In operations such as seismic exploration seismic waves are generated at a shot point. The amplitudes of successive samples of seismic waves appearing at a plurality of detector stations variously spaced from said shot point in the wake of generation thereof are converted to digital codes. The codes from all the detectors are transmitted in sequence and on a real time basis by spread spectrum radio pulses to a master station. A plurality of data acquisition units each including a radio transpond...

1. The method of acquiring a target with a torpedo comprising the steps of launching the torpedo into a target area, causing the torpedo to descend in a substantially vertical direction, actuating acoustic transducer means in order to detect the presence of a target while the torpedo is descending in said substantial vertical direction, and initiating an attack mode upon acquiring a target.

A waveform acquisition apparatus and method permits a plurality of samples of an input signal to be taken for each trigger recognition event, and stored at predetermined memory addresses to provide a complete equivalent-time waveform in which all accumulated samples are in correct time relation to each other. The mathematical determination of each address is obtained by measuring the time difference between a trigger recognition event on each cycle of a repetitive signal and a next occurring sam...

A data acquisition circuit is adapted to receive information data, a synchronization pulse and a clock pulse which is transmitted at twice as high as the transmission rate of the information data. The clock and synchronization pulses are processed into a conditioning pulse for a divide-by-two frequency divider so that it conditions the divider to respond to the clock pulse by generating a data acquisition pulse at a frequency corresponding to the transmission rate of the information data in a co...

A video data acquisition system has a video camera for taking pictures of articles and from the picture image digitizes and selects signals within a predetermined amplitude range as representations of pixels of the picture image. A combination of horizontal, vertical and diagonal pixel collection circuitry acquires, in real time, the pixel counts necessary to establish the identity and orientation of the article represented by the image.

A data acquisition unit accepts serial bit streams from a control device for a vending machine, and it records the data represented by those serial bit streams. The data in one of those serial bit streams will include the number of vends of each product corresponding to the various selection switches of the vending machine, and the data in the other of those serial bit streams will include the price data. The data acquisition unit will store the price data in a non-resettable location and also i...

A frequency-tracking feedback circuit for acquiring a communication carrier signal from a relatively noisy environment. The circuit includes a digital phase-frequency detector, a limiter, a mixer, and a voltage-controlled oscillator, connected in a long control loop in such a manner that an input band of signals is translated in frequency until the desired carrier is centered within a relatively narrow acquisition window. The characteristics of the loop are such that acquisition may be achieved ...

Data from vending machines are acquired by a resident data acquisition unit (DAU) implanted in each vending machine. This unit senses coins in, coins out, products dispensed and door openings, among other activities, and provides a data base which records all of these activities. The DAU also determines whether a door opening was unauthorized and, if so, includes in the data base an indication of an unauthorized entry and the relative time of that entry. Each vending machine data acquisition uni...

Analog data is collected by conversion to a digital representation thereof via an analog to digital converter. Reference voltages for the converter are provided by digital to analog converters. The reference voltages are varied under the control of a central processing unit to establish a range of interest in the analog data. The range of interest is narrower than the conversion range of the analog to digital converter.

There is disclosed a data acquisition system for use, for example, in a facility management system, for receiving analog input information, converting the analog input information to multiple-bit digital data, synchronizing the multiple-bit digital data to a serial transfer clock, and restoring the digital data into a bit-parallel format for storage in memory and subsequent digital processing. The data acquisition system includes a plurality of inputs, each input being arranged to receive analog...