WikiPatents - Community Patent Review
Create Free Account  |  License or Sell Your Patent  |  WikiPatents Marketplace  |  WikiPatents Blog
Username:  Password:  
    
Advanced Search
Sonic emitter with foam stator    
United States Patent6304662   
Link to this pagehttp://www.wikipatents.com/6304662.html
Inventor(s)Norris; Elwood G. (Poway, CA); Croft, III; James J. (Poway, CA)
AbstractA speaker device comprising an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit sonic output based on a desired sonic signal, used in combination with at least a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face. The forward face is composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and includes conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to supply the desired sonic signal. The surface of the forward face includes small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity which terminates at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member. The film is applied to the forward face of the foam member and biased in direct contact with the contacting edges of the forward face.



 Title Information Submit all comments and votes
 
Patent Text Patent PDF Print Page Summary File History
Plain text PDF images Print Summary File History
Drawing from US Patent 6304662
Sonic emitter with foam stator - US Patent 6304662 Drawing
Sonic emitter with foam stator
Inventor     Norris; Elwood G. (Poway, CA); Croft, III; James J. (Poway, CA)
Owner/Assignee     American Technology Corporation (San Diego, CA)
Patent assignment
All assignments
Publication Date     October 16, 2001
Application Number     09/004,090
PAIR File History     Application Data   Transaction History
Image File Wrapper   Patent Term   Fees
Litigation
Filing Date     January 7, 1998
US Classification     381/191 381/174
Int'l Classification     H04R 025/00
Examiner     Le; Huyen
Assistant Examiner    
Attorney/Law Firm     Thorpe North & Western, LLP
Address
Parent Case    
Priority Data    
USPTO Field of Search     381/190 381/191 381/174 381/111 381/113 381/116 367/170 367/181
Patent Tags     sonic emitter foam stator
   
Enter a comma (,) or semicolon (;) between multiple tag words/phrases.
Describe this patent:
 Amusing   
 Clever   
 Complex   
 Efficient   
 Historic   
 Important   
 Innovative   
 Interesting   
 Practical   
 Simple   
[no votes]
Patent WIKI

Share information and news about this patent, including information and news about the technology, inventors, company, ligation and licensing.

 References Submit all comments and votes
 
*references marked with an asterisk below are user-added references
 U.S. References
 
Add a new US reference:  
ReferenceRelevancyCommentsReferenceRelevancyComments
3821490



[0 after 0 votes]
1799053



[0 after 0 votes]
1809754



[0 after 0 votes]
1983377



[0 after 0 votes]
2855467



[0 after 0 votes]
2872532



[0 after 0 votes]
2935575



[0 after 0 votes]
2975243



[0 after 0 votes]
3008013



[0 after 0 votes]
3136867



[0 after 0 votes]
3345469



[0 after 0 votes]
3373251



[0 after 0 votes]
3389226



[0 after 0 votes]
3544733



[0 after 0 votes]
3654403



[0 after 0 votes]
6011855
Selfridge
381/111
Jan,2000

[0 after 0 votes]
5430805
Stevenson
381/408
Jul,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5392358
Driver
381/191
Feb,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5054081
West
381/191
Oct,1991

[0 after 0 votes]
4939784
Bruney
381/408
Jul,1990

[0 after 0 votes]
4885781
Seidel
381/351
Dec,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4803733
Carver
381/398
Feb,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4593160
Nakamura

Jun,1986

[0 after 0 votes]
4550228
Walker
381/186
Oct,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4480155
Winey
381/408
Oct,1984

