Method and apparatus for determining and forming delayed waveforms for forming transmitting or receiving beams for an air acoustic system array of transmitting or receiving elements

An apparatus for use in an air acoustic system for determining beamform factors for forming air acoustic beams approximating an optimum air acoustic beam for the directional transmission or reception of air acoustic energy by an air acoustic phased array system including a first plurality of elements connectable to a second plurality of signal channels wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality, comprising:

• (a) a dependent beam factor processor for determining from a set of initial beamform factors at least one dependent beamform factor of at least one optimum beam to be formed by the air acoustic phased array system,
• (b) a maximum/minimum value processor for determining the maximum and minimum values of the dependent beamform factors,
• (c) a parent population generator for generating a parent population of chromosomes wherein each chromosome includes a gene for and corresponding to each dependent beamform factor and represents a candidate beam formed by the air acoustic phased array system for the initial beamform factors and the dependent beamform factors represented by the genes of the chromosome, by
• (1) generating a first parent population wherein the value of each gene corresponding to a dependent beamform factor has a value between the maximum and minimum values of the corresponding dependent beamform factor and
• (2) generating a subsequent parent population by cloning of the chromosomes of a surviving population,
• (d) a child population generator for generating a child population from the parent population by exchanging statistically selected pairs of genes of the chromosomes of the parent population,
• (e) a mutated population generator for generating a mutated population from the child population by mutating statistically selected genes of the child population,
• (f) a surviving population generator for selecting the surviving population from the mutated population by comparing the chromosomes of the mutated population with a fitness criteria based upon an optimum beamform factor and selecting for the surviving population the chromosomes of the mutated population meeting the fitness criteria, and
• (g) a solution processor for comparing the chromosomes of the surviving population with a solution criteria and when at least one chromosome of the surviving population meets the solution criteria providing the genes of the chromosome of the surviving population having the best match to the fitness criteria as the dependent factors for forming a beam approximating the optimum beam.

An air acoustic system for determining beamform factors for forming air acoustic beams approximating an optimum air acoustic beam for the directional transmission or reception of air acoustic energy by an air acoustic phased array system including a first plurality of elements connectable to a second plurality of signal channels wherein the first plurality is greater than the second plurality, comprising:

• a beamform processor including a memory and a processor for executing a beamform process and generating from initial beamform factors first and second dependent beamform factors,
• a waveform processor connected to the signal channels and responsive to the first dependent beamform factors for applying the first dependent beamform factors to a corresponding second plurality of element group signals,
• an array switch connected between the signal channels and the array elements and responsive to the second dependent beamform factors for selectively connecting the signal channels to the array elements of the element groups, and
• a switch configuration table connected from the beamform generator and to the array switch for storing and providing to the array switch the second dependent beamform factors, wherein
• the beamform process executed by the beamform generator includes
• (a) determining from a set of initial beamform factors at least one dependent beamform factor of at least one optimum beam to be formed by the air acoustic phased array system,
• (b) determining the maximum and minimum values of the dependent beamform factors,
• (c) generating a parent population of chromosomes wherein each chromosome includes a gene for and corresponding to each dependent beamform factor and represents a candidate beam formed by the air acoustic phased array system for the initial beamform factors and the dependent beamform factors represented by the genes of the chromosome, by
• (1) generating a first parent population wherein the value of each gene corresponding to a dependent beamform factor has a value between the maximum and minimum values of the corresponding dependent beamform factor and
• (2) generating a subsequent parent population by cloning of the chromosomes of a surviving population,
• (d) generating a child population from the parent population by exchanging statistically selected pairs of genes of the chromosomes of the parent population,
• (e) generating a mutated population from the child population by mutating statistically selected genes of the child population,
• (f) selecting the surviving population from the mutated population by comparing the chromosomes of the mutated population with a fitness criteria based upon an optimum beamform factor and selecting for the surviving population the chromosomes of the mutated population meeting the fitness criteria, and
• (g) comparing the chromosomes of the surviving population with a solution criteria and when at least one chromosome of the surviving population meets the solution criteria providing the genes of the chromosome of the surviving population having the best match to the fitness criteria as the first and second dependent factors for forming a beam approximating the optimum beam.