Ultrasonic intrusion detection system

Apparatus and method of processing in an ultrasonic alarm system to detect the doppler-shifted components which indicate the presence of an intruder. A master control applies to each of the transmitter transducers a signal which alternates between two frequencies at a modulation frequency. The output signal from the receiving transducer is synchronously detected and low pass filtered. The filtered signal is applied to electronics which respond to the presence of modulation frequency components in the filter output signal. A first embodiment utilizes a high-Q bandpass filter having a resonance frequency equal to the modulation frequency. In a second embodiment, the modulation frequency is used to effectively perform a correlation between the received signal and the modulation frequency.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is concerned with intrusion alarm systems, and in 
particular with electronic processing circuitry for use in a multiple 
transducer intrusion alarm system. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Ultrasonic detection systems are well known for the protection of 
buildings, warehouses, and other areas. The systems operate by having one 
or more transmitters which radiate ultrasonic soundwaves into an area to 
be protected. The ultrasonic waves are reflected by objects in the 
protected area, and these "echoes" are received by a receiving transducer 
which produces electrical signals in response thereto. The presence of 
intruding objects may be detected by monitoring the received echoes for 
doppler-shifted frequency components which are produced by the reflection 
of ultrasonic waves from a moving object. 
The output signal from the receiving transducer is applied to electronic 
signal processing circuitry which detects the presence of a 
doppler-shifted echo indicative of an intruder. Usually the processor 
includes circuitry to discriminate between echoes caused by an intruder 
and echoes caused by movement of other objects in the protected area which 
would otherwise cause false alarms, such as flapping curtains and the 
like. Additional circuitry may also be included to discriminate against 
ambient noise in the frequency band being used. 
It is frequently desirable to be able to protect large areas or several 
different areas with a single ultrasonic intrusion alarm system by 
providing a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and a plurality of 
ultrasonic receivers located in the areas to be protected. Since previous 
multiple transducer systems have required relatively complex and expensive 
circuitry to process the receiver output signal to detect an intruder, 
multiple transducer systems are usually implemented by applying all the 
receiver outputs to a single processor. Since only one relatively complex 
processor is required in such a system and since both the transmitting and 
receiving transducers are relatively inexpensive, several transmitters and 
receivers may be used to economically provide protection for a large area 
or a number of individual areas. However, such systems have the 
disadvantage that the processor is unable to distinguish between signals 
from different transducers. The only output that such a system can provide 
is that an intruder is somewhere within the protected areas. The processor 
is unable to indicate where the intruder is located within the protected 
area. 
To provide a precise indication of which receiver has detected an intruder, 
a processor for each area and/or each receiving transducer may be used. 
However, current methods of processing the transducer output signals 
require relatively complex electronics, and providing such a processor for 
each of a plurality of receivers is generally too expensive to be 
practical, except in more critical installations. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed toward a new method of processing in an 
ultrasonic alarm system to detect the doppler-shifted components which 
indicate the presence of an intruder. In this method, a plurality of 
transmitting transducers are all driven from a single source. By suitably 
preprocessing the transmitter signal, the present system requires much 
simpler circuitry in the receiver than prior art systems to detect the 
presence of doppler-shifted signals. The receiver circuitry is simple 
enough that individual processors may be economically located at each 
receiver transducer. Thus, the output signal from each receiver provides a 
direct indication of whether an intruder has been detected by that 
receiver. These signals are applied to a master control which can provide 
an indication of where an intrusion has occurred in addition to the normal 
alarm signal. Since all of the transmitters are driven from a single 
source, the increase in complexity of the transmitter electronics is not 
significant; and a multiple transducer intrusion alarm system may be 
economically provided which is capable of providing an indication of where 
an intrusion has occurred. 
Briefly, the preferred embodiment operates in the following manner. A 
master control applies to each of the transmitter transducers a signal 
which alternates between two frequencies offset above and below a 
reference frequency by equal amounts. The frequency of alternation is the 
modulation frequency. The output signal from the receiving transducer is 
synchronously detected with a signal having a frequency equal to the 
reference frequency and low-pass filtered so that components in the base 
band signal having frequencies higher than the offset frequency are 
eliminated. The filtered signal is then applied to electronics which 
respond to the presence of modulation frequency components in the filter 
output signal. Such components indicate the presence of an object in the 
protected zone which is moving relative to the transducers. These 
components are not produced by other objects in the protected zone which 
typically account for false alarms. Such objects include blowing curtains 
and doors which while moving do not have a net relative motion with 
respect to the receiver. Also, the processor rejects any ambient noise 
which may be present in the ultrasonic frequency range of the intrusion 
alarm system. 
