The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 31, 2024
Filed:
Oct. 28, 2022
Borja Lopez Jauregui, Lynchburg, VA (US);
Philip Haywood Cox, Madison Heights, VA (US);
Nathaniel Quinn Huggins, Forest, VA (US);
Borja Lopez Jauregui, Lynchburg, VA (US);
Philip Haywood Cox, Madison Heights, VA (US);
Nathaniel Quinn Huggins, Forest, VA (US);
Innerspec Technologies, Inc., Forest, VA (US);
Abstract
An automatic impedance matching system that reads the input impedance of an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) electrical circuit and automatically select appropriate input impedance matching by combining components from a built-in selection of a matching circuitry. A Vector Network Analyzer or similar impedance measuring circuit is connected to the EMAT electrical circuit to measure the input impedance of the EMAT electrical circuit comprising an RF coil, coil cable, and conductive material to be inspected at a given material lift-off, and to relay measurement information to the system processor. The processor uses this information to adjust the overall input impedance of the EMAT electrical circuitry by selecting appropriate components such as capacitors and transformer taps of the built-in selection of the matching circuitry connected between the system pulser/receiver and the coil cable. As such, the overall impedance of the EMAT electrical circuit can be adjusted to best match a desired impedance that would optimize performance of the EMAT which is based on a measured acoustic signal transmission coefficient or a measured acoustic signal reflection coefficient of the EMAT. The system can work in either pulse-echo (same transmitter and receiver) or pitch-catch (different transmitter and receiver).