Circular Transducer Array for Directional Sound Beam Steering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional long throw acoustic systems, such as parabolic dishes and horn and transducer cabinet arrangements, are bulky, inflexible, and limited in their ability to maintain a constant beam width over a wide frequency range, suffer from interference issues, and are impractical for applications requiring high sound pressure levels without causing distortion.
Innovation Solution
A compact loudspeaker system featuring a closely spaced transducer array configured in a circular pattern with a high fill-factor, powered by amplifiers and signal processors that maintain a uniform beam form over a wide frequency range, allowing for electronic beam steering and high sound pressure level generation without physical movement or alteration of the system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a parabolic dish system is used to focus acoustic energy, then a narrow beam of high acoustic power can be produced for long throw applications, but the system becomes relatively large and bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the acoustic system into multiple independent transducer elements arranged in an array, where each element contributes to the overall focused beam. This segmentation allows the system to achieve narrow beam width without requiring a large parabolic dish structure, as the directional control is achieved through the coordinated operation of multiple smaller transducers rather than a single large reflecting surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical parabolic dish structure with an electronically controlled transducer array. Instead of using a physical parabolic reflector to focus sound, the system uses electronic signal processing and phase control of multiple transducers to achieve acoustic focusing, eliminating the need for bulky mechanical structures.
2Length of moving object
If the geometry of a parabolic dish is fixed for a given design, then the beam width is determined, but it becomes impossible to alter the beam width without physically moving the dish
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements dynamic beam width control through electronic means. By adjusting the excitation frequencies, phases, and amplitudes of the transducer elements in the array, the beam width can be dynamically changed without any physical movement of the system. This allows the same fixed-geometry array to produce different beam widths adaptively.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameters (frequency, phase, amplitude) of the transducer elements to control beam width. By modifying these electrical parameters rather than physical geometry, the system achieves variable beam width from a fixed-structure array, enabling adaptability without mechanical reconfiguration.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the transducer and horn assembly is kept relatively small to avoid interference with reflected sound, then the amount of power that can be generated is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a one-dimensional horn-loaded transducer to a two-dimensional array of transducer elements. This dimensional expansion allows the system to generate high acoustic power through the collective output of many elements while maintaining a compact footprint that avoids interference with reflected sound paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple transducer elements into a unified array system where the acoustic outputs are coherent and additive. By merging the output of many small transducers, the system achieves high acoustic power without requiring a single large transducer that would create interference issues.
4Power
If a very high sound pressure level is desired from the dish, then compression and rarefaction becomes so great that distortion results as a vacuum is produced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the high power requirement across multiple transducer elements rather than demanding extreme compression from a single transducer. Each element operates within its linear range, producing moderate sound pressure levels that combine coherently to achieve high overall SPL without the vacuum conditions that cause distortion in single-transducer systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves a focused, high-power acoustic beam with constant beam width over the operating frequency range, capable of generating over 160 dB SPL, and allows for electronic adjustment of the sound field, reducing side lobes and improving practicality in space-constrained applications.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of contiguous transducer elements configured in a closely spaced transducer array such that their acoustic outputs combine to produce a focused beam of sound
Implementation Method 2
acoustic outputs combine to produce a focused beam of sound in front of the array
Data Source
AI summary
A loudspeaker system has a plurality of relatively small transducer elements configured in a closely spaced transducer array such that their acoustic outputs combine to produce a focused beam of sound in front of the array that is substantially uniform about the beams radiation axis. The transducer array lies in a plane and has a perimeter that approximates a circle, and will have fill-factor with respect to a circle circumscribing the array of at least approximately 70%. In one variation of the loudspeaker system, the transducer array is constructed in smaller transducer array modules that are operatively fitted together to produce a larger array.