Two alternate circuit embodiments are presented for detecting the 
modulation frequency components. The first embodiment utilizes a high-Q 
bandpass filter having a resonance frequency equal to the modulation 
frequency. In the second embodiment, the modulation frequency is used to 
select between the low pass filter output signal and its inverse to 
effectively perform a correlation between the received signal and the 
modulation frequency.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown circuitry suitable for providing the 
transmitter output signal applied to the transmitting transducers of the 
present alarm system. Typically, this circuitry is located within the 
alarm system master control, and the transmitter excitation signal is 
applied via a cable to each of the plurality of transmitters which are 
included in the system. The transmitter circuitry includes sources of two 
frequencies which are alternately applied to each of the transmitters. 
These frequencies are denoted as f.sub.1 and f.sub.2 and are equally 
spaced by an amount .DELTA.f from a center or reference frequency, which 
will be denoted as f.sub.c. The reference frequency f.sub.c is not applied 
to the transmitters, but is required by the receiver processing circuit. 
In the preferred embodiment described herein the reference frequency is 
26.5 kHz. The offset frequency .DELTA.f is 100 Hz and therefore frequency 
f.sub.1 equals 26.4 kHz and frequency f.sub.2 equals 26.6 kHz. In the 
embodiment shown in FIG. 1, f.sub.1 and f.sub.2 are shown as being 
produced by two oscillators 12 and 14. The carrier frequency, f.sub.c is 
produced by a third oscillator 16. It should be appreciated that use of 
three oscillators as shown in FIG. 1 is not necessary, and the required 
frequencies may be produced by other means. 
The f.sub.1 and f.sub.2 frequency outputs from oscillators 12 and 14 are 
applied to an electronic switch 18. In response to a digital signal 
applied on line 20 to switch 18, switch 18 alternately selects f.sub.1 or 
f.sub.2 for application to a modulator 22. The signal on line 20 is 
typically a square wave signal which controls the state of switch 18, and 
the frequency of this signal is the modulation frequency which will be 
denoted as f.sub.m. In the embodiment described herein, f.sub.m is 
typically on the order of 3 Hz. 
A square wave oscillator 24 provides a square wave output signal having a 
frequency of 2f.sub.m. This signal is applied to a flip-flop 26 which 
divides the signal from oscillator 24 by two to produce the f.sub.m 
modulation frequency controlling switch 18. The output signal from 
oscillator 24 is also applied to a pulse shaping filter 28. Filter 28 
attenuates the harmonics present in square wave output from oscillator 24, 
and the filtered signal is applied to modulator 22. 
The relationship between the above-described signals may be seen more 
clearly by referring to the waveforms designated collectively as 30 in 
FIG. 1. The square-wave signal having a frequency of 2f.sub.m is shown by 
waveform 32. This is divided down by flip-flop 26 to provide a square-wave 
signal having a frequency of f.sub.m, as shown by waveform 34. The output 
from filter 28 in response to the signal applied thereto is shown by 
waveform 36. As shown in FIG. 1, the output waveform 36 from filter 28 is 
shifted by approximately 90.degree. from the input waveform 32. This is 
due to the phase shift of filter 28. 
In response to the f.sub.m signal applied to switch 18, switch 18 
alternately applies frequencies f.sub.1 and f.sub.2 to modulator 22. For 
example, in the waveforms shown at 30, during the period that the f.sub.m 
signal 34 is high, frequency f.sub.1 is applied to modulator 22; and when 
f.sub.m is low, frequency f.sub.2 is applied to modulator 22. 
In response to the signal from filter 28, modulator 22 modulates the 
amplitude of the signal applied thereto on line 19. The output waveform 
from filter 28 is such that it goes from zero to a maximum amplitude and 
back to zero. As shown in timing diagram 30, the output 36 from filter 28 
is at zero amplitude at the time that switch 18 changes state from 
frequency f.sub.1 to f.sub.2 and back again. The net result is that the 
output from modulator 22 alternates between frequencies f.sub.1 and 
f.sub.2, the amplitudes of which are varied from zero to a maximum 
amplitude and back to zero in accordance with the output waveform from 
filter 28. This output waveform is shown as 38 in timing diagram 30. This 
waveform allows the transmitter transducers to alternately transmit 
ultrasonic signals of frequencies f.sub.1 and f.sub.2, and the switching 
between the two frequencies is accomplished in a manner which minimizes 
the production of spurious harmonics. 
