Patent ID: 6841766
Filing Date: 2005-01-11
Classification: G01J,G01S

Abstract:
1. An energy pulse detection system comprising: a plurality of energy couplers for receiving signals from an energy pulse, each of said energy couplers having a defined field of view, the field of views of at least some of said energy couplers being overlapping; a transducer operatively connected to said energy couplers for converting a signal received from the energy pulse to a voltage or current output signal; an amplifier operatively connected to said transducer for amplifying the output signal from said transducer; a threshold circuit operatively connected to said amplifier for outputting a signal when the amplitude of the output signal from the transducer exceeds a predetermined level; and signal processing instrumentation, operatively connected to said threshold circuit, for calculating a source location and/or an intensity and/or an initiation time of the energy pulse, wherein an energy collecting efficiency of at least one of said plurality of energy couplers depends upon an orientation of said one energy coupler relative to the source location of the energy pulse, and wherein the source location and/or the intensity of the energy pulse is calculated based on a temporal ordering of signals output from said threshold circuit corresponding to different directional energy couplers.