US3868685A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Radar digital detector and beam splitter
Assignee: Raytheon Co
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Filing: 1970-11-20
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Granted: 1975-02-25
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Expires: 1990-11-20
Abstract
Abstract This radar signal detector system utilizes a full amplitude digital moving window cross correlator that integrates all of the video amplitude information from a target illuminated by a scanning radar system. A digital integrator is provided for every range resolution cell encompassed by the radar so that automatic detection of all radar targets within the coverage area is accomplished. The detector includes optimal beam-shaped weighting to provide a substantial signal-to-noise ratio gain in the detection process and to provide an increase in detection sensitivity with a resultant increase of detection range. Also the system includes an improved peak detector or beam splitter which utilizes the weighting and detection concept in accordance with the invention and by comparison of the present data across the width of the beam with the data across the width of the beam at the previous sweep time statistically provides the target azimuth or beam center with a minimum of storage and with a high degree of accuracy.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard D Wilmot
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 15:13
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/02; G01S7/28; G01S7/285; G01S7/292; G01S7/2923; G01S7/2925
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
163 words
A system for detecting a statistical target over a plurality of range intervals and within a predetermined azimuth angle in response to transmitting pulses of energy to a target as a radar beam scanning over said target and for receiving target signals while said beam is illuminating said target comprising a source of quantized amplitude video data, of a plurality of bits for each target signal, memory means responsive to said source for storing target data quantized from target signals received over an azimuth beam width for each of a plurality of range bins, register means responsive to said memory means and to said source for receiving a present beam width of data, weighting means coupled to said register means for providing an impulse response of a predetermined beam shape, summing means coupled to said weighting means for providing a weighted sum of the present sweep, and comparator means for comparing the weighted sum with a threshold value to indicate a statistical target.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
163 words
A system for detecting a statistical target over a plurality of range intervals and within a predetermined azimuth angle in response to transmitting pulses of energy to a target as a radar beam scanning over said target and for receiving target signals while said beam is illuminating said target comprising a source of quantized amplitude video data, of a plurality of bits for each target signal, memory means responsive to said source for storing target data quantized from target signals received over an azimuth beam width for each of a plurality of range bins, register means responsive to said memory means and to said source for receiving a present beam width of data, weighting means coupled to said register means for providing an impulse response of a predetermined beam shape, summing means coupled to said weighting means for providing a weighted sum of the present sweep, and comparator means for comparing the weighted sum with a threshold value to indicate a statistical target.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
192 words
A system for detecting the azimuth of a target over a plurality of range intervals comprising a source of video binary amplitude data including a transmitter and receiver for scanning a beam past a target and transmitting a selected number N of pulses while said target is within said beam width, memory means responsive to said source for storing the amplitude data over a beam width, first register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N - 1 sweeps, said first register means also receiving on-time data from said source, first amplitude weighting means coupled to said first register means for detecting a present tArget sum amplitude, first detecting means coupled to said first amplitude weighting means for detecting a target signal, second register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N sweeps, second amplitude weighting means coupled to said second register means and to said first detector means for detecting a previous target sum amplitude, and logic means coupled to said first and second detecting means for determining a trailing edge condition representative of the target azimuth.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
192 words
A system for detecting the azimuth of a target over a plurality of range intervals comprising a source of video binary amplitude data including a transmitter and receiver for scanning a beam past a target and transmitting a selected number N of pulses while said target is within said beam width, memory means responsive to said source for storing the amplitude data over a beam width, first register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N - 1 sweeps, said first register means also receiving on-time data from said source, first amplitude weighting means coupled to said first register means for detecting a present tArget sum amplitude, first detecting means coupled to said first amplitude weighting means for detecting a target signal, second register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N sweeps, second amplitude weighting means coupled to said second register means and to said first detector means for detecting a previous target sum amplitude, and logic means coupled to said first and second detecting means for determining a trailing edge condition representative of the target azimuth.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The combination of claim 2 further including comparator means coupled to said first register means for decreasing the amplitude value of the on-time data when it exceeds a predetermined threshold level.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
212 words
A system for detecting a target over a plurality of range intervals and within a predetermined azimuth angle comprising a radar source of quantized full amplitude video target data of a plurality of target return signals, said radar source scanning a beam of energy past said targets with a selected number of pulses being transmitted and received over the azimuth beam width, with each pulse defining a radar sweep, memory means responsive to said source for storing an azimuth beam width of target data for each of a plurality of range bins across said beam during the previous sweep, register means responsive to said memory means and to said source for receiving a beam width of present target data, weighting means coupled to said register means for weighting the present target data to provide an impulse response substantially matched to the shape of the beam of energy, summing means coupled to said weighting means for providing a weighted sum across the beam width for the present sweep, and comparator means for comparing the weighted sum with a threshold value to provide a statistical target bit, and means coupled to said register means, to said comparator means and to said memory means for storing the present target data and the statistical target bit.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
