Ultrasonic pulse-echo ranging device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9453909-B2
Application number	US-201514924089-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2015
Priority date	Oct 29, 2014
Publication date	Sep 27, 2016
Grant date	Sep 27, 2016

Abstract

An ultrasonic pulse-echo ranging device includes a piezo-electric transducer, a transmitter, a receiver, a first transformer having a primary winding coupled to an output of the transmitter and a secondary winding connected to the transducer, and a second transformer having a primary winding coupled to an input of the receiver and a secondary winding connected to the transducer, where the secondary windings of the first and second transformers are in series with the transducer, a first switching element is parallel with the primary winding of the first transformer and controlled to short-circuit this primary winding when the receiver receives the signals from the transducer, and where a second switching element is parallel with the primary winding of the second transformer and controlled to short-circuit this primary winding of when the transmitter drives the transducer to optimize the signal transfer to and from the piezo-electric transducer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic pulse-echo ranging device comprising:
a piezo-electric transducer configured to emit ultrasonic waves to a target and to receive echo waves reflected by the target;
a transmitter having an output for driving the transducer;
a receiver having an input for receiving signals from the transducer;
a first transformer having a primary winding coupled to the output of the transmitter and a secondary winding connected to the transducer;
a second transformer having a primary winding coupled to the input of the receiver and a secondary winding connected to the transducer, the secondary windings of the first and second transformers being in series with the transducer;
a first switching element arranged in parallel with the primary winding of the first transformer, said first switching element being controlled to short-circuit the primary winding of the first transformer when the receiver is receiving the signals from the transducer; and
a second switching element arranged in parallel with the primary winding of the second transformer, said second switching element being controlled to short-circuit the primary winding of the second transformer when the transmitter is driving the transducer.

2. The ultrasonic pulse-echo ranging device of claim 1 , wherein the second switching element is a limiter that limits a high voltage appearing across the primary winding of the second transformer when the transmitter is driving the transducer.

3. The ultrasonic pulse-echo ranging device of claim 2 , wherein the limiter comprises a pair of diodes arranged in a back-to-back manner.

4. The ultrasonic pulse-echo ranging device of claim 1 , wherein the first transformer has a step-up ratio from the primary winding to the secondary winding of 1:M, with M>1, and the second transformer has a step-up ratio from the secondary winding to the primary winding of 1:N, with N>1.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Burcea George

Classifications

• B06B1/0215

  for generating pulses, e.g. bursts of oscillations, envelopes · CPC title

• G01S7/521 Primary

  Constructional features · CPC title

• B06B2201/55

  Piezoelectric transducer · CPC title

• G01S7/523

  Details of pulse systems {(short-range imaging G01S7/52017; methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound G10K11/18)} · CPC title

• G01S15/10 Primary

  using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves (determination of distance by phase measurement G01S15/32) · CPC title