Referring to FIG. 2, one embodiment is shown of the receiver processing 
circuitry of the present invention. A receiving transducer 50 receives 
ultrasonic signals from the protected area. These signals include echoes 
from stationary objects within the protected area. Such doppler-shifted 
echoes may indicate the presence of an intruder or may be false alarm 
signals caused by the movement of any objects in the protected area. The 
unique processing circuitry described below is capable of discriminating 
between doppler-shifted signals indicative of the presence of an intruder 
and other signals received by transducer 50 which are not produced by an 
intruder and which, if not rejected, would produce false alarms. 
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a series of waveforms which will be 
referred to to illustrate the operation of the circuit of FIG. 2. The 
different lines in FIG. 3, denoted as lines 80 through 118 show the 
spectra of the received signals under different conditions in the 
protected area. The waveforms in each of lines 80 through 118 are divided 
into three columns, labeled "A," "B," "C." Column A is representative of 
the spectrum of the signal received by receiving transducer 50, and 
columns B and C show the resulting waveforms at different points in the 
receiver circuitry, as described below. 
Referring to lines 80 to 86 of FIG. 3, the spectrum received by transducer 
50 is shown in column A for the situation where an intruding object is 
present and moving toward the receiving transducer. (The case of movement 
away from the receiver is discussed below). Line 80 shows the received 
spectrum when the transmitter is transmitting frequency f.sub.1. As can be 
seen from FIG. 3, there is a large spectral component at the transmitted 
frequency f.sub.1, and there is a wider spectral response which is the 
doppler-shifted spectrum caused by echoes from the moving intruder. The 
received signal shown in column A of line 80 is applied to a synchronous 
detector 52, and the reference frequency f.sub.c is applied to a second 
input of detector 52. 
The output of detector 52 is applied to a low-pass filter 54 which serves 
to eliminate the higher frequency components produced by the synchronous 
detection process. Again referring to FIG. 3, column B of line 80 shows 
the spectrum at the output of low pass filter 54. The detection process 
shifts the received frequency spectrum of column A, and the 
doppler-shifted spectrum now appears as a very low frequency. The 
synchronous detection process also shifts the spectral line corresponding 
with the transmitted frequency to a frequency equal to .DELTA.f, the 
offset frequency between f.sub.1 and f.sub.c. 
The output from low pass filter 54 is applied to an amplifier 56, and the 
output of amplifier 56 is applied to a notch filter 58. Notch filter 58 
has a center frequency equal to .DELTA.f, the offset frequency between 
f.sub.c and the two frequencies transmitted by the transmitter. Notch 
filter 58 serves to eliminate the strong .DELTA.f frequency component in 
the output of low pass filter 54, shown in column B of FIG. 3. 
Following notch filter 58 is a second low pass filter 60. Low pass filter 
60 has a break frequency also equal to .DELTA.f and serves to eliminate 
frequency components lying above .DELTA.f. The output of low pass filter 
60 is shown in column C of FIG. 3. It can be seen that when the 
traansmitted frequency is f.sub.1 and an object is moving towards the 
receiver 50, part of the doppler-shifted spectra produced by the moving 
object appears at the output of low pass filter 60. 
The frequency response of filters 58 and 60 is shown in FIG. 4. Graph 59 
shows the frequency response of notch filter 58. The frequency response of 
low pass filter 60 is shown in graph 61 of FIG. 4. It should be 
appreciated that notch filter 58 and low pass filter 60 may be implemented 
by means of a single circuit having the desired composite characteristics. 
This is indicated via dotted box 62 in FIG. 2. Graph 63 in FIG. 4 shows 
the frequency response required of such a composite filter. 
Returning to FIG. 3, line 82 shows spectra similar to that shown in line 
80, except that line 82 corresponds to the periods that the transmitter is 
transmitting frequency f.sub.2 rather than f.sub.1. In column A, similarly 
to line 80, there is a strong frequency component at the transmitter 
frequency f.sub.2, and above that is a broader spectrum caused by the 
doppler-shifted echoes from a moving intruder. In column B of line 82, the 
output from low pass filter 54 is shown. It can be seen that after 
detection of the received signal with the reference frequency f.sub.c, the 
output from low pass filter 54 is similar to that shown in line 80 except 
that the doppler-shifted spectrum lies above frequency .DELTA.f. When the 
output from filter 54, shown in column B of line 82, is applied to notch 
filter 58 and low pass filter 60, the spectral component at .DELTA.f is 
eliminated by the notch filter and the doppler-shifted spectrum lying 
above .DELTA.f is also eliminated by low pass filter 60. The result is 
that during the period that the transmitted frequency is f.sub.2 and an 
object is moving towards the receiving transducer, the output of low-pass 
filter 60 contains no signal. This is shown in column C. 