212 words
A system for detecting a target over a plurality of range intervals and within a predetermined azimuth angle comprising a radar source of quantized full amplitude video target data of a plurality of target return signals, said radar source scanning a beam of energy past said targets with a selected number of pulses being transmitted and received over the azimuth beam width, with each pulse defining a radar sweep, memory means responsive to said source for storing an azimuth beam width of target data for each of a plurality of range bins across said beam during the previous sweep, register means responsive to said memory means and to said source for receiving a beam width of present target data, weighting means coupled to said register means for weighting the present target data to provide an impulse response substantially matched to the shape of the beam of energy, summing means coupled to said weighting means for providing a weighted sum across the beam width for the present sweep, and comparator means for comparing the weighted sum with a threshold value to provide a statistical target bit, and means coupled to said register means, to said comparator means and to said memory means for storing the present target data and the statistical target bit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
58 words
The combination of claim 1 further including means coupled to said comparator means and to said register means for providing a weighted sum of the full amplitude target data across the beam width for the previous sweep and for comparing this with the weighted sum for the present sweep and providing a signal representative of the target azimuth.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
The combination of claim 5 further including in said means coupled to said comparator means, counting means for providing a signal representative of a predetermined trailing edge condition of the beam and means responsive to said counting means for providing said signal representative of target azimuth.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
232 words
A system for detecting the azimuth of a target over a plurality of range intervals with the target being scanned by a radar beam having N sweeps in response to N transmitted pulses as the beam illuminates the target comprising a source of video binary amplitude data responsive to radar target signals, memory means responsive to said source for storing the amplitude data for each target signal over a beam width of N sweeps, first register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N - 1 sweeps with the on-time sweep data from said source, first amplitude weighting means coupled to said register means for determining a present target sum amplitude, detecting means coupled to said first amplitude weighting means for detecting a present detected target signal, second register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N sweeps, second amplitude weighting means coupled to said second register means and to said detecting means for determining a previous target sum amplitude, comparator means coupled to said detecting means and to said second amplitude weighting means for determining increases in amplitude of the weighted target dAta between the previous and present target sum amplitudes, and logic means coupled to said first and second comparators and to said memory means for determining a target trailing edge representative of the target azimuth.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
232 words
A system for detecting the azimuth of a target over a plurality of range intervals with the target being scanned by a radar beam having N sweeps in response to N transmitted pulses as the beam illuminates the target comprising a source of video binary amplitude data responsive to radar target signals, memory means responsive to said source for storing the amplitude data for each target signal over a beam width of N sweeps, first register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N - 1 sweeps with the on-time sweep data from said source, first amplitude weighting means coupled to said register means for determining a present target sum amplitude, detecting means coupled to said first amplitude weighting means for detecting a present detected target signal, second register means coupled to said memory means for receiving the amplitude data from the previous N sweeps, second amplitude weighting means coupled to said second register means and to said detecting means for determining a previous target sum amplitude, comparator means coupled to said detecting means and to said second amplitude weighting means for determining increases in amplitude of the weighted target dAta between the previous and present target sum amplitudes, and logic means coupled to said first and second comparators and to said memory means for determining a target trailing edge representative of the target azimuth.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
161 words
A target azimuth detector operable over a plurality of azimuth positions and range intervals comprising a source of full amplitude binary target return data signals, memory means responsive to said source for storing a plurality of said signals over a selected number of azimuth positions and range intervals, a source of threshold signals having a selected threshold value, first comparator means coupled to said source of return data, to said memory means and to said source of threshold signals for providing a signal when said target data has a predetermined relation to said threshold value, second comparator means coupled to said memory means and to said first comparator means for indicating a decrease in detected amplitudes between azimuth positions, logical means coupled to said first and second comparator means for detecting a beam trailing edge signal, and means responsive to said logical means for providing target azimuth data representative of the target azimuth in response to the beam trailing edge signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
161 words
