Acoustic image signal receiver providing for selectively activatable amounts of electrical signal delay

Claim 2

Apparatus for producing an electrical signal with a controllable time delay, where the electrical signal is produced by an acoustic signal that propagates from a first spatial point to a second spatial point, the apparatus comprising: a body of piezoelectric material having a longitudinal dimension; said acoustic signal propagating within the body from the first spatial point, along the longitudinal dimension of the body, to the second spatial point; the body having a first body face and a second opposing body face that are approximately parallel to one another and that are approximately parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the body; a plurality of pairs of spaced apart electrodes with a first member of each electrode pair being grounded and a second member of each electrode pair being electrically isolated from the first member, and said first and second members of each electrode pair being positioned on the first and second body faces, respectively; the pairs of electrodes respectively being positioned along the longitudinally dimension of the body in such a way that as the acoustical signal propagates along the longitudinal dimension, the acoustic signal consecutively passes between said plurality of pairs of spaced apart electrodes; and a plurality of individually activatable electrical signal lines; each signal line being connected to a respective second member of a respective electrode pair, wherein activation of any one signal line produces said electrical signal on said any one signal line when said acoustic signal passes between said respective electrode pair.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an acoustical impedance-matching layer; said matching layer being positioned contiguous to an acoustic signal-receiving area of said piezoelectric body; said signal-receiving area being operative for receiving said acoustic signal and for introducing said acoustic signal to propagation along the longitudinal dimension of the body of piezoelectric material; said impedance matching layer being operative to reduce reflection of the acoustic signal received at the signal-receiving area.

Claim 4

A plurality of apparati for producing a plurality of electrical signals with individually controllable time delay, where each electrical signal is produced by an acoustic signal that propagates from a respective first spatial point to a respective second spatial point, the plurality of apparati comprising: A two-dimensional array of apparati for producing said plurality of electrical signals with individually controllable time delays from said acoustic signal propagating in each apparatus, each apparatus being isolated from every other apparati, and each apparatus comprising: a body of piezoelectric material having a longitudinal dimension; said acoustic signal propagating within the body from the respective first spatial point, along the longitudinal dimension of the body, to the respective second spatial point; the body having a first body face and a second opposing body face that are approximately parallel to one another and that are approximately parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the body; a plurality of pairs of spaced apart electrodes with a first member of each electrode pair being grounded and a second member of each electrode pair being electrically isolated from the first member, and said first and second members of each electrode pair being positioned on the first and second body faces, respectively; the pairs of electrodes respectively being positioned along the longitudinal dimension of the body in such a way that as the acoustic signal propagates along the longitudinal dimension, the acoustic signal consecutively passes between said plurality of pairs of spaced apart electrodes; and a plurality of individually activatable electrical signal lines; each signal line being connected to a respective second member of a respective electrode pair, wherein activation of any one signal line produces one of said plurality of electrical signals on said any one signal line when said acoustic signal passes between said respective electrode pair.

Claim 5

A plurality of apparati for producing a plurality of electrical signals with individually controllable time delay, where each electrical signal is produced by an acoustic signal that propagates from a respective first spatial point to a respective second spatial point, the plurality of apparati comprising: A two-dimensional array of apparati for producing said plurality of electrical signals with individually controllable time delays from said acoustic signal propagating in each apparatus, each apparatus being isolated from every other apparati, and each apparatus comprising: a body of piezoelectric material having a longitudinal dimension; said acoustic signal propagating within the body from the respective first spatial point, along the longitudinal dimension of the body, to the respective second spatial point; the body having a first body face and a second opposing body face that are approximately parallel to one another and that are approximately parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the body; a plurality of pairs of spaced apart electrodes with a first member of each electrode pair being grounded and a second member of each electrode pair being electrically isolated from the first member, and said first and second members of each electrode pair being positioned on the first and second body faces, respectively; the pairs of electrodes respectively being positioned along the longitudinal dimension of the body in such a way that as the acoustic signal propagates along the longitudinal dimension, the acoustic signal consecutively passes between said plurality of pairs of spaced apart electrodes; and a plurality of individually activatable electrical signal lines; each signal line being connected to a respective second member of a respective electrode pair, wherein activation of any one signal line produces one of said plurality of electrical signals on said any one signal line when said acoustic signal passes between said respective electrode pair.

Claim 8

The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of positioning a respective acoustical impedance-matching layer contiguous to a respective acoustic signal-receiving area of each of said piezoelectric bodies; each acoustic signal-receiving area being operative for receiving said acoustic signal and for introducing said acoustic signal to propagation along the respective longitudinal dimension of the respective body; each impedance-matching layer being operative to reduce reflection of the acoustic signal received at the respective signal receiving area.