Single point contact acoustic transmitter

The invention relates to an acoustic transmitter (301, 401) which emits a vibration voltage to a signal propagation medium, such as a pipeline in an oil well when actuated by an electric driver. In one embodiment, the acoustic transmitter (301, 401) utilizes a mechanical driver comprising piezoelectric elements (304) to generate the vibration voltages. The acoustic transmitter (301,401) is mechanically attached to the signal propagation medium only at a single point. This single point mount excludes load on the acoustic transmitter (301, 401) from the pressure and tensile forces on the signal propagation medium. A mechanical driver mass (406) can be used to extend the frequency range over which the acoustic transmitter (301, 401) is capable of operating. In addition, the resonance response for the acoustic transmitter (301, 401) is minimized using a viscous damper (409). This viscous damper (409) is configured to be coupled to the mechanical driver when the acoustic transmitter is in operation and to disengage from the mechanical driver when this is not the case.

<img file="NO20006017A_D0001.tif" />