Surveillance balloon
US5115997A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 12, 1990 |
| Grant date | May 26, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 12, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64B1/20
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A tethered surveillance balloon having a relatively low lift-to-weight ratio (e.g., 1.1) and an aerodynamic device to help maintain the surveillance balloon elevation when subject to high velocity wind conditions at an altitude which is a high percentage of the altitude the surveillance balloon would assume if there was zero wind velocity and all other conditions were the same (e.g. temperature, air density). The surveillance balloon also includes a sensing device such as a TV detector for detecting objects and relaying information to a ground station and with possibly a target designation device, if so desired. The balloon is formed of a material which is virtually, if not entirely, radar and visibly transparent.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.