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WO2011063515A1 - Ensemble émetteur-récepteur et transducteur sonar intégré - Google Patents

Ensemble émetteur-récepteur et transducteur sonar intégré Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2011063515A1
WO2011063515A1 PCT/CA2010/001869 CA2010001869W WO2011063515A1 WO 2011063515 A1 WO2011063515 A1 WO 2011063515A1 CA 2010001869 W CA2010001869 W CA 2010001869W WO 2011063515 A1 WO2011063515 A1 WO 2011063515A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
transducer
processing module
assembly
housing
sonar
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/CA2010/001869
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Didier Caute
Frederick David Cotaras
Karl Kenny
Brian Edward Cooke
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
General Dynamics Canada Ltd
MARPORT CANADA Inc
Original Assignee
General Dynamics Canada Ltd
MARPORT CANADA Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by General Dynamics Canada Ltd, MARPORT CANADA Inc filed Critical General Dynamics Canada Ltd
Publication of WO2011063515A1 publication Critical patent/WO2011063515A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • 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
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/521—Constructional features
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B06—GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL
    • B06B—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, e.g. FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL
    • B06B1/00—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency
    • B06B1/02—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy
    • B06B1/06—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction
    • B06B1/0607—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements
    • B06B1/0611—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements in a pile
    • B06B1/0618—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements in a pile of piezo- and non-piezoelectric elements, e.g. 'Tonpilz'
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • 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
    • G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
    • G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
    • G01S15/89—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01V—GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS
    • G01V1/00—Seismology; Seismic or acoustic prospecting or detecting
    • G01V1/02—Generating seismic energy
    • G01V1/133—Generating seismic energy using fluidic driving means, e.g. highly pressurised fluids; using implosion
    • G01V1/135—Generating seismic energy using fluidic driving means, e.g. highly pressurised fluids; using implosion by deforming or displacing surfaces of enclosures, e.g. by hydraulically driven vibroseis™

Definitions

  • the following relates to sonar transducers generally and particularly to an integrated sonar transceiver and transducer assembly.
  • transducer arrays are currently used in many applications, including antisubmarine warfare sonar systems.
  • Such systems utilize a large frame supporting an array 2 of transducers 3, the frame typically being mounted on the hull of a marine vessel 5 as shown in Figure 1.
  • the frame supports an arrangement of transmit/receive transducers 3 in an array 2, which typically utilize single electro-acoustic transducer elements 3. Examples of the arrangement of the transducers 3 can be seen in Figures 2 to 4.
  • the frame carrying the transducer array 2 is installed on a boat bow (e.g. as shown in Figure 1), a submarine bow, or in variable depth sonar equipment towed behind a marine vessel 5.
  • FIG. 3 is typically arranged in multiple staves, in this example with 4 transducers per stave.
  • the frame holds the transducer elements 3 in a given geometry, in the example shown, a cylindrical shape.
  • Figure 3 illustrates a cylindrical example with square faced transducer elements 3
  • Figure 4 illustrates an example using a smaller cylinder when compared to Figures 2 and 3.
  • a twisted pair wire is outputted from each and every transducer 3, with shielding often being included. Groups of these wires run together in large cables 4 that must extend towards a sonar operations room 6 as shown in Figure 1.
  • the operations room 6 houses the operator console 8, which is connected to sonar transceiver, processing, and heat sinking (collectively referred to as 'inboard processing' 7 in Figure 1) in a sonar room (not shown) at some other location in the marine vessel 5. Not only is a long run of relatively large cabling
  • the size of the cabling 4 and thus the room needed increases with the number of transducer elements 3.
  • the inboard processing 7 is typically quite large thus taking up significant room in the marine vessel.
  • the cables 4 can be as long as 30 m. Since the signals being carried by the cabling 4 from the transducer elements 3 to the inboard processing 7 are analog, noise can be an issue, which requires the aforementioned shielding, and thus typically increases the size of the cabling 4 and the overall cost.
  • an integrated sonar transceiver and transducer assembly comprising: a housing; an electro-acoustic transducer element, wherein a portion of the transducer element has been reduced in size to provide additional room in the housing; a software defined processing module included in the housing in place of a normally existent transformer, the processing module comprising a configurable electronics board providing a linear power amplifier and matching transformer; and a connection comprising data and power wires to communicate with and power the processing module to operate the transducer assembly.
