US3787803A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
High performance meter depth sounder for automatically indicating depth without manual adjustment
Assignee: Raytheon Co
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Filing: 1972-11-29
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Granted: 1974-01-22
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Expires: 1992-11-29
Abstract
Abstract A depth meter circuit which overcomes the usual necessity for manual adjustment of the sensitivity control to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and to prevent spurious meter response to wakes and debris at intermediate depths is achieved by a dynamically adjusted receiver attenuator circuit which is controlled by the combination of an automatic bottom tracking gate, a time varied sensitivity circuit and a transmission blanking circuit operating in conjunction with a meter indicating circuit which is activated only during the time of return echoes by means of a ramp voltage sampling circuit actuated only by the return echoes. The arrangement makes possible the use of maximum transmitted power for accurate measurement of deep bottoms and on the same nonlinear scale, provides accurate readings of shallow depths without manual adjustment.
Inventors
- 👤 J Beebe
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 20:48
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/523; G01S7/526; G01S7/529; G01S15/00; G01S15/02; G01S15/06; G01S15/08; G01S15/10; G01S15/18; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S367/00; Y10S367/90; Y10S367/901
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
223 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth to the bottom of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an automatic attenuation circuit and a flip-flop circuit having two stable states, first means in conjunction with said automatic attenuation circuit for providing a first control signal to vary the gain of said receiver from a relatively low value at the time of transmission of a regularly recurring pulse to a relatively high value at a maximum depth range, second means in conjunction with said automatic attenuation circuit operating in response to reception of a first recurring echo pulse from the bottom of said body of water to provide a second control signal to actuate said attenuation circuit to block return echoes from intermediate ranges from said bottom until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom, third means in conjunction with said attenuation circuit to provide a third control signal for eliminating from said receiver at a minimum range undesired regularly recurring pulses from said transmitter means in response to a series of recurring echo pulses from said bottom to alter the state of said flip-flop circuit, and means for measuring the portion of time said flipflop circuit is in one of said stable states.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
223 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth to the bottom of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an automatic attenuation circuit and a flip-flop circuit having two stable states, first means in conjunction with said automatic attenuation circuit for providing a first control signal to vary the gain of said receiver from a relatively low value at the time of transmission of a regularly recurring pulse to a relatively high value at a maximum depth range, second means in conjunction with said automatic attenuation circuit operating in response to reception of a first recurring echo pulse from the bottom of said body of water to provide a second control signal to actuate said attenuation circuit to block return echoes from intermediate ranges from said bottom until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom, third means in conjunction with said attenuation circuit to provide a third control signal for eliminating from said receiver at a minimum range undesired regularly recurring pulses from said transmitter means in response to a series of recurring echo pulses from said bottom to alter the state of said flip-flop circuit, and means for measuring the portion of time said flipflop circuit is in one of said stable states.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
75 words
In the depth meter of claim 1, said attenuation circuit including a voltage divider comprising resistance means and semiconductor means connected in series, and means for dynamically changing the bias on said semicondUctor means in response to a signal representing the composite outputs of said first, second and third control signals, thereby to attenuate signals passing through said receiver in proportion to the combination of the outputs of said first, second and third control signals.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
In the depth meter of claim 1, said means for measuring the portion of time said flip-flop circuit is in one of said stable states includes means in the absence of a recurring echo pulse to prevent actuation of said measurement means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
180 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an automatic attenuation circuit, first means coupled to said attenuation circuit for automatically varying the gain of said receiver from a relatively low value at the time of transmission of a regularly recurring pulse to a relatively high value at a maximum depth range, second means in response to reception of a first recurring echo pulse from the bottom of said body of water to actuate said attenuation circuit in conjunction with said first means to block return echoes from intermediate ranges from said bottom until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom, means in response to a series of recurring echo pulses from said bottom to provide a meter indication of a ramp voltage representative of the portion of time from a regularly recurring pulse produced by said transmitter to the reception of a corresponding one of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
