Patent ID: 11885918
Assignee: GARMIN INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 16:
17. A sonar array system comprising:
a memory element;
a plurality of sonar arrays, each sonar array configured to receive transmit electronic signals and transmit corresponding sonar beams into a body of water, the sonar beams including a first lobe in a forward direction and a second lobe in a downward direction, wherein each sonar array includes:
a plurality of groups of sonar transducer elements, each group including a first sonar transducer element electrically connected to the first sonar transducer elements of the other groups and a second sonar transducer element electrically connected to the second sonar transducer elements of the other groups, and
a plurality of resistors, with each resistor being electrically connected in series with a successive one of the sonar transducer elements; and

a sonar signal processor electrically coupled with the memory element and the plurality sonar arrays, the sonar signal processor configured to:
communicate a plurality of transmit electronic signals to the sonar arrays, the transmit electronic signals including a first transmit electronic signal to be received by the first sonar transducer element of each group and a second transmit electronic signal to be received by the second sonar transducer element of each group,
receive a receive electronic signal from the sonar arrays operable to receive reflections of the sonar beams from the body of water,
calculate, and store in the memory element, the array of sonar data slices based on the receive electronic signal, each sonar data slice including sonar data associated with one of the plurality of frequency components,
generate an array of sonar image slices, each sonar image slice generated from one of the sonar data slices and including sonar imagery of a region of the water corresponding to the angular direction of one of the array of sonar beams, and
control the display to visually present the array of sonar image slices in near real time;

wherein the sonar beams transmitted into the body of water are each in one of a plurality of angular directions, each angular direction corresponding to one of the frequency components of the transmit electronic signal; and
wherein the plurality of resistors reduce sidelobes of the first lobe and the second lobe.