Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

General Electric Company

Steinway Musical Properties, Inc.

Other

Henry August Scarton

Kyle Richard Wilt

Warren C Kennedy

Gary Jude Saulnier

Jonathan Ashdown

Tristan J Lawry

John F McDonald

R Benjamin Litman

Saim Dinc

Bessem Jlidi

Christopher M Ettles

S Frank Murray

Salvadore J Calabrese

Keith R Gaylo

William Strong

Seetha Ramaiah Mannava

Paul N-j Liang

John F Yungman

Samir Armando Salamah

Sadeo Ramtahal

Alexander Gabriel Beckford

Donald Alden VanSlyke

Rajiv Rajan

Madhu Bharadwaj

Devon Walter Story

Soumya Chakraborty

James A Lacey

John A DiBianca

Alfred J Braun

Aron Burdick

Paul B Crilly

Clark R Caplan

Peter A Giacobbe

Yau-Shing Lee

Andrew Gavens

Jonathan D Ashdown

Systems and methods for transmitting power and information using acoustic energy produced by transducers are provided. The systems have particular application for powering and communication with electronics through drilling and pipe systems. Pairs of acoustic wedges holding transducers are provided for sending energy and information through a substrate which may be a steel pipe. Each wedge has an angled transducer which can be used to produce shear waves. The waves propagate through the substrate and are received by a second acoustic wedge. The shear waves, on reaching the second acoustic wedge, are converted back into electrical signals by a second transducer. Tangential shear waves, high, shallow wave transmission angles, and direct steel-steel bonding between wedges and substrates may be used.

Method and apparatus for acoustical power transfer and communication using steel wedges

Method and apparatus for rotational alignment and attachment of ultrasonic transducers to a barrier with one submerged surface uses a temporary transducer assembly to position mounting rings on opposite surfaces of the barrier. Plural permanent transducers are then mounted to each mounting ring and are aligned with each other across the barrier by virtue of the alignment of their mounting rings. The submerged mounting ring is used like a cylinder in combination with a mounting plate for the transducers on the submerged side of the barrier or each submerged side transducer has a suction cup fitting for use to exclude water from between each transducer and the submerged barrier surface to facilitate bonding of the submerged side transducers to the barrier.

Method and apparatus for an acoustic-electric channel mounting

Methods and apparatus for transmitting power and data along a metal pipe using wideband acoustic waves. Arrangements use shear-horizontal waves, transmitting narrowband signals for power applications and wideband signals for communications having a bandwidth greater than the coherence bandwidth of the acoustic-electric channel. Chirp wave signals, direct sequence spread signals, and on-off keying are used. Acoustic-electric channels include wedges fixed to a pipe or other substrate, transducers fixed to the wedges, and electronics linked to each transducer for sending and receiving power and signals. Matching networks, rectification circuits, and non-coherent signal reception methods may be used.

Method and apparatus for acoustic downhole telemetry and power delivery system using transverse or torsional waves

An ultrasonic transducer with housing contains a transducer assembly, an outer housing surface being fixed against a barrier surface for transferring ultrasonic waves to and from a barrier. The housing has an inner surface with plateau. A cap closes the housing and the transducer assembly has a piezoelectric transducer with a pressure surface around its outer perimeter and an opposite vibration surface engaging the plateau. A ring engages the pressure surface for biasing the vibration surface against the plateau. A holder engages the cap, transducer and ring for positioning and a plurality of springs are spaced around the transducer perimeter and between the cap and ring for biasing the vibration surface toward or against the raised plateau. A viscous couplant is between the vibration surface and plateau for enhancing transmission of the ultrasonic waves.

Ultrasonic high temperature and pressure housing for piezoelectric-acoustic channels

A method for transmitting power, data, and instructions using acoustic-electric channels having one or more transducer arrays, and to compensate for imperfect alignment of transducer arrays. Transducer arrays each include multiple transducer elements coupled to a channel barrier. Each element can be independently controlled, and misaligned transducers are selectively deactivated to improve overall channel performance. Arrays are optimized by testing different combinations of elements, and the combinations which are the most effective or efficient are used for transmissions. The system and the optimization features can be used to communicate between surfaces which have relative movement, such as between water craft hulls. Optimization can be periodic or constant to compensate for movement within the channel. The arrays can be used with curved substrates. Methods of designing adaptable arrays are also provided.

