Buried object locating and tracing method and system employing principal components analysis for blind signal detection
US7136765B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 15, 2005 |
| Grant date | Nov 14, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 15, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V3/12
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A blind locating system for finding and tracing buried objects such as utility lines, conductive pipes and sondes. A sensor array is coupled to a signal processor, which determines a field vector for one or more buried objects by producing a data signal representing a covariance matrix corresponding to the covariances of the time-varying sensor array signals over a selected frequency band and accumulation interval. The covariance matrix is characterized by eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors and a user interface (UI) indicates the field vector associated with the eigenvector having the largest eigenvalue. Using several different frequency bands, a plurality of underground objects may be simultaneously detected and indicated in the UI without foreknowledge of their existence or characteristics.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.