1、 Ultrasonic distance meter Document Type and Number:United States Patent 5442592 Abstract:An ultrasonic distance meter cancels out the effects of temperature and humidity variations by including a measuring unit and a reference unit. In each of the units, a repetitive series of pulses is generated,
2、each having a repetition rate directly related to the respective distance between an electroacoustic transmitter and an electroacoustic receiver. The pulse trains are provided to respective counters, and the ratio of the counter outputs is utilized to determine the distance being measured. Publicati
3、on Date:08/15/1995 Primary Examiner:Lobo, Ian J. A.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for the measurement of distance and, more particularly, to such apparatus which transmits ultrasonic waves between two points. Precision machine tools must be calibrated. In the past, t
4、his has been accomplished utilizing mechanical devices such as calipers, micrometers, and the like. However, the use of such devices does not readily lend itself to automation techniques. It is known that the distance between two points can be determined by measuring the propagation time of a wave t
5、ravelling between those two points. One such type of wave is an ultrasonic, or acoustic, wave. When an ultrasonic wave travels between two points, the distance between the two points can be measured by multiplying the transit time of the wave by the wave velocity in the medium separating the two poi
6、nts. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatus utilizing ultrasonic waves to accurately measure the distance between two points. When the medium between the two points whose spacing is being measured is air, the sound velocity is dependent upon the temperature and humid
7、ity of the air. It is therefore a further object of the,present invention to provide apparatus of the type described which is independent of temperature and humidity variations. B.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing and additional objects are attained in accordance with the principles of this inv
8、ention by providing distance measuring apparatus which includes a reference unit and a measuring unit. The reference and measuring units are the same and each includes an electroacoustic transmitter and an electroacoustic receiver. The spacing between the transmitter and the receiver of the referenc
9、e unit is a fixed reference distance, whereas the spacing between the transmitter and receiver of the measuring unit is the distance to be measured. In each of the units, the transmitter and receiver are coupled by a feedback loop which causes the transmitter to generate an acoustic pulse which is r
10、eceived by the receiver and converted into an electrical pulse which is then fed back to the transmitter, so that a repetitive series of pulses results. The repetition rate of the pulses is inversely related to the distance between the transmitter and the receiver. In each of the units, the pulses a
11、re provided to a counter. Since the reference distance is known, the ratio of the counter outputs is utilized to determine the desired distance to be measured. Since both counts are identically influenced by temperature and humidity variations, by taking the ratio of the counts, the resultant measur
12、ement becomes insensitive to such variations. C.DETAILED DESCRIPTION A.principle of ultrasonic distance measurement 1, the principle of piezoelectric ultrasonic generator Piezoelectric ultrasonic generator is the use of piezoelectric crystal resonators to work. Ultrasonic generator, the internal str
13、ucture as shown in Figure 1, it has two piezoelectric chip and a resonance plate. When its two plus pulse signal, the frequency equal to the intrinsic piezoelectric oscillation frequency chip, the chip will happen piezoelectric resonance, and promote the development of plate vibration resonance, ult
14、rasound is generated. Conversely, if the two are not inter-electrode voltage, when the board received ultrasonic resonance, it will be for vibration suppression of piezoelectric chip, the mechanical energy is converted to electrical signals, then it becomes the ultrasonic receiver. The traditional way to determine the moment of the echos arrival is based on thresholding the received signal with a fixed reference. The threshold is chosen well above the noise level, whereas the moment of arrival of an echo is defined as the first
