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  Personal sonar systemUSPTO Application #: 20080101159Title: Personal sonar system Abstract: The sonar device includes a sonar transducer, a noise filter, a microprocessor and an output device. The system warns the user when a hazardous objects is detected or when signals from companions decrease. The portable sonar device can be built into various watersport devices including scuba diving equipment, surfboards and windsurfboards. (end of abstract) Agent: Dergosits & Noah LLP - San Francisco, CA, US Inventor: Matthew Pope USPTO Applicaton #: 20080101159 - Class: 367131000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Communications, Electrical: Acoustic Wave Systems And Devices, Underwater System The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080101159. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/546,160, filed Oct. 10, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,272,075 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/053,789, filed Feb. 9, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,145,835 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/543,579 filed Feb. 10, 2004. BACKGROUND [0002] Sonar (SOund NAvigation Ranging) technology is used to detect objects under the water. A sonar device emits acoustic pulses in water and receives an echo from any objects that the acoustic pulse reflects back from. The distance between the sonar device and the object can be determined by measuring the time between the pulse transmission and reflected pulse reception. Active sonar creates a pulse of sound, often called a "ping", and then listens for reflections of the pulse. To measure the distance to an object, one measures the time from emission of a pulse to reception. The acoustic pulse travels at the speed of sound underwater, thus the distance is determined by the (speed of sound)/(time between sending and receiving the pulse/2). [0003] The pulse may be at constant frequency or a chirp of changing frequency. For a chirp, the receiver correlates the frequency of the reflections to the known chirp. The resultant processing gain allows the receiver to derive the same information as if a much shorter pulse of the same total energy were emitted. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The present invention is a personal sonar system that can be used in most water sport applications and comprises a sonar transducer, a processor and an output device. In a surfing embodiment, the sonar device is integrated into the user's surfboard. In a preferred embodiment, the sonar transducer is mounted at the back end of the board and emits a wide angle sonar signal which will detect large moving underwater animals including predatory fish. Electrical signals from the transducer are filtered to remove background noise which is caused by the movement of the surfboard due to ocean swells and stationary underwater objects on the sea floor. The electrical filter can be frequency based or may be a software algorithm running on a microprocessor. The algorithm may be a neural network or an adaptive system. The signal alerts the user when a large underwater animal is detected. The alert signal may be an optical light signal or an audio signal. The light and/or speaker may be mounted on the upper front surface of the surfboard which is easily noticeable to a surfer sitting on the rear of the board waiting for a wave to ride. [0005] In another embodiment, the sonar unit may be mounted in a self contained housing for use by snorkelers and scuba divers. In underwater embodiments, the system not only detects large animals but also the separation from companions. The system detects the normal presence of companions based upon the reflected sonar signal or the detection of signals from the companions' sonar devices. When a companion signal grows faint, the system emits a warning signal to alert the user of separation. By knowing when a companion has separated from the group it becomes much easier for the user to start looking immediately for the companion. This can be particularly useful in low visibility situations such as night or cave diving. [0006] In order to improve accuracy, the inventive system has an ambient calibration mode that allows the user to calibrate the system on site to the ambient underwater sounds. When a user enters the water, the area can be visually scanned for large animals. The close presence of large underwater animals is rare, thus the system user is normally safe. Every body of water has unique acoustic characteristics by tuning the unit to the specific location, the accuracy of the detection is improved. During any safe period, the unit can be set to calibration mode. The sonar unit transmits signals and detects the ambient reflected signals. This ambient signal is stored in the system's memory and used to calibrate the sonar system. This calibration mode allows the inventive sonar system to adapt to the location of the user and provides substantially enhanced detection accuracy. After calibration, the system is able to more easily detect unusual objects in the vicinity such as sharks. [0007] The inventive unit can also be used to detect the presence of companions who need to stay in the proximity of the user. This function is important to avoid separation or be notified of separation from a group. The system may also have a companion calibration mode that allow the user to calibrate the sonar unit to detect companions on site. The companion detection mode is similar to the calibration mode. When the user is in the water, the user can actuate the companion calibration mode. The system detects the normal reflected signals produced by all companions or signals emitted by each companion and learns to recognize the companion signals. The companion system detects when any companion signal gets faint and warns the user of a companion's separation from the group while in the water. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] FIG. 1 is an illustration of the basic components of the inventive sonar device; [0009] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a scuba diver using the inventive handheld sonar device; [0010] FIG. 3 is a top view of the handheld sonar device; [0011] FIG. 4 is a side view of the handheld sonar device; and [0012] FIG. 5 is an illustration of a surfboard that incorporates the inventive sonar device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0013] The present invention is a waterproof sonar device for use while surfing, scuba diving or other water sports. The inventive sonar device is used to locate sharks and other large animals. With reference to FIG. 1, the basic components of the sonar device include a transmitter 103, a transducer 105, a receiver 107, a display/user interface 109 and microprocessor 115. The microprocessor 115 instructs the transmitter 103 to emit sound waves 111 that are sent through the water 113. When the sound wave 111 strikes an object 117, it rebounds and returns to the transducer 105, after which it is converted back to an electrical signal that is amplified by the receiver 107 and the detected signals are processed by the microprocessor 115. The display/user interface 109 keeps the user apprised of the current operating conditions and warns the user of large objects in the area as well as the separation of divers. [0014] The distance to an object can be determined based upon the time it takes for the signal to travel to an object and to return to the source. Since the speed of sound in water is relatively constant at approximately 4,800 feet per second, there is a direct relationship between time and distance. This process is repeated many times per second. In an embodiment, the microprocessor may include electronic memory such as a flash memory card