  • a sonar system comprising a plurality of transducer assemblies as described above, a switching box, a data processing module bus connecting the plurality of transducer assemblies to the switching box, and a connection to an operator console on a vessel for controlling the plurality of transducer assemblies.
  • a method for assembling an integrated sonar transceiver and transducer assembly comprising: modifying a housing configured for an existing transducer element by reducing a portion thereof in size to provide additional room in the housing; removing a transformer from the housing; incorporating a software defined processing module included in the housing in place of the transformer, the processing module comprising a configurable electronics board providing a linear power amplifier and matching transformer; removing an existing connection from the transducer element; and providing a connection comprising data and power wires to communicate with and power the processing module to operate the transducer assembly.
  • an integrated sonar transceiver and transducer assembly comprising: a first housing configured for an electro- acoustic transducer element, the transducer element comprising a transformer, and an active element; a second housing attached to an upper end of the first housing, the second housing being sized to contain a software defined processing module, the processing module comprising a configurable electronics board, the processing module being coupled to the transformer; and a connection comprising data and power wires to communicate with and power the processing module to operate the transducer assembly.
  • Figure 1 is schematic diagram illustrating a hull mounted transducer array of the prior art comprising inboard processing a distance from the array in a sonar room.
  • Figure 2 is a perspective view of a prior art transducer array.
  • Figure 3 is a perspective view of another prior art transducer array.
  • Figure 4 is a perspective view of yet another prior art transducer array.
  • Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a prior art Tonpilz type transducer element.
  • Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hull mounted transducer array comprising integrated transducer assemblies to remove inboard processing from the sonar room and reduce the amount of cabling.
  • Figure 7 is a comparative view showing a prior art transducer assembly against the integrated transducer assembly in perspective, partially transparent views.
  • Figure 8A is a cross sectional view of the integrated transducer assembly shown in Figure 7.
  • Figure 8B is ⁇ a cross sectional view of another embodiment of the integrated transducer assembly utilizing an existing transformer.
  • Figure 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the connectivity of a plurality of integrated transducer assemblies.
  • Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating one configuration for the data processing module integrated with a transducer in the integrated transducer assembly.
  • Figure 11 is a logic diagram illustrating an FPGA implementation of a side scan sonar or echo sounder receiver.
  • Figure 12 is a logic diagram illustrating an FPGA implementation of a modem receiver.
  • Figure 13 is a logic diagram illustrating an FPGA implementation of a modem transmitter.
  • Figure 14 illustrates voltage tracking an output voltage using a Class-H amplifier.
  • Figure 15 is a block diagram schematic of the amplification stage shown in Figure 10.
  • piezoceramic transducers magnetorestrictive transducers, flextensional transducers, barrel stave transducers, etc.
  • the following relates to the adaptation of a transducer assembly by reducing a portion of it transducer element (e.g. by reducing the size of a rear mass and removing a transformer) or by attaching to an existing housing to include a software defined processing module.
  • a software defined processing module By incorporating the software defined processing module close to the transducer element, the above-noted advantages can be achieved.
  • Figure 5 shows a conventional Tonpilz type transducer element 3.
  • Tonpilz transducer 3 involves the use of axi-symmetric structures consisting of a sandwich of ceramic drive elements between metal end masses. Tonpilz lumped mode transducers are typically operated in the range from 1 kHz to 50 kHz, and is a common sonar projector.
  • the Tonpilz transducer 3 comprises a large piston head mass driven by a slender drive section which gives it the cross-sectional appearance of a mushroom. This concept along with a tail mass allows a compact mechanism for obtaining high output at midrange frequencies without the need for an excessively long piezoelectric ceramic or
  • the cross section shown in Figure 5 shows a 33-mode driven ring-stack of four parallel wired PZT rings driving a relatively light but stiff mass with a comparatively heavy tail mass on the other end.
  • Other parts shown include mechanical isolation, a housing, a transformer with tuning network, rubber enclosure around the head, and electrical underwater connector.