Lines 84 and 86 correspond respectively to lines 80 and 82 and are 
representative of the repetitive nature of the spectra shown in lines 80 
and 82 as the transmitter alternately switches between frequency f.sub.1 
and f.sub.2. As can be seen by referring to FIG. C for lines 80 through 
86, the output from low pass filter 60 contains signal components only 
during the period when the transmitter is transmitting frequency f.sub.1. 
Referring to FIG. 5, the actual signal appearing at the output of low pass 
filter 60 is shown by waveform 120. This waveform consists of 
doppler-shifted signal components, and these signals repetitively occur 
with a repetition frequency of f.sub.m. 
The output from low pass filter 60 is applied to a rectifier 64. Rectifier 
64 eliminates the negative excursions of the signal shown by waveform 120; 
and the output waveform form rectifier 64 is shown by waveform 122. The 
output from rectifier 64 is applied to a bandpass filter 66. This filter 
is a relatively high-Q or narrowband filter having a center frequency 
equal to the modulation frequency, f.sub.m. In response to pulses applied 
to filter 66 which have a frequency equal to the modulation frequency, 
filter 66 starts to "ring;" and in response to an input corresponding to 
waveform 122, the output of bandpass filter 66 oscillates at a frequency 
equal to f.sub.m, and the amplitude of this oscillation increases in 
response to subsequent pulses, as shown in waveform 122. 
The output from bandpass filter 66 is applied to a second rectifier 68. The 
output from rectifier 68 consists of pulses occurring at the modulation 
frequency whose amplitude is proportional to the strength and duration of 
the doppler-shifted signal received by receiving transducer 50. These 
pulses are applied to an integrator 70, and when its output exceeds a 
threshold determined by a threshold circuit 72, an alarm signal is 
generated. 
The previous paragraphs have described the operation of the circuitry shown 
in FIG. 2 in response to signals produced by an intruder moving toward the 
receiving transducer 50. The waveforms produced by an intruding object 
moving away from the receiving transducer are shown in FIG. 3 in lines 88 
through 94 and in FIG. 5 by waveforms 126 through 130. In column A, the 
waveforms in lines 88 to 94 correspond with the signal received by 
transducer 50. As before, there are strong spectral components existing at 
the transmitted frequencies f.sub.1 and f.sub.2. Additionally, there are 
broader spectral components produced by the doppler-shifted echoes. Since 
the motion is away from the receiving transducer, the doppler-shifted 
components lie below rather than above the frequencies f.sub.1 and f.sub.2 
transmitted by the transmitter. 
Referring to columns B and C in lines 88 to 94, it can be seen that the 
spectra of the output signals from low pass filter 62 are similar to that 
described above in reference to lines 80 to 86 except that the 
doppler-shifted signal components occur at the output of low pass filter 
60 only during periods when the transmitter is transmitting the higher 
f.sub.2 frequency. Referring to FIG. 5, waveform 126 shows the signals 
appearing at the output of low pass filter 60. It can be seen that the 
doppler-shifted frequency components occur when the transmitter is 
transmitting frequency f.sub.2. The waveform in 126 is rectified by 
rectifier 64 to produce the waveform 128. This waveform results in an 
output from bandpass filter 60, shown by waveform 130, in the same manner 
as described previously for the case of motion towards the transducer. 
This signal is then rectified, integrated and compared with a threshold 
level to produce an alarm signal, as described above. 
Generally the parameters of integrator 70 and threshold detector 72 are 
such that it requires several periods of the modulation frequency f.sub.m 
for the output of integrator 70 to exceed the alarm threshold in response 
to a detected doppler-shifted frequency component. Thus the waveforms in 
FIG. 3 represent a time-averaged frequency response. This becomes more 
important when noise is present, since such noise is less likely to 
produce a false alarm as the time is increased during which the noise is 
averaged. 