or dynamic random access memory (RAM). These components are powered by electrical power which is normally supplied through a rechargeable battery. In an alternative embodiment, solar cells may be used as the primary power source or as a means of recharging the battery. The battery may also have a water proof connector which allows the batter to be recharged through household electrical power when the device is not in use. The battery may also be magnetically coupled to the recharger so that a direct electrical contact is not required. The battery may also be attached to the weight belt. Because the batteries are heavy, they can replace many of the lead weight typically used in a weight belt for neutral buoyancy. [0015] In an embodiment, the present fish detection invention uses a portable sonar (an acronym for "SOund, NAvigation and Ranging") device to detect objects such as large fish or sharks in proximity to the user. The devices are suitable for the sonar device include, surfboards, scuba equipment, windsurfers, boats and handheld underwater devices. The invention allows the individual to detect or be alerted to the presence of a large fish so that evasive action can be taken. By detecting the presence of sharks, severe personal injury may be avoided. Sonar transducers come in many forms and are mounted on a surface that is submerged in the water. Each transducer is rated by the degree of cone angle. In general, a wide cone angle gives better results in shallow to medium depths while the narrow cone angle penetrates better to deeper depths but doesn't show as many fish or as much structure due to its narrow beam. Thus, for surfboards which are used primarily in shallow water a wide angle transducer may be more suitable than a narrow beam transducer. However in an embodiment, the device may have both narrow and wide angle transducers or more that the user can switch between or operate simultaneously. A single beam may cover a 16-24 degree range. A concentric dual beam system uses a first narrow center beam can be used within a second beam of 53 degrees that surrounds the first beam expanding the coverage. A three beam system uses three sonar beams to form a 90 degree detection range. The transducer may even be configured in an array with columns of multiple transducers. [0016] The transducers may be configured to the behavior patterns of the fish to be detected. For example, sharks such as great whites frequently swim below the fish that are at the surface of the water that they are about to eat. They then swim upward when attacking. This provides good contrast of light around the target for the shark which has poor eyesight. Thus, if the invention is to be used to detect sharks in an application such as a surfboard, the transducers should be facing an area directly below the user. [0017] In an embodiment, the sonar unit components include a high-power transmitter, an efficient transducer, a sensitive receiver and a high resolution/contrast display. The high transmitter power results in a strong signal returned to the unit. This is important in deep or poor murky water conditions. Additionally, the increased power allows the detection of more distinct object detail. The sonar units used and the housing (type and material) can determine which type of transducers are used. The transducer must be submerged in order to function. This is most likely from the transom area of the boat or the rear areas or fins of a surfboard or windsurfboard. The receiver dampens extremely strong signals and amplifies small signals in order to get an effective readout. It must also have the capability to separate small targets that are close together into distinct, separate impulses for the display as well as not interpreting non-mobile objects as fish. The transducers can also be sequentially triggered to conserve energy and scan a wide area around the user. [0018] The sonar transducer draws electrical power from a battery or solar cell and produces signals that are directed towards the area of interest. These signals are reflected by the objects in the path of the signals. The sonar transducer also receives the reflected signals as well as other signals in the target frequency range. The transducer converts the acoustic signals into electrical signals that are forwarded to a signal processor. The signal processor filters the transducer signals so that signals from target objects are detected while the ambient non-target objects do not produce false detection readings. This filtering device may be: frequency/amplitude based, an adaptive algorithm, a adaptive neural network which analyzes a number of input signals or any other filter that can remove ambient signals. In a simple frequency based filter mechanism, the system removes high frequency signals from small fish and high amplitude signals from fixed large objects such as the ocean floor while in low depth waters. An adaptive filter detects changes in the input signals and adapts to these changes. By adapting to changes in ambient sonar signals, the inventive system will remain accurate as the diver travels from shallow to deep water to wreckage areas. In the neural network embodiment, the system may utilize additional input information such as temperature, depth, GPS location, etc and use this information in addition to the sonar signals to more accurately filter the transducer signals. By filtering out these ambient and benign signals, the system can leave a specific frequency range open to detect potentially threatening fish or moving objects. [0019] In another embodiment, the system uses a broadband sonar transmission. Broadband echoes contain more information because they encompass frequencies that provide greater backscatter within one fish species relative to others. A broadband sonar transceiver generates analog echoes, amplifies the echoes, tunes the echoes for the frequency response of the transducer, and transmits the resulting echo from the transducer. Each "ping" represents 100,000 data points. The system typically sends one ping per second. The transducer collects the analog echo returns, applies amplification with adjustable gain to the echoes, and bandpass filters the echoes. The transducer must pass the echoes to an A/D converter capable of sampling at thousands samples per second to satisfy the sampling criteria and to achieve sufficient amplitude range and resolution. [0020] For these broadband sonar signals, a digital processor filters the broadband echoes to produce frequency spectra. Spectral processing provides a representation of fish not available to existing fish finding sonar systems. Prior art sonar fish finding devices use time-domain processing that counts and integrates echoes. Using spectral decomposition, it is possible to determine which frequencies are most strongly reflected by the fish targets. The spectral information is presented to a neural network classifier which is used to identify specific objects. In the sonar sense, different size or species fish reflect a broadband illumination at specific frequencies. Further sonar data has been collected for various types of sea creatures. By using the proper frequency and identifying the reflected signal pattern, the inventive sonar device can be tuned to detect the bladder of specific types of fish. Broadband sonar techniques are able to identify frequency-dependent fish bladder resonance for several species of fish. This can be particularly useful for identifying hazardous fish such as great white sharks and filtering out all other reflected signals. Continue reading... Full patent description for Personal sonar system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Personal sonar system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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