Automatic targeting system

Claim 1

Apparatus for locating an acoustic source with respect to a set of coordinates wherein the approximate location is known, comprising, in combination: omnidirectional sensors, the number of which is greater than the number of coordinates in the set, spaced apart in any known arrangement with respect to the coordinates, each sensor generating an output signal indicative of the amplitude of the sound detected thereat; control means adapted to receive and store a first order estimate of the coordinates of the approximate location of the acoustic source for producing encoded control signals; determinator means operatively connected to receive said sensor output signals and said control signals for correlating one event of sound detected at respective times by said sensors and producing output signals indicative of the arrival time differences of the event at each combination of two sensors; and solver means connected to receive said determinator means output signals and said control signals, including a hyperbolic fixer coded to expand into linear form a set of hyperbolic relationships, each relationship corresponding to respective ones of said determinator output signals, and a simultaneous equation solver arranged to accept respective ones of said expanded relationships in an iterative solution form initialized according to said control signals, for producing output signals indicative of a close approximation of the actual coordinate location of the acoustic source.

Claim 5

A method for locating an acoustic source with respect to a set of coordinates comprising the steps of: sensing the signal emanated by the source at several locations within the coordinates, the number of locations being greater than the number of coordinates; correlating the sensed signals at each location to establish a time interval between the arrival of one sound event sensed respectively at each combination of two locations; estimating the location of said source; computing a close approximate of the actual coordinate location of the source by expanding the geometric simultaneous equations of the form Delta tmn(V) Delta Rmn Square Root (X - Xm)2 + (Y - Ym)2 - Square Root (X - Xn)2 + (Y - Yn)2 wherein Delta tmn time of arrival between sensor m and sensor n Delta Rmn radial increment between sensor m and sensor n centered at the source Xm, Ym x and y coordinates of sensor m Xn, Yn x and y coordinates of sensor n X, Y x and y coordinates of the source V velocity of propagation according to Taylor series expansion the initial value thereof estimated to be ax and ay; solving the simultaneous equations by Cramer''s rule; and iterating until converged on the Taylor series by replacing the estimated location with the last calculated x and y locations.

Claim 6

A method for locating an acoustic source with respect to a set of coordinates comprising the steps of: sensing the signal emanated by the source at several locations within the coordinates, the number of locations being greater than the number of coordinates; correlating the sensed signals at each location to establish a time interval between the arrival of one sound event sensed respectively at each combination of two locations; estimating the location of said source; computing a close approximate of the actual coordinate location of the source by expanding the geometric simultaneous equations of the form Delta tmn(V) Delta Rmn Square Root (X - Xm)2 + (Y - Ym)2 - Square Root (X - Xn)2 + (Y - Yn)2 wherein Delta tmn time of arrival between sensor m and sensor n Delta Rmn radial increment between sensor m and sensor n centered at the source Xm, Ym x and y coordinates of sensor m Xn, Yn x and y coordinates of sensor n X, Y x and y coordinates of the source V velocity of propagation according to Taylor series expansion the initial value thereof estimated to be ax and ay; solving the simultaneous equations by Cramer''s rule; and iterating until converged on the Taylor series by replacing the estimated location with the last calculated x and y locations.

Claim 7

An apparatus for locating two or more acoustic sources with respect to a set of coordinates wherein the approximate locations are known, each source emanating identical signals, comprising in combination: omnidirectional sensors the number of which is two greater than the number of the coordinates in the set, spaced apart in any known arrangement with respect to the coordinates, each sensor generating an output signal indicative of the amplitude of the sound detected thereat; control means adapted to receive and store a first order estimate of the coordinates of the approximate locations of the acoustic sources for producing encoded control signals; determinator means operatively connected to receive said sensor output signals and said control signals for producing output signals indicative of the time difference between any two sensors detecting a sound event emAnated by any one of said sources; solver means connected to receive said determinator means output signals and said control signals for producing output signals indicative of close approximations of all possible coordinate locations of the acoustic sources; and sorting means connected to receive said solver means output signals and said control signals for sorting said signals into like coordinate groups and producing an averaged signal corresponding to each group containing three or more solver means output signals indicative of the true close approximations of the actual coordinate locations of the acoustic sources.

Claim 8

An apparatus for locating two or more acoustic sources with respect to a set of coordinates wherein the approximate locations are known, each source emanating identical signals, comprising in combination: omnidirectional sensors the number of which is two greater than the number of the coordinates in the set, spaced apart in any known arrangement with respect to the coordinates, each sensor generating an output signal indicative of the amplitude of the sound detected thereat; control means adapted to receive and store a first order estimate of the coordinates of the approximate locations of the acoustic sources for producing encoded control signals; determinator means operatively connected to receive said sensor output signals and said control signals for producing output signals indicative of the time difference between any two sensors detecting a sound event emAnated by any one of said sources; solver means connected to receive said determinator means output signals and said control signals for producing output signals indicative of close approximations of all possible coordinate locations of the acoustic sources; and sorting means connected to receive said solver means output signals and said control signals for sorting said signals into like coordinate groups and producing an averaged signal corresponding to each group containing three or more solver means output signals indicative of the true close approximations of the actual coordinate locations of the acoustic sources.

Claim 11

A method for locating two or more identical acoustic sources with respect to a set of coordinates comprising the steps of: sensing the signals emanated by said sources at several locations the number thereof being two greater than the number of said coordinates; correlating the sensed signals at each location to establish a time interval between the arrival of one sound event sensed respectively at each combination of two locations; estimating the location of said source; computing a close approximate of the actual coordinate location of the source by expanding the geometric simultaneous equations of the form Delta tmn(V) Delta Rmn Square Root (X - Xm)2 + (Y - Ym)2 - Square Root (X - Xn)2 + (Y - Yn)2 wherein Delta tmn time of arrival between sensor m and sensor n Delta Rmn radial increment between sensor m and sensor n centered at the source Xm, Ym x and y coordinates of sensor m Xn, Yn x and y coordinates of sensor n X, Y x and y coordinates of the source V velocity of propagation according to Taylor series expansion the initial value thereof estimated to be ax and ay; solving the simultaneous equations by Cramer''s rule; iterating until converged on the Taylor series by replacing the estimated location with the last calculated x and y locations; sorting the converged x and y locations according to like coordinate groups; and displaying groups containing three or more locations.

Claim 12

A method for locating two or more identical acoustic sources with respect to a set of coordinates comprising the steps of: sensing the signals emanated by said sources at several locations the number thereof being two greater than the number of said coordinates; correlating the sensed signals at each location to establish a time interval between the arrival of one sound event sensed respectively at each combination of two locations; estimating the location of said source; computing a close approximate of the actual coordinate location of the source by expanding the geometric simultaneous equations of the form Delta tmn(V) Delta Rmn Square Root (X - Xm)2 + (Y - Ym)2 - Square Root (X - Xn)2 + (Y - Yn)2 wherein Delta tmn time of arrival between sensor m and sensor n Delta Rmn radial increment between sensor m and sensor n centered at the source Xm, Ym x and y coordinates of sensor m Xn, Yn x and y coordinates of sensor n X, Y x and y coordinates of the source V velocity of propagation according to Taylor series expansion the initial value thereof estimated to be ax and ay; solving the simultaneous equations by Cramer''s rule; iterating until converged on the Taylor series by replacing the estimated location with the last calculated x and y locations; sorting the converged x and y locations according to like coordinate groups; and displaying groups containing three or more locations.