This invention relates to an improved triaxial noise reducing cable and circuitry for connecting a sonar hydrophone, being towed behind a ship, to an audio sonar signal receiver aboard the ship. The electrical audio signal sonar triaxial cable has its input from a SONAR hydrophone, being towed behind a ship, to reduce towed array self-noise, also known as cable strum, electronically to improve the signal strength to a sonar receiver aboard the towing ship.
The invention is comprised of two triaxial cables, mounted side-by-side, enclosed in a waterproof sealed cable enclosure from end to end, each triaxial cable having an inner conductor connected, at one end, to the positive and negative input of a hydrophone being towed, the output of which is connected to a sonar audio signal receiver mounted aboard the towing ship.
One triaxial cable inner conductor input end connects to a positive polarity of the hydrophone sensor input, and the other side by side triaxial cable inner conductor input end connects to the hydrophone negative sensor input. Both triaxial cables' inner conductor outputs, throughout the entire signal chain, end up connected to a hydrophone audio signal receiver, aboard the towing ship, capturing sounds in the water, while towed behind a ship, using amplifier circuitry, transmitting the audio or transducer signals throughout the entire signal chain, with reduced noise.
Non-acoustic self-noise observed on marine seismic streamers and towed sonar arrays represent a serious problem for acoustic source detection at low frequency. Towed array self-noise, also known as cable strum, consists of mechanical vibrations induced by vortex shedding. Transverse vibrations in the array body subject each hydrophone pressure head to local accelerations. The resultant acoustic response can be several orders of magnitude stronger than the water-borne acoustic signals of interest.
The present invention provides hermetically sealed triaxial cables, side-by-side, that are connected at one end to the hydrophone output being towed in the water and at the other end to the sonar receiver aboard ship listening for sonar signals. The present invention removes cable strum to increase the sensitivity of the hydrophone signals received by the sonar receiver.
There are several U.S. patents that show attempted mechanical suppression of cable strumming by rigid cable jackets that are used to tow the hydrophone attached at one end to a ship attached at the other end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,120 discloses a” strum-suppressant cable for towed arrays”, that uses tabs in the helical pattern to suppress noise mechanically U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,173 issued May 20, 1975 “entitled “Suppression of cable strumming vibration by rigid cable jacket”. Also U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,012 issued Feb. 26, 1980 shows a “faired tow cable with stubs for strum reduction”. U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,599 shows a cable fairing system that contains a rotatable cable to reduce strum. The noise reducing cables shown are mechanical and attempt to reduce unwanted noise using mechanical means without addressing the electrical signal that represents an electrical audio signal from a hydrophone to the sonar receiver aboard ship. Applicant's invention herein reduces the mechanical noise of strum electronically with a pair of triax cables described herein. Thus using Applicant's invention, there are two shipborne different cables connected at one end to the hydrophone being towed in the water and at the opposite end to the ship, one mechanical cable being mechanical to secure the hydrophone to the ship and the other cable array being Applicant's invention which is the electrical cable to gather and transfer the sonar passive signal output of the hydrophone to the sonar receiver aboard ship, which is the purpose of sonar to listen, thereby making the sensitivity of the sonar receiver extremely important.
Improving the signal integrity of audio or instrumentation signals in a variety of different environments including SONAR listening devices towed behind ships, use of microphones, guitar cables, speaker cables, audiophile cables and analog audio balanced/differential tie lines in multi-room studios has long been important signal integrity goals for people that are involved in the production of audio practical and entertainment content.
One source of audio or instrumentation signal distortion and noise has been involved with the audio or instrumentation cables used to transfer audio or instrumentation signals from a source such as a microphone or instrumentation sensor to a desired output. Conventional cable has been used traditionally utilized in various environments which has been plagued with signal integrity issues regarding with degradation regarding the cable's low-pass filter effects due to dielectric absorption and triboelectric (handling noise) effects via inherent capacitance.
Microphone noise reduction has been found also in applications to affect the microphone preamplifier to eliminate audio signal distortion. An Example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,577,187 issued to Matthew Lesko inventor in 2003.
Applicant has determined that a solution for greatly enhancing audio signal integrity can be found using two triaxial cables, joined together, eliminating low-pass filter and dielectric absorption effects when the capacitance and conductance are referenced to the guard not to the shield.
A differential mode instrumentation cable for improving the signal integrity of sonar audio signals received from a towed hydrophone, behind the ship, in a shipboard sonar sound receiver .invention is used in in a variety of different environments including the use of connecting a sonar hydrophone to a sonar receiver aboard ship, at both ends of the entire signal chain, comprising a first triaxial cable mounted side-by-side to a second triaxial cable, said first triaxial cable and second triaxial cable each having an inner conductor, a dialectic core, an inner shield, an interlayer, and an outer shield. In a sonar environment the first and second the two triax cables of the invention are hermetically-sealed (waterproof) to prevent water from interfering with the two side-by-side triax cables along its entire length from the hydrophone being towed in the water at one end of the triax cables until its opposite end of the Triax cables are aboard ship and connected to a sonar audio receiver.
The first triaxial cable and the second triaxial cable each have a buffer amplifier circuit at the load end connected to each cable inner conductor. Each triaxial cable is connected to the positive input the buffer amplifier. The buffer amplifier output goes to each triaxial cable's inner shield through a resistor output connected to each triaxial cable inner shield.
Differential signaling of the invention is having the inner conductor of each triaxial cable transmitting the same signal at opposite polarity. Therefore the first triaxial cable is connected to the positive polarity output of the input microphone or instrumentation sensor and the second triaxial cable is connected to the negative polarity contact output from the microphone or instrumentation sensor.
The differential mode instrumentation cable comprising the first triaxial cable and the second triaxial cable, joined together (side-by-side), has a first triaxial inner conductor input end and a second triaxial inner conductor input end for a device such as a sonar hydrophone, a sonar hydrophone shipboard receiver sensor and a first triaxial cable inner conductor output end and a second triaxial inner conductor output end for a device such as a passive/active sonar receiver. Other instrumentation uses are possible. The differential mode instrumentation cable can be of extended length for use in connecting a microphone or instrumentation sensor as the input and the audio or instrumentation output can be a passive/active speaker. Therefore, the inner conductor of first triaxial cable and the inner conductor of the second triaxial cable together provide the connection between microphone or instrumentation sensor throughout the entire signal chain to the passive/active speaker.
The first triaxial cable and the second triaxial cable shall be provided with appropriate input jacks for the positive and negative sonar hydrophone and hydrophone signal receiver sensor output connectors and an appropriate output jacks that would be connectable to an output to the passive/active sonar equipment. The first triaxial cable and the second triaxial cable outer shields will also be connected to the ground.
It is an object of this invention to improve the signal integrity of audio signals in different environments that can include a sonar hydrophone being towed behind the ship, improving the audio signals received from the hydrophone into a sonar receiver aboard ship, microphones, guitar cables, speaker cables, audiophile cables and analog audio balanced/differential tie lines, utilized in multi-room studios using a differential mode instrumentation cable comprising a first triaxial cable and a second triaxial cable, joined together side-by side, each triaxial cable including its own buffered amplifier output, through a resistor, to its own inner shield, reducing noise for audio or instrumentation signal transfer.
Referring now to
The (center) inner conductor in each cable 12 and 16 carries the signal of interest. A second conductor (in each triaxial cable 10 and 14) is arranged as a shield around the inner conductor called the inner shield separated by a first dielectric. A semi-conductive interlayer is situated around the outer surface of the inner shield to reduce noise caused by mechanical motion of the cables' components. A third conductor is typically arranged as an additional shield (called the outer shield) situated around the inner (conductor) shield separated by a second dielectric interlayer as well. With this arrangement, a unity gain amplifier samples the signal on the center conductor for the inner conductor and drives that signal into the inner shield (second conductor or the driven shield). The outer shield (third conductor) serves as a return path for current flowing in the inner (center) conductor. The ground reference for the amplifier and signal is the third conductor.
The invention shown in
The first and second triaxial cables 10 and 14 each show a buffer amplifier 18 and 20 for an active driven shield buffer circuit and the inner conductors 12 and 16 connected to the voltage coming out to the shield guard (inner shield) from the buffer amplifier 18 and 20 circuit. The voltage out includes a breakout resistor to each triaxial inner braid or inner shield.
