With Sound Transducer Details Patents (Class 340/384.73)
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Patent number: 6664892Abstract: When a person first enters an unfamiliar work space, it is useful for that person to know what devices are present in the space and often the person will spend the first few minutes looking around, effectively carrying out an inventory of the devices present. In order to simplify this process the devices are arranged to announce their existence by sound in response to a prompt, such as a handclap. To avoid the announcements being made all at once in an unintelligible manner, the devices interact with each other to order their announcements so that each device announcement is, at least in due course, made uninterrupted by announcements from other devices. Typically, this interaction involves the devices using a collision-detection and back-off protocol applied to the announcements themselves.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2001Date of Patent: December 16, 2003Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.C.Inventors: Andrew Thomas, Stephen John Hinde, Paul St John Brittan
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Patent number: 6653934Abstract: An electromagnetic audio transducer for SMD applications. The transducer comprises a lead frame with external terminals, which are formed into a predetermined shape. The transducer has a case with inside and outside surfaces, where the case is integrated with the lead frame to expose the external terminals at its outside surface. The transducer has solder bases formed by exposing the lead frame at the inside surface of the case. The drive section of the transducer has a coil arranged inside the case, with the coil having coil terminals, and the coil terminals are led to the solder bases for electrical connection at the inside surface of the case.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 2001Date of Patent: November 25, 2003Assignee: American Audio Components, IncInventors: Zhonglai Pan, Guoxin Jin, Zhengmin Pan
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Publication number: 20030169177Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus and a concomitant method for boosting the audio signal generated by at least one notification appliance in a supervised emergency voice evacuation system.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2002Publication date: September 11, 2003Applicant: WHEELOCK, INCInventors: John W. Curran, Edward V. Applegate, Joseph Kosich, Richard H. Fetterly, Anthony W. Russo
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Patent number: 6617967Abstract: A piezoelectric transducer driving circuit has a main oscillator stage, a buffer circuit, and a voltage-doubling circuit. The main oscillator stage includes a frequency-swept signal generator that can be configured to provide different outputs to the buffers, which in turn provide the output to the voltage-doubling circuit, which supplies the piezoelectric transducer, causing it to mechanically deform and produce audible sounds of different types.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2001Date of Patent: September 9, 2003Assignee: Mallory Sonalert Products, Inc.Inventors: Christopher Baldwin, George Burnett, Daniel O'Brien
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Patent number: 6617966Abstract: In a signal generation circuit for a compound acoustic actuator that generates a sound and a vibration in response to a frequency of a signal input to the compound acoustic actuator, the signal generation circuit comprising a plurality of signal data stored in a memory to generate a plurality of signals having mutually different frequencies, the plurality of signals at least including a signal, a frequency of which is equal to a resonant frequency causing the compound acoustic actuator to generate the vibration, a synthesizing means to synthesize a plurality of drive signals in accordance with the plurality of signal data so as to cause the compound acoustic actuator to generate the vibration, and a sweeping means to sweep the plurality of drive signals, repeatedly.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 2001Date of Patent: September 9, 2003Assignee: NEC CorporationInventor: Chiemi Takahashi
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Publication number: 20020149474Abstract: This Invention concerns a device used by an official at a sports event, to produce a whistle like sound, that is hand activated, fitting into the palm of the hand. When activated by that hand, the sound is emitted in all directions, into the surrounding area.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 12, 2001Publication date: October 17, 2002Inventor: Max M. Stern
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Patent number: 6456193Abstract: A controlling method and apparatus of constant-frequency sound-production for an electric horn are described. These are achieved. And comprised by a monolithic-processor. It's characterized in that frequency pulse output from constant-frequency oscillator is collected as base resonant frequency of each horn (accuracy at least +0.05 HZ), thereby the horns can operate in optimum condition driven by electric driving signal, duty cycle of the driving signal can be arbitrarily adjusted in the range of 1-99% based on sound production feature of different horns. It overcomes the shortcomings that sound changing and sound level descending may arise under the influence of environmental temperature and motor vehicle's voltage variation in the horn with contact and various present electric horns. It also can be used as a signal source having adjustable frequency and pulse width.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2000Date of Patent: September 24, 2002Inventor: Yu Wan
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Patent number: 6342831Abstract: Electronic apparatus incorporating a loudspeaker, wherein the loudspeaker comprises a bending wave panel member having a user-accessible surface, an electro-acoustic vibration exciter on the panel member to introduce bending wave energy into the panel member in response to an electrical signal applied thereto, and at least one touch sensitive area on or associated with the said user-accessible surface and responsive to user contact.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2000Date of Patent: January 29, 2002Assignee: New Transducers LimitedInventor: Henry Azima
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Patent number: 6339368Abstract: A circuit for automatically driving a mechanical device at its resonance frequency is provided. To do so, the circuit detects non-resonance driving conditions of the mechanical device being coupled to and driven by such circuit. Based on such detection, the circuit generates a signal to drive the device at its resonance frequency.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2000Date of Patent: January 15, 2002Assignee: Zilog, Inc.Inventor: James W. Leith
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Patent number: 6317033Abstract: The present invention is structured so as to prevent a fixing part from becoming an obstacle when fixing a coil bobbin for a horn for a vehicle to a case. The structure of the present invention is achieved by forming a tubular through hole extending toward the case opening side at a second bottom surface of the case; piercing a mounting hole through the case mounting piece of the coil bobbin; externally fitting the mounting hole over the tubular through hole; and folding the penetrating tip end of the tubular through hole tube as a folded tip portion toward the side of the hole peripheral edge of the mounting hole and engaging the penetrating tip end, as the folded tip portion, into a large hole part formed in the hole end of the mounting hole, whereby a mounting hole is fixed so as to be pinched by the second bottom surface and the folded tip portion.Type: GrantFiled: May 2, 2000Date of Patent: November 13, 2001Assignee: Mitsuba CorporationInventors: Yoshikazu Kobayashi, Kazuo Igarashi, Kiyofumi Nakayama
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Patent number: 6310540Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 17, 1996Date of Patent: October 30, 2001Assignee: Yosemite Investiment Inc.Inventors: George A. Burnett, Robert L. Leonard, Jr.
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Patent number: 6288633Abstract: An actuable audible display (10) for mounting on the handlebars (12) of a child's vehicle such as a bicycle includes a visual image (15) depicted on a plate-like member (16) affixed to the handlebars and an actuable sound unit (19) mounted on the back of the plate-like member, which can be actuated by the rider of the bicycle to produce audible sounds that are commonly associated with what is depicted in the visual image. The plate-like member (16) has a generally trapezoidal shape corresponding to the shape of the handlebars, and is securable to the handlebars by looping self-locking ties (38) through holes (28, 30, 32, 34) in the plate-like member. The sound unit (19) is actuated by a button (54) which causes an electronics package (54) to retrieve from storage a recorded sound and to drive a loudspeaker 58 to produce a corresponding audible sound effect.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 1999Date of Patent: September 11, 2001Assignee: Rand International, Inc.Inventors: Lee Volpe, Steven Goldmeier
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Patent number: 6259797Abstract: A metal base assembly for speaker that combines with a magnetic circuit to produce a fluctuating magnetic field which drives an acoustic diaphragm into vibration to produce a warning alarm. The metal base assembly comprises a top pad, a middle pad, a bottom plate, positioning rivets, a magnetic plate and a metal plate. The positioning rivets couple the top pad, the middle pad and the bottom plate together forming the metal base assembly with a recess cavity for accommodating the magnetic plate and the metal plate. Under influence of a magnetic force generated by a circular magnetic field generator, an acoustic diaphragm inside the speaker is made to vibrate rapidly producing a high tone warning alarm.Type: GrantFiled: May 27, 1999Date of Patent: July 10, 2001Assignee: Alertek CorporationInventor: Sin-Kai Hu
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Patent number: 6252496Abstract: An animal warning alarm device includes a housing having a hollow tube projecting forwardly therefrom and an electronic sonic generator attached to the housing for providing a sonic wave that is channeled out through the forward open end of the tube which is angled downwardly in a forward direction preferably at an angle of approximately 45° to the road surface beneath the vehicle, whereby the sonic wave that is emitted from the tube will be reflected off the road surface and produce a virtual sonic echo effect.Type: GrantFiled: September 10, 1999Date of Patent: June 26, 2001Inventor: Otto V. Jackson
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Patent number: 6236305Abstract: An interchangeable sound effect device (1) that incorporates and plays sound effects that have been digitally recorded on interchangeable sound cartridges (4). This device (1) is designed to be used with entertainment and educational type products such as toys, dolls, figurines, books and instructional guides. The sound effect device (1) employs an infrared receiver (28) housed within a durable encasement that straps around the user's waist or is embedded within the doll, figurine, toy, or book. The receiver unit (28) contains an infrared detector (44), an electronic diving means (60), an audio speaker (52), and a sound cartridge (4) that rests within a sound cartridge chamber (32). The sound cartridge (4) contains a sound enabler chip (12) that stores, in digital form, a number of prerecorded sound effects. In addition, the user can easily remove the sound cartridge (4) and insert one of many other sound cartridges each containing a different set of sound effects.Type: GrantFiled: April 4, 2000Date of Patent: May 22, 2001Inventor: Frank A. Martin
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Patent number: 6188313Abstract: A device for regenerating powerful acoustic pressure comprises at least an arrangement for generating sound while utilizing the flextensional technique, i.e. having at least one surface element (2), the opposite ends (4, 5) of which are arranged to be influenced to oscillate away from and towards each other, and the surface element oscillating transversely thereto and generating sound.Type: GrantFiled: October 13, 1999Date of Patent: February 13, 2001Assignee: Åm System ABInventor: Lars Stahl