Acoustic ranging systems
First Claim
1. A control unit for connection to at least one electro-acoustic transducer to form an acoustic ranging system, comprising a transmitter for generating shots of alternating current electric energy for application to each said transducer to generate acoustic energy, a tuned receiver for receiving and amplifying alternating current generated by each said transducer responsive to the receipt of acoustic energy, means for digitizing output from said receiver, and a control computer controlling said transmitter to time said shots and for processing said digitized receiver output to recognize therein features indicative of a primary echo from a target being ranged, said unit further including first electronically controlled means for determining an operating frequency of said transmitter, and second electronically controlled means for causing the tuning of said receiver to track the operating frequency of said transmitter, and said control computer further controlling said first electronically controlled means to determine the frequency of the transmitter during each shot responsive to data relative to characteristics of each said transducer.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In an acoustic pulse-echo ranging system, the transmitter and receiver, which respectively generate pulses of acoustic energy and receive reflections of the same, are electronically tuned to determine their operating frequency, the electronic tuning being controlled responsive to stored data relating to a particular transducer being utilized to transmit and receive a pulse. A single transmitter and receiver can be utilized to service a number of different transducers, being automatically tuned to an appropriate frequency for each transducer as it is used to transmit and receive a pulse. The system can verify the nominal operating frequency of each transducer, and can also adjust the operating frequency used with any particular transducer to optimize its performance.
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Citations
10 Claims
- 1. A control unit for connection to at least one electro-acoustic transducer to form an acoustic ranging system, comprising a transmitter for generating shots of alternating current electric energy for application to each said transducer to generate acoustic energy, a tuned receiver for receiving and amplifying alternating current generated by each said transducer responsive to the receipt of acoustic energy, means for digitizing output from said receiver, and a control computer controlling said transmitter to time said shots and for processing said digitized receiver output to recognize therein features indicative of a primary echo from a target being ranged, said unit further including first electronically controlled means for determining an operating frequency of said transmitter, and second electronically controlled means for causing the tuning of said receiver to track the operating frequency of said transmitter, and said control computer further controlling said first electronically controlled means to determine the frequency of the transmitter during each shot responsive to data relative to characteristics of each said transducer.
Specification