United States Patent [191 [11] 4,284,403

Rey [45] Aug. 18, 1981

[54] ACOUSTIC LEVITATION AND METHODS Effects on Acoustical Suspended or Positioned Sam
FOR MANIPULATING LEVITATED ples, Jul. 24, 1975.
OBJECTS Elleman et al., Acoustic-Energy Shaping of Meltable
[75] Inventor: Charles A. Rey, Naperville, Ill. Metals, Jan. 1977.
Whymark et al., Acoustic Levitation Materials Pro
[73] Assignee: Intersonics Incorporated, cessing System, Jan. 1979.
Northbrook, Ill.
[21] Appl. No.: 949,070 Primary Examiner-John J. Camby
Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Gary, Juettner & Pyle
[22] Filed: Oct.6, 1978
[51] rm. c1; ............................................... .. F24J 3/00
[57] ABsTRAcr
[52] US. or. ....................................... ..432/1;181/0.5; Objects are levitated in a sound system substantially free
248/1; 414/787; 432/11; 432/121; 432/266 of reverberation and reflection by positioning a small
[58] Field of Search ................... ..432/1,266, 121,11; re?ector in the path of sound waves. Interference be
181/O.5; 248/1; 414/787 tween the primary waves and reflected waves creates a
[56] References Cited localized zone of minimized energy closely adjacent to
the re?ector in which an object may be stably levitated.
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS The energy well thus produced is not dependent upon
3,164,022 1/1965 Ensley ............................ .. 181/0.5 X distance from the sound source, and the levitated object
3,232,120 2/1966 Ensley .. 181/0.5 may be moved in any direction by moving the re?ector.
3,882,732 5/1975 Fletcher ...... . . . . . . . . . .. 73/505
A plurality of re?ectors may be employed to manipu
OTHER PUBLICATIONS late and combine levitated materials, and improvements
in the processing of levitated objects are also achieved.
Whymark, Acoustic Field Positioning for Container
less Processing, Nov. 1975.
Wang et al., Arrangement for Producing Rotational 14 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures

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U.S. Patent Aug. 18, 1981 Sheet 1 of2 4,284,403

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US. Patent Aug. 18, 1981 Sheet 2 of2 4,284,403
 4,284,403
1 2
?ector at least partially facing the primary source of
ACOUSTIC LEVITATION AND METHODS FOR sound. The small size of the re?ector minimizes or elim
MANIPULATING LEVITATED OBJECTS inates resonance between the primary source and the
re?ector. At the same time, however, unexpectedly
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION there is created a localized energy well closely adjacent
The principles of acoustic levitation are well estab to the re?ector that is presumably caused by local inter
lished. It is known that sound exerts a small but continu ference between the primary and re?ected waves. Since
ous force on materials in a sound ?eld over and above neither the sound source nor cavity walls play a role in
the pressure oscillation occuring at that frequency. Var re-re?ecting sound waves to produce a standing wave,
ious schemes have been devised whereby such continu the energy well described above is entirely independent
ous forces are maximized sufficiently to enable small of distance between sound source and re?ector, which
objects to be suspended in a sound ?eld without visible was a serious limitation in prior devices.
means of support. In addition, since the system is not dependent upon
The potential applications for acoustic levitation, maintenance of a resonant cavity of any sort, variations
positioning and manipulation are numerous and varied. in the temperature of the gas and hence the velocity of
Many potential applications exist whenever there is a sound therein do not seriously affect the operability of
need to hold, move, store or position an object without the system.
contact with any surface, particularly if such contact Other advantages will become apparent from the
would contaminate or damage the object or otherwise following detailed description:
interfere with some desired property or state of the 20
object. For example, an object that is melted by conven THE DRAWINGS
tional means at high temperatures will be contaminated FIG. 1 is a simpli?ed perspective view of an acoustic
by the container, and acoustic levitation offers the pos levitation device made in accordance with the teachings
sibility of containerless melting as well as other contain of the present invention.
erless or non-contact processing involving, for example, 25 FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are schematic views illustratin
chemical reaction, alteration of physical shape, coating, patterns of sound waves involved in the present inven-
combining, conveying, and the like. tion. :
Acoustic levitation also lends itself to manufacturing FIG. 3 is a simpli?ed schematic view of a device of
processes in outer space by preventing drift of the mate the present invention illustrating movement of the re
rials being processed. In this connection, several pro 30 ?ector and levitated object to various positions in the
posals have already been made for the processing of sound ?eld.
acoustically positioned objects in future space stations.
FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are schematic views illustrating
Of the acoustic levitation systems heretofore pro
posed, all have exhibited serious drawbacks or limita various positioning and manipulating techniques avail
tions that affect practical usage or otherwise restrict 35 able in connection with the present invention.
performance under a variety of conditions. All previous FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a furnace for heat
systems utilize resonant cavities that must be carefully ing a levitated object in accordance with the present
tuned and because of the cavity nature are limited in invention.
physical geometries. For example, US. Pat. No. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
3,882,732 describes a resonant rectangular chamber EMBODIMENT
utilizing three sound transducers arranged in three nor
mal axes. The system is used to establish a standing As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus required in con
wave pattern to urge an object toward a zone of mini nection with the present invention is very simple.
mum:pressure. Tuned cylindrical chambers have also Means, generally indicated at 10, are provided for creat
been proposed but similarly suffer from the requirement 45 ing a source of sound waves, preferably at a ?xed fre
to be tuned. . quency, although the frequency employed is not at all
In another proposed system, a single sound source is critical, and for example, may range in the order of a
used, and a large re?ector is placed at a critical distance few hertz to in excess of 100 kilohertz. Various intensi
from the sound source to produce standing waves. ties may be employed. The sound device shown at 10 is
In all of the foregoing, the geometry of the system is of a conventional construction and includes a solid
critical and variations in temperature cause the system cylindrical metal mass or piston 12 having a length
to detune. If a re?ective surface is used to produce a equal to one half sound wavelength in the metal. The
standing wave, the distance between the sound source piston 10 is oscillated by inducing eddy currents in a
and re?ective surface must be maintained at n (x/2), metal tube 14 turned integrally with the base of the
where x is the wavelength of the sound, and n is a whole 55 source and operatively connected to an oscillator and
number. If the temperature should change, the wave amplifier as shown. Full details regarding the construc
length of the sound is also changed. As a result, the tion of the sound source are described in Sonics, Heuter,
system will no longer be in resonance, the standing T., Bolt, R. H., Wiley, New York (1955).
wave will be destroyed, and the levitation will be lost. Although the piston-type sound source described
above is preferred because of the relatively high sound
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION intersities that may be attained, it will be apparent that
The present invention provides an acoustic levitation other continuous sound producing sources, such as loud
system which is characterized by being independent of speakers, piezoelectric, magnetostrictive transducers,
critical resonance and geometry limitations inherent in and the like, may be successfully employed.
prior systems. The system comprises a primary source 65 It will be understood that the propogation of sound
of sound waves typically having a single frequency, and from source 10 requires the presence of a sound propo
a limited size re?ector, i.e., in the order of less than 3 or gating ?uid, which is usually a gas or mixture of gasses
4 wavelengths of the sound in mean diameter, said re or ?uids. The pressure of the gas may be adjusted as
 4,284,403
3 4
desired by disposing the apparatus in a sealed enclosure FIG. 3 illustrates a simpli?ed form of apparatus that
having a valved inlet and outlet (not shown). may be used to move the re?ector 16 in any position in
The apparatus of the present invention also includes a the ?eld of sound whereby the levitated object 20 will
suitably designed re?ector 16 that is spaced from the be also moved. As shown, the apparatus comprises the
sound source 10 and has a substantial portion of the re?ector 16 having the non-re?ective side thereof con
re?ective surface thereof facing the sound ?eld from nected to a X-axis slider 30 which is in turn operatively
source 10. The re?ector 16 may be of any desired shape connected to a y-axis slider 32, which in turn is opera
and surface con?guration but is limited in size to a mean tively connected to a z-axis slider 34. The re?ector l6
diameter of less than 3 or 4 wavelengths of the sound and associated object 20 may therefore be positioned in
from source 10 and preferably has a mean diameter of any desired spacial location relative to the sound source
less than one or two wavelengths, for the reasons to be 10 without loss of the levitated object. Although the
described more fully herein. Suitable means 18 are pro means illustrated for moving the re?ector are mechani
vided to support the re?ector 16. The support means 18 cal, it is apparent that other means could be employed,
such as ?uid or magnetic, to move or assist the move
may be ?xed or movable, as will be described herein in
15 ment of the re?ector.
detail.