  • the stack is held under compression by a stress rod and, in other examples, a compliant conical disc or Bellville washer that decouples the stress rod and maintains compressive stress under thermal expansion.
  • the circumference of the PZT stack is also fibreglass wrapped for added strength under shock.
  • the head is made from aluminum
  • the tail made from steel
  • the piezoelectric rings ceramic e.g.
  • the housing is usually steel, and the water tight boot made from neoprene or butyl rubber and sometimes polyurethane for short term immersion.
  • the rubber boot is vulcanized to the head to ensure good bonding with no air pockets, which would unload the transducer and reduce the radiation resistance.
  • Tonpilz transducer 3 The goal with a Tonpilz transducer 3 is to attain the greatest possible motion of the head piston and radiate as much power as possible near and above mechanical resonance. Although operation below resonance is possible, the transmitting voltage response (TVR) typically falls off at 12 dB per octave.
  • TVR transmitting voltage response
  • Tonpilz transducers 3 such as in Figure 5
  • Tonpilz transducers 3 can be used for sonar imaging, communications, and positioning.
  • a software defined data processing platform can be integrated into or otherwise coupled to an existing or custom-built transducers, in particular a Tonpilz-type transducer assembly 11 as shown in Figure 6.
  • the software defined platform is integrated in order to provide a matching transformer, transmitter, receiver onboard digital signal processing (DSP) (e.g. down sampling, filtering, beam steering, beam forming, etc.), and digital format of data inputs and outputs (compared to analog currently) while being fully configurable (i.e. software defined).
  • DSP digital signal processing
  • the amount of cabling 12 required is reduced and much of the inboard processing 7 that was required in the example shown in Figure 1 can be eliminated.
  • a modified transducer array 10 can be controlled via software from an operator console 13 as shown in Figure 6 with a reduced amount of cabling 12 as is also illustrated schematically.
  • the reduction in cable size and weight provides numerous advantages.
  • the cable 4 that is required to carry the power and transmit wires needs to provide shielding to the receive wire for immunity to external noise. Because of this, one cable per transducer element 3 is required from the transducer array 2 to the inboard processing 7.
  • a relatively lighter weight digital cable can be used that is generally small, e.g. using plastic fibre optic cabling.
  • the power supply to the transducer elements 3 can also be provided through a single power distribution cable that is proximal to the transducer therefore reducing the number of cables required.
  • the digital cable can then be connected to a network switching device 31 (see Figure 9) near the transducer elements 3 allowing a single cable to be run from the switching box 31 to the inboard processing 7.
  • FIG 7 a partially transparent perspective view of an integrated software defined transducer assembly 11 is shown in the right hand portion of the figure along side an existing Tonpilz-type transducer assembly 14.
  • the existing transducer assembly 14 can be modified to make room for an onboard data processing module 26 and thus in some applications will not alter the existing mounting hardware or frame design. Beginning from the base, the front mass 15, front boot 16, and the ceramic stack 17 of the existing transducer assembly 14 can remain as is, thus eliminating the need to redesign the overall system which would be required with a modified (e.g. smaller) ceramic stack 17.
  • the rear mass 19 can be shortened to a reduced rear mass 18 by changing materials as will be explained in greater detail below (e.g. from steel to Tungsten).
  • This moves the isolation and compartment separation layers 21 , 23 down the body of the transducer assembly 14 to create more room within the housing 25 (i.e. layers 20, 22 are lower in housing 24 with respect to their predecessors 21 , 23 respectively in housing 25).
  • a compact data processing module 26 has been designed that not only incorporates DSP processing, etc. as discussed above, the module 26 itself replaces the existing transformer 27 that in existing designs consumes a great proportion of the housing 25.
  • FIG. 8A provides a cross- sectional view of the integrated transducer assembly shown in Figure 7.
  • the data processing module 26 can be an adaptation of one or more
  • the overall size of the integrated transducer assembly 11 should not be increased with respect to an existing assembly 14, since the overall geometry of the transducer itself defines the beam pattern performance of the overall system. With this constraint, a defined size is dictated and, as discussed above, the existing transformer 27 is replaced with a full electronics package (e.g. module 26). Also, to find additional space, the rear mass 19 can be reduced in size by selecting a higher density material for reduced rear mass 18, e.g. tungsten (approximately 19400kG/m 3 ), when compared to steel which has a density of approximately 7700kG/ m 3 .
