US 12,283,755 B1
Input multiplexed signal processing apparatus and methods
Stephanie M. Bench, Sandersville, GA (US); and Mark S. Olsson, La Jolla, CA (US)
Assigned to SeeScan, Inc., San Diego, CA (US)
Filed by SeeScan, Inc., San Diego, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 23, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/420,576.
Application 18/420,576 is a continuation of application No. 17/531,533, filed on Nov. 19, 2021, granted, now 11,901,642.
Application 17/531,533 is a continuation of application No. 16/833,426, filed on Mar. 27, 2020, granted, now 11,196,181, issued on Dec. 7, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/824,937, filed on Mar. 27, 2019.
Int. Cl. H01Q 23/00 (2006.01); H01Q 1/24 (2006.01); H01Q 1/52 (2006.01); H01Q 7/06 (2006.01)
CPC H01Q 23/00 (2013.01) [H01Q 1/243 (2013.01); H01Q 1/521 (2013.01); H01Q 7/06 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
2. A buried utility locator, comprising:
a plurality of magnetic field sensing antenna coils; and
a signal processing circuit including:
a plurality of receiver channel circuits having inputs operatively coupled to corresponding outputs of the magnetic field sensing antenna coils for receiving output signals from the antenna coils;
a multiplexing circuit operatively coupled to outputs of the receiver channel circuits for time division multiplexing the receiver channel circuit outputs and providing multiplexed output signals;
one or more connected amplifiers, with at least one connected amplifier operatively coupled to an output of the multiplexing circuit;
one or more analog-to-digital converters operatively coupled to outputs of the one or more connected amplifiers; and
a digital signal processing circuit operatively coupled to outputs of the one or more analog-to-digital converters to process the receiver channel outputs to determine information associated with a sensed buried utility;
wherein the plurality of magnetic field sensing antenna coils includes twelve antenna coils arranged in a dodecahedral antenna array.