Lowrance Electronics, Inc.

Rgw Innovations, LLC

Ronald G Weber

Darrell J Lowrance

Nathan Blake Weber

Rex Turner

A transducer assembly for transmitting broadband sonar beams and receiving broadband sonar returned echoes with a low-cost transducer element mounted into a low-cost acoustic structure. By using a transducer element which is sufficiently thin, broadband can be achieved at a significant cost savings over existing methods and devices. Since the transducer element is sufficiently thin, a large portion of the signal energy is coupled transversely into the acoustic structure, resulting in a heavy acoustic load on the transducer element which in turn results in broadband operation. Broadband operation may be enhanced by at least partially enclosing the sufficiently thin transducer element within an aperture and/or a cap.

Cost effective broadband transducer assembly and method of use

An integrated position mapping system and an integrated sonar mapping system both permit recording, storage and playback of audio data. Audio data is provided to the integrated sonar mapping system or the integrated position mapping system so that it may be correlated to position data or echo data. The integrated sonar mapping system includes a sonar transducer for emitting and receiving sonar signals that may be subsequently be processed to provide echo data from objects in the water which reflect sonar signals. The integrated position mapping system includes a position receiver for providing position data. A controller not only processes the data for storage, but also correlates the audio data to echo data or position data. The correlated data may therefore be retrieved for playback of the audio data and display of the position data or echo data.

Integrated mapping and audio systems

A sonar fish finder system is provided for a boat for determining and displaying the location of fish in the body of water surrounding the boat. The system includes an electromechanical transducer assembly for transmitting sound waves in the body of water along separate paths in different directions into separate areas of the body of water, for receiving corresponding echoes from obstructions in the paths (including echoes from any fish in the paths) and for generating electrical signals in accordance with the received echoes. Electrical transmitters connected to the transducer assembly control transmission of the sound waves and receivers, connected to the transducer assembly, receive and process the electrical signals produced thereby. A microprocessor unit converts the output of said receivers into electrical data representative of display images of the separate areas of the body of water and a visual display device, preferably a liquid crystal display, simultaneously displays images corresponding to the electrical data at separate side by side locations on a screen to provide separate, simultaneous indications of the presence or absence of fish in the different areas.

Sonar fish finder apparatus providing split-screen display

A sonar system for indicating the presence of sonic energy reflecting interfaces in the water in the path of a downgoing sonic pulse. The received reflection or echo is recorded on a moving record or web by means of a stylus that is traversed across the web as a linear function of time. The movement of the stylus triggers the transmitted pulse and the received signal is then amplified and controls a high voltage source which generates a series of pulses applied by the stylus as it moves across the record. Under certain operating conditions there is considerable noise generated in the water by the sonic pulse due to the presence of many reflecting surfaces from sediment, algae, plankton, etc. which sustains the return signal to the transducer. A disable system is provided which on command of the operator will disable the operation of the transmitter and receiver on alternate operating cycles to provide time for this noise to attenuate.

Sonar apparatus with means to transmit and print on alternate cycles

A sonar device for use on a boat to indicate the depth of water on a digital display, including a transducer positioned in the water to transmit bursts of sound energy and for receiving echo energy reflected from the bottom, at least one variable gain receiver stage for amplifying the echo signals received by the transducer, a microprocessor for processing the amplified received signals to supply appropriate control signals to the digital display to indicate depth as a function of time required to receive echo signals, a means of controlling the gain of the receiver stage including a means with the microprocessor of supplying a plurality of paralleled output digital signals indicative of the required gain, means for converting the digital signal output to an analog gain control signal, and circuit means for applying the voltage gain control signal to the sonar receiver.

Sonar apparatus having improved gain control

Both signal amplitude presentation and noise suppression presentation of sonar signals have been known for some time, but have been incompatible in the same display system. In this disclosure, means are provided for separately processing the received signal in two parallel paths, one through a noise-pulse suppression processor, and the other through a signal amplitude differentiation processor which adds an additional adjustable time delay so that the signals processed through both paths are initiated at the same time and thus can be presented together.

Sonar having signal amplitude differentiation and noise suppression

An electronic range expander, such as for use on a sonar system, which has a rotating disc lamp or a rectilinear pen record, of the travel time, expressed as a certain distance from the transducer to an object and back again. The received signal is sampled periodically, and these samples are stored in a random access memory, in addresses which are determined by binary numbers successively outputted from a binary counter, which is stepped in accordance with a clock signal. As the binary number representing an address in the memory is incremented, the sampled value of received signal is stored in the corresponding address. The command to write in the memory is repeated at a selected number of clock counts. Intermediate the commands to write into the memory, the command is given to read the signal stored in a selected address and to send it to a latch and to the output display or printer of the sonar apparatus. During the period in which the readout of data from memory takes place, a buffer in each of the leads from the counter to the memory causes the binary number from the counter to be shifted to the right one bit, and therefore the address read is 1/2 that of the last write address. Thus the stored values in the memory are read at 1/2 the rate at which they are written, which thereby causes 2/1 expansion of the time scale.

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Tulsa, OK, United States of America

Ronald G Weber