# US 10,816,652 B2 · Method of compressing sonar data

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- Number: US 10,816,652 B2
- Document ID: US10816652B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/908,395
- Filed: 2018-02-28
- Published: 2019-08-29
- Granted: 2020-10-27
- Earliest claimed: 2018-02-28
- Assignees: Codaoctopus Group
- Applicants: Martyn Sloss
- Inventors: Martyn Sloss
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10816652B2

## CPC

- G01S 7/526: Receivers
- G01S 7/533: Data rate converters
- G01S 15/06: Systems determining the position data of a target
- G01S 15/42: Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S15/46)
- G01S 15/89: for mapping or imaging
- G01V 1/186: {Hydrophones}
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02)

## Abstract

In a sonar system using a large array multielement sonar detector, the raw phase and intensity data is reduced to less than three bits per channel per slice for each of the detectors in the multielement array before the raw data is transmitted to a beamformer for transforming the data to information about the spatial positions of objects reflecting the sonar signals.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method, comprising:
a) insonifying a volume of fluid, wherein the volume of fluid contains zero or more objects, and wherein the volume of fluid is insonified with one or a series of outgoing sonar pings, each outgoing sonar ping having a ping time tP, wherein the ping time tP determines a ping length lP, wherein each sonar ping has a ping frequency fP, wherein the ping frequency fP may change during the duration of the ping time tp; and then
b) receiving reflected sonar signals reflected from one or more objects of the zero or more objects for each of the one or a series of pings, wherein the reflected sonar signals are received by a large array of hydrophones, and wherein each of the large array of hydrophones produces an electrical analog signal which measures the pressure vs time of the sonar signal received by each of the large array of hydrophones; and then
c) converting the electrical analog signals to provide a raw data digital record of the electrical analog signals;
d) wherein the reflected sonar signals have a ping length lP, wherein the ping length lP is divided into a number of ping slices, each ping slice having a slice length lS, wherein lS is determined by a specified resolution, and wherein the raw data digital record includes a relative phase θijS of the received sonar signals referenced to a phase of a part of the outgoing sonar ping, and wherein the relative phase θijS is recorded for each hydrophone i, j and each ping slice, the relative phase θij S represented by a single digital number for each ping slice and each hydrophone, and wherein θij S is a digital number with bit length less than 4, and then either;
i) storing the raw data digital record in a computer readable storage device, or;
ii) transmitting the raw data digital record to a sonar image beamformer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the large array of hydrophones is arrayed as a two dimensional planar array having m by n elements, where both m and n are greater than 24.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the raw data digital record includes a slice amplitude represented by a single digital number for each ping slice.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein the slice amplitude is measured using a hydrophone or group of hydrophones of equal or greater area than the area of a single hydrophone making up the large array of hydrophones.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, the slice amplitude is measured using a hydrophone or group of hydrophones of area between two and nine times the area of a single hydrophone making up the large array of hydrophones.

### Claim 6

A method, comprising:
a) insonifying a volume of fluid, wherein the volume of fluid contains zero or more objects, and wherein the volume of fluid is insonified with one or a series of outgoing sonar pings, each outgoing sonar ping having a ping time tP, wherein the ping time t, determines a ping length lP, wherein each sonar ping has a ping frequency fP, wherein the ping frequency fP may change during the duration of the ping time tp; and then
b) receiving reflected sonar signals reflected from one or more objects of the zero or more objects for each of the one or a series of pings, wherein the reflected sonar signals are received by a large array of hydrophones, and wherein each of the large array of hydrophones produces an electrical analog signal which measures the pressure vs time of the sonar signal received by each of the large array of hydrophones; and then
c) converting the electrical analog signals to provide a raw data digital record of the electrical analog signals;
d) wherein the reflected sonar signals have a ping length lP, wherein the ping length lP is divided into a number of ping slices, each ping slice having a slice length lS, wherein lS is determined by a specified resolution, and wherein the raw data digital record includes a relative phase θijS of the received sonar signals referenced to a phase of a part of the outgoing sonar ping, and wherein the relative phase θijS is recorded for each hydrophone i, j and each ping slice, the relative phase θijS represented by a single digital number for each ping slice and each hydrophone, and wherein θijS is a digital number with bit length less than 3, and then either;
i) storing the raw data digital record in a computer readable storage device, or;
ii) transmitting the raw data digital record to a sonar image beamformer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the step c) converting the electrical analog signals to provide a raw data digital record of the electrical analog signals is carried out with comparator circuit technology.

### Claim 8

A method, comprising:
a) insonifying a volume of fluid, wherein the volume of fluid contains zero or more objects, and wherein the volume of fluid is insonified with one or a series of outgoing sonar pings, each outgoing sonar ping having a ping time tP, wherein the ping time t, determines a ping length lP, wherein each sonar ping has a ping frequency fP, wherein the ping frequency fP may change during the duration of the ping time tp; and then
b) receiving reflected sonar signals reflected from one or more objects of the zero or more objects for each of the one or a series of pings, wherein the reflected sonar signals are received by a large array of hydrophones, and wherein each of the large array of hydrophones produces an electrical analog signal which measures the pressure vs time of the sonar signal received by each of the large array of hydrophones; and then
c) converting the electrical analog signals to provide a raw data digital record of the electrical analog signals;
d) wherein the reflected sonar signals have a ping length lP, wherein the ping length lP is divided into a number of ping slices, each ping slice having a slice length lS, wherein lS is determined by a specified resolution, and wherein the raw data digital record includes a relative phase θijS of the received sonar signals referenced to a phase of a part of the outgoing sonar ping, and wherein the relative phase θijS is recorded for each hydrophone i, j and each ping slice, the relative phase θijS represented by a single digital number for each ping slice and each hydrophone, and wherein θijS is a measured with comparator technology to be a digital number with bit length less than 4, and then either;
i) storing the raw data digital record in a computer readable storage device, or;
ii) transmitting the raw data digital record to a sonar image beamformer.