Acoustic-electric channel construction and operation using adaptive transducer arrays

A method and apparatus provide simultaneous bi-directional communications through a barrier using a pair of piezoelectric transducers. Outside-to-inside transmission of differentially encoded binary data is only sampled at the inside when a known repeated bit in a Barker sequence is transmitted in the other direction. Differentially encoded data is translated based on the absolute value of differences between each signal envelope sample and the previous signal envelope sample. Inside-to-outside data is transmitted by varying an electrical load on the inside transducer to vary the proportion of a continuous wave signal it reflects. The reflected portion of the continuous wave changes the electrical impedance of the outside transducer and this change is measured and interpreted as binary data. Two frequency selection algorithms select minimally sufficient and then optimal frequencies for power and data transmission by a frequency stepping process.

Full-duplex ultrasonic through-wall communication and power delivery system with frequency tracking

A system for communicating through a solid wall uses piezoelectric transducers in a multiple-input multiple-output configuration and applies crosstalk suppression. Methods of suppressing or avoiding crosstalk between parallel communication channels includes zero-forcing, eigenmode transmission, and least mean squared error processing. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing can be used to increase transmission rates using many subchannels. Bit-loading can be used to maximize system performance.

Multi-channel through-wall communication system using crosstalk suppression

An apparatus and method for transmitting data and power through a metal barrier using ultrasonic waves, having ultrasonic transmission channels through the barrier formed by coupling ultrasonic transducers on opposite sides of the barrier. A power transmitter sends power over a channel and forward and reverse data transmitters send forward and reverse data signals by orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing OFDM over a separate channel. The data signals are made up of plural sub-carriers at plural different sub-carrier frequencies with none of the sub-carriers of the forward transmission signal being at a power harmonic frequency.

Adaptive system for efficient transmission of power and data through acoustic media

Systems and devices for thermodynamically regulating portions of a dynamoelectric machine are disclosed. In one embodiment, a fan assembly element includes: an axially inner shroud segment configured to form a portion of an annular assembly about a rotor of a dynamoelectric machine, wherein the axially inner shroud segment includes a rotor hub interface configured to physically connect to a complementary portion of a rotor hub; a set of fan blades physically connected to and extending axially from a face of the axially inner shroud segment; and an axially outer shroud segment physically connected to the set of fan blades.

Segmented fan assembly

A method and apparatus for determining the degree of dynamic hardness of a material, such as a sporting equipment item. The method includes the steps of impulsively exciting a surface of the material by impacting the surface against a second, relatively hard surface in contact with a force-measuring device, and then measuring a signal from the force-measuring device to determine a frequency-dependent spectrum of the force exerted by the excited surface on the second surface. From this data, a roll-off frequency is measured and then analyzed to determine the degree of dynamic hardness of the material.

Dynamic hardness testing using measurement of the scarton dynamic

A method for measuring dynamic hardness of elastic materials is applied particularly to determining the state of tonal quality for a piano hammer. The method includes selecting a piano hammer of predetermined type from a set of piano hammers, causing the selected piano hammer to strike against an impact surface having the form of a piano string or string grouping appropriate to a piano hammer of the predetermined type, measuring one or more elements of force and motion of the piano hammer striking the impact surface, e.g. force, determining, e.g., the cut-off frequency of the power spectrum for the selected piano hammer striking upon the impact surface, and comparing the determined cut-off frequency of the power spectrum for the selected piano hammer against a predetermined range of cut-off frequencies of power spectrum acceptable for piano hammer of the predetermined type. An apparatus for testing is also described.

Quantitative method for evaluation of the state of piano hammer felt

A piano key cover having a body of synthetic material pigmented to resemble natural ivory defines a top playing surface having a random orientation of peak-to-valley texture and a multiplicity of fine pores to replicate a surface of natural ivory. A multiplicity of the pores have diameters generally in the range of 0.0002 to 0.0012 inch (0.005 to 0.030 mm). The synthetic material is selected from the group consisting of acrylic polymer, polyurethane, epoxy and the like. A method for forming such a piano key cover and a piano having key covers of the invention are also described.

Member with synthetic surface replicating a surface of a specimen of a

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Troy, NY, United States of America

Henry August Scarton