Method and system for calculating the transit time of an ultrasonic pulse

A system for calculating the transit time of a pulsed signal transmitted through a conduit, the system comprising:

• a first transducer which can be coupled to the conduit;
• at least second transducer which can be coupled to the conduit;
• a controller coupled to the first transducer and the second transducer configured to:
• measure the amplitude of the pulsed signal received at the second transducer from the first transducer,
• measure the amplitude of noise proximate to the received pulsed signal,
• calculate the signal to noise ratio of the received pulsed signal and the noise, respectively,
• implement a first technique for calculating the transit time of the received pulsed signal if the signal to noise ratio is above a predetermined threshold, and
• implement a second, different technique for calculating the transit time of the received pulsed signal if the signal to noise ratio is less than the predetermined threshold.

A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program for calculating the transit time of a pulsed signal through a conduit from a first ultrasonic transducer to a second ultrasonic transducer, the medium comprising:

• the computer program including instructions for:
• measuring the amplitude of the pulsed signal received at the second transducer from the first transducer,
• measuring the amplitude of noise proximate to the received pulsed signal,
• calculating the signal to noise ratio of the received pulsed signal and the noise, respectively,
• implementing a first technique for calculating the transit time of the received pulsed signal if the signal to noise ratio is above a predetermined threshold, and
• implementing a second, different technique for calculating the transit time of the received pulsed signal if the signal to noise ratio is less than the predetermined threshold.