US4347591A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Imaging sonar system and method
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1980-10-29
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Granted: 1982-08-31
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Expires: 2000-10-29
Abstract
Abstract An imaging sonar system is disclosed comprising a transmitter, a receiver, and a rotatable transducer coupled with the transmitter and receiver for generating sound waves and for detecting echoes therefrom. Drive means are provided for rotating the rotatable transducer. Transducer position sensing means are provided for sensing the rotary position of the transducer. Analog to digital converter means are coupled with the receiver for converting receiver emitted signals into digital form. Serial access memory means are provided entering into storage receiver emitted signal data in digital form at a preselected rate and for withdrawing from storage receiver emitted signal data at a rate different than the predetermined rate. Write and read control means are also provided for respectively entering digital data into and recalling digital data from the memory. A cathode ray tube is coupled with the memory having beam deflector means synchronized with the memory read control means for displaying data recalled from the memory means as an image of echoes detected by the transducer. Transmit command logic means are coupled with the memory write control means and with the transducer position sensing means for initiating transmit commands to the transmitter with the memory write control means synchronized with sensed transducer positions.
Inventors
- 👤 William F. Stembridge
- 👤 Roger P. Woodward
- 👤 Larry H. Glassman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 01:34
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/56; G01S7/62; G01S7/6218; G01S7/6227
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
An imaging sonar system comprising: (A) a transmitter and receiver; (B) rotatable transducer means coupled with said transmitter and receiver for generating sound waves and for detecting echoes therefrom; (C) drive means for rotating said rotatable transducer means; (D) transducer position sensing means for sensing the rotary position of said rotatable transducer means; (E) analog to digital converter means coupled with said receiver for converting receiver emitted signals into digital form; (F) digital memory means for storing receiver emitted signals as digital data; (G) write and read control means for respectively entering digital data into and recalling digital data from said memory means; (H) a cathode ray tube coupled with said memory means and having beam deflector means synchronized with said memory read control means for displaying data recalled from said memory means as an image of echoes detected by said transducer means; and (I) transmit command logic means coupled with said memory write control means and with said transducer position sensing means for initiating transmit commands to said transmitter with the memory write control means synchronized with sensed transducer positions.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
181 words
An imaging sonar system comprising: (A) a transmitter and receiver; (B) rotatable transducer means coupled with said transmitter and receiver for generating sound waves and for detecting echoes therefrom; (C) drive means for rotating said rotatable transducer means; (D) transducer position sensing means for sensing the rotary position of said rotatable transducer means; (E) analog to digital converter means coupled with said receiver for converting receiver emitted signals into digital form; (F) digital memory means for storing receiver emitted signals as digital data; (G) write and read control means for respectively entering digital data into and recalling digital data from said memory means; (H) a cathode ray tube coupled with said memory means and having beam deflector means synchronized with said memory read control means for displaying data recalled from said memory means as an image of echoes detected by said transducer means; and (I) transmit command logic means coupled with said memory write control means and with said transducer position sensing means for initiating transmit commands to said transmitter with the memory write control means synchronized with sensed transducer positions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said transmitter comprises an amplifier driven by an AND gate connected with said transmit command logic means, and wherein said receiver comprises a phase locked loop also connected with said transmitter AND gate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said transmitter comprises an amplifier driven by an AND gate connected with said transmit command logic means, and wherein said receiver comprises time varying gain function generator means also coupled with said transmit command logic means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said receiver comprises a phase locked loop connected with said transmitter AND gate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said receiver comprises time varying gain amplifier means for compensating for variations in echo strengths attributable to variations in distances between echo targets and the transducer.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said analog to digital converter means includes means for converting received emitted signals into multiple bit digital form whereby digital data on a multiple level grey scale indicative of sensed echo strength may be entered into said digital memory means upon command by said read control means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 6 wherein said analog to digital converter means includes means for converting receiver emitted signals into time continuous multiple bit digital form.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
50 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said transducer position sensing means includes phototransistor means for generating an electrical signal, means for directing a beam of light onto said phototransistor means, and shutter means mounted to said rotatable transducer means for intermittently interrupting the beam of light.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said digital memory means is serial and comprises at least one shift register.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said cathode ray tube is monochrome comprising short persistence phosphorous.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
170 words
