Fan beam transducer assembly

• US 7,961,552 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airmar Technology Corporation (Amphenol Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Airmar Technology Corporation (Amphenol Corporation)
• Inventors: Cullen, Robert M., Boucher, Stephen G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pihulic; Dan
• Application Number:
  US12/231,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20100054084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 367/173, 367/140, 367/138, 367/88, 367/111
• US Class Current: 367/173
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/521 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/006 Transducer mounting in underwater equipment, e.g. sonobuoys
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/32 characterised by the shape of the source

Abstract

A transducer assembly including a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis. The fan shaped acoustic beam can have a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis. The transducer can be housed in a housing and have a direction of travel axis. The fan shaped acoustic beam can be rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis. The housing can have a release locking arrangement for rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

Claims

1. A transducer assembly comprising:

a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a longer major axis and a shorter minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis; and

a housing for housing the transducer and having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis, the housing having a release locking arrangement for rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

2. The transducer assembly of claim 1 in which the transducer is rotatable within the housing about the beam generation axis.

3. The transducer assembly of claim 2 in which the locking arrangement is a quick release locking arrangement.

4. The transducer assembly of claim 3 in which the locking arrangement includes a locking member resiliently biased relative to the transducer for releasably locking the transducer.

5. The transducer assembly of claim 4 in which the transducer is resiliently biased upwardly against the locking member by a resilient biasing member, the transducer being resiliently movable downwardly by a hand to disengage from the locking member for allowing rotation, and release of the transducer by the hand allows the resilient biasing member to bias and re-engage the transducer with the locking member in the desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

6. The transducer assembly of claim 4 in which the transducer and the locking member each have a locking structure which interlock with each other, at least one of the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member has protrusions, and the other recesses, which interlock for locking the transducer in the desired position.

7. The transducer assembly of claim 6 in which the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member are positioned in a circular pattern relative to the beam generation axis, the locking structure of the locking member being positioned above the locking structure of the transducer.

8. The transducer assembly of claim 7 in which the locking structure of the transducer is spring loaded against the locking structure of the locking member by an annular spring.

9. The transducer assembly of claim 8 in which the annular spring is a wave spring washer.

10. The transducer assembly of claim 4 in which the locking member has a central opening through which an upper region of the transducer can be seen, the upper region of the transducer having an indicator of position of the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

11. The transducer assembly of claim 1 further comprising a mounting bracket for mounting to a watercraft.

12. The transducer assembly of claim 1 further comprising an adjustable mounting band for mounting to a trolling motor.

13. The transducer assembly of claim 1 in which the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam is lockable in line with the direction of travel axis, and 90°

to the direction of travel axis.

14. The transducer assembly of claim 13 in which the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam is lockable at an acute angle relative to the direction of travel axis.

15. The transducer assembly of claim 14 in which the locking member has fixed predetermined locking positions for orienting angular position of the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

16. The transducer assembly of claim 15 in which the assembly includes angle alignment markings for alignment with the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

17. The transducer assembly of claim 1 in which the fan beam transducer includes a transducer element and a mask member for generating the fan shaped acoustic beam, the mask member being rotatable relative to the transducer element for rotationally changing the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

18. A transducer assembly comprising:

a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a longer major axis and a shorter minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

a display for displaying images of fish detected by the fan shaped acoustic beam; and

a housing for housing the transducer having a direction of travel axis, the transducer being oriented for generating the fan shaped acoustic beam generally vertically downwardly into water and oriented such that the major axis is at an acute angle relative to the direction of travel axis in the range of about 20°

to 50°

, such that when the transducer is moving along the direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam has a relative width and length with respect to the direction of travel axis that is greater than a distance across the fan shaped acoustic beam along the minor axis that is capable of detecting fish in a relatively wide area of water which remain within the fan shaped acoustic beam long enough to appear on the display as a significant arched shaped image.

19. The transducer assembly of claim 18 in which the housing includes an adjustment mechanism capable of locking the fan beam transducer at a series of predetermined angles.

20. A method of operating a transducer assembly comprising:

with a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis, generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a longer major axis and a shorter minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

housing the transducer within a housing having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis; and

rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam with a locking arrangement for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising rotating the transducer within the housing about the beam generation axis.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising releasing and locking the transducer with a quick release locking arrangement.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising resiliently biasing a locking member relative to the transducer for releasably locking the transducer.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising resiliently biasing the transducer upwardly against the locking member with a resilient biasing member, the transducer being resiliently movable downwardly by a hand to disengage from the locking member for allowing rotation, and release of the transducer by the hand allows the resilient biasing member to bias and re-engage the transducer with the locking member in the desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

25. The method of claim 23 further comprising providing the transducer and the locking member each with a locking structure which interlock with each other, at least one of the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member has protrusions, and the other recesses, which interlock for locking the transducer in the desired position.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising positioning the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member in a circular pattern relative to the beam generation axis, the locking structure of the locking member being positioned above the locking structure of the transducer.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising spring loading the locking structure of the transducer against the locking structure of the locking member with an annular spring.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising spring loading the locking structure of the transducer with a wave spring washer as the annular spring.

29. The method of claim 23 in which the locking member has a central opening through which an upper region of the transducer can be seen, the method further comprising employing an indicator of position of the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam on the upper region of the transducer for determining the desired position.

