JP2012225667A - Ultrasonic transceiver, detection method for fixed quantity and detection method for fish amount - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an ultrasonic transceiver capable of accurately measuring a fish amount in a short time.SOLUTION: A first ultrasonic transceiving part 21 equivalent to a fish finder transmits a first ultrasonic signal in a vertically downward diction of a vessel, and outputs an echo signal resulting from reflection by a fish school. A second ultrasonic transceiving part 22 equivalent to a sonar device transmits a second ultrasonic signal to a predetermined range in a downward direction of the vessel, and outputs a beam echo signal after forming a beam of the echo signal resulting from the reflection by the fish school. A calculation part 30 calculates a fish amount from data about echo intensity of the fish school that is obtained from the echo signal, and from data about a size of the fish school that is obtained from the beam echo signal.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus that transmits an ultrasonic signal into water and receives the echo signal to detect a target, and more specifically, an ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus that measures the amount of a target target, for example, the amount of fish About.

  At present, many ultrasonic transmission / reception devices that can measure the amount of fish have been devised from the viewpoint of surveying marine resources and protecting marine resources. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a measurement fish finder. The measuring fish finder calculates the target strength Ts and the volume scattering Sv from the echo signal obtained by reflecting the ultrasonic signal transmitted downward in the ship's vertical direction to the fish school, and measures the amount of fish from these. .

  Further, as a device for detecting an object by transmitting an ultrasonic signal into water, there is a sonar device as shown in Patent Document 2. The sonar device receives echo signals of ultrasonic signals with two-dimensionally arranged transducers and beam-forms the received signals to obtain echo intensity for each beam direction, so that a wide range of fish can be obtained at once. Detecting.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-167570 JP-A-9-43350

  However, in the case of a measurement fish finder as described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the echo signal is received only from directly under the own ship, if the fish school is larger than the range where the ultrasonic signal is applied, The ship must be cruising so that the sound wave signal is hit. And since the school of fish is always moving, the shape of the school of fish changes during running, and it is not easy to accurately grasp the school of fish, and it is not easy to measure the correct amount of fish.

  Further, in the sonar device described in Patent Document 2, since a wide range can be detected by one transmission and reception, even a relatively large school of fish can be grasped. However, since the ultrasonic signal is transmitted not in the vertical direction but in a direction that forms a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction and receives the reflected echo signal, the echo signal intensity varies depending on the direction of the fish. For this reason, the measured fish amount has uncertainty.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to realize an ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus capable of measuring the amount of fish with high accuracy in a short time.

  The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention includes a first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, a second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, a first observation value calculation unit, a second observation value calculation unit, and a quantitative calculation unit. The first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit transmits a first ultrasonic signal vertically downward of the ship, and outputs an echo signal obtained by reflecting the first ultrasonic signal to the target target. The second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit transmits a second ultrasonic signal to a predetermined range in the downward direction of the ship, and generates a beam echo signal obtained by beam-forming an echo signal obtained by reflecting the second ultrasonic signal to a target. Output. The first observation value calculation unit calculates first index data related to the echo intensity of the target target from the echo signal. The second observation value calculation unit calculates second index data related to the size of the target target from the beam echo signal. The quantitative calculation unit calculates a predetermined quantitative value of the target target from the first index data and the second index data.

  And in the ultrasonic transmitter-receiver of this invention, a target target is a school of fish and a predetermined fixed quantity is the amount of fish of a school of fish.

  In this configuration, the first index data obtained by transmitting the ultrasonic signal in the vertical downward direction of the ship and the second index data obtained by transmitting the ultrasonic signal in a predetermined range in the downward direction of the ship are provided. can get. When transmitting an ultrasonic signal vertically downward of the ship, the reflection intensity with respect to the school of fish that is the target target is stabilized. Therefore, as the first index data, data on the intensity of the reflected echo of the school of fish is acquired. When transmitting an ultrasonic signal to a predetermined range in the downward direction of the ship, the ultrasonic signal is transmitted over a wide range, so that the size of the target school of fish can be detected by transmitting and receiving the entire shape once. Therefore, data relating to the size of the school of fish is acquired as the second index data. Thus, by using ultrasonic waves of different transmission / reception methods, each advantage can be effectively used. And by using the data regarding the intensity | strength of the reflective echo of such a highly accurate fish school and the data regarding the magnitude | size of the fish school which can be acquired in a short time, a fish quantity can be calculated with high precision and in a short time.

