USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Government of the United States

James A Tims

Larry E Ivey

A high frequency transducer capable of transmitting and receiving having an operational range from 100 kHz to 2 MHz, a free field voltage sensitivity (FFVS) greater than -218 dB re 1 V/.mu.Pa (300 kHz), and a maximum hydrostatic pressure rating of 20.68 Mpa (3000 psi). The sensor element is made of lead titanate with a radial mode of 150 kHz being suppressed by the use of a rubber grommet surrounding the lead titanate element. The sensor element is retained within a sensor housing by a plurality of annealed iron wires attached to an annealed iron ring, both of the faces of the sensor housing are then covered with an acoustically transparent window of natural gum rubber. The sensor housing is attached to a non-metallic preamplifier housing made of a rigid polyurethane containing a preamplifier circuit, a transmit protection circuit, and a plurality of relays for switching the preamplifier circuit during the transmit and receive modes. A remotely control unit is connected to the transducer through a cable attached to a connector located on the preamplifier housing. The sensor housing and preamplifier housing are joined together electrically by a slip fit coaxial coupler for ease of maintenance and repair.

High pressure, high frequency reciprocal transducer

A sonar array which is operable at a broad range of frequencies, has a high free-field voltage sensitivity and is operable at high hydrostatic pressures. The array includes sensor elements made of a piezoelectric material, a backing plate which supports the sensor elements, a dielectric-elastic insulator positioned between the sensor elements and the backing plate, and backing blocks corresponding, respectively, to the sensor elements, each backing block positioned between a corresponding sensor element and the insulator. The sensor elements are arranged in staves, the staves forming four separate quadrants, the sensor elements in each stave being arranged in parallel and series combinations, so that the sonar array is operable between a frequency range of 10 kHz to above 100 kHz, each stave has a free-field voltage sensitivity of -186 dB re 1V/.mu.Pa or greater between the frequency range and the free-field voltage sensitivity does not change more than plus or minus 2 dB at hydrostatic pressures varying from 20 to 4481.6 kPa.

Growing community of inventors

Orlando, FL, United States of America

James A Tims