Acoustic detector

Abstract

The invention relates to an acoustic detector (10) having a signal processing block (100) comprising a vibration sensor (110) which detects the mechanical vibrations and converts them into the electrical signals; an amplifier (120) used to amplify the signal received from said vibration sensor (110); a control unit (140) which enables the amplified signal to be processed and displayed on a user interface (500). Accordingly, the novelty is that said signal processing block (100) comprises multiple capacitors (131 ) connected in parallel with each other and having different capacitance values and different capacitor (131) characteristics.

Description

[0001] ACOUSTIC DETECTOR

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The invention relates to an acoustic detector which detects the mechanical vibrations and converts them into the electrical signals.

[0004] PRIOR ART

[0005] An acoustic detector is a tool which captures the sound waves and converts them into the electrical signals. The acoustic detectors are used in many different areas to identify, monitor or analyze the sounds.

[0006] The acoustic detectors make it possible to capture the sound waves, convert them into the electrical signals, and then process and analyze them. Thanks to this process, it is possible to identify and analyze the sounds in many different areas.

[0007] Nowadays, after the earthquakes, collapses or other disasters, the acoustic detectors are an important tool for identifying the people trapped under the debris and for use in the rescue activities. The acoustic detectors used to detect the people under the debris operates by identifying the sound waves and responding to these sounds. Therefore, they can detect the sounds of people trapped under the debris and assist the rescue teams.

[0008] Such detectors, often using highly sensitive microphones and acoustic sensors, can capture even very low-level sounds under the debris, such as a person’s breathing or slight movement. Additionally, some advanced detectors use the ultrasound technology to determine the breathing rhythm and heart rate of the target person. This allows the detector to detect whether a person is alive or not and in what condition the person is.

[0009] However, the acoustic detectors used encounter a number of difficulties and limitations. For example, the noise pollution in the collapsed areas may limit the ability to detect the low-level human sounds or movements; the accuracy issues may occur due to the misleading signals; the depth and material of the debris may affect the effectiveness of the detectors; there may be the difficulties in correctly interpreting the data coming from the detector and the lifespan of the detectors may be short.

[0010] As a result, all the above-mentioned problems have made it necessary to realize a novelty in the relevant technical field.

[0011] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention relates to an acoustic detector to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages and bring the new advantages to the relevant technical field.

[0013] An object of the invention is to capture the sound waves, convert them into the electrical signals, and then process and analyze them.

[0014] Another object of the invention is to detect the sounds of the people trapped under the debris.

[0015] In order to achieve all the objects which are described above and There is a control unit (140) which enables the data exchange between the amplifier (120which detects the mechanical vibrations and converts them into the electrical signals; an amplifier used to amplify the signal received from said vibration sensor; a control unit which enables the amplified signal to be processed and displayed on a user interface. Accordingly, said signal processing block comprises multiple capacitors connected in parallel with each other and having different capacitance values and different capacitor characteristics. Thus, it is provided that the detected mechanical vibrations are converted into the electrical signals, amplified and analyzed.

[0016] The feature of a possible embodiment of the invention is that the capacitor characteristic is at least one of the materials therein, the capacitor type and the geometric features of the capacitor. Thus, the audio signal is processed with minimal loss.

[0017] The feature of a possible embodiment of the invention is that it comprises a battery which meets the voltage needs of the system and a power control unit which provides the battery management. Thus, the life of the battery is extended and the system is ensured to operate for a long time.

[0018] The feature of another possible embodiment of the invention is that it comprises a connecting terminal that allows a listening headphone to be connected to the system.

[0019] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE

[0020] Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the acoustic detector.

[0021] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] In this detailed description the acoustic detector of the invention is only described with the examples without any limiting effect for a better understanding of the subject.

[0023] The present invention is an acoustic detector (10). It allows the mechanical vibrations to be captured, converted into the electrical signals, and then processed, analyzed, and displayed on a user interface (500).

