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Ultrasonic-detector

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Ultrasonic detector

Details

Inventors: Leszczynski, Nicholas;
Assignee: Magnetrol International (Downers Grove, IL)
Primary Examiner: Pihulic; Daniel T.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Marshall, O'Toole, Gerstein, Murray & Bicknell

An ultrasonic detector of the type used to detect the level of a liquid or the magnitude of liquid flow within a conduit by periodically transmitting ultrasonic energy bursts and receiving echoes therefrom is controlled by a controller with a computer program having a number of routines. The routines include a range search routine that searches a defined range of the detector to locate the targets within the range. The range is searched by repeatedly transmitting energy bursts and gradually decreasing the gain of the detector after the transmission of each burst. All targets identified during the range search are then classified as being either bogus targets or the true target. This classification is made with the use of a bogus buffer in which bogus target data is stored. The detector has a first mode of operation in which the first echo received after the transmission of an energy burst is considered to be the true target and a second mode of operation in which the echo having the largest magnitude is considered to be the true target. The detector identifies the precise time of arrival of an echo by detecting the peak of the echo, which is accomplished by sampling the echo signal at a very high rate and generating digital samples therefrom. The largest digital sample is then identified as corresponding to the echo peak. The detector also includes a gain adjustment routine that allows authorized personnel to adjust the gain of the detector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to various aspects of ultrasonic detectors of the type that are used to determine the location of the liquid level within a tank or the magnitude of liquid flow within a conduit.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to an ultrasonic detector that determines the precise time of arrival of echoes.
The precise time of arrival of an echo is considered to be the time of arrival of the peak of the echo, which is that portion having the largest magnitude.
Determining the precise time of arrival of an echo allows a more precise determination of the travel time of an echo, and thus the precise position of the surface from which the echo was reflected.
The precise arrival time is determined with the use of a method having two basic steps.
The first step is to determine the period of time during which an echo is expected.
The period of time may be determined by transmitting a burst of energy and determining when the corresponding echo is received by comparing the magnitude of the echo signal with a predetermined threshold.
The second step of determining the precise arrival time of an echo is to generate an electrical signal, or "conversion gate," that controls an A/D converter that is used to sample the echo signal.
The duration of the conversion gate is made relatively small, and the conversion gate is "positioned" so that the echo will be received within the gate.
The duration of the conversion gate is made relatively small, such as between about two and six times the duration of the echo signal.
When the conversion gate is open, the A/D converter samples the electrical signal generated by the transducer at a relatively high rate.
After the samples are taken, they are stored in a memory.
The stored samples are then inspected to determine which of the samples has the largest magnitude.
The sample having the largest magnitude is considered to correspond to the precise time of receipt of the echo, and the subsequent determination of the liquid level or flow is made based upon that precise time of receipt

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