[0 after 0 votes]
4471172
Winey
381/427
Sep,1984

[0 after 0 votes]
4434327
Busch-Vishniac
381/113
Feb,1984

[0 after 0 votes]
4419545
Kuindersma
381/165
Dec,1983

[0 after 0 votes]
4385210
Marquiss
381/431
May,1983

[0 after 0 votes]
4289936
Civitello
381/116
Sep,1981

[0 after 0 votes]
4210786
Winey
381/408
Jul,1980

[0 after 0 votes]
4160882
Driver
381/116
Jul,1979

[0 after 0 votes]
3997739
Kishikawa
381/408
Dec,1976

[0 after 0 votes]
3941946
Kawakami
381/116
Mar,1976

[0 after 0 votes]
3919499
Winey
381/408
Nov,1975

[0 after 0 votes]
3892927
Lindenberg
381/116
Jul,1975

[0 after 0 votes]
3833771
Collinson
381/186
Sep,1974

[0 after 0 votes]
3829623
Willis
381/186
Aug,1974

[0 after 0 votes]
3787642
Young, Jr.
381/174
Jan,1974

[0 after 0 votes]
3674946
Winey
381/408
Jul,1972

[0 after 0 votes]
 Foreign References
 Other References
 Market Review Submit all comments and votes
   
Market Size
Estimate the gross annual revenues of the relevant market sector:
> $10B
$5B - $10B
$2B - $5B
$500M - $2B
$100M - $500M
$10M - $100M
$1M - $10M
$500K - $1M
$100K - $500K
< $100K
[No votes]
$0
 
$0   $2.5B   $5B   $7.5B   $10B
Market Share
Estimate the percentage of the relevant market sector this invention will capture:
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%
Reasonable Royalty
What percentage of gross sales should the inventor or assignee be paid?
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%
Public's "Guesstimation" of Royalty Value
Market SizeN/A[No votes]
xMarket ShareN/A[No votes]
xReasonable RoyaltyN/A[No votes]

N/A

License Availablity
If you are NOT the owner or assignee, answer here:
Yes, license is available for purchase

No, license is not currently available



[No votes]
License Availablity
If you ARE the owner or assignee, answer here:
Yes, license is available for purchase

No, license is not currently available



[No votes]
Competitive Advantage
Does this invention have a significant competitive advantage over similar technologies?
Yes

No



[No votes]
Most helpful competitive advantage comment
[No comments]

Commercial Alternatives
Are there viable commercial alternatives for this invention?
Yes

No



[No votes]
Most helpful commercial alternative comment
[No comments]

 Technical Review Submit all comments and votes
 Claims Submit all comments and votes
 


What is claimed is:

1. A speaker device comprising:

an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit sonic output based on a desired sonic signal;

a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section, and a rear face which includes a nonporous member for blocking unimpeded sound transmission;

at least said forward face being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to the forward face to supply the desired sonic signal;

said forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the foam member;

biasing means for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the forward face such that the film is directly supported by the forward face; and

coupling means for coupling a signal source to the speaker device for supplying the variable voltage which includes a sonic signal.

2. A speaker device comprising:

an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit sonic output based on a desired sonic signal;

a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section, and a rear face;

at least said forward face being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to the forward face to supply the desired sonic signal;

said forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the foam member;

biasing means for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the forward face such that the film is directly supported by the forward face;

coupling means for coupling a signal source to the speaker device for supplying the variable voltage which includes a sonic signal;

a second foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face, said forward face of the second foam member (referred to as the second forward face) being positioned on an opposing side of the electrostatic emitter film from the first foam member;

said second forward face being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of the variable voltage to the second forward face to supply the desired sonic signal;

said second forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the second foam member;

said biasing means being coupled to the second foam member for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the second forward face such that the film is directly supported by the second forward face;

said coupling means including means for coupling the signal source to the second forward face with the variable voltage which includes the sonic signal; and

said electrostatic emitter film including a conductive layer in non-contacting relationship with the respective first and second foam members for enabling the film to capacitively respond with the first and second forward faces to the variable voltage in a push-pull relationship.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the second foam member comprises a single foam composition forming the respective second forward face, intermediate core section and rear face.

4. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the foam composition is selected from the group of materials consisting of foamable polymers.

5. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the foam member comprises an open cell structure.

6. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the open cell structure extends from the second forward face to the rear face, allowing air to pass between the respective faces for transmitting sonic output from the emitter film in forward and rearward directions.

7. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said film is composed of a substantially nonconductive polymer composition.

8. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said emitter film comprises a conductive intermediate layer having nonconductive exposed layers on opposing sides of the intermediate layer.

9. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the conductive intermediate layer comprises a thin metallic film coated with nonconductive exposed layers on opposing sides of the intermediate layer.

10. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the electrostatic emitter film comprises at least two sheets of nonconductive emitter film which respectively include a conductive surface, said respective conductive surfaces being in contact to form the conductive layer, said nonconductive emitter film providing insulation between the conductive layer and the respective first and second forward faces.

11. A device as defined in claim 10, wherein the respective conductive surfaces are bonded together to form an integral conductive layer.

12. A speaker device comprising:

an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit sonic output based on a desired sonic signal;

a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face;

said first foam member including a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to supply the desired sonic signal;

said forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the foam member;

insulating means comprises the forward face and the intermediate core section which includes conductive properties;

biasing means for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the forward face such that the film is directly supported by the forward face; and

coupling means for coupling a signal source to the speaker device for supplying the variable voltage which includes a sonic signal.

13. A device as defined in claim 12, further comprising:

a second foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face, said forward face of the second foam member (referred to as the second forward face) being positioned on an opposing side of the electrostatic emitter film from the first foam member;

said second foam member being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of the variable voltage to supply the desired sonic signal;

said second forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the second foam member;

said biasing means being coupled to the second foam member for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the second forward face such that the film is directly supported by the second forward face;

said coupling means including means for coupling the signal source to the second foam member with the variable voltage which includes the sonic signal.

14. A device as defined in claim 13, wherein the electrostatic emitter film comprises a conductive layer biased in contacting relationship with the respective first and second foam members for enabling the film to capacitively respond with the first and second forward faces to the variable voltage in a push-pull relationship.

15. An ultrasonic speaker device, comprising:

an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit ultrasonic output;

a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face including a nonporous member for blocking unimpeded ultrasonic wave transmission;

at least said forward face being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to the forward face to supply the desired ultrasonic signal;

said forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the foam member;

biasing means for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the forward face such that the film is directly supported by the forward face; and

coupling means for coupling an ultrasonic signal source to the speaker device for supplying the variable voltage which includes a sonic signal.

16. An ultrasonic speaker device, comprising:

an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit ultrasonic output;

a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face;

at least said forward face being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to the forward face to supply the desired ultrasonic signal;

said forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the foam member;

biasing means for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the forward face such that the film is directly supported by the forward face; and coupling means for coupling an ultrasonic signal source to the speaker device for supplying the variable voltage which includes a sonic signal;

a second foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face, said forward face of the second foam member (referred to as the second forward face) being positioned on an opposing side of the electrostatic emitter film from the first foam member;

said second forward face being composed of a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of the variable voltage to the second forward face to supply the desired ultrasonic signal;

said second forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall structure terminating at contacting edges approximately coincident with the forward face of the foam member;

film application means for applying the electrostatic film to the forward face of the second foam member;

said biasing means being coupled to the second foam member for biasing the film in direct contact with the contacting edges of the second forward face such that the film is directly supported by the second forward face;

said coupling means including means for coupling the ultrasonic signal source to the second forward face with the variable voltage which includes the ultrasonic signal mixed with the sideband audio signal;

said electrostatic emitter film including a conductive layer in non-contacting relationship with the respective first and second foam members for enabling the film to capacitively respond with the first and second forward faces to the variable voltage in a push-pull relationship.

17. A device as defined in claim 16, wherein said emitter film comprises a conductive intermediate layer having nonconductive exposed layers on opposing sides of the intermediate layer.

18. A device as defined in claim 16, wherein the electrostatic emitter film comprises at least two sheets of nonconductive emitter film which respectively include a conductive surface, said respective conductive surfaces being in contact to form the conductive layer, said nonconductive emitter film providing insulation between the conductive layer and the respective first and second forward faces.

19. A device as defined in claim 16, wherein the respective conductive surfaces are bonded together to form an integral conductive layer.

20. A speaker device comprising:

an electrostatic emitter film which is responsive to an applied variable voltage to emit ultrasonic output based on an audio signal sideband signal mixed with an ultrasonic carrier;

a first foam member having a forward face, an intermediate core section and a rear face;

said first foam member including a composition having sufficient stiffness to support the electrostatic film and including conductive properties which enable application of a variable voltage to supply a desired ultrasonic signal;

said forward face comprising a surface including small cavities having surrounding wall structure defining each cavity, said surrounding wall