In the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention, the first observation value calculation unit calculates the target strength Ts, the fish cross-sectional scattering intensity S _SEC based on the volume scattering Sv, and the first cross-sectional area A _ESv as the first index data. To do. The second observation value calculation unit calculates the volume Vss and the second cross-sectional area _ASSv as the second index data. The quantitative calculation unit calculates the fish scatter intensity S _SCH based on the data obtained from the first observation value calculation unit and the second observation value calculation unit, and uses the principle described later, N is calculated.

  This configuration shows a specific method for calculating the fish quantity of a school of fish. By using such a calculation method, the amount of fish can be calculated with high accuracy.

In the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention, the quantitative calculation unit calculates the fish scatter intensity S _SCH using the correction coefficient based on the first cross-sectional area A _ESv and the second cross-sectional area A _SSv .

  In this configuration, by using the correction coefficient, an error between the first index data and the second index data, that is, an echo signal obtained by an ultrasonic signal transmitted and received by the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, and a second ultrasonic wave An error from the beam echo signal obtained by the ultrasonic signal transmitted / received by the transmission / reception unit can be corrected, and the amount of fish can be calculated with higher accuracy.

  In the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention, the quantitative calculation unit calculates the fish quantity N for each school of fish.

  In this configuration, even if a plurality of fish schools are observed at the same time, it is possible to calculate the fish amount with high accuracy for each fish school.

  In the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus according to the present invention, the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit also serves as the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit. The first observation value calculation unit calculates first index data from a vertically downward beam echo signal in the beam echo signal.

  In this configuration, as a substitute for the echo signal of the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, a beam echo signal in the vertically downward direction is used among the beam echo signals of the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit. Even with this configuration and method, it is possible to calculate the target target quantity (fish quantity of a school of fish) in a short time and with high accuracy.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to measure the fish quantity of a desired school of fish with high accuracy in a short time.

It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation concept of the volume scattering Sv obtained by the echo integration by the echo signal (fish search echo signal) of the ultrasonic signal (fish search transmission signal) of a fish finder. Sectional area A _ESV by fish finder is a diagram schematically illustrating the comparison of the cross-sectional area A _SSv by sonar. It is a figure which shows the three-dimensional spread of the fish school for demonstrating the calculation concept of fish school scattered intensity _SSCH . It is a block diagram which shows the 1st structure of the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus which performs a fish quantity calculation process. 3 is a conceptual diagram of ultrasonic transmission / reception processing executed by a first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram of the ultrasonic transmission / reception process performed in the 2nd ultrasonic transmission / reception part. It is a figure for demonstrating the precondition of simulation. It is a figure which shows a simulation result.

  First, the principle of measuring fish quantity with the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a concept of calculating volume scattering Sv obtained by echo integration using an echo signal (fish search echo signal) of an ultrasonic signal (fish search transmission signal) of a fish finder. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a comparison between the cross-sectional area A _ESv by the fish finder and the cross-sectional area A _SSv by the sonar device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the three-dimensional spread of the fish school for explaining the concept of calculating the fish school scattered intensity S _SCH .

  The minimum unit of raw SV (hereinafter simply referred to as SV), which is an observation value obtained by echo integration of the echo signal intensity of the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the fish finder of the ship 90, is the Ping direction (running direction). ) And Δz in the depth direction and SV of the pixel Pix having Δz in the depth direction. Here, Δx and Δz constituting the pixel Pix are expressed by the following equations, where Δt is the sampling interval of AD (analog-digital) conversion of the envelope of the echo signal, v is the ship speed, and T is the transmission period of the ultrasonic signal. can get.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the SV of the pixel Pix (K) at a certain timing is due to scattering from the spherical shell portion FGHI immediately above it. In addition, even if the beam (the range in which the ultrasonic signal is irradiated by spreading the ultrasonic signal) is a beam that grazes the school of fish, the pixel can be obtained as shown by the pixel Pix (M) in FIG. For this reason, due to the so-called boundary effect, the apparent fish school spreads from AA (the true fish school area) to BB as shown in FIG.

However, there are fish sectional scattering intensity S _SEC as a fish features for species identification, a ping direction Δx direction, the depth direction Δz direction is given by the following equation (Equation 2).

