Gravity enhanced acoustic levitation method and apparatus

US4520656A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REPRESENTED BY THE ADMINSTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION · US

Inventors

• Martin B. Barmatz · La Cañada Flintridge, US
• James L. Allen · La Cañada Flintridge, US
• Dan Granett · Los Angeles, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 9, 1983
• Grant date: Jun 4, 1985
• Expiry date: Dec 9, 2003

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G10K15/00
• WIPO field: Other consumer goods
• WIPO sector: Other fields

Abstract

An acoustic levitation system is provided for acoustically levitating an object, by applying a single frequency from a transducer into a resonant chamber surrounding the object. The chamber includes a stabilizer location (29, FIG. 2) along its height, where the side walls of the chammber are angled so they converge in an upward direction. When an acoustic standing wave pattern is applied between the top and bottom of the chamber, a levitation surface (28) within the stabilizer does not lie on a horizontal plane, but instead is curved with a lowermost portion (31) near the vertical axis of the chamber. As a result, an acoustically levitated object (30) is urged by gravity towards the lowermost location (31) on the levitation surface, so the object is kept away from the side walls of the chamber.