EP0349110A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ground probing radar method and apparatus
Assignee: British Gas PLC
•
Filing: 1989-05-16
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2009-05-16
Abstract
Abstract A wheeled support assembly 10 is manually pushed over the ground and has a motor 22 rotating an antenna assembly 60 about a vertical axis 24. Encoders 28 on the antenna shaft 20 and on a wheel axle encode antenna angular position and position over the ground. Transmitted pulses and received data pass through a rotary microwave connector 26. For example, 400 sets of pulses are emitted at equal angular intevals in each revolution of the antenna assembly. The interval between pulses is e.g. 12 microseconds, with 256 pulses per set. Noise reduction is achieved by processing the received data accordingly. In a modification the rotary connector 26 is single channel with some electronic stages mounted on the rotating antenna assembly. Power is coupled to them via the microwave cable. An umbilical connects the assembly 10 to a support facility including a computer. Alternatively, battery power is used with data transferred radiatively.
Inventors
- 👤 David John Gunton
- 👤 Howard Frederick Scott
- 👤 Michael Paul Stansfield
- 👤 Paul Beaumont Cordes
- 👤 Roger Philip Ashworth
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 03:40
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S13/00; G01S13/02; G01S13/0209; G01V; G01V3/00; G01V3/12; G01V3/15; G01S13/88; G01S13/885
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
57 words
A ground probing radar method comprising moving an antenna assembly over the ground while the assembly is rotating about an axis directed into the ground and is transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation, producing data in response to rotation of the antenna assembly about said axis and using said data to control successive energisations of the antenna assembly.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
57 words
A ground probing radar method comprising moving an antenna assembly over the ground while the assembly is rotating about an axis directed into the ground and is transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation, producing data in response to rotation of the antenna assembly about said axis and using said data to control successive energisations of the antenna assembly.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method according to claim 1 using data sampling, said data being used to initiate trains of pulses fed to said antenna assembly and also being used to trigger operation of a sampling unit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 2 the output from said sampling unit being converted to digital form and passed to a digital processor which also receives said data.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method according to claim 1 using data sampling, said data being used to initiate trains of pulses fed to said antenna assembly, a sampling unit being triggered by a pulse initiated by output data from said antenna assembly and said first-mentioned data being directly used on-board said antenna assembly.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
89 words
Ground probing radar apparatus comprising a support assembly which can be moved over the ground, an antenna assembly mounted on the support assembly so as to be rotatable about an axis directed into the ground, a drive motor mounted on the support assembly and connected to the antenna assembly so as to be able to rotate it about said axis, and means operable in response to rotation of the antenna assembly about said axis to produce data representative of the angular position of the antenna assembly about said axis.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
89 words
Ground probing radar apparatus comprising a support assembly which can be moved over the ground, an antenna assembly mounted on the support assembly so as to be rotatable about an axis directed into the ground, a drive motor mounted on the support assembly and connected to the antenna assembly so as to be able to rotate it about said axis, and means operable in response to rotation of the antenna assembly about said axis to produce data representative of the angular position of the antenna assembly about said axis.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 the support assembly being supported on ground-engaging wheels.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 said means being an encoder operable in response to rotation of the antenna assembly.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
86 words
Apparatus according to claim 5, 6 or 7, the antenna assembly comprising a cylindrical drum supported at the lower end of a hollow support shaft, antenna elements carried on a support sheet extending across the drum, the shaft extending through said second means to a rotary microwave connector, a microwave conductor extending through the hollow shaft at least from receive elements of the antenna assembly to a microwave rotary connector connected to the shaft, a drive motor and drive means coupling the motor to the shaft.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
139 words
Apparatus according to any claim of claims 5 to 8 the support assembly carrying an impulse generator feeding pulses to transmit elements of the antenna assembly, a sampling unit, a low-pass filter receiving the output from the sampling unit, an analogue-to-digital converter receiving the output from the filter, a digital signal processor receiving the output from the converter, a ramp voltage generator and a pulse set generator, said data being fed to the digital signal processor, to the pulse set generator and to the ramp voltage generator, the output from the pulse set generator being fed to the impulse generator and to the sampling unit, and the sampling unit receiving the output data from the receive elements of the antenna assembly via a delay line and the output from the ramp voltage generator being fed to the sampling unit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
141 words
Apparatus according to any claim of claims 5 to 8, the support assembly carrying a sampling unit, a low-pass filter receiving the output from the sampling unit, an analogue-to-digital converter receiving the output from the filter, a digital signal processor receiving the output from the converter, a ramp voltage generator, said antenna assembly carrying a pulse set generator, an impulse generator and said means, said data being fed directly to said pulse set generator the output from which is fed directly to the impulse generator on-board the antenna assembly, the sampling unit receiving the output data from the receive elements of the antenna assembly via a delay line and a trigger take-off, a trigger pulse output from which is fed to the sampling unit and to the ramp voltage generator the output from which is also fed to the sampling unit.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.