The foregoing explanation has described the manner in which an alarm signal 
is produced by the receiver circuit shown in FIG. 2 in response to 
doppler-shifted signals produced by an intruder moving toward or away from 
the receiving transducer. The circuit shown in FIG. 2 additionally has the 
ability to discriminate against certain types of conditions which would 
otherwise produce false alarm signals. This is explained below. 
Frequently, there is movement of objects in the protected area other than 
intruders. Such movement might be, for example, curtains moved by a breeze 
or a draft from heating and cooling equipment. These false alarm 
conditions may be distinguished from the doppler-shifted signals produced 
by a true intruder by the fact that these signals are produced by movement 
of objects which normally do not have a net movement with respect to the 
receiving transducer when averaged over time. Thus, a fluttering curtain 
produces doppler-shifted signals, but when examined, these doppler-shifted 
signals are not representative of a net movement toward or away from the 
receiving transducer. 
Referring to lines 96 through 102 of FIG. 3, the operation of the circuit 
of FIG. 2 is described for such false alarm conditions. In line 96, in 
response to a frequency transmitted by the transmitting transducer, 
doppler-shifted signals are produced both above and below the transmitted 
signal f.sub.1. This is due to the fact that movement is both toward and 
away from the receiving transducer. Similarly, in line 98, doppler-shifted 
signals are produced above and below transmitted frequency f.sub.2. In 
column B, the output from low pass filter 54 for such signals is shown; 
and it can be seen that this output is the same when the transmitter is 
transmitting either the f.sub.1 or f.sub.2 frequencies. In column C the 
output signal from low pass filter 60 is shown and this signal is also the 
same for both transmitted frequencies. Referring again to FIG. 5, the 
actual waveform from low pass filter 60 for the case of back and forth 
motion is shown by waveform 132. This waveform comprises bursts of energy 
occurring at a frequency of twice the modulation f.sub.m. When rectified, 
the waveform applied to bandpass filter 66 is as shown by waveform 134 in 
FIG. 5. The output from rectifier 64 also consists of bursts at a 
frequency of 2f.sub.m. These pulses are applied to bandpass filter 66. 
Since these pulses do not occur at the resonance frequency of the bandpass 
filter, the filter does not respond to such pulses; and the output from 
bandpass filter 66 remains at zero or at a very low value, as shown by 
waveform 136. Thus, in response to doppler-shifted signals produced by an 
object moving back and forth and having no relative movement with respect 
to the receiving transducer, the processor shown in FIG. 2 will not 
produce an alarm signal. 
There are two additional false alarm situations which the circuitry in FIG. 
2 is capable of distinguishing from actual intrusions. The first situation 
occurs when there is a relatively high level of broad band background 
noise in the ultrasonic frequency range used by the intrusion alarm 
system. The second case is where pulses of narrow band noise, such as 
harmonics of telephone bells, are produced in the frequency band used by 
the alarm system. 
In lines 104 through 110 of FIG. 3, the response of the circuit of FIG. 2 
is shown for the situation in which there is a high level of broad band 
noise. From the previous explanations and the waveforms in FIG. 3, it can 
be seen that the output from low pass filter 60 in response to a high 
noise level is as shown in column C of lines 104 to 110. Referring to FIG. 
5 again, waveform 138 is representative of the output signal from low pass 
filter 60. After rectification by rectifier 64, the signal applied to the 
input of bandpass filter 66 is as shown in waveform 140. In response to 
such a waveform, bandpass filter 60 does not respond, and the output 
therefrom is as shown by waveform 142 in FIG. 5. 
For the case of periodic pulses of interfering noise, lines 112 through 118 
show the spectral response of the circuit in FIG. 2. Unless the pulses of 
noise have a repetition frequency equal or close to the modulation 
frequency, f.sub.m, the receiver circuit shown in FIG. 2 will not provide 
an alarm indication in response to such noise pulses; and such noise 
pulses generally do not produce a false alarm. 
Thus, the circuitry shown in FIG. 2 for processing the output signal from a 
receiver transducer, when used in conjunction with the transmitter 
circuitry shown in FIG. 1, provides a system in which inexpensive 
processing circuitry may be included with each receiver transducer to 
provide an output indication of the presence of a moving intruder within a 
protected area while providing discrimination against other disturbances 
in the protected area which would otherwise cause false alarms. 
Referring to FIG. 6, a receiver circuit is shown which is an alternate 
embodiment of the receiver processor shown in FIG. 2. As in FIG. 2, a 
receiving transducer 50 receives echoes from the protected area. The 
output signal from transducer 50 is detected in synchronous detector 52 
with the reference frequency f.sub.c applied to a second input thereto. 