  • tungsten approximately 19400kG/m 3
  • the volume can be reduced up to 2.5 times and, since the diameter can be kept constant, the height of the rear mass 18 is reduced up to 2.5 times providing the required space on the back of the assembly 11 to enable the data processing module 26 to be accommodated.
  • the ceramic stack 17 and front mass 15 need not be changed. In the end, the performance measures can be kept the same while creating the room necessary to provide the advantages associated with processing the data immediately at the transducer before cabling the data to a distant location.
  • the data processing module 26 can be held in place inside the aluminum housing 24 with a resin. Resin also allows heat to dissipate from the electronic board(s) to the housing 24, which is in contact with water thus allowing a water cooling effect for the electronics.
  • the housing 24, which can be aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, etc., can also be provided with EMC shielding to address RF waves from the electronics. This also reduces the susceptibility to external RF waves.
  • the cabling 12 from the integrated transducer assembly 11 provides a fibre optic data wire, however, to reduce the amount of space required on the back of the transducer assembly 11 , a pigtail connector can instead be used.
  • the output cable for the integrated transducer assembly 11 thus provides fibre optic transmit, fibre optic receive, main power supply positive, and main power supply negative. This reduces the cabling 12 requirements when compared to existing transducer assemblies 14. In the existing designs, every cable 4 is independent with only the power cable being split into every element near the individual transducers 3.
  • the twisted pair cable used for transmitting analog signals in transmit creates electrical noise and coupling with other cables in its vicinity, and in receive, the cable length may pick up some electrica noise from the vessel 5 around which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio, thus decreasing the detection range of the sonar application.
  • Providing the data processing module 26 inside the transducer housing 24 also allows improved maintenance by enabling self diagnostics embedded in the transducer itself. Since each integrated transducer assembly 11 has its own data processing module 26, each data processing module 26 can perform for its corresponding transducer 11 , an impedance check of the transducer element. Also, the data processing module 26 can include circuitry to measure current and voltage applied to the transducer while transmitting, and can perform complex impedance checking without any effects from the cable 2 between the transducer 11 and the sonar room. Also by having the data processing module 26 in the transducer housing 24, the temperature and moisture of the immediate environment can be monitored through its sensor processing capabilities.
  • the data processing module 26 can be configured with a 3-axis accelerometer to sense the acceleration relative to gravity. Also, a 3-axis gyro sensing the rate of movement and a 3-axis magnetometer sensing the magnetic field can be provided. By providing these sensors, the data
  • processing module's processing capabilities can embed a fusion algorithm to get inertial data calculated for each and every data processing module 26 (since each transducer 11 includes a data processing module 26) with each module sharing pitch and roll information at a minimum (if acceleration is not above MEMS sensor limit) to enable an average value to be computed to remove noise and statistically calculate the movement of the transducer assembly 11. This enables compensation procedures to be used during beam forming and beam steering among other things.
  • Figure 8B provides a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the integrated transducer assembly 1', denoted with the suffix (') for clarity.
  • the data processing module 26 is incorporated into an auxiliary housing 32 that is attached or otherwise coupled to an existing transducer housing 25.
  • the existing transducer assembly 14, including the existing transformer 27 are used whilst the digital processing remains close to the transducer components to achieve the
  • Figure 9 illustrates a high-level schematic showing the connectivity of the data processing modules 26.
  • the data processing modules 26 can be linked to each other to create a data processing module bus 30 enabling the synchronization of the data processing modules 26 and thus the transducers 11.
  • Each data processing module can perform a beam steering operation by using a delay and sum scheme, recalculated every time the movement of the platform is large enough to require readapting the delays in the beam steering operation.
  • every data processing module 26 can perform a sub-channel beam forming process or, by sharing data with all other nodes as shown in Figure 9, each data processing module 26 can be in charge of one beam in the beam forming operation.
  • the transducers 11 can be cabled to the switching box 31 and a single cable run to the inboard processing 7 using such an arrangement.
  • the data processing module 26 can also be used in sampling and forwarding digitally sampled data to the operations room processor for beam forming done at that level.