It may be seen in FIG. 1 that when the apparatus is FIG. 4a illustrates the levitation of a plurality of
objects 201: and 20b in a single sound ?eld by means of
activated, any desired object 20 may be suspended or
?xed re?ectors 40 and 42 connected to a support 43 in
acoustically levitated at a given position below the
a spaced relation to the sound source 10.
re?ector 16. The object may be solid or liquid of any
FIG. 4b illustrates the possibility of an extended
shape and will have a size less than the size of the re?ec
sound ?eld to position or move any number of objects
tive surface of the re?ector. as desired. For example, a plurality of adjacent sound
The theory of operation of the FIG. 1 apparatus is surces 10a, 10b and 10c may be used to create an ex
illustrated schematically in FIGS. 20, 2b and 2c. In FIG. tended sound ?eld within which a plurality of re?ectors
20 it may be seen that the sound source 10 continuously 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52 may be employed to convey, posi
generates high intensity sound waves 22 which move in tion or manipulate a number of objects. It may be seen
a direction away from the source and which become that the re?ector 46 is employed to levitate a plurality
essentially planar a short distance from the source. of objects. Also, it may be seen that the re?ectors may,
As shown in FIG. 2b sound waves which strike re as shown at 50 and 52, have their re?ective surfaces
?ector 16 are re?ected therefrom as shown schemati somewhat tilted out of parallel with the sound source
cally at 24, the re?ector essentially acting as a small, without loss of the energy well. Thus, re?ectors 50 and
independent source of sound. The size of the re?ector is 52 could be brought together in order to combine the
suf?ciently small relative to the sound ?eld such that objects levitated thereby. '
the re?ected waves are quickly scattered and dissipated FIG. 40 illustrates another method of combining two
to substantially prevent any resonance. 35 levitated objects such as liquid drops. The two re?ec
Unexpectedly, however, it has been found that a tors 54 and 56 having respective levitated drops may be
resonance independent energy well is created closely moved together until the drops combine, and one of the
adjacent the re?ector 16, presumably because of local re?ectors may be moved away or rotated out of posi
ized interference between the primary 22 and secondary tion whereby the combined drop will be levitated under
24 waves in the near vicinity of the re?ector, i.e., less 40 a single re?ector.
than one-half wavelength from the re?ective surface. FIG. 5 illustrates the heating and/or melting of a
The resultant theorized interference pattern is shown in levitated object in the heated interior of a furnace 58. A
FIG. 20, and it may be seen that an energy well 26 or small re?ector 60 is supported within the furnace and
region is created wherein the acoustic potential energy faces a sound source 62 directed through an opening in
is relatively less than the immediate surrounding region. the other side of the furnace, whereby the object 64 may
Objects placed in this location, which have a maximum be heated or melted.
determinable size and total mass, will be held in three The scheme shown in FIG. 5 has important advan
dimensions in the energy well 26. tages over systems that utilize resonance for levitation.
The establishment of the energy well described above As the temperature of the gas increases, the velocity of
is dependent upon the size of the re?ector, and the size 50 sound in the furnace increases, which would cause loss
must be less than a value that would cause any substan of resonance and accurate levitation of the object if
tial resonance in the system. If a larger re?ector were adjustments were not made. In the system shown in
used, sound waves would be re?ected in suf?cient de FIG. 5, an increase in temperature simply causes the
gree to cause resonance that would disrupt the energy object to move somewhat further from the re?ector but
well. 55 the localized energy well is not disturbed. '
By substantially eliminating resonance in the system, It may also be seen that the interior wall 66 of the
extremely important bene?ts are achieved. Since the furnace 58 may be provided with a randomly irregular
distance between the sound source and re?ector is not surface to further minimize re?ection an resonance
at all critical, the re?ector may be moved in any direc within the cavity of the furnace.