180 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an automatic attenuation circuit, first means coupled to said attenuation circuit for automatically varying the gain of said receiver from a relatively low value at the time of transmission of a regularly recurring pulse to a relatively high value at a maximum depth range, second means in response to reception of a first recurring echo pulse from the bottom of said body of water to actuate said attenuation circuit in conjunction with said first means to block return echoes from intermediate ranges from said bottom until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom, means in response to a series of recurring echo pulses from said bottom to provide a meter indication of a ramp voltage representative of the portion of time from a regularly recurring pulse produced by said transmitter to the reception of a corresponding one of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
148 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an attenuator circuit and a flip-flop circuit having two stable states, means in response to reception of a first recurring echo pulse from the bottom of said body of water to energize said attenuation circuit to block return echoes from intermediate ranges from said bottom until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom, means in response to a series of recurring echo pulses from said bottom to alter the state of said flip-flop circuit, means for measuring the portion of time said flip-flop is in one of said stable states, said latter means including means in the absence of a recurring echo pulse of said series to prevent actuation of said measurement means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
148 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an attenuator circuit and a flip-flop circuit having two stable states, means in response to reception of a first recurring echo pulse from the bottom of said body of water to energize said attenuation circuit to block return echoes from intermediate ranges from said bottom until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said recurring echo pulses from said bottom, means in response to a series of recurring echo pulses from said bottom to alter the state of said flip-flop circuit, means for measuring the portion of time said flip-flop is in one of said stable states, said latter means including means in the absence of a recurring echo pulse of said series to prevent actuation of said measurement means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
124 words
In combination, a depth meter, means for transmitting pulses and receiving echoes, means for increasing the sensitivity of said receiving means with an increase in depth, means for attenuating received echoes except during a prdetermined period prior to the reception of a recurring echo means for generating at the time of transmission of a pulse a ramp voltage the amplitude of which increases with depth in a nonlinear manner, means in conjunction with said means for receiving echoes for measuring, at the time of return of an echo, the amplitude of a sample of said ramp voltage, said latter means providing for reading of said depth meter in the presence of relatively high pulse powers together with the suppression of spurious intermediate range echoes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
124 words
In combination, a depth meter, means for transmitting pulses and receiving echoes, means for increasing the sensitivity of said receiving means with an increase in depth, means for attenuating received echoes except during a prdetermined period prior to the reception of a recurring echo means for generating at the time of transmission of a pulse a ramp voltage the amplitude of which increases with depth in a nonlinear manner, means in conjunction with said means for receiving echoes for measuring, at the time of return of an echo, the amplitude of a sample of said ramp voltage, said latter means providing for reading of said depth meter in the presence of relatively high pulse powers together with the suppression of spurious intermediate range echoes.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
139 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an automatic attenuator circuit and a flip-flop circuit adapted to change its state in response to a first received echo pulse gated through said attenuator circuit, a bottom gating circuit providing in response to a change of state of said flip-flop circuit a control signal to alter said attenuator circuit to block return echo pulses from ranges less than said first received echo pulse until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said received echo pulses, and a meter circuit including a nonlinear ramp voltage generator adapted to indicate the depth of said body of water by meaSuring the ramp voltage only during the return time of said received echo pulses.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
139 words
