Abstract: A microcontroller is used to drive a piezoelectric transducer. Certain pins on the microcontroller are indicative of selection signals. The selector can be activated either by a user directly (e.g., by pushing buttons), by an offboard actuator (e.g., another microcontroller), or by any method known in the art for activating switches. In one embodiment, an output pin of the microcontroller acts as output for a high-low oscillator. The oscillation amplitude toggles between 0 and 5 volts in a square wave fashion. The output pin is coupled to the base of a bipolar junction transistor so that the transistor turns on and off as a switch in response to the high-low oscillations.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 17, 1996
Date of Patent:
October 30, 2001
Assignee:
Yosemite Investiment Inc.
Inventors:
George A. Burnett, Robert L. Leonard, Jr.