Ground penetrating radar with audible output

• US 6,617,996 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2001
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mal GeoScience AB
• Original Assignee: Mal GeoScience AB
• Inventors: Bergstrom, A. B. Marlene, Friborg, Johan Gustaf, Johansson, Bernth A. T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E.
• Application Number:
  US09/881,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 342/21, 342/22, 342/25, 342/59, 342/89, 342/90, 342/91, 342/92, 342/93, 342/94, 342/118, 342/128, 342/133, 342/134, 342/139-144, 342/146, 342/147, 342/175-186, 342/195, 342/27, 342/28, 342/192-197, 367/87-116
• US Class Current: 342/22
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/12 operating with electromagnetic waves operating with millimetre waves G01V8/005

Abstract

A ground penetrating radar system including a processor for generating audible output signals having discrete frequency components representative of the depth of buried targets. The amplitude of the audible frequency components is representative of the size or mass of the target.

Claims

1. A processing system for use in a ground penetrating radar system of the type providing radar signals including information representative of buried targets, comprising:

a first signal source for radiating a first signal into the ground;

a first receiver for receiving a first return signal from the first signal;

a second signal source for radiating a second signal into the ground;

a second receiver for receiving a second return signal from the second signal; and

a processor connected to the first and second receivers for producing a first audio signal as a function of the first return signal and a second audio signal as a function of the second return signal.

2. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processor generates the first and second audio signals having frequencies representative of the depth of buried targets.

3. The processing system of claim 2, wherein the processor generates the first and second audio signals having amplitudes representative of the strength of the radar signal.

4. The processing system of claim 2, wherein the processor generates the first and second audio signals having amplitudes representative of the size of the buried targets.

5. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processor generates the first and second audio signals having amplitudes representative of the strength of the radar signal.

6. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processor system generates the first and second audio signals having amplitudes representative of the size of the buried targets.

7. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processor is responsive to a radar signal including information representative of the orientation of buried targets, and generates first and second audio signals representative of the orientation of buried targets.

8. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processor generates the first audio signal as representative of a first target orientation, and the second audio signal as representative of a second target orientation.

9. The processing system of claim 8, wherein the first and second target orientations are separated by about 90°

.

10. The processing system of claim 8, further including a first transducer connected to receive the first audio signal, and a second transducer connected to receive the second audio signal.

11. The processing system of claim 1, further comprising an attribute recalculator.

12. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the attribute recatculator includes a time-domain band pass filter.

13. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the attribute recalculator includes a frequency-domain band pass filter.

14. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the attribute recalculator includes an attenuation compensation filter.

15. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the attribute recalculator includes a waveform envelope generator.

16. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing system includes a range gate for selecting the portion of the radar signal to be processed.

17. The processing system of claim 1, further comprising a threshold comparator for thresholding the first and second audio signals.

18. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processor generates visual signals representative of the buried targets.

19. A ground penetrating radar system, comprising:

a receiver for receiving a first radar signal representative of buried targets at a first orientation, and a second radar signal representative of buried targets at a second orientation which is spaced about 90°

from the first orientation; and

a processing system for converting the first radar signal into first audio signals having discrete frequencies representative of the depth of buried targets and amplitudes representative of the strength of the first radar signals, and second audio signals having discrete frequencies representative of the depth of buried targets and amplitudes representative of the strength of the second radar signals.

20. The invention of claim 19, wherein the processing system includes a range gate for selecting the portions of the first and second radar signals to be processed.

21. The invention of claim 20, wherein the processing system includes a threshold comparator for comparing the first and second audio signals to a threshold level, and for outputting only the portions of the first and second audio signals that exceed the threshold level.

22. The invention of claim 19, and further including a first transducer connected to receive the first audio signals, and a second transducer connected to receive the second audio signals.

23. A method of radar imaging objects encased within a medium, comprising the steps of:

radiating a first signal into the medium from a first position;

receiving a first return signal;

radiating a second signal into the medium from a first position;

receiving a second return signal;

processing the first return signal to produce a first audio signal having a signal characteristic representative of a distance of the object within the medium from the first position; and

processing the second return signal to produce a second audio signal having a signal characteristic representative of a depth of the object within the medium from the first position.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the signal characteristic is to assign different audio frequencies dependent upon the depth.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the second signal is radiated into the medium along an axis that is approximately 9°

rotated from an axis of radiation of the first signal.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the signal characteristic for both the first and second audio signals is different frequencies dependent upon the depth.