The output from synchronous detector 52 is applied to low pass filter 54. 
The output of low pass filter 54 is applied via an amplifier 66 to notch 
filter 58 and low pass filter 60; and the output from low pass filter 60 
is rectified by rectifier 64. The previous circuitry operates in exactly 
the same manner as does the corresponding circuitry shown in FIG. 2 and 
described above. 
The output signal from rectifier 64 is inverted via an inverter 150 and 
applied to one terminal of an electronic switch 152. The non-inverted 
output from rectifier 64 is applied to the second terminal of electronic 
switch 152. In response to a signal on a line 154, electronic switch 152 
selects between the inverted and non-inverted output signals from 
rectifier 64, and the selected signal is applied to the input of an 
integrator 156. The control signal applied on line 154 to switch 152 is 
derived from the modulation signal f.sub.m in the transmitter circuitry 
shown in FIG. 1. The modulation signal f.sub.m is applied to a delay 
circuit 158 which produces a delay in the signal before it is applied to 
switch 152. Delay circuit 158 compensates for the delay through filters 
54, 58 and 60 in the receiver circuitry and for the propagation time of 
the ultrasonic signals from the transmitting transducers. This may be more 
clearly seen by referring to the waveforms shown in FIG. 7. The f.sub.m 
waveform from the transmitter shown in FIG. 1 is shown as waveform 174 in 
FIG. 7. The delayed f.sub.m waveform which is applied to electronic switch 
152 in the receiver circuitry of FIG. 6 is shown as waveform 176 in FIG. 
7. 
From transducer 50 through rectifier 64, the circuits of FIGS. 2 and 6 are 
identical. Referring back briefly to FIG. 3, lines 80 through 94 show that 
for motions towards or away from the receiver transducer, the output from 
low pass filter 60, as shown in column C, is present only during alternate 
half cycles of the f.sub.m modulation signals. In FIG. 7, the upper 
waveforms 170 through 180 represent waveforms produced by the circuit of 
FIG. 6 in response to movement of an object toward the receiver 
transducer. The output from rectifier 64 is shown in waveform 172. As can 
be seen by comparing waveforms 172 and delayed f.sub.m waveform 176, the 
output from rectifier 64 is only present during periods when the delayed 
f.sub.m signal is high. Thus, the signal gated into integrator 156 via 
switch 152 comprises only positive signals directly from rectifier 64, as 
shown by waveform 178. This signal is integrated by integrator 156 and the 
resulting output signal is shown by waveform 180. 
In response to movement of an object away from the receiving transducer, 
the operation of the circuitry in FIG. 6 is similar, with the exception 
that the pulses from low pass filter 60 occur during the other half cycles 
of the modulation signal f.sub.m. This is shown in waveform 182 where the 
doppler-shifted frequency bursts occur periodically during the time that 
the delayed f.sub.m waveform is low. Rectifier 64 passes only the positive 
peaks of waveform 182 to produce an output signal as shown by waveform 
184. Since these frequency bursts from rectifier 64 occur only during the 
periods when the delayed f.sub.m signal is low, the signal applied to 
integrator 156 by switch 152 in response to the delayed f.sub.m signal 176 
is the inverted rectifier output from inverter 150. This signal is shown 
by waveform 186 in FIG. 7. Waveform 186 is integrated by integrator 156 to 
produce an output waveform from integrator 156 as shown by waveform 188. 
This waveform slowly increases in a negative direction in response to the 
rectified and inverted pulses applied to integrator 156. 
Following integrator 156 is an absolute value circuit 190 which responds to 
positive and negative inputs to produce a signal at its output which is 
representative of the magnitude but not the polarity of the input signal. 
The output from absolute value circuit 190 is applied to a threshold 
circuit 192 which detects when the magnitude of the output from 
intergrator 156 has reached a predetermined threshold level and produces 
an alarm signal in response thereto. 
The circuit shown in FIG. 6 is similar to that shown in FIG. 2 in that it 
also rejects signals from receiving transducer 50 which are produced by an 
object moving back and forth in the protected area. This may be seen by 
referring to the waveforms shown in FIG. 8. The delayed f.sub.m signal 176 
is shown at the top of FIG. 8. Referring back to waveforms 96 through 102 
of FIG. 3, it can be seen that the low pass filter 60 produces an output 
signal during each half-cycle of the f.sub.m modulation frequency. This 
signal is shown by waveform 194 in FIG. 8. The output from rectifier 64 in 
response thereto is shown by waveform 196. 