30. The method of claim 20 further comprising mounting the transducer assembly to a watercraft with a mounting bracket.

31. The method of claim 20 further comprising mounting the transducer assembly to a trolling motor with an adjustable mounting band.

32. The method of claim 20 further comprising locking the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam into one of, in line with the direction of travel axis, and 90°

to the direction of travel axis.

33. The method of claim 20 further comprising locking the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at an acute angle relative to the direction of travel axis.

34. The method of claim 20 further comprising employing fixed predetermined locking positions on the locking member for orienting angular position of the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising aligning angle alignment markings on the assembly with the major axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

36. The method of claim 20 further comprising generating the fan shaped acoustic beam with a transducer element and a mask member, the mask member being rotatable relative to the transducer element for rotationally changing the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

37. A method of detecting fish in water comprising:

moving a watercraft relative to the water along a direction of travel axis;

mounting a fan beam transducer to the watercraft, the fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis; and

generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis with the transducer and displaying images of fish detected by the fan shaped acoustic beam on a display, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a longer major axis and a shorter minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being directed generally vertically downwardly into the water and oriented such that the major axis is at an acute angle relative to the direction of travel axis in the range of about 20°

to 50°

, such that the fan shaped acoustic beam has a relative width and length with respect to the direction of travel axis that is greater than a distance across the fan shaped acoustic beam along the minor axis to detect fish in a relatively wide area of water which remain within the fan shaped acoustic beam long enough to appear on the display as a significant arched shaped image.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising housing the fan beam transducer in a housing, the housing having an adjustment mechanism capable of locking the fan beam transducer at a series of predetermined angles.

39. A transducer assembly comprising:

a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis; and

a housing for housing the transducer and having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis, the transducer being rotatable within the housing about the beam generation axis, the housing having a release locking arrangement for rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis, the locking arrangement being a quick release locking arrangement, including a locking member resiliently biased relative to the transducer for releasably locking the transducer, the transducer being resiliently biased upwardly against the locking member by a resilient biasing member, the transducer being resiliently movable downwardly by a hand to disengage from the locking member for allowing rotation, and release of the transducer by the hand allows the resilient biasing member to bias and re-engage the transducer with the locking member in the desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

40. A transducer assembly comprising:

a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis; and

a housing for housing the transducer and having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis, the transducer being rotatable within the housing about the beam generation axis, the housing having a release locking arrangement for rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis, the locking arrangement being a quick release locking arrangement, the locking arrangement including a locking member resiliently biased relative to the transducer for releasably locking the transducer, the transducer and the locking member each having a locking structure which interlock with each other, at least one of the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member has protrusions, and the other recesses, which interlock for locking the transducer in the desired position, the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member being positioned in a circular pattern relative to the beam generation axis, the locking structure of the locking member being positioned above the locking structure of the transducer.

41. A transducer assembly comprising:

a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

a housing for housing the transducer and having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis, the housing having a release locking arrangement for rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis; and

an adjustable mounting band for mounting to a trolling motor.

42. A transducer assembly comprising:

a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis for generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis; and

a housing for housing the transducer and having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis, the housing having a release locking arrangement for rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis, the fan beam transducer including a transducer element and a mask member for generating the fan shaped acoustic beam, the mask member being rotatable relative to the transducer element for rotationally changing the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam.

43. A method of operating a transducer assembly comprising:

with a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis, generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

housing the transducer within a housing having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis; and

rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam with a quick release locking arrangement for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis, the transducer rotating within the housing about the beam generation axis, a locking member of the locking arrangement being resiliently biased relative to the transducer for releasably locking the transducer, in which the transducer is resiliently biased upwardly against the locking member with a resilient biasing member, the transducer being resiliently movable downwardly by a hand to disengage from the locking member for allowing rotation, and release of the transducer by the hand allows the resilient biasing member to bias and re-engage the transducer with the locking member in the desired position relative to the direction of travel axis.

44. A method of operating a transducer assembly comprising:

with a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis, generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

housing the transducer within a housing having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis; and

rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam with a quick release locking arrangement for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis, the transducer rotating within the housing about the beam generation axis, a locking member of the locking arrangement being resiliently biased relative to the transducer for releasably locking the transducer, the transducer and the locking member each having a locking structure which interlock with each other, at least one of the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member has protrusions, and the other recesses, which interlock for locking the transducer in the desired position, the locking structures of the transducer and the locking member being positioned in a circular pattern relative to the beam generation axis, the locking structure of the locking member being positioned above the locking structure of the transducer.

45. A method of operating a transducer assembly comprising:

with a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis, generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

housing the transducer within a housing having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis;

rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam with a locking arrangement for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis; and

mounting the transducer assembly to a trolling motor with an adjustable mounting band.

46. A method of operating a transducer assembly comprising:

with a fan beam transducer having a beam generation axis, generating a fan shaped acoustic beam along the beam generation axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam having a generally elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis across a plane generally perpendicular to the beam generation axis;

housing the transducer within a housing having a direction of travel axis, the fan shaped acoustic beam being rotatable relative to the direction of travel axis;

rotationally releasing and locking the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam with a locking arrangement for orienting at least one of the major axis and minor axis of the fan shaped acoustic beam at a desired position relative to the direction of travel axis; and

generating the fan shaped acoustic beam with a transducer element and a mask member, the mask member being rotatable relative to the transducer element for rotationally changing the position of the fan shaped acoustic beam.