US3745518A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for determining the distance between a vessel and a reference point and device for carrying out this method
Assignee: IFP Energies nouvelles
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Filing: 1971-04-12
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Granted: 1973-07-10
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Expires: 1991-04-12
Abstract
Abstract Method for determining the deviation distance of a vessel from a preselected point defined with respect to a set of sensors immersed in a predetermined position, comprising transmitting acoustic waves from said vessel, detecting the continuous phase differences between the waves received by said sensors by combining the output signals thereof with one another and/or with that of a reference sensor, converting said continuous variations to phase shift increments of constant value and transmitting in a coded form the number of said increments to a counter on the vessel.
Inventors
- 👤 J Barret
- 👤 J Therond
- 👤 J Harbonn
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 19:39
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S5/00; G01S5/18; G01S5/22; G01S3/00; G01S3/80; G01S3/802; G01S3/808; G01S3/8083
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
202 words
A method for determining the distance, from a pre-selected point, of a vehicle moving in a water body, in the vicinity of said preselected point which is defined with respect to a reference location of the bottom of the water body where are placed several pressure sensors in a predetermined position with respect to one another, said method comprising the steps of : a. transmitting acoustic waves in a continuous manner from the vehicle and receiving the same at said pressure sensors, b. detecting the continuous variations of the phase differences between the waves received by said sensors, said variations resulting from the displacements of the vehicle in the vicinity of the preselected point, by combination of electric signals issued from at least one set of sensors comprising at least two pairs of sensors having one common sensor, the directions formed by these two pairs being not in alignment, c. converting said continuous variations to a series of phase shift increments of constant value, and d. transmitting, in form of coded acoustic waves, the number of said increments to a counter placed on the vehicle, which indicates the magnitude and the direction of the distances of the vehicle from the preselected point.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
202 words
A method for determining the distance, from a pre-selected point, of a vehicle moving in a water body, in the vicinity of said preselected point which is defined with respect to a reference location of the bottom of the water body where are placed several pressure sensors in a predetermined position with respect to one another, said method comprising the steps of : a. transmitting acoustic waves in a continuous manner from the vehicle and receiving the same at said pressure sensors, b. detecting the continuous variations of the phase differences between the waves received by said sensors, said variations resulting from the displacements of the vehicle in the vicinity of the preselected point, by combination of electric signals issued from at least one set of sensors comprising at least two pairs of sensors having one common sensor, the directions formed by these two pairs being not in alignment, c. converting said continuous variations to a series of phase shift increments of constant value, and d. transmitting, in form of coded acoustic waves, the number of said increments to a counter placed on the vehicle, which indicates the magnitude and the direction of the distances of the vehicle from the preselected point.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the code for transmitting said increments is formed by associating to the phase increments resulting from each combination of signals, of one of an electric signal of determined frequency and an electric signal formed by a specific combination of several signals of different frequencies.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of sensors comprises four sensors forming the apices of a trihedral and said combination is performed separately for four pairs of sensors taken in the set of sensors.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 3 wherein the sensors are positioned along three orthogonal directions.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
231 words
A method for determining the distance, from a preselected point, of a vehicle moving in a water body, in the vicinity of said preselected point, which is defined with respect to a reference location of the bottom of the water body where is placed a set of pressure sensors in a predetermined position with respect to one another, said method comprising the steps of: a. transmitting acoustic waves in a continuous manner from the vehicle and receiving them by means of said set of sensors at four sensor positions, each position comprising K sensors placed substantially along a vertical direction, the sensors of a level being in a substantially horizontal plane, K being any integer, b. detecting the continuous variations of the phase differences in the waves received by the sensors, said variations resulting from the displacements of the vehicle in the vicinity of the preselected point, by combination, at each level of the signals issued respectively from two pairs of sensors of said level which are not in line and have a common sensor, with the signals issued from a reference sensor, c. converting said continuous variations to phase shift increments of constant value, and d. transmitting, in a coded form, the number of said increments to a counter, placed on the vehicle, which indicates the magnitude and the direction of the distances of the vehicle from the preselected point.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
231 words
