Patent ID: 6925187

Claim:
A sonic emitter array with enhanced emitter-to-air acoustic coupling, said emitter comprising: a plate support member having opposing first and second faces separated by an intermediate plate body, said plate body having a plurality of conduits configured as an array of acoustic horns, each horn having a small throat opening at the first face and an intermediate horn section which diverges to a broad mouth opening at the second face; an emitter membrane positioned in direct contact with the first face and extending across the small throat openings; biasing means operable with respect to the emitter membrane for (i) applying tension to the membrane extending across the throat openings and (ii) displacing the membrane into a non-planar configuration; means for applying a sonic frequency to the membrane for propagation through the intermediate horn section and out the broad mouth opening at the second face; and a back plate positioned behind the membrane and adjacent the small throat openings, said back plate including contact structure for clamping the membrane in fixed position around the small throat opening such that vibrational energy is not transferred through the membrane to adjacent horns.