A haptic actuator assembly includes a haptic actuator configured to output displacement along a perpendicular axis and a pre-load device. The pre-load device is disposed adjacent to the haptic actuator and configured to generate a compressive load on the haptic actuator along the perpendicular axis to oppose expansion of the haptic actuator along the perpendicular axis. The pre-load device includes a casing and at least a first spring component. The casing includes a cover and a base spaced apart from and extending parallel to the cover. The haptic actuator is disposed between the cover and the base, and the first spring component is configured to exert a force in order to create the compressive load on the haptic actuator along the perpendicular axis.

A method of fabricating a film vibration device, including: photoetching a surface of a silicon wafer to form a circular-hole array; etching an aluminum layer on the silicon wafer; etching the silicon wafer to form a through-hole array to obtain a porous silicon wafer; attaching a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet to a side of the porous silicon wafer; ablating the PET sheet to obtain a porous PET film; attaching a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film to a lower side of the porous silicon wafer; performing vacuumization above the porous silicon wafer, while heating the PVDF film below the porous silicon wafer to create dome micro-structures on the PVDF film; and laminating the porous PET film on each of two sides of the PVDF film to obtain the film vibration device. This application also provides a cleaning device having the film vibration device.

A transducer laminate in which electrical contact is made between electrical conductors (C1, C2) and a transducer layer (TY). The transducer laminate includes two adhesive-coated foils (F1, F2), whose adhesive coatings (AC1, AC2) are arranged to face each other. At a first position (A-A) along the length of the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) are sandwiched between the adhesive coatings (AC1, AC2) of the two adhesive-coated foils, and the transducer layer (TY) is also sandwiched between the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) such that electrical contact is made with the electrodes (E1, E2) on the transducer layer (TY). At a second position (B-B) along the length of the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) are sandwiched between the adhesive coatings (AC1, AC2) of the two adhesive-coated foils and there is no transducer layer (TY) sandwiched between the two electrical conductors (C1, C2).

A haptic actuator assembly comprising a haptic actuator and a pre-load device is presented. The haptic actuator is configured to generate a displacement along a first axis, wherein the haptic actuator is a piezoelectric actuator. The pre-load device is adjacent to the haptic actuator and configured to generate a compressive load on the haptic actuator along the first axis. The pre-load device includes a first component and a second component that are disposed on opposing surfaces of the haptic actuator, and are configured to generate a magnetic force that attracts the first component and the second component to each other in order to generate the compressive load on the haptic actuator along the first axis. The first component is a permanent magnet, and the second component is at least one of another permanent magnet, an electromagnet, or a ferromagnetic component that comprises ferromagnetic material.

A haptic actuator assembly includes a haptic actuator configured to output displacement along a perpendicular axis and a pre-load device. The pre-load device is disposed adjacent to the haptic actuator and configured to generate a compressive load on the haptic actuator along the perpendicular axis to oppose expansion of the haptic actuator along the perpendicular axis. The pre-load device includes a casing and at least a first spring component. The casing includes a cover and a base spaced apart from and extending parallel to the cover. The haptic actuator is disposed between the cover and the base, and the first spring component is configured to exert a force in order to create the compressive load on the haptic actuator along the perpendicular axis.

An apparatus includes an ultrasonic sensor array and a sensor controller. The sensor array includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensor pixels, each sensor pixel including an ultrasonic receiver and a receiver bias electrode and being operable in one or both of a transmit mode of operation or a read mode of operation. The sensor controller is electrically coupled with the receiver bias electrodes. The sensor controller is configured to set, at each sensor pixel, a range gate window (RGW) by modulating a bias voltage applied to the receiver bias electrode and to set, for a first portion of the ultrasonic sensor pixels, a first RGW. The sensor controller is configured to set, for a second portion of the ultrasonic sensor pixels, a second RGW, and establish a first temporal delay between the first RGW and the second RGW.

A system and method for ultrasonic sensing, wherein an ultrasonic receiver array includes multiple ultrasonic sensor pixels, and each sensor pixel includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to read an ultrasonic signal. An ultrasonic transmitter array, composed of multiple elements, transmits ultrasonic signals which may be reflected from an object and received at the ultrasonic receivers, wherein a sensor controller applies excitation signals to the transmitter array with a temporal delay between excitation signals.

An apparatus includes an ultrasonic transmitter, an ultrasonic receiver, and an acoustic delay gradient layer disposed in an acoustic path between the ultrasonic transmitter and the ultrasonic receiver. The acoustic delay gradient layer is configured to cause a reflection from a platen interface of the transmitted ultrasonic signal to reach the first receiver region at a first time and the reflection from the platen interface of the transmitted ultrasonic signal to reach the second receiver region at a second time that is different from the first time. The apparatus can further include a controller configured to set for a first region or portion of the receiver, a first range gate window (RGW). The controller is also configured to set, for a second region or portion of the receiver, a second RGW, and to establish a first temporal delay between the first RGW and the second RGW.

An acoustic wave image generation apparatus for generating a photoacoustic image and a Doppler image is provided with a setting unit that sets a region of interest in the Doppler image, and a receiving-aperture controlling unit that sets receiving apertures of an acoustic wave detection probe for detecting photoacoustic waves to apertures smaller than all receiving apertures that the acoustic wave detection probe has, on the basis of a size of the region of interest, and for setting positions of the receiving apertures on the basis of a position of the set region of interest.

The invention relates to a transducer laminate in which electrical contact is made between electrical conductors (C1, C2) and a transducer layer (TY). The transducer laminate includes two adhesive-coated foils (F1, F2), whose adhesive coatings (AC1, AC2) are arranged to face each other. At a first position (A-A) along the length of the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) are sandwiched between the adhesive coatings (AC1, AC2) of the two adhesive-coated foils, and the transducer layer (TY) is also sandwiched between the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) such that electrical contact is made with the electrodes (E1, E2) on the transducer layer (TY). At a second position (B-B) along the length of the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) the two electrical conductors (C1, C2) are sandwiched between the adhesive coatings (AC1, AC2) of the two adhesive-coated foils and there is no transducer layer (TY) sandwiched between the two electrical conductors (C1, C2).