Patent · US Expired

Passive-type range determining system using scanning receiving devices

US4339755A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
6References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMar 3, 1980
Grant dateJul 13, 1982
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 3, 2000

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S11/04
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A pair of scanning, directional receiving antennas mounted in spaced relation on a monitoring aircraft are synchronously driven at a given scan rate .omega..sub.s and at the same phase angle with respect to the broadside of the antenna pair so that the receiving beams of the antennas are always parallel. A non-scanning source of RF radiation, located at an unknown range from the monitoring aircraft, emits radiation that is received by the scanning antennas at a slight time differential t.sub.21. The received source radiation is converted by separate receiving channels into early and late arriving signals, from which a time interval signal representing t.sub.21 is produced. Concurrently therewith, an angle of arrival .phi. of the source radiation is detected and a signal representative thereof is produced. Also, signals are generated that represent the scan rate .omega..sub.s of the receiving antennas and a distance d equal to the separation between the antennas. From these signals, a range signal R is produced that corresponds to the distance between the monitoring aircraft and the source of RF radiation.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.