Reconstruction of object shape from sound diffraction pattern

Claim 1

The method of creating a graphic reconstruction of the shape of an object from the pattern of an acoustical wave dispersed by said object which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object with sound waves, sampling both the amplitude and phase of sound pressure changes in the resulting complex wavefront at each of a selected number of discrete point in a plane within the acoustic field surrounding said object, employing said samples of amplitude and phase of said pressure changes obtained at each of said points to develop signals which represent a visual reconstruction of the shape of said object, and utilizing said signals to control the generation of a visual replica of said object.

Claim 2

The method of creating a graphic reconstruction of the shape of an object from the pattern of an acoustical wave dispersed by said object which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object with sound waves, sampling both the amplitude and phase of sound pressure changes in the resulting complex wavefront at each of a selected number of discrete point in a plane within the acoustic field surrounding said object, employing said samples of amplitude and phase of said pressure changes obtained at each of said points to develop signals which represent a visual reconstruction of the shape of said object, and utilizing said signals to control the generation of a visual replica of said object.

Claim 3

The method of producing a visual replica of the shape of an object from measurements of the diffraction pattern produced when an object is placed in the path of a monochromatic sound wave, which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object with a monochromatic sound wave, measuring both the amplitude and phase of said sound wave at a discrete set of points in the acoustic field surrounding said object, employing said measurements of amplitude and phase to evaluate the complex diffraction pattern of said wave in said field, and utilizing said evaluation to control the generation of a visual replica of said object.

Claim 4

The method of producing a visual replica of the shape of an object from measurements of the diffraction pattern produced when an object is placed in the path of a monochromatic sound wave, which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object with a monochromatic sound wave, measuring both the amplitude and phase of said sound wave at a discrete set of points in the acoustic field surrounding said object, employing said measurements of amplitude and phase to evaluate the complex diffraction pattern of said wave in said field, and utilizing said evaluation to control the generation of a visual replica of said object.

Claim 5

The method of visualizing an object from the pattern of a sound wave dispersed by said object which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object situated in a plane z 0 with a monochromatic sound wave of wavelength lambda ; measuring the complex amplitude r(x,y) of said sound wave at a selected number of discrete points in a rectangular matrix of spacing lambda /2 in a plane z s spaced apart from said object plane by distance s; converting discretE values of the complex amplitude r(x,y) into continuous functions r(x,y); employing said continuous functions to evaluate a band-limited version tB(x,y) of the sound wavefront in the object plane z 0 according to the relation in which k represents the wave number of said irradiating sound wave, * denotes convolution, and omega and sigma represent spatial frequencies in the x and y directions, respectively, in said plane z s; and utilizing said evaluation of tB(x,y) to control the generation of a replica of said object.

Claim 6

The method of visualizing an object from the pattern of a sound wave dispersed by said object which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object situated in a plane z 0 with a monochromatic sound wave of wavelength lambda ; measuring the complex amplitude r(x,y) of said sound wave at a selected number of discrete points in a rectangular matrix of spacing lambda /2 in a plane z s spaced apart from said object plane by distance s; converting discretE values of the complex amplitude r(x,y) into continuous functions r(x,y); employing said continuous functions to evaluate a band-limited version tB(x,y) of the sound wavefront in the object plane z 0 according to the relation in which k represents the wave number of said irradiating sound wave, * denotes convolution, and omega and sigma represent spatial frequencies in the x and y directions, respectively, in said plane z s; and utilizing said evaluation of tB(x,y) to control the generation of a replica of said object.

Claim 7

The method of visualizing an object from the pattern of a sound wave dispersed by said object which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object situated in a plane z 0 with a monochromatic sound wave of wavelength lambda ; measuring the complex amplitude r(x,y) of said sound wave at a selected number of discrete points with coordinates (p lambda /2, q lambda /2), where p and q are integers in a plane z s spaced apart from said object plane by a distance s; developing complex functions of x,y as g(x,y) Re(x,y)+jI(x,y); evaluating a function tm,n for selected integer values of m and n as determining the values of a band-limited version of the sound wavefront in the object plane z 0 according to the relation and utilizing values of tB(x,y) for creating a visual display of said object.

Claim 8

The method of visualizing an object from the pattern of a sound wave dispersed by said object which comprises the steps of: irradiating an object situated in a plane z 0 with a monochromatic sound wave of wavelength lambda ; measuring the complex amplitude r(x,y) of said sound wave at a selected number of discrete points with coordinates (p lambda /2, q lambda /2), where p and q are integers in a plane z s spaced apart from said object plane by a distance s; developing complex functions of x,y as g(x,y) Re(x,y)+jI(x,y); evaluating a function tm,n for selected integer values of m and n as determining the values of a band-limited version of the sound wavefront in the object plane z 0 according to the relation and utilizing values of tB(x,y) for creating a visual display of said object.