Here, the first expression on the right side represents that the SV is integrated with the cross-sectional area A _ESv observed by the fish detector, and the ping number is j = 1,..., J , J ping, the vertical Pix (pixel) number is i = 1,..., I _j , S _{v, ij} is the SV at ij pixel, S _{v, j} is the average SV at j ping, S _{A, j} is the area scattering intensity SA within the group in j ping. From this equation, the fish cross section scattering intensity S _SEC can be calculated from the observed SV.

By the way, the length and area of the fish school that is the basis of this fish school cross-section scattering intensity S _SEC are overestimated because they are wider than the actual ones as described above. On the other hand, SV is underestimated by the boundary effect around the school of fish. Therefore, the fish cross section scattering intensity S _SEC calculated from Equation 2 is an index in which each bias is corrected, and is an accurate index indicating the characteristics of the fish school.

  In addition, since it is an ultrasonic signal of a fish finder, the ultrasonic signal is emitted from directly above and directly to the fish school, so it is generally not affected by the orientation of the individual fish that make up the fish school. An echo signal is obtained by reflecting the ultrasonic signal on the back of the fish. For this reason, the echo signal intensity is stable and a highly reliable index is obtained.

When this fish school cross-sectional scattered intensity S _SEC is integrated in the port-starboard direction (Side (Δy) direction) orthogonal to the Ping direction and the depth direction, a fish school scattered intensity S _SCH is obtained. The fish school scattering intensity is expressed by the following equation, where V is the volume observed by the ultrasonic signal.

  Here, a wide range can be detected by a single omnidirectional scan by the ultrasonic beam of the sonar device. Therefore, the volume of the school of fish can be calculated by a single omnidirectional scan.

The volume calculated by the sonar device is set to Vs, and as shown in FIG. 3, the cross section of the k = 1 to K layer appearing at a predetermined interval in the Side direction (Δy direction) is set, and observed by the ultrasonic beam of the sonar device. _Assuming that the cross-sectional area directly under the own ship is A _SSv , the formula for calculating the fish scatter intensity S _SCH can be transformed into the following equation from (Equation 3).

Here, Sv _{and SEC} are average values of SV in the fish school cross section, and can be calculated from the following (formula 5).

In the above (Formula 4), A _ESv / A _SSv is a coefficient for correcting the difference between the cross-sectional area by the sonar device and the cross-sectional area by the fish finder. Therefore, even if the fish scatter intensity S _SCH is calculated from the average value of SV in the fish cross section represented by the equation (5) obtained by the fish finder and the volume Vs obtained by the sonar device, these calculations are performed. It is possible to eliminate errors caused by using different observations.

In this way, the fish scatter intensity S _SCH is the fish volume Vs obtained from the echo signal of the sonar device, the cross-sectional area directly under the ship A _SSv , the fish cross-section scatter intensity S _SEC obtained from the echo signal of the fish finder, The cross-sectional area directly under the ship can be calculated from _AESv . And in this way, with the fish section scattering intensity S _SEC from the fish finder echo signal strength is stable, it is possible to obtain a value related to the size of the fish at a time sonar device, a fish scattering intensity S _SCH It can be calculated with high accuracy in a short time.

Here, the fish school scattering intensity _SSCH , the fish quantity N, and the average target strength Ts of the fish in the fish school have the relationship shown in the following (formula 6).

Therefore, if the fish scatter intensity S _SCH obtained with high accuracy and the target strength Ts obtained from the echo signal of the fish finder are substituted into (Equation 6), the amount of fish can be calculated with high accuracy. be able to.

  Next, a configuration for executing the fish amount calculation process described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus 10 that executes the above-described fish amount calculation processing. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of ultrasonic transmission / reception processing executed by the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of ultrasonic transmission / reception processing executed by the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22.

  The ultrasonic transmission / reception device 10 includes a first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 that performs transmission / reception processing of the fish finder, a second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 that performs transmission / reception processing of the sonar device, a calculation unit 30, and a user interface unit ( UI unit) 40. Although not shown, the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 10 includes a control unit, and performs overall control of the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 10 including control of the respective units. The calculation unit 30 may be incorporated in this control unit.

  The first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 includes an ultrasonic transducer 211, an interface 212, a transmission control unit 213, and a reception unit 214. The transmission control unit 213 performs transmission control so that the first ultrasonic signal composed of pulse burst waves is transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer 211 at a predetermined transmission interval. The transmission control unit 213 outputs a transmission control signal to the ultrasonic transducer 211 via the interface 212.