  • all data processing modules 26 can be synchronized over the fibre optic wires using for example Precision time Protocol (PTP), and then allowing a 10ns accuracy of synchronization for example of all units.
  • PTP Precision time Protocol
  • the data processing modules 26 provide both flexibility for each transducer assembly 11 and flexibility across the entire system.
  • Figure 10 illustrates one example architecture for the data processing module 26. It can be appreciated that the architecture shown in Figure 10 not only provides expected functionality for accommodating various applications, since it is software defined, it is scalable and can permft other sensor types or data processing capabilities to be added as necessary or desired.
  • the data processing module 26 comprises a processor 50 for handling various operations such as powering and acquiring data from various sensors as well as data communications via one or more communication interfaces 78. Also provided is a field- programmable gate array (FPGA) 52, which enables the data processing module 44 to be fully configurable for various applications including dynamic reconfigurations "on-the-fly". The FPGA 52 also enables complex beam forming and beam steering operations to be executed in various applications as will be explained in greater detail below.
  • the processor 50 outputs configuration information to the FPGA 52 via an EMI bus interface 100 in this example.
  • the FPGA 52 then controls a low resolution polarization digital-to-analog convertor (DAC) 55 to generate an analog signal for adjusting the polarization of a linear amplifier 56.
  • the polarization controls the voltage applied by a DC/DC convertor 151 (see also Figure 15) that provides power to a class B or D amplifier being used.
  • a class B amplifier with the DC/DC convertor 151 enables a class H amplifier to be created.
  • class D behaviour is experienced.
  • the FPGA 52 also provides analog data to the amplifier 56 via a pair of DAC channels 57 (e.g. channel A and channel B to be discussed below) over a parallel bus.
  • the 2 DAC channels 57 transmit the waveform to the amplifier 56, which signals contain transistor polarization control.
  • the processor 50 configures the FPGA 52, the FPGA 52 is configured to provide DC/DC conversion thus applying a power voltage to the amplifier 56, and provides the amplifier 56 with internal polarization for the pair of DAC channels 57.
  • the processor 50 may then be used to send a start command to the FGPA 52, which then sends the signals to the DACs 55, 57 to operate the linear amplifier 56. Further detail regarding the linear power amplifier 56 will be provided below making reference to Figures 14 to 16.
  • the linear power amplifier 56 drives a transducer channel 58 for driving the transducer components 15, 17, 18.
  • An analog signal is received and processed by a limiter and amplifier stage 60.
  • the signal is then processed by a direct conversion stage 62, which provides oversampling to allow greater sensitivity and to increase the size of the vector providing better resolution.
  • the received and sampled signal is then processed by the FPGA 52 and the results may be stored in RAM 86.
  • Shown in Figure 10 are fast Fourier transform (FFT) and inverse FFT (iFFT) functional block 106 as well as a digital data storage (DDS) block 108 to illustrate example capabilities provided by the FPGA 52 and it will be appreciated that other functions are possible.
  • FFT fast Fourier transform
  • iFFT inverse FFT
  • DDS digital data storage
  • FIGs 11 to 13 illustrate how the FPGA's- internal connections can be made to implement various applications.
  • an echo sounder/side scan receive implementation is shown. It can be appreciated that the transmit implementation involves playing a file (e.g. .wav file) over the DACs 57 connected to the linear amplifier 56.
  • a streaming block is shown, which in this example is a constant acquisition block, which samples with accuracy (accurate phase and time) and storing samples in RAM or other memory.
  • the processor 50 can obtain the processed points directly from the FPGA 52.
  • FIG 12 a receiving portion of a modem implementation is shown.
  • the streaming block in Figure 12 operates in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 11 to receive data for OFDM incoherent demodulation.
  • the streaming block is a constant acquisition block, sampling with accuracy and storing samples in memory.
  • the processing block in Figure 12 performs a spectral analysis (FFT + dB conversion) and the FPGA 52 provides the processed points to the processor 50.
  • FFT + dB conversion spectral analysis
  • Figure 13 illustrates a transmit portion of a modem implementation.
  • the diagram shown in Figure 13 illustrates an example implementation for an OFDM emitter.