An imaging sonar system comprising: (a) a transmitter and receiver; (b) scanning transducer means coupled with said transmitter and receiver for generating sound waves and for detecting echoes therefrom, said scanning transducer means being positionable for directing the generated sound waves radially in all directions and through an arc along each radius; (c) analog to digital converter means coupled with said receiver for converting receiver emitted signals into digital form; (d) serial access memory means for accepting into storage receiver emitted signal data at a predetermined rate and for presenting for recall from storage receiver emitted signal data at a rate different than said predetermined rate; (e) write and read control means for respectively entering digital data into and recalling digital data from said memory means; and (f) display means coupled with said scanning transducer means and said memory means and having means synchronized with said memory read control means for displaying data recalled from said memory means as a gray code image of echoes detected by said transducer means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
170 words
An imaging sonar system comprising: (a) a transmitter and receiver; (b) scanning transducer means coupled with said transmitter and receiver for generating sound waves and for detecting echoes therefrom, said scanning transducer means being positionable for directing the generated sound waves radially in all directions and through an arc along each radius; (c) analog to digital converter means coupled with said receiver for converting receiver emitted signals into digital form; (d) serial access memory means for accepting into storage receiver emitted signal data at a predetermined rate and for presenting for recall from storage receiver emitted signal data at a rate different than said predetermined rate; (e) write and read control means for respectively entering digital data into and recalling digital data from said memory means; and (f) display means coupled with said scanning transducer means and said memory means and having means synchronized with said memory read control means for displaying data recalled from said memory means as a gray code image of echoes detected by said transducer means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance witth claim 11 wherein said serial access memory means includes time continuous converter means for alternatively recirculating old first data stored therein and receiving new second data from said analog to digital converter.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said means for alternatively recirculating old data and for receiving new data comprises a switch controlled by said write and read control means.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
58 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said serial access memory means comprises a first shift register having a first data output terminal coupled with a data input terminal of second shift register having a second data output terminal and a video amplification means coupled through said second data output terminal to said display means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
44 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 14 includes a switch controlled by said write and read control means and wherein said first shift register data output terminal is coupled with a data input terminal of said first shift register through said switch.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
96 words
An imaging sonar system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said first shift register had M bit data storage capacity, and wherein said serial access memory means further comprises clock means for entering data into said first shift register at a rate X and for entering data into said second shift register at rate X/N where neither M nor N is unity or evenly divisible into each other, whereby data may be entered into said second shift register from said first shift register at a slower rate than data is entered into said first shift register.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
119 words
A method of forming visual images of submerged scenes comprising the steps of: generating sound waves radially from a source onto a submerged scene and detecting echoes therefrom; transforming the detected sound wave echoes into an analog electrical energy signals; enhancing the analog electrical signal proportional to the distance the echo travels; digitizing the electrical signals; entering digital data from the digitized signals into a digital memory at a first rate; recalling digital data from the memory at a second rate faster than the first rate; displaying the recalled digital date continuously corresponding to its radial position on a display means, radially from a central position of the tube display means; and replacing the display with updated data periodically.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
119 words
A method of forming visual images of submerged scenes comprising the steps of: generating sound waves radially from a source onto a submerged scene and detecting echoes therefrom; transforming the detected sound wave echoes into an analog electrical energy signals; enhancing the analog electrical signal proportional to the distance the echo travels; digitizing the electrical signals; entering digital data from the digitized signals into a digital memory at a first rate; recalling digital data from the memory at a second rate faster than the first rate; displaying the recalled digital date continuously corresponding to its radial position on a display means, radially from a central position of the tube display means; and replacing the display with updated data periodically.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
An imaging method in accordance with claim 17 wherein digital data from the digited signal is entered into a first shift register component of the memory.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
51 words
An imaging method in accordance with claim 18 wherein digital data recalled from the first shift register are entered into a second shift register component of the memory from which it is subsequently recalled for display and data from the first shift register are selectively recirculated through the first shift register.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
54 words
An imaging method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the first shift register has M bit data storage capacity, and wherein digital data is entered thereinto at a rate X and entered into the second shift register at a rate X/N where neither M nor N is unity or evenly divisible into each other.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
