Fish Detector Capable of Detecting Species of Fish

The present invention relates to an improved fish detector capable of detecting species of fish.

The same applicant has already disclosed a fish detector capable of detecting species of fish in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,783. This fish detector projects two ultrasonic sounds at different frequencies and one of the two detected echoes is subtracted from the other detected echo so that a difference signal is displayed. When the detected echo at a high frequency is subtracted from the detected echo at a low frequency, only the fish in very small size such as the young of sardines can be detected and recorded or displayed.

However, the fish detector of the type described above has a problem that when a subtrahend and a minuend are almost equal or when a subtrahend is greater than a minuend, the fish detector cannot record or display the species of fish. Thus an operator cannot detect whether the fish detector is malfunctioning or there is no record or display because fish is not being detected. In addition, there arises a difficult problem of adjusting the detected echoes at different frequencies.

In view of the above, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a fish detector in which detected echoes at different frequencies are converted into binary coded signals, respectively, and one of the binary-coded signals is divided by the other so that a ratio or quotient thus obtained is displayed in color depending its level or strength.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even when two detected echoes are different in level or strength, the results are displayed in the same color as far as the ratios or quotients are same.

According to the present invention, instead of displaying in color, the results can be displayed in density.

The fish detector in accordance with the present invention is advantageous in that the operation is very simple and even species of fish can be detected very distinctly.

Single FIGURE is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the single figure, a fish detector in accordance with the present invention has transducers 1a and 1b, transmitter-receivers 2a and 2b for the generation and detection of the electrical impulses at different frequencies to and from respective transducers 1a and 1b and A/D converters 3a and 3b for the conversion of the output signals from the transmitter-receivers 2a and 2b into binary coded signals. A divider 4 divides the output signal from the A/D converter 3a or 3b by the output signal from the A/D converter 3b or 3a, and the output signal X from the divider 4 is applied to a plurality of comparators 5.sub.1 through 5.sub.n for the comparison with reference signals c. More specifically, the first comparator 5.sub.1 compares the output signal X from the divider 4 with a reference signal c.sub.1 having the highest level or magnitude so as to indicate whether or not the former is greater than or equal to the first reference signal c.sub.1. The second comparator 5.sub.2 compares its input signal X with a second reference signal c.sub.2 so as to indicate whether c.sub.1 >X.gtoreq.c.sub.2. The third comparator 5.sub.3 indicates whether c.sub.2 >X.gtoreq.c.sub.3. The last comparator 5.sub.n indicates whether c.sub.n-1 >X.gtoreq.c.sub.n, c.sub.n having the lowest level or magnitude. The output signals from these comparators t.sub.1 through 5.sub.n are applied to a color signal generator 6 which in turn generates a color signal representative of a color which is dependent upon the level of the output signal received from each of the comparators 5.sub.1 through 5.sub.n ; that is, depending upon the output signal X from the divider 4. The color signals from the color signal generator 6 are once stored in a memory 7 and then displayed on a cathode-ray tube or the like (not shown). Instead of generating the color signals, the output signals from the comparators 5.sub.1 through 5.sub.n can be displayed on a suitable display system in terms of density.

In general, small fish has a high target strength or the reflecting power of the fish when the ultrasonic waves transmitted have a high frequency of the order of, for instance, 200 kHz, but the small fish exhibits a low target strength to the ultrasonic waves of a low frequency of the order of, for instance, 50 kHz. However, the ultrasonic waves at low frequencies have a low propagation loss so that they can reach a deeper depth. Therefore, when the echo at a high frequency is divided by the echo at a low frequency, surface reverberation and reverberation due to foams can be substantially eliminated. Therefore, even when the echoes from small fish such as the young of sardines vary in level or strength over a wide range, the detected echoes can be distinctly displayed in color depending upon the level or strength of the received echoes.

On the other hand, when the echo at a high frequency is divided by the echo at a low frequency, the echoes from medium- and large-size fishes swimming at relatively deep depths can be displayed also in color depending upon the level or strength of the detected echoes.

When the signals at various levels or strengths are applied to the divider 4 and when the ratios or quotients obtained by the divider 4, they are displayed in the same color. As a result, the fish detector of the present invention can distinctly detect the fish in such deep depths and in such small size that the prior art fish detectors cannot detect at all.

Instead of displaying the species of fish in color, they can be displayed in density.