECTROMECHANICAL CONVERTER MEANS, INDIVIDUAL TO AND DISPOSED WITHIN EACH OF SAID DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS IN THRUST-TRANSMITTING RELATIONSHIP THEREWITH AND VIBRATILE IN THE LONGITUDINAL MODE OF VIBRATION IN RESPONSE TO AN ACTUATING FLUCTUATING ELECTRICAL SIGNAL, FOR DRIVING ITS ASSOCIATED DIAPHRAGM MEMBER IN FLEXURAL VIBRATILE MOVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO SAID FLUCTUATING ELECTRICAL SIGNAL; CLOSURE MEANS, CONNECTED TO EACH END OF SAID TUBULAR SOUND-TRANSMITTING MEANS, FOR CLOSING OFF SAID TUBULAR SOUND-TRANSMITTING MEANS FROM SAID LIQUID MEDIUM; MULTIPLE SEALING MEANS FOR ENSURING A LIQUID-PROOF CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ADJACENT DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS; ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE ACTUATING MEANS, CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID ELECTROMECHANICAL CONVERTER MEANS AND ADAPTED TO CONNECT TO AN EXTERNAL ELECTRICAL LEAD BEARING SAID FLUCTUATING ELECTRICAL SIGNS; RESTRAINING MEANS, CONNECTED TO SAID CLOSURE MEANS, FOR HOLDING AND MAINTAINING SAID CLOSURE MEANS, SAID PLURALITY OF DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS AND SAID SEALING MEANS IN ASSEMBLED COOPERATION RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER; SAID CONVERTER MEANS EACH COMPRISING; A STACK OF ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS EACH OF WHICH IS ADAPTED TO ALTERNATELY EXPAND AND CONTRACT ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID STACK IN RESPONSE TO THE APPLICATION TO SAID ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS OF AN ELECTRIC SIGNAL OF FLUCTUATING INTENSITY, THE LONGITUDINAL ENDS OF SAID STACK BEING IN TRUST-TRANSMITTING RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS ASSOCIATED DIAPHRAGM MEMBER; ELECTRODE MEANS, OPERATIVELY INTERCONNECTING EACH OF SAID ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS TO SAID ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE ACTUATING MEANS FOR BRINGING EACH OF SAID ELECTROMMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS UNDER THE OPERATIVE INFLUENCE OF THE ACTUATING FLUCTUATING ELECTRICAL SIGNAL CARRIED BY SAID ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE ACTUATING MEANS; INSULATOR MEANS, INTERMEDIATE THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL ENDS OF SAID STACK OF ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS AND THE DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS AASSOCIATED THEREWITH, FOR ELECTRICALLY INSULATING SAID STACK OF ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS FROM SAID ASSOCIATED DIAPHRAGM MEAMBER; AND HEAT DISSIPATING MEANS, CONNECTED TO EACH OF THE ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS IN SAID STACK FOR CONDUCTING HEAT AWAY FROM SAID ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS, SAID HEAT-DISSIPATING MEANS, IN PART, CONSISTING OF WIRE MESH-LIKE STRUCTURE FOR ACCELERATING THE DISSIPATION OF HEAT AWAY FROM SAID ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE ELEMENTS.