  The ultrasonic transducer 211 is provided on the bottom of the ship 90 so that the wave transmission direction is a vertically downward direction from the ship 90. The ultrasonic transducer 211 is driven by the transmission control signal, converts the first ultrasonic signal into a sound wave, and transmits the wave downward in the sea as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B).

  The ultrasonic transducer 211 receives the reflected echo reflected from the school of fish by the first ultrasonic signal, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it as a first echo signal. The first echo signal is input to the reception unit 214 via the interface 212.

  The reception unit 214 performs analog-to-digital conversion on the first echo signal at a predetermined sampling timing interval for each echo signal (for each ping) for one transmission, generates first echo data, and outputs the first echo data to the calculation unit 30. Note that the output of the echo data to the calculation unit 30 may be performed collectively for a predetermined number of pings.

  With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 transmits an ultrasonic signal only directly below the ship in the vertical direction and receives the reflected echo signal. The same transmission / reception processing as the machine is executed.

  The second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 includes an ultrasonic transducer 221, an interface 222, a transmission control unit 223, and a reception unit 224. The transmission control unit 223 performs transmission beam control so that a plurality of transmission beams having predetermined transmission directivities are formed at predetermined transmission intervals. The transmission control unit 223 outputs a transmission beam control signal to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 221 via the interface 222.

  The plurality of ultrasonic transducers 221 are arranged on the outer surface of a dome housing having a predetermined shape. For example, the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 221 are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of a hemispherical dome housing. The hemispherical ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving member provided with the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 221 is attached to the bottom of the ship 90 so that the protruding surface side of the hemisphere faces in the vertical downward direction opposite to the ship 90. Yes.

  Each ultrasonic transducer 221 is driven with its phase controlled by a transmission control signal. Each of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 221 is provided so as to form a transmission beam group that forms an umbrella-shaped region having a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction, as shown in the H1 plane of FIG. The second ultrasonic signal is converted into a sound wave according to the transmitted timing, and transmitted to the sea.

  Each ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 221 receives the reflected echo reflected by the second ultrasonic signal from the fish school or the like, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it as a second echo signal. The second echo signal is input to the reception unit 224 via the interface 222.

  The receiving unit 224 performs analog-to-digital conversion on the second echo signal at a predetermined sampling timing interval for each echo signal (per ping) for one transmission to generate second echo data. The receiving unit 224 synthesizes each second echo signal so as to form a reception beam at a predetermined angular interval with respect to the vertical direction as indicated by the H2 surface in FIG. 6A and the arrow in FIG. 6B. Then, beam echo data for the azimuth is generated. The receiving unit 224 outputs the beam echo data to the computing unit 30.

  With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 6, the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 transmits an ultrasonic signal so as to form a transmission beam having a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction of the ship 90. A reflected echo signal is received to form a receive beam. Thereby, the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 detects a wide range under the sea surface centering on the ship 90. That is, the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 performs transmission / reception processing similar to that of a general scanning sonar device. In this embodiment, a kind of scanning sonar device is taken as an example, but other known scanning sonar devices and other types of sonar (for example, searchlight sonar devices) may be used.

The calculation unit 30 includes a first observation value calculation unit 301, a second observation value calculation unit 302, and a fish amount calculation unit 303 (corresponding to the “quantitative calculation unit” of the present invention). The first observation value calculation unit 301 calculates data obtained from the fish finder used for the above-described fish amount calculation process based on the echo data input from the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21. Specifically, the first observation value calculation unit 301 includes the target strength Ts, the fish cross-sectional scattering intensity S _SEC based on the volume scattering Sv, and the cross-sectional area A _ESv (a “first cross-sectional area” of the present invention). Is calculated). These correspond to the “first index data” of the present invention. The first observation value calculation unit 301 outputs these data to the fish amount calculation unit 303.

  The target strength Ts is an average target strength of the fish school that can be calculated from the transmission signal intensity and the echo signal intensity. The volume scattering Sv can be calculated using an echo integration method. As these specific calculation methods, known methods can be used, and description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the first observation value calculation unit 301 calculates the cross-sectional area A _ESv by the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 (= fish detector) by, for example, the following method. The first observation value calculation unit 301 sets a threshold value for the echo data output from the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 and binarizes each echo data by comparing with the threshold value. The first observation value calculation unit 301 determines that a school of fish exists at a position (Ping, depth) with respect to echo data equal to or greater than a threshold value. This process is performed for a predetermined number of _Pings , the outer peripheral line of a region that is equal to or greater than the threshold value is detected, and the area in the outer peripheral line is calculated as a cross-sectional area A _ESv by double integration (area integration) (FIG. 2, (See FIG. 3).