[0024] Referring to Fig. 1 , the invention relates to an acoustic detector (10) having a signal processing block (100), wherein it comprises a vibration sensor (110) which detects the mechanical vibrations and converts them into the electrical signals. It also comprises an amplifier (120) used to amplify the signal received from said vibration sensor (110), and a control unit (140) which enables the amplified signal to be processed and displayed on a user interface (500). Said signal processing block (100) comprises multiple capacitors (131) connected in parallel with each other and having different capacitance values and different capacitor (131 ) characteristics and consisting of different materials and various types and geometric features. These capacitors provide that the audio signal is processed with minimal loss.

[0025] Said capacitor unit (130) comprises at least two parallel connected capacitors (131). There is a first capacitor, wherein the first capacitor is a ceramic capacitor with a value of 0.1 pF. There is second capacitor, wherein the second capacitor is a tantalum capacitor with a value of 4.7 pF. There is a user interface (500) which visually presents the incoming signals. This user interface (500) may be an LCD screen. The user interface (500) comprises a battery charge indicator, the buttons for 4 different filter options, a toggle switch and shifter for the volume adjustment, a graphics display area to display FFT, spectrogram, and oscilloscope data, and the buttons to switch the menus.

[0026] There is a control unit (140) which enables the data exchange between the amplifier (120) and the user interface (500) and interacts with other components such as the input / output units. The relevant control unit (140) can be a processor such as CPU or MCU.

[0027] Said signal processing block (100) comprises the digital filtering components used to change the frequency range of the incoming signal and / or reduce its undesirable components (e.g. noise, etc.). The filters are included in the system by coding. FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter is used as a filtering technique.

[0028] There is a connecting terminal (200) which allows a listening headphone to be connected to the system. Said connecting terminal (200) is designed as a standard 3.5 mm audio output jack, suitable for the most of the headphones.

[0029] The system comprises a battery which meets the voltage requirement of the system and a power control unit which provides the battery management. Said power control unit manages the battery usage and ensures that the acoustic detector (10) can operate for up to 48 hours.

[0030] In a possible embodiment of the invention, it detects the sounds under the debris occurring as a result of collapse or other disasters and converts them into the electrical signals. The resulting electrical signals are passed through an amplifier (120) and amplified. The amplified signals are passed through a parallel capacitor unit (130) and processed with minimum loss. After the amplification and signal processing steps are completed, the signals are filtered using the FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filtering method in the frequency range of 0-5 kHz, 5-10 kHz- 0-10 kHz with an optional microcontroller. If a filter is specified, a software-based filter is used. Finally, the resulting signals are displayed on a user interface (500) accompanied by the spectrograms and FFT graphs and transferred to a listening headphone. In this way, it is provided that the search and rescue teams detect the sounds of the people trapped under the debris, determines their locations and quickly rescue them. The scope of protection of the invention is described in the attached claims and cannot be limited to what is explained in this detailed description for the exemplary purposes. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can produce similar embodiments in the light of what is explained above, without deviating from the main theme of the invention.

[0031] REFERENCE NUMBERS GIVEN IN THE FIGURE

[0032] 10 Acoustic detector

[0033] 100 Signal processing block 110 Vibration sensor

[0034] 120 Amplifier

[0035] 130 Capacitor unit

[0036] 131 Capacitor

[0037] 140 Control unit 200 Connecting terminal

[0038] 300 Headphone

[0039] 400 Power control unit

[0040] 500 User interface

Claims

CLAIMS1. An acoustic detector (10) having a signal processing block (100) comprising a vibration sensor (110) which detects the mechanical vibrations and converts them into the electrical signals; an amplifier (120) used to amplify the signal received from said vibration sensor (110); a control unit (140) which enables the amplified signal to be processed and displayed on a user interface (500), characterized in that said signal processing block (100) comprises multiple capacitors (131 ) connected in parallel with each other and having different capacitance values and different capacitor (131) characteristics.

2. An acoustic detector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the capacitor (131 ) characteristic is at least one of the materials therein, the type of the capacitor (131 ) and the geometric features of the capacitor (131).

3. An acoustic detector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a battery which meets the voltage needs of the system and a power control unit (400) which provides the battery management.

4. An acoustic detector (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a connecting terminal (200) which allows a listening headphone to be connected to the system.

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