An echo pulse ranging depth meter for reading the depth of a body of water comprising a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an automatic attenuator circuit and a flip-flop circuit adapted to change its state in response to a first received echo pulse gated through said attenuator circuit, a bottom gating circuit providing in response to a change of state of said flip-flop circuit a control signal to alter said attenuator circuit to block return echo pulses from ranges less than said first received echo pulse until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said received echo pulses, and a meter circuit including a nonlinear ramp voltage generator adapted to indicate the depth of said body of water by meaSuring the ramp voltage only during the return time of said received echo pulses.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
144 words
An echo ranging pulse depth meter, a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an attenuator and a flip-flop circuit, said receiver including means for coupling said transmitter pulses to condition said flip-flop in a first stability condition, said flip-flop responsive to a series of reflected echo pulses by way of said attenuator to alter the stability condition of said flip-flop, gating means in response to a change in condition of said flip-flop to actuate said attenuator to block subsequent echo pulses until a predetermined period prior to the time of another series of reflected echo pulses, said attenuator adapted to attenuate both transmitted and received pulses, an amplification stage in circuit with said receiver for amplifying without attenuation both transmitted and received pulses, and meter means for measuring the elapsed time between a transmitted pulse and a corresponding reflected echo pulse.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
144 words
An echo ranging pulse depth meter, a transmitter for producing regularly recurring pulses, a receiver including an attenuator and a flip-flop circuit, said receiver including means for coupling said transmitter pulses to condition said flip-flop in a first stability condition, said flip-flop responsive to a series of reflected echo pulses by way of said attenuator to alter the stability condition of said flip-flop, gating means in response to a change in condition of said flip-flop to actuate said attenuator to block subsequent echo pulses until a predetermined period prior to the time of another series of reflected echo pulses, said attenuator adapted to attenuate both transmitted and received pulses, an amplification stage in circuit with said receiver for amplifying without attenuation both transmitted and received pulses, and meter means for measuring the elapsed time between a transmitted pulse and a corresponding reflected echo pulse.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
In the depth meter of claim 8, said meter means including a ramp voltage initiated at the time of said transmitted pulse and means for measuring the amplitude of a sample of said ramp voltage at the time of said reflected echo pulse.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The depth meter of claim 8 in which the ramp voltage initiated at the time of said transmitted pulse is nonlinear.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
171 words
A pulse type depth meter comprising means for transmitting regularly recurring pulses and receiving reflected echo pulses, an automatic attenuator circuit adapted to attenuate both transmitted pulses and reflected echo pulses, a bistable flip-flop circuit adapted to assume a first stable state in response to signals received from said attenuator circuit and to assume another stable state in response to other signals used for initiating the means for transmitting regularly recurring pulses, gating means in response to a change in one of the stable states of said flip-flop to provide a control signal to actuate said attenuator circuit to block subsequent reflected echo pulses until a preset time prior to the time of another of said regularly recurring pulses, a ramp circuit actuated by a control signal from said other signals used to actuate said transmitting means to provide an output signal having an amplitude which corresponds to the time of arrival of a sample signal from said gating means, and a meter for measuring the amplitude of said output signal.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
171 words
A pulse type depth meter comprising means for transmitting regularly recurring pulses and receiving reflected echo pulses, an automatic attenuator circuit adapted to attenuate both transmitted pulses and reflected echo pulses, a bistable flip-flop circuit adapted to assume a first stable state in response to signals received from said attenuator circuit and to assume another stable state in response to other signals used for initiating the means for transmitting regularly recurring pulses, gating means in response to a change in one of the stable states of said flip-flop to provide a control signal to actuate said attenuator circuit to block subsequent reflected echo pulses until a preset time prior to the time of another of said regularly recurring pulses, a ramp circuit actuated by a control signal from said other signals used to actuate said transmitting means to provide an output signal having an amplitude which corresponds to the time of arrival of a sample signal from said gating means, and a meter for measuring the amplitude of said output signal.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
43 words
In the depth meter of claim 11, said receiving means including an amplification stage for receiving both transmitting pulses and reflected echo pulses and biasing means connected to said amplification stage for amplifying without attenuation both received transmitting pulses and reflected echo pulses.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
In the echo pulse range meter of claim 11, a blanking circuit coupled to said attenuating circuit for blocking signals at extremely short ranges including signals due to recurring pulses from said transmitting means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
