Optical and acoustic weather identification system
US5528224A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 19, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jun 18, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 19, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04R1/086
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optical weather identification system employing a light beam source that transmits a partial coherent beam of light along a prescribed path to detect precipitation and distinguish rain from snow is improved by the provision of another channel that is further able to distinguish solidified precipitation, namely sleet and hail. The additional output is derived from an acoustic, rather than an optical input. An acoustic receiver is positioned at a remote site to be monitored, along with an optical transmitter and receiver. The acoustic receiver employs a microphone located beneath the center of the underside of a domed top of the acoustic receiver casing. Falling precipitation is optically detected using prior optical precipitation detection techniques. However, if the particles of precipitation are solidified, as in the case of sleet and hail, the microphone will detect the impact of the sleet and hail on the domed receiver casing as an audible input. This audible input is combined with the optical inputs indicative of precipitation to produce a separate classification for the precipitation as sleet or hail, in addition to the prior classifications of rain and snow that have heret…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.