US Patents 8050430 and 8050431 - CNT sound generator

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8050430.html
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8050431.html


These are the latest in a series of patents from Beijing FUNATE Innovation Technology and Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) based on newly discovered applications of carbon nanotubes in sound generation based on a thermoacoustic effect. Claim 1 (of US Patent 8050431) reads:

1. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

an electromagnetic signal device; and

a sound wave generator, the sound wave generator comprises a carbon nanotube structure, the carbon nanotube structure comprises one or more carbon nanotube films, each carbon nanotube film comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes entangled with each other;

wherein the electromagnetic signal device is configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to the carbon nanotube structure, the carbon nanotube structure is configured to convert the electromagnetic signal into heat and transfer the heat to a medium in contact with the sound wave generator, causing a thermoacoustic effect.