System and method for acoustic imaging with an accumulated-time view

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11953592-B2
Application number	US-202117472430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2021
Priority date	Sep 11, 2020
Publication date	Apr 9, 2024
Grant date	Apr 9, 2024

Abstract

An acoustic analysis system includes an acoustic sensor array that receives acoustic signals from a target scene and outputs acoustic data based on the received acoustic signals. A processor receives a plurality of acoustic data sets from the acoustic sensor array, representative of the target scene at different points in time. The processor determines one or more locations within the target scene represented by the plurality of acoustic data sets, each being a location of an acoustic signal emitted from the target scene. For each acoustic signal, the processor classifies the acoustic signal as an intermittent acoustic signal or a continuous acoustic signal, generates accumulated-time acoustic image data based on the plurality of acoustic data sets, and generates an accumulated-time display image for presentation on a display. Within the accumulated-time display image, acoustic signals classified as intermittent acoustic signals are distinguished from acoustic signals classified as continuous acoustic signals.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An acoustic analysis system comprising:
an acoustic sensor array configured to receive one or more acoustic signals from a target scene and output acoustic data based on the one or more acoustic signals; and
a processor in communication with the acoustic sensor array, the processor configured to:
receive a plurality of acoustic data sets from the acoustic sensor array, each of the plurality of acoustic data sets being representative of the target scene at a different point in time;
determine one or more locations within the target scene represented by the plurality of acoustic data sets, each of the one or more locations being a location of an acoustic signal that is emitted from the target scene;
for each acoustic signal, classify the acoustic signal as an intermittent acoustic signal or a continuous acoustic signal;
generate accumulated-time acoustic image data based on the plurality of acoustic data sets; and
generate an accumulated-time display image for presentation on a display, the accumulated-time display image comprising the accumulated-time acoustic image data,

wherein, within the accumulated-time display image, acoustic signals classified as intermittent acoustic signals are distinguished from acoustic signals classified as continuous acoustic signals.

2. The acoustic analysis system of claim 1 , wherein for each of the acoustic signals classified as an intermittent acoustic signal, the processor is further configured to calculate a normalized intermittent acoustic signal by averaging one or more of the acoustic parameters for the intermittent acoustic signal in each of the plurality of acoustic data sets that the intermittent acoustic signal is present.

3. The acoustic analysis system of claim 2 , wherein averaging one or more of the acoustic parameters comprises averaging an intensity level of the acoustic signals.

4. The acoustic analysis system of claim 1 , wherein for each of the acoustic signals, the processor is further configured to:
determine a periodicity for the acoustic signal; and
classify the acoustic signal as an intermittent acoustic signal or a continuous acoustic signal based on the periodicity of the acoustic signal.

5. The acoustic analysis system of claim 1 , wherein for each of the acoustic signals, the processor is further configured to:
analyze the acoustic signal to determine a ratio of time that the acoustic signal is present to time that the acoustic signal is not present in the plurality of acoustic data sets; and
classify the acoustic signal as an intermittent acoustic signal or a continuous acoustic signal based on the ratio of time that the acoustic signal is present and the time that acoustic signal is not present in the plurality of acoustic data sets.

6. The acoustic analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive a log of events comprising events which happened in the target scene during a time that the acoustic data sets were captured; and
associate one or more events within the log of events with acoustic signals in the acoustic data sets.

7. The acoustic analysis system of claim 6 , wherein the log of events comprises data from one or more additional sensors related to one or more environmental or contextual parameters associated with the acoustic analysis system.

8. The acoustic analysis system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
generate real-time acoustic image data based on acoustic data received from the acoustic sensor array;
generate a real-time display image including the real-time acoustic image data; and
toggle between presenting the accumulated-time display image and the real-time display image on the display.

9. The acoustic analysis system of claim 8 , further comprising a user interface, wherein the processor is configured to toggle between presenting the accumulated-time display image and the real-time display image on the display in response to a command received from the user interface.

10. A method of generating an acoustic image, comprising:
receiving a plurality of acoustic data sets, each of the plurality of acoustic data sets being representative of a target scene at a different point in time;
determining one or more locations within the target scene from which acoustic signals are emitted;
classifying the acoustic signals as intermittent acoustic signals or a continuous acoustic signals;
generating accumulated-time acoustic image data based on the plurality of acoustic data sets; and
generating an accumulated-time display image comprising the accumulated-time acoustic image data,
wherein acoustic signals classified as intermittent acoustic signals are presented within the accumulated-time display image in a distinguishing way from acoustic signals classified as continuous acoustic signals.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating accumulated-time acoustic image data comprises:
for each of the acoustic signals classified as an intermittent acoustic signal, calculating a normalized intermittent acoustic signal by averaging one or more of the acoustic parameters for the intermittent acoustic signal over a plurality of acoustic data sets.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining one or more locations of interest within the target scene, wherein generating the accumulated-time display image comprises visually distinguishing the one or more locations of interest from locations that are not locations of interest.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving electromagnetic image data being representative of electromagnetic radiation from the target scene; and
determining the one or more locations of interest within the target scene based on the electromagnetic image data.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining, for each of the acoustic signals, a periodicity for the acoustic signal, wherein classifying an acoustic signal as an intermittent acoustic signal or a continuous acoustic signal is based on the periodicity of the acoustic signal.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining a ratio of time that each acoustic signal is present to time that the acoustic signal is not present in the plurality of acoustic data sets, wherein classifying an acoustic signal as an intermittent acoustic signal or a continuous acoustic signal is based on the ratio of time that the acoustic signal is present to the time that the acoustic signal is not present in the plurality of acoustic data sets.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining one or more alarm conditions, each of the one or more alarm conditions comprising a threshold for an acoustic parameter;
comparing the acoustic signals to a threshold in the one or more alarm conditions; and
providing a notification if an acoustic signal satisfies an alarm condition of the one or more alarm conditions.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein generating the accumulated-time display image comprises creating one or more labels for locations within the target scene, wherein each of the one or more labels comprises information regarding a title, a brief description of the location, one or more current values for acoustic parameters, one or more alarm conditions for the location, and/or an alarm history, and including the one or more labels in the accumulated-time display image for presentation on a display.

18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
generating a real-time display image based on a most recent acoustic image data set o

Assignees

• Fluke Corp

Inventors

• Prabhakar Dileepa
• Stuart Michael D

Classifications

• G01S15/8925 Primary

  the array being a two-dimensional transducer configuration, i.e. matrix or orthogonal linear arrays · CPC title

• G01S15/08

  Systems for measuring distance only (indirect measurement G01S15/46) · CPC title

• G01S15/58

  Velocity or trajectory determination systems; Sense-of-movement determination systems {(velocity measurement in imaging systems G01S15/8979)} · CPC title

• G01S17/89

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• G01N29/14 Primary

  using acoustic emission techniques {(echo of particles G01N29/046; measuring mechanical vibrations or acoustic waves in solids in general G01H1/00)} · CPC title