The second observation value calculation unit 302 calculates data obtained from the sonar device used for the above-described fish amount calculation process based on the beam echo data input from the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22. Specifically, the second observation value calculation unit 302 calculates the volume Vss and the cross-sectional area A _SSv (corresponding to the “second cross-sectional area” of the present invention) by the sonar device. These correspond to the “second index data” of the present invention. The second observation value calculation unit 302 outputs these data to the fish amount calculation unit 303.

  The second observation value calculation unit 302 calculates the volume Vss by the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 (= sonar device) by, for example, the following method. The second observation value calculation unit 302 sets a threshold value for the beam echo data output from the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 and binarizes each beam echo data by comparing with the threshold value. The second observation value calculation unit 302 determines that a school of fish exists at a position (Ping, depth, Side) with respect to beam echo data equal to or greater than a threshold value. The second observation value calculation unit 302 calculates the volume Vss by performing triple integration (volume integration) on the range in which it is determined that the fish school is present (see FIG. 3).

Further, the second observation value calculation unit 302 calculates the cross-sectional area A _SSv by the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 (= sonar device), for example, by the following method. The second observation value calculation unit 302 extracts beam echo data of the ping direction-depth direction cross section including the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit from the beam echo data output from the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22, and the beam of these cross sections. A threshold is set for the echo data, and each beam echo data is compared with the threshold and binarized. The second observation value calculation unit 302 determines that a school of fish exists at a position (Ping, depth) with respect to beam echo data equal to or greater than a threshold value. The second observation value calculation unit 302 detects the outer periphery of the region that is equal to or greater than the threshold, and calculates the area within the outer periphery as the cross-sectional area A _SSv (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

The fish amount calculation unit 303 includes the target strength Ts, the fish school cross-sectional scattering intensity S _SEC , and the cross-sectional area A _ESv from the first observation value calculation unit 301, and the volume Vss and the cross-sectional area A from the second observation value calculation unit 302. _{Using SSv} , the fish quantity N is calculated from the above principle.

  The calculated fish amount N is output to the display unit 402 of the UI unit 40, for example.

  The UI unit 40 includes an operation unit 401 and a display unit 402. The operation unit 401 receives an operation input from an operator and outputs the operation input to a control unit and a calculation unit 30 (not shown). The display unit 402 includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and displays a fish amount N calculated by the calculation unit 30, a fish search image based on echo data formed by a display image data generation unit (not shown), and a sonar image based on beam echo data. indicate.

  In such a configuration, for example, when an operator performs an operation of selecting a school of fish for which information is desired by observing a fish search image or a sonar image during actual operation, the selection information is output to the calculation unit 30. . The calculation unit 30 performs the above-described fish amount calculation process on the selected fish school, and displays the calculated fish amount N on the display unit 42. In this way, the fish quantity desired by the operator can be provided to the operator in a short time and with high accuracy while operating.

  Note that at least a part of the operation unit 41 may be integrated with the display unit 42 as a touch panel. The calculation of the fish amount is not started by manual selection but may be automatically started every time a school of fish is detected. Further, when there are a plurality of fish schools, the fish amount may be calculated individually.

  Next, a simulation result using the above principle will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the preconditions of the simulation. FIG. 7A shows the simulation conditions for examining the depth characteristics of the fish school. FIG. 7B shows the major axis of the fish school assumed to be an ellipsoid. On the other hand, it is a simulation condition for a ship to pass at a right angle, and FIG. 7C shows a simulation condition for a ship to pass at a right angle to the short axis of a school of fish assumed as an ellipsoid. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing simulation results. FIG. 8A shows the results under the conditions in FIG. 7A, FIG. 8B shows the results under the conditions in FIG. 7B, and FIG. C) shows the result under the condition of FIG. In FIG. 8A, the characteristic indicated by the solid circle and the circle is the true value of SS obtained by setting the conditions, and the characteristic indicated by the cross (x) and the broken line indicates the case where the above calculation processing is performed. In the horizontal axis, different fish schools are set for the fish school numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

  If the processing of this embodiment is used, as shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C, it is close to the true value regardless of any school of fish or any condition, and is excellent. It has depth characteristics, and it can be seen that excellent results can be obtained regardless of the directional relationship between the ship and the school of fish.

In the above description, the example includes the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 corresponding to the fish finder and the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 corresponding to the sonar device. However, the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22 corresponds to the sonar device. It is also possible to configure only the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22. In this case, the first observation value calculation unit 301 is connected to the second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 22, and the information obtained by the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21 corresponding to the fish finder is the second ultrasonic wave corresponding to the sonar device. What is necessary is just to calculate from the beam echo data which makes the vertical direction in the transmission / reception part 22 the main lobe. In this case, the beam echo data in the vertical direction may be stored for a predetermined ping, and information corresponding to information obtained by the fish finder (first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 21) may be calculated. In this case, the correction coefficient A _ESv / A _SSv obtained from the cross-sectional area by the fish finder and the cross-sectional area by the sonar device may be set to “1”. By setting it as this structure, since the above-mentioned 1st ultrasonic transmission / reception part 21 can be abbreviate | omitted, the structure of an ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus can be simplified.

  Moreover, although the example which calculates the fish quantity of a school of fish was demonstrated in the above-mentioned description, the fixed_quantity | quantitative_quantity is similarly calculated also about other target targets which a single target moves in a flock. In particular, the principles and configurations described above can be applied.

10: Ultrasonic transceiver
21: first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, 211: ultrasonic transducer, 212: interface, 213: transmission control unit, 214: reception unit,
22: 2nd ultrasonic transmission / reception part, 221: Ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, 222: Interface, 223: Transmission control part, 224: Reception part,
30: calculation unit, 301: first observation value calculation unit, 302: second observation value calculation unit, 303: fish quantity calculation unit,
40: UI unit, 401: operation unit, 402: display unit,
90: Ship

Claims (8)

A first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit for transmitting a first ultrasonic signal in a vertically downward direction of the ship and outputting an echo signal obtained by reflecting the first ultrasonic signal to a target target;
A second ultrasonic signal that transmits a second ultrasonic signal to a predetermined range in the lower direction of the ship and outputs a beam echo signal in which an echo signal obtained by reflecting the second ultrasonic signal to the target target is formed; A sound wave transmitting and receiving unit;
A first observation value calculation unit that calculates first index data related to the echo intensity of the target target from the echo signal;
A second observation value calculation unit for calculating second index data related to the size of the target target from the beam echo signal;
An ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus comprising: a quantitative calculation unit configured to calculate a predetermined quantitative value of the target target from the first index data and the second index data. The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 1,
The target is a school of fish;
The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus, wherein the predetermined amount is a fish amount of the school of fish. The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 2,
The first observation value calculation unit calculates a fish cross section scattering intensity S _SEC based on a target strength Ts, a volume scattering Sv, and a first cross sectional area A _ESv as the first index data,
The second observation value calculation unit calculates a volume Vss and a second cross-sectional area _ASSv as the second index data,
The quantitative calculation unit calculates a fish school scattering intensity S _SCH based on each data obtained from the first observation value calculation unit and the second observation value calculation unit, and calculates a fish amount N from the following arithmetic expression: Ultrasonic transmitter / receiver.

The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 3,
The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus, wherein the quantitative calculation unit calculates the fish scatter intensity S _SCH using a correction coefficient based on the first cross-sectional area A _ESv and the second cross-sectional area A _SSv . An ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The said quantitative calculation part is an ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus which calculates the fish quantity N for every fish school. An ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The second ultrasonic transmission / reception unit also serves as the first ultrasonic transmission / reception unit,
The ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus, wherein the first observation value calculation unit calculates the first index data from a vertically downward beam echo signal in the beam echo signal. A first ultrasonic transmission / reception step of transmitting a first ultrasonic signal in a vertically downward direction of the ship and outputting an echo signal obtained by reflecting the first ultrasonic signal to a target target;
A second ultrasonic signal that transmits a second ultrasonic signal to a predetermined range in a downward direction of the ship and outputs a beam echo signal obtained by beam-forming an echo signal obtained by reflecting the second ultrasonic signal to the target. A transmission and reception process;
A first observation value calculation step of calculating first index data relating to the echo intensity of the target target from the echo signal;
A second observation value calculating step of calculating second index data relating to the size of the target target from the beam echo signal;
A quantitative detection method of a target target, comprising: a quantitative calculation step of calculating a predetermined quantitative amount of the target target from the first index data and the second index data. Each step of the quantitative detection method according to claim 7,
The target is a school of fish;
The fish amount detection method, wherein the predetermined amount is a fish amount of the school of fish.

Images