An imaging method according to claim 17 wherein the propagated sound waves and the detection of their echo are swept in a radial path around said source and the display is progressively updated once with each sweep.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method defined in claim 21 wherein the step of updating the display includes displaying the data continuously for one revolution of the sweep and in radial lines about a center and updating the displayed radial line with new date after each sweep.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method defined in claim 22 in which steps take place in a boat and the display is oriented with the boat so as to visually indicate the relative bearing of the echoes.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of forming a visual image of a submerged scene around a boat comprising the steps of: (a) generating sound waves into the water as a continuous sweep around the boat; (b) receiving the echoes from said sound waves; (c) transforming the received echoes into analog electrical energy signals; (d) displaying functions of the signal visually; (e) imparting a gain to said electrical signal proportional to the delay in the return of the echo so that the more distant appears as distinct as the closer echoes when displayed visually; and (f) periodically updating the functions of the signals as visually displayed so that a continuous display of the reflections of surfaces in the volume of water surrounding the boat is provided.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of forming a visual image of a submerged scene around a boat comprising the steps of: (a) generating sound waves into the water as a continuous sweep around the boat; (b) receiving the echoes from said sound waves; (c) transforming the received echoes into analog electrical energy signals; (d) displaying functions of the signal visually; (e) imparting a gain to said electrical signal proportional to the delay in the return of the echo so that the more distant appears as distinct as the closer echoes when displayed visually; and (f) periodically updating the functions of the signals as visually displayed so that a continuous display of the reflections of surfaces in the volume of water surrounding the boat is provided.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
53 words
The process defined in claim 24 wherein the promulgating of sound waves is achieved in a sweep around a vertical axis of a signal source of sound waves and wherein the periodic updating is achieved as the sweep takes place so that each radial increment of the display is updated once each revolution.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
150 words
Method of forming visual images of submerged scene comprising the steps of: (a) generating from a source sound waves radially into water onto a submerged scene so as to contact fish in the water and the bottom surface of the water; (b) detecting the sound wave echoes at said source; (c) moving the generation and detection of the sound waves in a circular path about said source; (d) segregating the sound waves echoes according to their intensity; and (e) simultaneously displaying visually a representation of the said segregated sound wave echoes so that a representation of the bottom surface around the source is displayed and a representation of the fish is superposed on the display of the bottom surface and the difference in intensity of such representation of the sound wave echoes from the fish is visually brighter than the representation of the sound wave echoes from the bottom surface.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
150 words
Method of forming visual images of submerged scene comprising the steps of: (a) generating from a source sound waves radially into water onto a submerged scene so as to contact fish in the water and the bottom surface of the water; (b) detecting the sound wave echoes at said source; (c) moving the generation and detection of the sound waves in a circular path about said source; (d) segregating the sound waves echoes according to their intensity; and (e) simultaneously displaying visually a representation of the said segregated sound wave echoes so that a representation of the bottom surface around the source is displayed and a representation of the fish is superposed on the display of the bottom surface and the difference in intensity of such representation of the sound wave echoes from the fish is visually brighter than the representation of the sound wave echoes from the bottom surface.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method defined in claim 26 wherein the visual display is radial and oriented with the direction of the echo from the boat.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
16 words
The imaging sonar defined in claim 11 wherein said display means is a cathode ray tube.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method defined in claim 17 wherein said display is a cathode ray tube.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method defined in claim 24 wherein the step of displaying functions of the signal visually includes displaying the same on a cathode ray tube.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method defined in claim 26 wherein the step of displaying visually the representation of the sound wave echoes included displaying the same on a cathode ray tube.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
105 words
Method of forming usable digital electrical signals which are representative of a submerged scene comprising the steps of: generating sound waves into a body of water from a boat floating therein; progressively receiving, in successive sweeps around said boat, the echoes of said sound waves; progressively translating the received echoes into analog electrical energy signals; converting said analog signals into digital signals; storing said digital signals; subsequently retrieving the stored digital signals; progressively sensing successive angular positions from which the echoes are received; and controlling the storage of the digital signals and the subsequent retrieval thereof, in response to the sensing of such angular positions.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
105 words
Method of forming usable digital electrical signals which are representative of a submerged scene comprising the steps of: generating sound waves into a body of water from a boat floating therein; progressively receiving, in successive sweeps around said boat, the echoes of said sound waves; progressively translating the received echoes into analog electrical energy signals; converting said analog signals into digital signals; storing said digital signals; subsequently retrieving the stored digital signals; progressively sensing successive angular positions from which the echoes are received; and controlling the storage of the digital signals and the subsequent retrieval thereof, in response to the sensing of such angular positions.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method defined in claim 32 wherein said signals which is sorted are retrieved at a rate faster than they are stored.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method defined in claim 32 including the step of displaying said retrieved data as a function of the angular position detected when the echo forming the data was received, whereby the displayed data reproduces as a display, the bottom of the body of water around the boat and simultaneously therewith the fish or other submerged bodies in their angular position with respect to the boat.
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) | 1985-08-30 | 1986-03-01 | 1986-08-31 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1989-08-30 | 1990-03-01 | 1990-08-31 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1993-08-30 | 1994-03-01 | 1994-08-31 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |