Method and device for detecting an object in a substrate

• US 9,398,224 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2012
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hilti Aktiengesellschaft (Hilti Martin Family Trust)
• Original Assignee: Hilti Aktiengesellschaft (Hilti Martin Family Trust)
• Inventors: Haldner, Patrick, Wuersch, Christoph, Kaneider, Wilfried, Schoenbeck, Dietmar, Korl, Sascha
• Primary Examiner(s): Patidar, Jay
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, LAMARR A
• Application Number:
  US13/549,055
• Publication Number:
  US 20130182167A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,467 Days
• Field of Search: 324/67, 324/326, 324/458, 324/329, 342/22
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/165 operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by the object or by the detecting device with electromagnetic waves G01V3/17
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming

Abstract

A method and device for detecting an object in a substrate is disclosed. The device has a sensor unit having a sensor element and at least one further sensor element, a control and evaluation unit, and a display unit. The method for detecting an object in a substrate includes simultaneous reception of a receive signal and at least one further receive signal and simultaneous calculation of a depth cross-sectional image from the receive signal and at least one further depth cross-sectional image from the at least one further receive signal by the control and evaluation unit.

Claims

1. A method for detecting an object in a substrate, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a transmission signal by a first sensor element of a sensor unit;

receiving a first receive signal by the first sensor element of the sensor unit;

simultaneously with receiving the first receive signal, receiving a second receive signal by a second sensor element of the sensor unit;

simultaneously calculating a first depth cross-sectional image from the first receive signal and a second depth cross-sectional image from the second receive signal by a control and evaluation unit; and

displaying at least one of the first depth cross-sectional image and the second depth cross-sectional image on a display unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating a plan view from the first and the second depth cross-sectional images and displaying the plan view on the display unit, wherein the plan view is calculated over a depth range between a first depth and a second depth.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of depicting only objects that exceed a threshold value in the plan view.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of interpolating the first and the second depth cross-sectional images.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

moving the sensor unit over the substrate in a first feed direction and a second feed direction in parallel measuring tracks; and

calculating several depth cross-sectional images from receive signals in the first and the second feed directions.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

calculating a plan view from the depth cross-sectional images calculated in the first feed direction and from the depth cross-sectional images calculated in the second feed direction; and

displaying the plan view on the display unit.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving a third receive signal by a third sensor element of a second sensor unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

calculating depth cross-sectional images from the first receive signal of the sensor unit and the third receive signal of the third sensor element and depth cross-sectional images from the second receive signal of the sensor unit and the third receive signal of the third sensor element by the control and evaluation unit; and

calculating a plan view from the depth cross-sectional images.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

calculating depth cross-sectional images from the first and second receive signals of the sensor unit and calculating depth cross-sectional images from the third receive signal of the third sensor element by the control and evaluation unit; and

calculating a plan view from the depth cross-sectional images calculated from the first and second receive signals and calculating a plan view from the depth cross-sectional images calculated from the third receive signal of the third sensor element.

10. A device for detecting an object in a substrate, comprising:

a sensor unit having a first sensor element and a second sensor element, wherein a transmission signal is transmittable by the first sensor element and wherein a first receive signal is receivable at the first sensor element and a second receive signal is simultaneously receivable at the second sensor element;

a control and evaluation unit, wherein the sensor unit is controllable by the control and evaluation unit and wherein respective depth cross-sectional images are simultaneously calculatable by the control and evaluation unit from the first receive signal received at the first sensor element and from the second receive signal received at the second sensor element; and

a display unit, wherein the respective depth cross-sectional images are displayable on the display unit.

11. The device according to claim 10:

wherein a plan view is calculatable by the control and evaluation unit from the respective depth cross-sectional images between a first depth and a second depth;

and wherein the plan view is displayable on the display unit.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the first depth and the second depth are adjustable.

13. The device according to claim 11, wherein a horizontal surface area in which the plan view is displayable is adjustable and wherein the horizontal surface area is separately adjustable in a first and a second horizontal direction.

14. The device according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the respective depth cross-sectional images and the plan view are displayable simultaneously on the display unit.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the at least one of the respective depth cross-sectional images is adjustable via a rocker switch, wherein a position of the rocker switch is displayable in the plan view.

16. The device according to claim 10, further comprising a second sensor unit having sensor elements, wherein the sensor elements of the second sensor unit differ in at least one sensor property from the first and the second sensor elements of the sensor unit.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein any object is detectable by the sensor unit and wherein only a power line is detectable by the second sensor unit.

18. The device according to claim 16, wherein a measuring result of the sensor unit is displayable on the display unit in a first display mode, wherein a measuring result of the second sensor unit is displayable on the display unit in a second display mode, and wherein the measuring result of the sensor unit and the measuring result of the second sensor unit are displayable on the display unit in a third display mode.