Patent ID: 8523774
Filing Date: 2013-09-03
Classification: G01S,G10K

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic beamformer for substantially compensating for differences in distances between a number of ultrasonic elements in an ultrasonic transducer array and a location remote from the ultrasonic transducer array from which a reflected broadband pulse is received by each of the ultrasonic elements, the ultrasonic beamformer comprising: for each of the ultrasonic elements, an input signal line configured to carry the broadband pulse from the ultrasonic element; a number of signal shifters that is less than the number of transducer elements, each signal shifter being configured to shift the broadband pulse in a way that is different from the way the other signal shifters are configured to shift a broadband pulse, at least one of the signal shifters being an inverter; for each of the input signal lines, a receiving multiplexer configured to electrically connect the broadband pulse received on the input signal line to a selected one of the signal shifters, the selected one being based on a control signal; a summer at the input of each signal shifter configured to sum the broadband pulses that are directed to the signal shifter by the multiplexers; and a multiplexer controller configured to generate the control signal for each of the multiplexers in a fashion that causes the ultrasonic beamformer to substantially compensate for the differences in the distances.