An intra-oral appliance for transmitting sound via bone conduction and optimized for comfort, safety, speech intelligibility, eating and drinking and extended wear by the user including an actuator to provide bone conduction sound transmission; a transceiver coupled to the actuator to cause the actuator to generate sound; and a first chamber containing the actuator and the transceiver, said first chamber adapted to be coupled to one or more teeth of the user.

Microphone systems including a MEMS microphone and an electronic controller. The MEMS microphone includes a movable membrane and a backplate. The movable membrane includes a capacitive electrode and a piezoelectric electrode. The capacitive electrode is configured such that acoustic pressures acting on the movable membrane cause movement of the capacitive electrode. The piezoelectric electrode alters a mechanical property of the MEMS microphone based on a control signal. The backplate is positioned on a first side of the movable membrane. The electronic controller is electrically coupled to the piezoelectric electrode and is configured to generate the control signal.

Provided is an electroacoustic converter film including: a polymeric composite piezoelectric body having piezoelectric particles dispersed in a viscoelastic matrix which is formed of a polymer material exhibiting viscoelasticity at ordinary temperatures; thin film electrodes formed on both sides of the polymeric composite piezoelectric body; and protective layers formed on surfaces of the thin film electrodes. The electroacoustic converter film serves as a speaker capable of being integrated with a flexible display without impairing lightweightness or flexibility, and has considerable frequency dispersion in the storage modulus and also has a local maximum of the loss tangent around ordinary temperatures. A flexible display, a vocal cord microphone and a musical instrument sensor, in each of which the electroacoustic converter film is used, are also provided.

An apparatus comprising a frame and a pressure sensitive adhesive applied to at least a portion of the frame, where the pressure sensitive adhesive is arranged to bond a pre-strained film to the frame is disclosed. A method of making the apparatus also is disclosed. Also disclosed is a method of preparing a stretch frame for manufacturing electroactive polymer devices thereon.

Embodiments are disclosed for a loudspeaker driven by one or more piezoelectric actuators. In embodiments of the disclosure, a loudspeaker comprises a support structure, and a piezoelectric layered cantilever actuator affixed to the support structure via at least two grips. The support structure may also comprise a membrane suspended over the piezoelectric actuator, the membrane being in contact with the piezoelectric actuator between the at least two grips.

An audio reproducing apparatus that includes an audio device including a thin film material including a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer, and a capacitive layer sandwiched between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, the audio device having a three-dimensional shape formed by providing the thin film material with a plurality of fold parts.

Provided is a piezoelectric element capable of reliably performing an electrical connection to an electrode layer. A piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric layer, electrode layers formed on both sides of the piezoelectric layer, and a protective layer laminated on a surface of the electrode layer opposite to a surface on the polymer composite piezoelectric body side. The protective layer has a hole that penetrates from the surface to the electrode layer. The piezoelectric element further includes a filling member consisting of a conductive material, which is formed from the inside of the hole to a part of a surface of the protective layer and is electrically connected to the electrode layer, a conductive member which covers at least a part of the filling member and is electrically connected to the filling member, and a fixing member for fixing the conductive member.

An object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric film capable of preventing a short circuit caused by electrodes protruding from a piezoelectric layer in the piezoelectric film having electrode layers and protective layers on both surfaces of the piezoelectric layer, and a method of producing the piezoelectric film. The object can be achieved by the piezoelectric film that includes a laminated film including a piezoelectric layer, an electrode layer provided on each of both surfaces of the piezoelectric layer, and a protective layer covering the electrode layer, and an insulating end surface coating layer which covers at least a part of an end surface of the laminated film.

A flexoelectricity ultrasonic (UT) transducer imaging system is disclosed comprising a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layer, a plurality of flexoelectricity UT transducers, and a multiplexer. The PTFE layer includes a front and back surface and the plurality of flexoelectricity UT transducers is attached to the back surface of the PTFE layer. Each UT transducer has a front-end and back-end and the front-end of each flexoelectricity UT transducer is attached to the back surface of the PTFE layer. The flexoelectricity UT transducers are arranged along the back surface of the PTFE layer as a two-dimensional array and each flexoelectricity UT transducer is configured to vibrate in a normal direction to the back surface of the PTFE layer. The multiplexer in signal communication with each flexoelectricity UT transducer, where the flexoelectricity UT transducers are sandwiched between the multiplexer and the PTFE layer.

Provided is a voice sensor comprising a piezoelectric material layer includes a substrate, a support layer, a metal layer, a piezoelectric material layer on the metal layer and an electrode on the piezoelectric material layer, and the substrate integrally supports a device layer of the voice sensor by exposing a part of a thin film including the piezoelectric material layer, the electrode and a polymer layer.