Patent ID: 8159114

Claim:
A flextensional transducer capable of acting as an actuator or sensor and comprising at least one inner elongate driver member contained within, and mechanically coupled to an inner flextensional housing shell that is itself nested within, and mechanically coupled via opposing bridging members to an outer flextensional housing shell such that, in actuator mode, the opposing bridging members transmit the output force/displacement from the inner shell as an input force/displacement into the outer shell, wherein the inner elongate driver member and both flextensional housing shells lie in a common surface, wherein, in actuator mode, each shell has a driver axis along which the input force/displacement acts and an orthogonal transmission axis along which that shell generates a related output force/displacement, whereby the transmission axis of each shell is coincident with the driver axis of the respective other shell such that, in actuator mode, an input force/displacement generated by the inner elongate driver member along the driver axis of the inner shell results in an output force/displacement being transmitted in the same direction along the transmission axis of the outer shell.