Waveform 196 contains frequency bursts during each half-cycle of the 
f.sub.m modulation signal. Thus, the input to integrator 156 is non-zero 
during all half-cycle periods of waveform f.sub.m. However, since switch 
152 alternates between the inverted output and the non-inverted output 
from rectifier 64, then polarity of the signal applied to the input of 
integrator 156 is alternately positive and negative. Waveform 198 shows 
the signal applied to the input of integrator 156 by switch 152 in the 
presence of back and forth motion. When waveform 198 is integrated, the 
output from integrator 156 oscillates around zero in response to the 
positive and negative inputs. This is shown in waveform 200. However, the 
integrator output will not build up in either a positive or negative 
direction, and threshold circuit 192 is not triggered. Thus, the circuit 
of FIG. 6 does not produce false alarms in response to back and forth 
motion in the protected area. 
Ambient noise is also rejected by the circuit of FIG. 6 to avoid false 
alarm signals. This occurs in the following manner. Referring to the 
waveform in the lower part of FIG. 8, the output from filter 62 in 
response to a broad band noise in the protected area is shown by waveform 
202. This signal is rectified by rectifier 64, and the waveform shown as 
204 and its inverse are applied to switch 152. In response to the delayed 
f.sub.m signal, switch 152 alternately selects the signal from rectifier 
64 and its inverse. The signal applied to the input of integrator 156 is 
shown in waveform 206. Since the average value of this signal is zero, the 
output from integrator 156 does not increase in a positive or negative 
direction, as shown by waveform 208; and the circuit of FIG. 6 will not 
produce an alarm signal. Similarly, the circuit of FIG. 6 does not produce 
false alarm signals in response to impulse noise. 
The circuit shown in FIG. 6 may be adjusted to reduce the sensitivity of 
the receiver to echoes from objects or disturbances occurring close to the 
receiver. Since echoes from nearby objects usually are significantly 
stronger than echoes from objects farther away, and since it is usually 
desirable for the response time of the circuit to be more or less constant 
for objects detected throughout the protected area, such capability 
further enhances the performance of the receiver. 
Referring to FIG. 9, waveforms 220 to 228 illustrate the response of the 
circuit of FIG. 6 to an echo from a moving object at some intermediate 
distance from the receiver. These waveforms are essentially identical to 
waveforms 170 to 178 explained above with reference to FIG. 7. If the 
receiving transducer receives a strong echo from a nearby object, the 
output from low pass filter 60 is as shown in line 230. This output 
differs in two respects from the low pass filter output produced by a more 
distant object shown in line 244. First, the amplitude of the echo is much 
larger. Second, since the object is closer to the receiving transducer, 
the echo is received sooner. Thus, a frequency burst received from a 
nearby object, as shown in line 230, is advanced in time with respect to a 
frequency burst from an object farther away, as shown by waveform 224. 
The advancement in time of an echo returned by a nearby object causes a 
part of the resulting output from loss pass filter 60 to occur prior to 
the transitions of the delayed f.sub.m signal 222, as shown in FIG. 9. The 
first part of an echo from a nearby object is applied via switch 152 to 
the input of integrator 156 with a first polarity, while the second part 
of the echo is applied to the input of the integrator with the opposite 
polarity. This is shown via waveform 232 in FIG. 9 which illustrates the 
signal applied to integrator 156 in response to an echo from a nearby 
object. The integrator output in response to such a signal is shown in 
waveform 234. The result is that the output from integrator 156 increases 
less rapidly than would be the case for an object farther away, and this 
result compensates for the increased amplitude of echoes received from 
nearby objects. 
Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown one means for implementing absolute 
value circuit 190. The output from integrator 156 is applied to the input 
of a unity-gain inverting amplifier 248. Amplifier 248 is conventionally 
constructed from an op-amp 250 having a resistor 252 of value R connected 
between the inverting input of op-amp 250 and the output of op-amp 250 and 
having an input resistor 254 of value R connected to the inverting input 
of the op-amp. The non-inverting input of op-amp 250 is grounded. 
The output signal to threshold circuit 72 is taken from node 254. The 
signal from integrator 156 is connected directly to node 254 via a diode 
256. The output from the inverting amplifier circuit 248 is applied to 
node 254 via a second diode 258. A load resistor 260 is connected between 
node 254 and ground. 