215 words
An echo pulse range meter comprising transmitting means for producing regularly recurring pulses, synchronizing means for triggering said transmitting means, a receiver coupled to said synchronizing means and including an attenuating circuit, a flip-flop having two stable states in circuit with said attenuating circuit, means coupled to said attenuating circuit for varying the gain of said receiver from a relatively low value at the time of transmission of one of said regularly recurring pulses to a relatively high value at maximum range, means in response to reception of a first regularly recurring echo pulse to actuate said attenuating circuit to block return echo pulses from intermediate ranges until a preset time prior to reception of a second of said regularly recurring echo pulses corresponding approximately to the range of said first regularly recurring echo pulse, means in response to said second of said regularly recurring echo pulses to alter the state of said flip-flop, means in response to said synchronizIng means for generating a ramp voltage the amplitude of which increases in a nonlinear manner, and means in response to a change in state of said flip-flop for providing a meter indication of the amplitude of said ramp voltage which corresponds to the time of reception of said second of said regularly recurring echo pulses.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
215 words
An echo pulse range meter comprising transmitting means for producing regularly recurring pulses, synchronizing means for triggering said transmitting means, a receiver coupled to said synchronizing means and including an attenuating circuit, a flip-flop having two stable states in circuit with said attenuating circuit, means coupled to said attenuating circuit for varying the gain of said receiver from a relatively low value at the time of transmission of one of said regularly recurring pulses to a relatively high value at maximum range, means in response to reception of a first regularly recurring echo pulse to actuate said attenuating circuit to block return echo pulses from intermediate ranges until a preset time prior to reception of a second of said regularly recurring echo pulses corresponding approximately to the range of said first regularly recurring echo pulse, means in response to said second of said regularly recurring echo pulses to alter the state of said flip-flop, means in response to said synchronizIng means for generating a ramp voltage the amplitude of which increases in a nonlinear manner, and means in response to a change in state of said flip-flop for providing a meter indication of the amplitude of said ramp voltage which corresponds to the time of reception of said second of said regularly recurring echo pulses.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
199 words
In combination, a depth meter circuit including a depth meter, means for transmitting pulses and means for receiving reflected echo pulses, an attenuation circuit coupled to said receiving means and adapted to provide attenuation for signals passing through said receiving means in a manner representative of the combination of three signals applied to corresponding input terminals of said attenuation circuit, means operative at the time of a transmitting pulse for applying a minimum range blanking signal to a first of said three input terminals, means in response to reception of a reflected echo pulse to provide an intermediate range blanking signal to a second of said three input terminals to block from passing through said receiver return echoes from intermediate ranges until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said reflected echo pulses, means for applying a control signal to a third of said terminals for varying the gain of said receiving means from a relatively low value at the time of transmitting pulses to a relatively high value at maximum range, said depth meter circuit including nonlinear measuring means for providing a depth indication on said depth meter in the presence of spurious intermediate range echoes.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
199 words
In combination, a depth meter circuit including a depth meter, means for transmitting pulses and means for receiving reflected echo pulses, an attenuation circuit coupled to said receiving means and adapted to provide attenuation for signals passing through said receiving means in a manner representative of the combination of three signals applied to corresponding input terminals of said attenuation circuit, means operative at the time of a transmitting pulse for applying a minimum range blanking signal to a first of said three input terminals, means in response to reception of a reflected echo pulse to provide an intermediate range blanking signal to a second of said three input terminals to block from passing through said receiver return echoes from intermediate ranges until a predetermined time prior to reception of another of said reflected echo pulses, means for applying a control signal to a third of said terminals for varying the gain of said receiving means from a relatively low value at the time of transmitting pulses to a relatively high value at maximum range, said depth meter circuit including nonlinear measuring means for providing a depth indication on said depth meter in the presence of spurious intermediate range echoes.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-01-21 | 1977-07-23 | 1978-01-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-01-21 | 1981-07-23 | 1982-01-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-01-21 | 1985-07-23 | 1986-01-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |