Ground mapping radar system

Claim 2

In a directionally-scannable directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator, means responsive to system scanning direction and in cooperation with said display indicator for slant range compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator and comprising cosine direction matrix means responsive to the vertical look angle of said directional ranging system for compensatorily modulating a range-time signal generator input to said display indicator.

Claim 3

In an azimuthally scanning directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator, means responsive to platform motion of said system and in cooperation with said display indicator for platform motion compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator, and comprising means responsive to the velocity vector of said platform motion and to a system trigger of said ranging system for determining changes in vehicle position in a mapping plane during the frame time interval of an azimuth scan, a positional display bias input of said display indicator being responsive to said means for determining changes; and means synchronized with a scanning interval of an azimuth scan mode of said ranging system for resetting said means for determining changes at the end of said scanning interval.

Claim 4

In an azimuthally scanning directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator, means responsive to platform motion of said system and in cooperation with said display indicator for platform motion compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator, and comprising means responsive to the velocity vector of said platform motion and to a system trigger of said ranging system for determining changes in vehicle position in a mapping plane during the frame time interval of an azimuth scan, a positional display bias input of said display indicator being responsive to said means for determining changes; and means synchronized with a scanning interval of an azimuth scan mode of said ranging system for resetting said means for determining changes at the end of said scanning interval.

Claim 5

In a directionally scannable directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator, the combination comprising means responsive to the look angle of said system for modulation of said display indicator to provide slant range compensation of the mapping display provided by said inDicator; and means including a navigation system responsive to platform motion of said ranging system for modulation of said display indicator for platform motion compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator.

Claim 6

In a directionally scannable directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator, the combination comprising means responsive to the look angle of said system for modulation of said display indicator to provide slant range compensation of the mapping display provided by said inDicator; and means including a navigation system responsive to platform motion of said ranging system for modulation of said display indicator for platform motion compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator.

Claim 7

The device of claim 3 in which said means for motion compensation includes a navigation system and in which there is further provided navigation check point means for monitoring the performance of said navigation system and comprising storage means for storing the coordinates of at least one preselected ground target, and comparison means responsive to said directionally ranging system, said navigation system and said storage means for indicating a position deviation between an observed target and a selected set of said stored target coordinates.

Claim 8

The device of claim 4 in which said navigation system is responsive to said comparison means for compensatorily biasing the performance of said navigation system.

Claim 9

The device of claim 4 in which said directionally ranging system includes azimuthally-scanning mapping mode means and in which the cooperation of said directionally ranging system is time-shared between said navigation check point means and said mapping mode means, whereby recognition of a selected check point target is facilitated.

Claim 10

The device of claim 6 in which there is further included hard-target tracking means for selectively providing a ground target tracking mode to said time-shared ranging system during other than the mapping mode interval of said time-sharing.

Claim 11

In a directionally scannable directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator responsive to a range time signal generator, the combination comprising means responsive to the look angle of said system for compensatorily modulating the input from said signal generator to said display indicator for slant range compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator; means including a navigation system responsive to platform motion of said system for selectively compensatorily biasing said display indicator to provide platform motion compensation of the mapping display generated by said indicator; storage means for storing the coordinates of at least one preselected ground target; and comparison means responsive to said directionally ranging system, said navigation system and said storage means for indicating a position deviation between an observed target and a selected set of said stored target coordinates, said navigation system being responsive to said comparison means for compensatorily biasing the performance of said navigation system.

Claim 12

In a directionally scannable directionally ranging system adapted for vehicle use in a mapping application and having a display indicator responsive to a range time signal generator, the combination comprising means responsive to the look angle of said system for compensatorily modulating the input from said signal generator to said display indicator for slant range compensation of the mapping display provided by said indicator; means including a navigation system responsive to platform motion of said system for selectively compensatorily biasing said display indicator to provide platform motion compensation of the mapping display generated by said indicator; storage means for storing the coordinates of at least one preselected ground target; and comparison means responsive to said directionally ranging system, said navigation system and said storage means for indicating a position deviation between an observed target and a selected set of said stored target coordinates, said navigation system being responsive to said comparison means for compensatorily biasing the performance of said navigation system.

Claim 13

The device of claim 8 in which said directionally ranging system includes azimuthally scanning mapping mode means and in which the cooperation of said directionally ranging system is time-shared between said navigation check point means and said mapping mode means, whereby recognition of a selected check point target is facilitated, and in which there is further included hard-target tracking means for providing a ground target tracking mode to said time-shared ranging system during other that the mapping mode interval of said time-sharing.