When the output from integrator 156 is positive, diode 256 conducts and the 
signal from integrator 156, less the voltage drop across diode 256, is 
applied to threshold circuit 72. In response to a positive input, the 
output signal from op-amp 250 is negative due to the inverting operation 
of amplifier 248, and diode 258 is reversed biased and does not conduct. 
In response to a signal from integrator 156 having a negative polarity, 
this signal is inverted by amplifier 248, and a positive output signal 
from op-amp 250 is applied via diode 258 to threshold circuit 72. Diode 
256 is reversed biased by the negative input signal from integrator 156 
and the positive voltage at node 254. 
Referring to FIG. 11, one exemplary circuit for implementing the modulation 
frequency bandpass filter 66 is shown. An op-amp 270 has its non-inverting 
input connected to ground. The output of op-amp 270 is connected to its 
inverting input via a resistor 272 in parallel with series connected 
capacitors 274 and 276. The junction between capacitors 274 and 276 is 
connected to ground by a resistor 278. The input voltage is applied to the 
junction of capacitors 274 and 276 via a resistor 280. 
The circuit shown in FIG. 11 has essentially the same transfer function as 
a parallel RLC bandpass filter circuit. The pole-zero plot of such a 
circuit consists of a conjugate pole pair with a zero at the origin. Due 
to the typically low frequency of the modulation frequency f.sub.m 
bandpass filter 66 is more easily implemented in active filter form. By 
chosing appropriate values for the components shown in FIG. 11, the 
desired values for the gain, Q, and center frequency of the filter may be 
realized. Typically, the Q of bandpass filter 66 is chosen to be 10. 
Values of Q as low as 7 and as high as 15 may be used. For a Q of 7, the 
response time is faster, but the system is more responsive to noise. For a 
Q of 15, the noise immunity is higher but the system requires longer to 
respond to the presence of an intruder. 
Referring to FIG. 12, there is shown a circuit for implementing notch and 
low-pass filter 62. The input to this circuit is applied to a buffer 
amplifier 284 having a gain of -1. The output from amplifier 284 is 
applied via an input resistor 286 to the inverting input of an operational 
amplifier 288. The non-inverting input of op-amp 288 is grounded. A 
capacitor 290 is connected between the inverting input and the output of 
op-amp 288. The output signal from op-amp 288 is applied via a resistor 
292 to a non-inverting buffer amplifier 294. The output signal from buffer 
amplifier 294 is fedback via a resistor 296 to the inverting input of 
op-amp 288. A capacitor 298 is connected between the input of buffer 
amplifier 284 and the input of buffer amplifier 294. 
The circuit shown in FIG. 12 provides the transfer function shown in graph 
63 of FIG. 4. It is not necessary to completely attenuate the signal above 
.DELTA.f. It is only necessary to have the frequencies below .DELTA.f be 
significantly stronger than those above .DELTA.f so that rectifier 68 
responds to the baseband signal below .DELTA.f. 
The value of .DELTA.f is chosen so that the center of doppler-shifted 
signals typically received is centered about f.sub.c. For a center 
frequency f.sub.c of 26.5 kHz, this is approximately 100 Hz. Since the 
doppler shift is proportional to the transmitter frequency, different 
frequencies will require different values of .DELTA.f. Typically, the 
valued chosen for .DELTA.f should be approximately 0.38% of the reference 
frequency f.sub.c. For example, if a value of f.sub.c of 40 kHz is chosen, 
the optimum value of .DELTA.f would be about 150 Hz. 
The upper limit of the modulation frequency f.sub.m is constrained by the 
expected propagation time. The lower limit for f.sub.m is constrained by 
the response time of the filtering and averaging circuitry in the 
receiving electronics. For typical systems, 3 Hz has been found to be 
nearly optimum for the value of f.sub.m. 
The foregoing explanation has described a novel ultrasonic alarm system in 
which preprocessing of the transmitter signal allows much simpler receiver 
circuitry to detect doppler-shifted echoes indicating the presence of an 
intruder while rejecting similar echoes caused by non-intrusive objects 
which would otherwise produce a false alarm. Accordingly, the present 
invention provides an improved intrusion alarm system while reducing the 
cost and complexity thereof. Modifications and additions to the exemplary 
circuits described herein may be made in applying the present invention to 
different situations, and the scope of the invention should not be taken 
as restricted to the disclosed circuitry; but rather the scope of the 
present invention should be limited only in accordance with the appended 
claims.