Enhanced sonde recognition
First Claim
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1. A detector for detecting an oscillating magnetic signal produced by a sonde, the detector comprising:
- a plurality of antennas for detecting electromagnetic signals with a plurality of frequencies comprising the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, each antenna having an analogue output;
an analogue to digital converter for sampling the analogue output of the antennas to produce a digital output; and
digital processing means, for processing the digital output from the analogue to digital converter to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, wherein the digital processing means comprises a phase feedback loop to allow the digital processing means to follow variations in the frequency of oscillation of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde,wherein the digital processing means comprises a low-pass filter to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde,wherein the bandwidth of the low-pass filter is less than 0.5 Hz at −
140 dB,the detector comprising a frequency spectrum analyzer having frequency bins and an output, wherein the frequency bins of the frequency spectrum analyzer are substantially aligned with a fundamental frequency and a plurality of the harmonic frequencies of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde.
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Abstract
A detector for locating a sonde includes a plurality of antennas, an analogue to digital converter 11 and a digital signal processor to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde. The digital signal processor includes a phase feedback loop 21 to allow the digital processing unit to follow variations in the frequency of oscillation of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde.
52 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A detector for detecting an oscillating magnetic signal produced by a sonde, the detector comprising:
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a plurality of antennas for detecting electromagnetic signals with a plurality of frequencies comprising the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, each antenna having an analogue output; an analogue to digital converter for sampling the analogue output of the antennas to produce a digital output; and digital processing means, for processing the digital output from the analogue to digital converter to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, wherein the digital processing means comprises a phase feedback loop to allow the digital processing means to follow variations in the frequency of oscillation of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, wherein the digital processing means comprises a low-pass filter to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, wherein the bandwidth of the low-pass filter is less than 0.5 Hz at −
140 dB,the detector comprising a frequency spectrum analyzer having frequency bins and an output, wherein the frequency bins of the frequency spectrum analyzer are substantially aligned with a fundamental frequency and a plurality of the harmonic frequencies of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for detecting an oscillating magnetic signal produced by a sonde, the method comprising:
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detecting electromagnetic signals with a plurality of frequencies comprising the magnetic signal produced by the sonde; sampling the detected signal to produce a digital output;
processing the digital output with a digital signal processor to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde;converting the isolated signal to its magnitude and phase measurements; and
feeding back the phase of the isolated signal to allow the processor to follow variations in the frequency of oscillation of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde,the magnetic signal having a fundamental frequency and harmonic frequencies, the method comprising analyzing the frequency spectrum of the magnetic signal with a frequency spectrum analyzer having frequency bins and an output, wherein the frequency bins of the frequency spectrum analyzer are substantially aligned with the fundamental frequency and a plurality of the harmonic frequencies of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer program in a computer readable medium for detecting an oscillating magnetic signal produced by a sonde in an electromagnetic signal with a plurality of frequencies comprising the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, the computer program comprising:
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sampling the electromagnetic signal to produce a digital output; processing the digital output to isolate the magnetic signal produced by the sonde; converting the isolated signal to its magnitude and phase measurements; and feeding back the phase of the isolated signal to allow the processing to follow variations in the frequency of oscillation of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde, the magnetic signal having a fundamental frequency and harmonic frequencies, the computer program comprising analyzing the frequency spectrum of the magnetic signal with a frequency spectrum analyzer having frequency bins and an output, wherein the frequency bins of the frequency spectrum analyzer are substantially aligned with the fundamental frequency and a plurality of the harmonic frequencies of the magnetic signal produced by the sonde. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification