Importance

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Abstract

The disclosure is directed to a circuit for producing electrical discharges in response to trigger signals, and a form of the disclosure is directed to an apparatus, which includes such a circuit, for determining the transit time of acoustic energy travel between a transmitter location and a receiver location. In a disclosed embodiment, means are provided for generating acoustic energy at the transmitter location in response to trigger signals, including: a transformer having primary and secondary windings; a transducer coupled to the secondary winding; a silicon controlled rectifier coupled in series arrangement with the primary winding; a capacitor coupled to said series arrangement of primary winding and silicon controlled rectifier; a source of electrical potential coupled to the capacitor; means for coupling the trigger signals to the gate electrode of the silicon controlled rectifier; and means responsive to said trigger signals for temporarily diverting current from said source away from the capacitor, primary winding, and silicon controlled rectifier. An acoustic receiver is provided at the receiver location. A timer is initialized when the acoustic energy is generated. The receipt of acoustic energy is detected at the receiver location and a terminating signal is generated in response thereto, the timer being terminated in response to the terminating signal. The time measured by the timer is indicative of the transit time of acoustic energy travel between said transmitter and receiver locations. For two or three dimensional digitizers, the position of a moveable element can be determined from transit times between one or more transmitters and one or more receivers.

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First Claim