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US 4,052,693 AGranted
Depth sounder
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorGeorge A. Gilmour
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A depth sounder in which the transducer beam is in the form of a section of hollow cone. With the hollow conical beam, the slant range to the bottom in all directions is the same and minimum depth determination over a path width of 2 to 4 times the depth of the water may be made.
Claims12
Depth sounding apparatus, comprising:
- A. transducer means designed for operation over a target area;
- B. means for periodically transmitting acoustic energy to impinge upon said target area;
- C. means in cooperative association with said transducer means for forming, for each said transmission, a transducer beam which intersects said target area in an elongated curved area such that points in said intersection are substantially equally distant from a predetermined point associated with said transducer means.
Depth sounding apparatus, comprising:
- A. transducer means designed for operation over a target area;
- B. means for periodically transmitting acoustic energy to impinge upon said target area;
- C. means in cooperative association with said transducer means for forming, for each said transmission, a transducer beam having the shape of a segment of a hollow cone which intersects said target area, with the apex of said cone being located at said transducer means.
Depth sounding apparatus, comprising:
- A. a plurality of transducer active elements forming an elongated transducer designed for operation in a substantially vertical orientation over a target area;
- B. means in cooperative association with said active elements for forming a transducer beam having the shape of a segment of a hollow cone which intersects said target area;
- and
- C. means for periodically energizing said transducer and thereafter detecting acoustic returns.
1 more element
Depth sounding apparatus comprising:
- A. a first elongated transducer for operation over a target area;
- B. means for periodically transmitting acoustic energy to impinge upon said target area;
- C. means in cooperative association with said transducer for forming, for each said transmission, a transducer beam having the shape of a segment of a hollow cone which intersects said target area;
- D. a second elongated transducer spaced from said first transducer by a distance .ltoreq..tau., where .tau. is the operating wavelength;
- E. means in cooperative association with said second transducer for forming a beam similar to and in overlapping relationship with, the beam of said first transducer;
- and
- F. means for comparing the relative phase of the signals provided by said transducers in response to acoustic returns from said target area.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.