A method for determining the distance, from a preselected point, of a vehicle moving in a water body, in the vicinity of said preselected point, which is defined with respect to a reference location of the bottom of the water body where is placed a set of pressure sensors in a predetermined position with respect to one another, said method comprising the steps of: a. transmitting acoustic waves in a continuous manner from the vehicle and receiving them by means of said set of sensors at four sensor positions, each position comprising K sensors placed substantially along a vertical direction, the sensors of a level being in a substantially horizontal plane, K being any integer, b. detecting the continuous variations of the phase differences in the waves received by the sensors, said variations resulting from the displacements of the vehicle in the vicinity of the preselected point, by combination, at each level of the signals issued respectively from two pairs of sensors of said level which are not in line and have a common sensor, with the signals issued from a reference sensor, c. converting said continuous variations to phase shift increments of constant value, and d. transmitting, in a coded form, the number of said increments to a counter, placed on the vehicle, which indicates the magnitude and the direction of the distances of the vehicle from the preselected point.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 5 wherein the step of detecting comprises the combination of said signals issued from the sensors directly and with convenient delays.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method according to claim 5 wherein said reference sensor is in alignment with the two non-common sensors of the two pairs of sensors at each level.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to claim 7 wherein the sensors forming the two pAirs are placed at three apices of a square and the reference sensor at equal distances from the two non-common sensors.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
10 words
A method according to claim 5 wherein K is one.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
89 words
A method according to claim 5 wherein the signals from the sensors at each level are combined according to the relationships: BF ( HF(rP. rQ) . HF (rM.rM)) and BF (HF (rP. rR) . HF (rM. rM)) wherein rP is the signal issued from the common sensor, rQ and rR are the signals issued from the non-common sensors of the two pairs, rM is the signal issued from the reference sensor and BF and HF respectively indicate the low frequency and high frequency components of the obtained signal products.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method according to claim 7 wherein the vehicle positions, for which the successive values of the phase shifts resulting from said combinations are varied by increments, are in line and form at least two intersecting sets of parallel lines.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 11 wherein said two sets of parallel lines are orthogonal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
53 words
A method according to claim 12 wherein the angle formed between a rectilinear travel path followed by the vehicle and the direction of said alignment of the sensors, is determined by counting the number of lines of each set traversed by the vehicle moving from a starting position to a position of arrival.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
178 words
A device for determining the distance, from a preselected point, of a vehicle moving in a water body, in the vicinity of the preselected point which is defined with respect to a reference location at the bottom of the water body where pressure sensors are placed in a predetermined position with respect to one another and where acoustic waves are transmitted from the vehicle and received at the pressure sensors, said device comprising at least one set of said pressure sensors, means associated with said at least one set of pressure sensors for combining signals issued from at least one pair of said sensors, means for detecting the phase shift variations of these signals combinations, means for converting the continuous variations of the phase shifts, for each combination of signals, to electric pulses of quantified value, a coding assembly comprising means for producing coding signals, means for associating each coding signal to the pulses according to their sign, for each combination of signals, and acoustic means for transmitting the coding signals to a counter placed on said vehicle.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
178 words
A device for determining the distance, from a preselected point, of a vehicle moving in a water body, in the vicinity of the preselected point which is defined with respect to a reference location at the bottom of the water body where pressure sensors are placed in a predetermined position with respect to one another and where acoustic waves are transmitted from the vehicle and received at the pressure sensors, said device comprising at least one set of said pressure sensors, means associated with said at least one set of pressure sensors for combining signals issued from at least one pair of said sensors, means for detecting the phase shift variations of these signals combinations, means for converting the continuous variations of the phase shifts, for each combination of signals, to electric pulses of quantified value, a coding assembly comprising means for producing coding signals, means for associating each coding signal to the pulses according to their sign, for each combination of signals, and acoustic means for transmitting the coding signals to a counter placed on said vehicle.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
A device according to claim 14 wherein the coding assembly comprises means for producing signals of different frequencies.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
A device according to claim 14 wherein the coding assembly comprises means for producing different specific frequency combinations.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
147 words
A device according to claim 14 wherein said at least one set of sensors includes two pairs of of non-aligned sensors having one common sensor and the means for performing the combination of signals comprise elements of combination of the signals issued from the sensors of one of the pairs, elements of combination of the signals issued from the sensors of the second pair, elements of combination of the signal issued from the reference sensor with itself, filtering elements eliminating the low frequency components from the signals issued from the combination elements, means for combining the signals issued from that filtering element which is connected to said elements of combination of the signal issued from the reference sensor with itself, respectively with the signals issued from the other filtering elements, and filtering elements eliminating the high frequency components from the signals issued from said means for combining.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
A device according to claim 17 comprising a plurality of means for performing the combination of signals, connected respectively to said sensors through a plurality of phase changing elements for delaying the signals by increasing phase intervals.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3421138A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-07-09 | 1977-01-08 | 1977-07-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-07-09 | 1981-01-08 | 1981-07-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-07-09 | 1985-01-08 | 1985-07-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |