Claims
- 1. A member for producing an audible sound in a vehicle, comprising:
a speaker area having an upper surface and a lower surface, said speaker area located on said member; a piezo bimorph attached to said speaker area, said piezo bimorph comprising a first piezoelectric element attached to said upper surface, and a second piezoelectric element attached to said lower side and proximate to said first piezoelectric element; and an amplifier in electrical communication with said piezo bimorph, said amplifier supplying an electrical field to said piezo bimorph, said piezo bimorph causing said speaker area and said member to vibrate causing an audible sound.
- 2. A member as in claim 1, further comprising:
a second speaker area having an upper surface and a lower surface, said second speaker area being located on said member; and a second piezo bimorph attached to said second speaker area, said piezo bimorph comprising a first piezoelectric element attached to said second upper surface, and a second piezoelectric element attached to said second lower side and proximate to said first piezoelectric element.
- 3. A member as in claim 1, wherein said member is an interior trim portion of said vehicle.
- 4. A member in claim 3, wherein said interior trim portion is an instrument panel of said vehicle.
- 5. A member as in claim 4, wherein said first piezoelectric element is a piezoelectric actuator, said piezoelectric actuator further comprising a protective coating surrounding said first piezoelectric element and electrodes attached to said protective coating, and disposed between said protective coating and said first piezoelectric element.
- 6. A member as in claim 5, wherein said attachment is by embedding said first piezoelectric element and said second piezoelectric element in said flexible structural member.
- 7. A member as in claim 4, wherein said speaker area is recessed in said member.
- 8. A member as in claim 4, wherein said piezo bimorph further comprising three piezo bimorphs.
- 9. A member as in claim 8, wherein said three piezo bimorphs are located about one inch apart from each other.
- 10. A member as in claim 1, wherein said speaker area is located at an end of said flexible structural to member.
- 11. A member in claim 1, wherein said piezo bimorph is located at an edge of said flexible structural member.
- 12. A member in claim 1, wherein said first piezoelectric element is covered by paint.
- 13. A member in claim 1, wherein said piezo bimorph is in electrical communication and in series with a resistor.
- 14. A member in claim 1, further comprising a transformer interposed between said amplifier and said piezo bimorph, and in electrical communication with said amplifier and said piezo bimorph.
- 15. A method of reproducing sound within a passenger cabin from an audio signal having lower, mid, and upper frequency range components, said method comprising:
covering portions of an instrument panel capable of producing a sound when vibrated by a plurality of piezo-bimorphs, said piezo-bimorphs being located on said instrument panel in a first speaker area and a second speaker area, said speaker areas producing sound when vibrated; and applying electric potential to said piezo-bimorphs to excite a pair of piezoelectric actuators of each biomorphs to vibrate said instrument panel attached thereto to produce sounds in accordance with said audio signal, one of said pair of said piezoelectric actuators being secured to an upper surface of said instrument panel and the other being secured to a lower surface of said instrument panel.
- 16. The method as in claim 15, wherein said instrument panel is vibrated to create frequencies from about 300 Hz to about 20,000 Hz.
- 17. The method as in claim 15, wherein said piezoelectric actuators are embedded into said instrument panel.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application, No. 60/229,837, filed on Aug. 31, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60229837 |
Aug 2000 |
US |