The first and second triaxial cables 10 and 14, as shown in
The (center) inner conductor 24 and 28, respectively in each cable 22 and 26, carries the signal of interest. A second conductor (in each triaxial cable 22 and 26) is arranged as a shield around the inner conductor called the inner-shield separated by a first dielectric. A semi—conductive interlayer is situated around the outer surface of the inner shield to reduce noise caused by mechanical motion of the cables' components. A third conductor is typically arranged as an additional shield (called the outer shield) situated around the inner (conductor) shield separated by a second dielectric interlayer as well. With this arrangement, a unity gain amplifier samples the signal on the center conductor for the inner conductor and drives that signal into the inner shield (second conductor or the driven shield). The outer shield (third conductor) serves as a return path for current flowing in the inner (center) conductor. The ground reference for the amplifier and signal is the third conductor.
The invention shown in
The first and second triaxial cables 22 and 26 each show a buffer amplifier 30 and 32 for an active driven shield buffer circuit and the inner conductors 24 and 28 connected to the voltage coming out to the shield guard (inner shield) from the buffer amplifier 22 and 26 circuit. The voltage out includes a breakout resistor to each triaxial inner braid or inner shield.
The first and second triaxial cables 22 and 26 as shown in
A second embodiment regarding a speaker cable will provide a new speaker cable design, whereas a conventional lamp cord will be replaced by a differential mode instrumentation cable formed with a pair of triaxial cables, each with active driven shield buffer circuit.
The third embodiment, is with regard to a balanced/differential audiophile cable, with RCA connectors on one end and a ¼″ TRS or 3 conductor XLR connector on the other end. The conventional balanced/differential audiophile cable is replaced by a triaxial cable pair, each with an active driven shield buffer circuit.
A fourth embodiment constitutes a new balanced/differential design, for guitar cables, with ¼ inch tip ring sleeve (TRS) plug and three Pin XLR connectors. The unbalanced guitar cable (single ended configuration) will be replaced with a triaxial cable pair, each with an active driven shield buffer circuit, with either a quarter inch tip, ring sleeve (TRS) plug and/or three Pin XLR connector.
A fifth embodiment utilizes analog audio balanced/differential tie lines in multi-room studios that are replaced with the same balanced/differential signaling to a triaxial cable pair, each with an active driven shield buffer circuit.
The present invention provides an unrivaled signal integrity with substantial improvements and benefits that include but are not limited to:
1. Ultra-accurate, neutral, transparent sound, (no color);
2. Increased/Optimized rise time, impulse/transient response and articulation of transmitted audio signal. Signal's musical attack will be most accurately pronounced;
3. No phase shift/group delay, in audio bandwidth of at least 100 K Hz
4. Only cable to meet Super Audio CD (SACD) frequency response specification 50 K Hz (ultra-high bandwidth)
5. 100% of signal's energy is maintained and transferred through the cable (Power Factor=1), with no (0%) signal losses, >200 K Hz bandwidth
6. No (0%) noise/noiseless cable design, to optimize signal-to-noise (S/N) cable characteristic, detail/accuracy of extremely low level audio signals are unrivaled;
7. For stereo paired audio signals, Spatial Image is ultra-stable as a function of frequency, up to a minimum of 200 K Hz, and will provide a three-dimensional aspect to the perceived sound field.
8. Cable runs (length) up to 100 meters (combining
Active driven shield circuitry can be located and is functional at either end of a custom triaxial cable assembly. The location of the circuit is most preferred at the load side (not the source) of the triaxial cable pair.
Signal transference, with differential mode configuration, as a positive and negative signal polarity. This configuration can differentiate the signal (differential mode) from the noise (common mode interference).
The difference amplifiers at the load and (receiver input circuit) of the differential signal pair. Difference amplifier passes the differential signals through unaltered, except for gain, whereas the common mode signals (noise/interference) are subtracted (removed/rejected) by the difference amplifier.
Continuation-In-Part Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/025,074, filed Sep. 18, 2020 that claims the benefit of Provisional Ser. No. 62/903,294 filed on Sep. 20, 2019
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5764061 | Asakawa | Jun 1998 | A |
| 6577187 | Lesko | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 7314997 | Mui | Jan 2008 | B1 |
| 11408986 | Huang | Aug 2022 | B1 |
| 20130197810 | Haas | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20150168564 | Hooten | Jun 2015 | A1 |
| 20190169976 | Wheater | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62903294 | Sep 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17025074 | Sep 2020 | US |
| Child | 17367808 | US |