Claim 14

A directionally-scannable directionally ranging system having a display indicator and for use in a mapping application, comprising a dual mode antenna subsystem having a single common aperture and adapted to be operated in an alternative one of an azimuthally-scanning perpendicular fan beam mapping mode and a steerable pencil beam mode; a receiver responsively coupled to said antenna and having a target tracking mode; time-duplexing control means responsive to a system trigger of said ranging system for time-shared operation of said antenna in an alternate one of said mapping mode and said steerable pencil beam mode during successive range trace intervals; beam-steering control means for selectively steering said antenna in said pencil beam mode in respoNse to at least one of a receiver tracking error signal and a selected control signal, whereby the situation of a selected ground target may be displayed relative to a mapped area.

Claim 15

A directionally-scannable directionally ranging system having a display indicator and for use in a mapping application, comprising a dual mode antenna subsystem having a single common aperture and adapted to be operated in an alternative one of an azimuthally-scanning perpendicular fan beam mapping mode and a steerable pencil beam mode; a receiver responsively coupled to said antenna and having a target tracking mode; time-duplexing control means responsive to a system trigger of said ranging system for time-shared operation of said antenna in an alternate one of said mapping mode and said steerable pencil beam mode during successive range trace intervals; beam-steering control means for selectively steering said antenna in said pencil beam mode in respoNse to at least one of a receiver tracking error signal and a selected control signal, whereby the situation of a selected ground target may be displayed relative to a mapped area.

Claim 16

The device of claim 10 in which there is further provided navigation checkpoint means for monitoring the performance of a navigation system and comprising data storage means for retrievably storing the coordinates of at least one preselected ground target; comparison means responsive to said ranging system and to said storage means and adapted to be further responsible to a navigation system-to-be-monitored for indicating a position deviation between an observed target and a selected set of said stored target coordinates.

Claim 17

The device of claim 10 in which there is further provided navigation checkpoint means for monitoring the performance of a navigation system and comprising coordinate transformation means responsive to said ranging system during said beam steering mode for transforming polar coordinate position data of a selected target relative to said ranging system into a coordinate system compatible with that of said navigation system; position data combining means responsive to said transformed relative position target data and adapted to be responsive to a platform position output of said navigation system for providing signals indicating the position of said target relative to a position reference in the coordinate system of said navigation system; data storage means for storing the coordinates of at least one preselected ground target; and comparison means responsive to said data combining means and to said data storage means for indicating a position deviation between an observed target and a selected set of said stored target coordinates.

Claim 18

In an azimuthally scanning, directionally ranging system having a display indicator and adapted for airborne use in a ground mapping application, navigation checkpoint means for cooperation with a navigation system and comprising means adapted to cooperate with said navigation system for compensatorily modulating said display indicator for system platform motion occurring during the period of each azimuthal scan, whereby the mapping display provided by said display indicator is referenced to a selected position and heading in a selected horizon plane; checkpoint means cooperating with an aperture and said indicator of said directionally ranging system for determining motion of said system platform relative to a selected target displayed by said display indicator; and navigation monitoring means responsive to the difference between said platform motion determined by said checkpoint means and platform motion sensed by said navigation system for adjusting said navigation system so as to reduce said difference.

Claim 19

In an azimuthally scanning, directionally ranging system having a display indicator and adapted for airborne use in a ground mapping application, navigation checkpoint means for cooperation with a navigation system and comprising means adapted to cooperate with said navigation system for compensatorily modulating said display indicator for system platform motion occurring during the period of each azimuthal scan, whereby the mapping display provided by said display indicator is referenced to a selected position and heading in a selected horizon plane; checkpoint means cooperating with an aperture and said indicator of said directionally ranging system for determining motion of said system platform relative to a selected target displayed by said display indicator; and navigation monitoring means responsive to the difference between said platform motion determined by said checkpoint means and platform motion sensed by said navigation system for adjusting said navigation system so as to reduce said difference.

Claim 20

The device of claim 13 in which said navigation monitoring means comprising coordinate transform means for transforming the coordinates of said platform motion determined by said checkpoint means to ones substantially parallel to those of said platform motion sensed by said navigation means; and data combining means responsive to said coordinate transform means and adapted to be responsive to preselected coordinates of said selected target for expressing the coordinates of said determined system platform motion in the coordinate system of said navigation system.