A target azimuth detector operable over a plurality of azimuth positions and range intervals comprising a source of full amplitude binary target return data signals, memory means responsive to said source for storing a plurality of said signals over a selected number of azimuth positions and range intervals, a source of threshold signals having a selected threshold value, first comparator means coupled to said source of return data, to said memory means and to said source of threshold signals for providing a signal when said target data has a predetermined relation to said threshold value, second comparator means coupled to said memory means and to said first comparator means for indicating a decrease in detected amplitudes between azimuth positions, logical means coupled to said first and second comparator means for detecting a beam trailing edge signal, and means responsive to said logical means for providing target azimuth data representative of the target azimuth in response to the beam trailing edge signal.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
192 words
A target detector operable with a radar transmitter and receiver system scanning over a target during a plurality of range sweeps in azimuth with each range sweep having a plurality of range intervals, said radar transmitter and receiver system providing quantized digital amplitude return data comprising memory means for storing data for each range interval over a selected plurality of range sweeps substantially equal to the radar beam width, first register means coupled to said memory means and to said radar transmitter and receiver system for receiving for each range bin the amplitude data from the selected range sweeps minus the data from the oldest sweep from said memory means and for receiving amplitude data of the present range sweep from said transmitter and receiver system, amplitude weighting means coupled to said first register means for weighting the amplitude data to substantially match the voltage amplitude beam shape, summing means coupled to said amplitude weighting means for summing the amplitude data over the beam width, a source of threshold data, and first comparator means coupled to said source of threshold data and to said summing means for providing a target indicating signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
192 words
A target detector operable with a radar transmitter and receiver system scanning over a target during a plurality of range sweeps in azimuth with each range sweep having a plurality of range intervals, said radar transmitter and receiver system providing quantized digital amplitude return data comprising memory means for storing data for each range interval over a selected plurality of range sweeps substantially equal to the radar beam width, first register means coupled to said memory means and to said radar transmitter and receiver system for receiving for each range bin the amplitude data from the selected range sweeps minus the data from the oldest sweep from said memory means and for receiving amplitude data of the present range sweep from said transmitter and receiver system, amplitude weighting means coupled to said first register means for weighting the amplitude data to substantially match the voltage amplitude beam shape, summing means coupled to said amplitude weighting means for summing the amplitude data over the beam width, a source of threshold data, and first comparator means coupled to said source of threshold data and to said summing means for providing a target indicating signal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
116 words
The combination of claim 9 further including second register means coupled to said first register means for receiving the amplitude data over the beam width of the previous sweeps, second amplitude weighting means coupled to said second register means for weighting the amplitude to substantially match the beam shape, second summing means coupled to said second amplitude weighting means to provide a sum of the previous sweeps, second comparator means coupled to said first comparator means and to said second summing means to provide a signal when the present sum is less than the previous sum, and logical means coupled to said first and second comparator means for providing a signal representative of the target azimuth.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
86 words
The combination of claim 10 in which a logical storage memory is included in said memory means and further including in said logical means, counter means coupled to said logical storage memory responsive to the target indicating signal and to the signal when said previous sum is less than the present sum for incrementing and storing a count in said storage memory for each range bin, and a logical detection circuit responsive to a predetermined statistical condition of said count to detect a target azimuth condition.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
51 words
The combination of claim 11 in which said logical detection circuit responds to an integral count number to provide a signal representative of the target azimuth and in which said logical means fuRther includes a gate responsive to the signal representative of the target azimuth to gate an azimuth count therethrough.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
141 words
A radar signal detector operable with a radar system transmitting and receiving a beam of energy toward a target over a plurality of range sweeps in azimuth and over a plurality of range bins comprising storage means coupled to said radar system and including a plurality of elements of stored full amplitude digital data, each element being representative of target return signals for a range sweep of the radar beam, said elements transferring said data therebetween each range sweep, a plurality of multipliers each responsive to a different one of said elements to provide full amplitude values to substantially match the beam shape, summing means coupled to said plurality of multipliers to provide a sum of the weighted amplitudes, and comparator means coupled to said summing means to compare said sum to a threshold value to provide a target indicating signal.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
141 words
A radar signal detector operable with a radar system transmitting and receiving a beam of energy toward a target over a plurality of range sweeps in azimuth and over a plurality of range bins comprising storage means coupled to said radar system and including a plurality of elements of stored full amplitude digital data, each element being representative of target return signals for a range sweep of the radar beam, said elements transferring said data therebetween each range sweep, a plurality of multipliers each responsive to a different one of said elements to provide full amplitude values to substantially match the beam shape, summing means coupled to said plurality of multipliers to provide a sum of the weighted amplitudes, and comparator means coupled to said summing means to compare said sum to a threshold value to provide a target indicating signal.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-02-24 | 1978-08-26 | 1979-02-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-02-24 | 1982-08-26 | 1983-02-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-02-24 | 1986-08-26 | 1987-02-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |