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:
Feb. 28, 1989
Filed:
Dec. 19, 1986
Matthew O'Donnell, Schenectady, NY (US);
Mark G Magrane, Rancho Cordova, CA (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A method for steering a beam of vibratory energy to a desired angle .theta. with respect to the plane of an array of transducers, uses apparatus which generates a plurality of sampling strobe sequences with each strobe pulse occurring at a time interval T after the preceding strobe pulse, where T satisfies the Nyquist condition. A different one S.sub.j of the strobe signals is assigned to each different transducer channel and the commencement time of the strobe signal in each channel is offset by a time interval which is a first positive integer multiple M.sub.j, selected for each angle .theta., of an offset time interval which is not greater than 1/32nd of the reciprocal of the ultrasonic excitation frequency F.sub.u. Each strobe signal triggers conversion of the present amplitude of the return signal directly to a digital data word; the apparatus then digitally delays each data word in each of the N channels for a delay time interval selected to cause the delayed data words from all N channels, when coherently summed, to represent any change in reflectance in the beam at the desired angle .theta..