tion to any position in the sound ?eld and the levitated As a speci?c example of the method and apparatus
object will be moved therewith. Also, a plurality of described herein, a sound source of 15 khz with a diame
re?ectors each with their own localized energy well, ter of 2 inches and operating at about 140 db intensity
may be introduced into the sound ?eld to position, was employed. The end of a % inch rod was introduced
move or combine a plurality of levitated objects, which as a re?ector at a spaced relation from, and facing the
is a result that has not heretofore been achieved. In 65 sound source. It was observed that small plastic spheres
addition, there is no need to adjust the frequency to up to i inch in diameter and having a density of 0.2 gm
obtain resonance, and a change in temperature of the per cm3 would be levitated about 0.3 inch from the
gas will not disrupt the levitation. surface of the re?ector. It was observed that a substan
 4,284,403
5 6
tial decrease in sound intensity would cause the spheres 4. The acoustic levitation system of claim 1 compris
to fall out of the energy well and that an increase in ing a plurality of separate re?ector means in said ?eld of
intensity would cause the spheres to be more rigidly sound.
locked in the well. It was found that the re?ector rod 5. The acoustic levitation system of claim 1 further
could be moved closer or further from the sound source comprising means for heating said object.
and that the levitated object would stay a ?xed distance 6. The system of claim 5 wherein the means for heat
from the end of the rod. Also, the rod could be trans ing said object comprises an enclosure having irregular
lated in directions other than parallel to the sound axis surfaced interior walls.
while maintaining the levitation of the sphere. Further, 7. The system of claim 4 further comprising means for
the re?ector could be rotated so that the normal to the O moving one re?ector means toward a second re?ector
?at end deviated up to about 50 degrees from being means whereby respective objects supported thereby
parallel to the sound axis. In all these motions and posi will be brought into contact.
tions the sphere remained locked in the energy well. 8. A method for acoustically levitating an object
In the foregoing embodiments, the re?ector has been comprising the steps of producing a ?eld of sound,
interposing a sound re?ector in said ?eld of sound, said
shown positioned above the sound source, although the
sound re?ector being suf?ciently small to substantially
entire system may be oriented in any fashion, e. g., with
prevent resonance and to create a localized energy well
the sound source at the top or at one side.
adjacent to the sound re?ector, and disposing said ob
From the foregoing, it may be seen that the improved ject in said energy well to acoustically levitate said
sound levitation system of the present invention is par object.
ticularly suited to various manufacturing process that 9. The method of claim 8 comprising the additional
have not been possible in previously known systems. step of moving said object by moving said sound re?ec
What is claimed is: tor in said ?eld of sound.
1. An acoustic levitation system comprising source 10. The method of claim 9 comprising the steps of
means for producing a ?eld of sound having a wave 25 interposing a plurality of sound re?ectors in said ?eld of
length, and re?ector means spaced from said source sound to levitate a plurality of objects.
means for producing localized re?ection of a portion of 11. The method of claim 10 comprising the additional
sound, said re?ector means having an effective re?ect step of moving one of said sound re?ectors to the other.
ing surface of a size less than four wavelengths of the 12. The method of claim 11 comprising the additional
sound such that said system is substantially free of reso step of combining one object with another.
nance and such that a localized energy well is created 13. The method of claim 8 comprising the step of
adjacent said re?ector means capable of levitating an changing the temperature of the levitated object.
object. 14. An acoustical levitation system comprising a ?eld
2. The acoustic levitation system of claim 1 wherein of sound in a ?uid and a localized energy well means
the re?ector means has an effective re?ective surface 35 therein for acoustically levitating an object, said energy
having a size less than one wavelength of said sound. well means being substantially independent of reso
3. The acoustic levitation system of claim 1 further nance and frequency of said sound and temperature
comprising means for moving said reflector means changes in said ?uid.
* * * * 1F
within said ?eld of sound.
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