EP0473959A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of transforming a multi-beam sonar image
Assignee: HP Inc
•
Filing: 1991-08-08
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2011-08-08
Abstract
Abstract A method of transforming a multi-beam sonar image in which a plurality of sonar beams (Beam 1, Beam 2) are simultaneously transmitted into an object along a plurality of lines (0, 1, ---, n-1) and across a plurality of arcs (0, 1, ---, j-1). The reflected signals are sensed along each line and sampled thereby creating an image matrix of sampled values taken from the intersection of each line and arc. For each image value, a linear combination of surrounding values is formed to create a transformed image value which reduces the effect of interbeam interference.
Inventors
- 👤 Alexander I. Drukarev
- 👤 Konstantinos Konstantinides
- 👤 Gadiel Seroussi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 10:36
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/52017; G01S7/52085; G01S7/5209; G01S15/00; G01S15/88; G01S15/89; G01S15/8906; G01S15/8977; G10; G10K; G10K11/00; G10K11/18; G10K11/26; G10K11/34; G10K11/341; G10K11/346
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
116 words
A method of imaging an object using an array of sonar transmitters, the method comprising the steps of: (a) causing the array to simultaneously transmit a plurality of sonar beams (Beam 1, Beam 2) into the object across a plurality of arcs (0, 1, ..., j-1); (b) sensing a reflected sonar signal along each sonar beam; (c) creating an image array comprising said reflected signals wherein each value in said array represents a signal reflected from one of said arcs; and (d) creating a transformed image value for a selected value in said array, the transformed value being a function of values in reflected signals on both sides of the arc containing the selected array value.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein the beams are transmitted along a plurality of lines (0, 1, ..., n-1) and the reflected signals are sensed along said lines.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
116 words
A method as in claim 2 wherein the step of creating a transformed image signal further comprises the step of: causing the array to simultaneously transmit a plurality of sonar beams into a known training-object along a plurality of lines and across a plurality of arcs; sensing the reflected sonar signal along the axis of each of the beams; creating an array comprising said reflected training-object signals wherein each value in said training-object array represents a signal reflected from one of said arcs; defining a function of the signals in the training-object array which substantially equals the signals in an ideal training-object array; and applying the function so created to the signals in the image array.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
80 words
A method as in claim 2 wherein said method further includes the step of sampling each reflected signal thereby creating an image matrix of sampled values taken from the intersection of each line and arc; and wherein the step of creating a transformed image value comprises the step of creating a transformed image value for a selected element in the image matrix which is a function of values in lines on both sides of the arc containing the selected element.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
96 words
A method as in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the step of creating a transformed image value further comprises the step of: causing the array to simultaneously transmit a plurality of sonar beams into a known training-object; sensing the reflected sonar signal along the axis of each of the beams; sampling each reflected signal thereby creating a matrix of training-object sampled values; defining a function of the elements in the training-object array which substantially equals the elements in an ideal training-object matrix; and applying the function so created to the elements in the image matrix.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
124 words
A method as in claim 5 wherein the step of defining a function of the elements in the training-object matrix which substantially equals the elements in an ideal training-object matrix comprises the steps of: defining a window which covers a preselected number of rows and columns in said training-object matrix; shifting the window relative to the matrix with each window position including a different set of rows and columns in said training-object matrix; creating an equation for each window position comprising the sum of the matrix elements in the window, each multiplied by an unknown coefficient; and solving the equations for the coefficients which minimize the differences between the values of selected training-object matrix elements and the corresponding elements in the ideal training-object matrix.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
92 words
A method as in claim 1 and further comprising, after step (b), the steps of (b1) rotating the array a preselected amount to a new position and (b2) repeating the causing, sensing and rotating steps a preselected number of times; and wherein step (c) comprises sampling each reflected signal thereby creating a matrix of sampled values, and step (d) comprises, for a selected sampled value, creating a transformed value which is a function of sampled values in a plurality of arcs on either side of the arc containing the selected sampled value.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method as in claim 7 wherein the step of creating a transformed value comprises the step of creating such a transformed value which is also a function of a sampled value sensed at the same time the reflected signal containing the selected sampled value was sensed.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
16 words
A method as in any preceding claim wherein the function comprises a linear combination of values.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
16 words
A method as in any preceding claim wherein the function is selected to minimize interbeam interference.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
121 words
A method as in claim 7 wherein: each sampled value is represented by the notation x(m,j,p), where m is the beam number along which the reflected signal was sensed, j is the arc number at which the signal was sampled, and p is the angular position number of the array; and each transformed value is represented by the notation y(m,j,p) and is created in accordance with the following equation: where: m = 0, 1, ..., M-1, j = L₀, L₀+1, ..., J-L+L₀, p = 0, 1, ..., P-1, L is a preselected number of matrix rows, M is the number of beams in the array, L₀ is the largest integer not exceeding L/2, and c(m,l,b) is a three-dimensional matrix of coefficients.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as in claim 11 and further comprising the step of solving for values in c(m,l,b) which minimize any effects of interbeam interference in y(m,j,p).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
148 words
A method as in claim 12 wherein the step of solving for values in c(m,l,b) comprises the steps of: (a) causing the array to simultaneously transmit a plurality of sonar beams into a known training-object; (b) sensing the training-object signal reflected along each sonar beam; (c) rotating the array a preselected amount to a new position; (d) repeating the preceding three steps a preselected number of times; (e) sampling each reflected signal thereby creating a two-dimensional matrix of training-object sampled values, each of which being represented by the notation x T (m,j,p), where m is the beam number along which the reflected signal was sensed, j is the arc number at which the signal was sampled and p is the angular position number of the array; and (f) solving for values of c(m,l,b) which minimize the differences between y T (m,j,p) and a matrix of ideal training-object values.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.