Patent ID: 6606279
Filing Date: 2003-08-12
Classification: G01F,G01S,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of detecting actual or incipient submersion of an electro-acoustic transducer facing downwardly toward a surface of fluent material to be sensed in a pulse-echo acoustic ranging system, the transducer having a skirt surrounding a downwardly facing radiating surface to maintain an air space beneath the radiating surface even under submergence conditions, and the transducer being electrically energized to emit pulses of acoustic energy from the radiating surface, the system processing an electrical output received from the transducer following a pulse by repeatedly sampling it to obtain a response profile;wherein samples from an initial portion of the response of the transducer during a ring-down period following the transmit pulse are summed in a manner such as to eliminate from the sum portions of each sample due to echo responses above a threshold determined on the basis of preceding samples, and the sum is compared with a predetermined threshold to determine whether submergence is indicated.