  • the processor 50 can provide a data bitstream to the FPGA 52 and the FPGA 52 is in charge of modulating the signal and driving the power amplifier 56 through the DAC channels 57. It can be appreciated that the configuration shown in Figure 13 is software defined and thus can be configured for different applications.
  • the FPGA 52 can be reprogrammed for different applications via a reprogram (R) input. It may also communicate with the processor 50 via a parallel bus via an EMI component 100.
  • the processor 50 comprises a real time clock (RTC) 96, which saves the current time and date, similar to any computing device.
  • RTC real time clock
  • the RTC 96 can also be used to keep the time when the processor 50 is off, however, the battery 46 would need to be connected in order to maintain the RTC 96.
  • a watch dog timer (WDT) 98 is also shown in Figure 3A and is a standard peripheral generating a reset of the processor 50 when the processor 50 is not normally executing code.
  • An I/O peripheral component 102 is provided for communicating with peripherals.
  • An electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) 90 may also be used to provide native memory for the subsea data module 10. This contrasts other memory such as an SD card 84, which can be unplugged.
  • the EEPROM 90 can be relied on to contain a dedicated file system for FPGA firmware (FPGA1 or 2), configuration/option recording, echo sounder configurations, and error tracking.
  • the data processing module 26 can rely on external power 46, which powers a power management module 64 for providing power management.
  • the processor 50 is also responsible for obtaining data from an analog to digital convertor (ADC) 68 which interfaces with various sensors 22 such as temperature, pressure, and other gauges (e.g. using a Wheatstone bridge).
  • ADC analog to digital convertor
  • the processor 50 in the example shown also provides an I/O interface with a humidity sensor 70 to detect water leakage in the subsea data module 10, as well as a 3 axis accelerometer 72 (via an ADC 74) and a 3-axis gyro 76 to measure movement of the data processing module 26 and thus the transducer assembly 11.
  • the subsea data module 10 can provide a power and data connection from the processor 50 to various communication interfaces 78. Any suitable interfaces can be provided but by way of example, only, Figure 10 illustrates a USB interface, an RS232 interface with an optional optic fibre driver and connector 80, Ethernet, and external wake up PPS that can interface with a hardware reset signal.
  • the hardware reset is an input to create a reset of the electronics
  • the precise positioning service (PPS) is a trigger input allowing a synchronization with accuracy for the RTC 96.
  • the PPS can be connected to a GPS unit (not shown). It can therefore be seen that the processor 50 provides the ability to handle numerous interfaces to accommodate numerous types of data for various applications.
  • the FPGA 52 can be programmed to provide a specific sonar application while measuring sensor data to monitor the surrounding environment to assist in computations or for data logging purposes.
  • any module or component exemplified herein that executes instructions may include or otherwise have access to computer readable media such as storage media, computer storage media, or data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape.
  • Computer storage media may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.
  • Examples of computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by an application, module, or both. Any such computer storage media may be part of the data processing module 26, or accessible or connectable thereto. Any application or module herein described may be implemented using computer readable/executable instructions that may be stored or otherwise held by such computer readable media.
  • the subsea data module 10 should utilize a linear amplifier 56, which is able to provide a high voltage, e.g. more than AC lOOOVrms while being powered by a low voltage source, e.g. DC 100V.
  • the amplifier's efficiency is an important consideration for at least the reason that there will be many data processing modules 26 being used, i.e. one per transducer assembly 11.
  • sonar/sounder applications use Class B (push-pull) amplifiers to achieve linearity.
  • Class B configurations are known to have losses.
  • a DC/DC converter 151 (see Figure 15) is used in the amplifier 56 to power the amplifier in a Class H configuration as shown in Figure 14, which enables the voltage rails to more closely follow the signal.
  • Figure 15 illustrates the control paths for the amplifier 56 shown in Figure 10.
  • the processor 50 provides configuration information to the FPGA 52, which generates and sends the signals to the amplifier 56, e.g. to drive the transducers
  • the polarization DAC 55 controls a DC/DC convertor 151, which applies a power voltage to the linear amplifier 56.
  • the waveform DAC stage 57 is also controlled by the FPGA 52 and provide the waveform to the amplifier 56, which also includes transistor polarization.
  • a matching transformer e.g. existing transformer 27
  • a step-up transformer is used inside the transducer assembly 14 to present the same impedance to the distant amplifier output impedance, where usually a step-up transformer is used.
  • Such a transformer is also used for tuning the transducer components to the transformer 27 by compensating the capacitor from the transducer model, and then optimizing the resonance to the proper frequency when working in a narrow band.
  • the stepping up from the transformer 27 inside the transducer assembly 14 is limited, because stepping up in transmit means stepping down in receive, decreasing the sensitivity.
  • the solution proposed herein can take advantage of the digital processing being close to the transducer components.
  • the transformer 156 in the linear power amplifier 56 can be used as a matching and step up transformer, which can be done without limits.
  • the transformer 156 can be used as a step-up transformer with a high ratio step-up, since the receive (Rx) is close to the transducer components an does not need to come after the transformer 156, but directly connected to it, allowing maximum sensitivity without noise in between.
  • the transformer 156 can also be used for matching to allow maximum power transfer efficiency in the bandwidth of interest. Since the integrated transducer 11 preferably adapts an existing transducer assembly 14 with digital processing with all the advantages discussed above, the bandwidth of interest would typically be known on an application by application basis depending on the existing transducer components being used.
  • the high stepping transformer ratio (e.g. could be around 12 or 15) allows a fairly low voltage rating MOSFET to be accommodated, allowing better performances in the amplification stage 56.
  • a 200V MOSFET can be used with 100VDC allowing a 1500V output peak onto the transducer with a 15 ratio.
  • the data processing module 26 allows the applied voltage to be tuned knowing what performance the transducer can achieve, allowing a software tuning of the transducer assembly 11. It may be noted that this does not require the transformer 156 to be larger.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Transducers For Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Velocity Or Position Using Acoustic Or Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un système et un procédé destinés à réduire la quantité de câblage requise dans un vaste réseau de transducteurs, à réduire la taille de l'équipement (p. ex., le traitement intérieur) requis dans une chambre de sonar, à réduire les effets du bruit sur les signaux, et à offrir une plus grande flexibilité aux éléments de transducteur individuels dans le réseau, en modifiant les ensembles transducteurs existants afin d'inclure un module de traitement de données embarqué ou proximal défini par logiciel et réaliser un traitement numérique à proximité de l'élément de transducteur, ne requérant ainsi que des données numériques et des fils d'alimentation entre le réseau de transducteurs et la salle d'opérations. De cette manière, la quantité de câblage est significativement réduite, ce qui permet d'économiser à la fois les coûts et l'espace dans le navire (ou l'équipement remorqué). De plus, en plaçant le traitement à proximité ou dans l'ensemble transducteur, les circuits électroniques peuvent être refroidis à l'eau, éliminant ainsi le besoin d'un équipement de dissipation de chaleur grand et onéreux, ou de conditionnement d'air, ou de refroidissement à l'eau, etc., p. ex. dans la chambre de sonar.
PCT/CA2010/001869 2009-11-27 2010-11-29 Ensemble émetteur-récepteur et transducteur sonar intégré Ceased WO2011063515A1 (fr)

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US9091790B2 (en) 2008-08-11 2015-07-28 Airmar Technology Corporation Multi-function broadband phased-array software defined sonar system and method
CN119716823A (zh) * 2024-12-02 2025-03-28 海底鹰深海科技股份有限公司 带有压力传感器的声纳

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Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9091790B2 (en) 2008-08-11 2015-07-28 Airmar Technology Corporation Multi-function broadband phased-array software defined sonar system and method
US9772417B2 (en) 2008-08-11 2017-09-26 Airmar Technology Corporation Multi-function broadband phased-array software defined sonar system and method
US9772416B2 (en) 2008-08-11 2017-09-26 Airmar Technology Corporation Multi-function broadband phased-array software defined sonar system and method
US10451758B2 (en) 2008-08-11 2019-10-22 Airmar Technology Corporation Multi-function broadband phased-array software defined sonar system and method
CN119716823A (zh) * 2024-12-02 2025-03-28 海底鹰深海科技股份有限公司 带有压力传感器的声纳

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