US5325299A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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System for classifying lightning strikes to enhance location estimation thereof
Assignee: BFGOODRICH FLIGHTSYSTEMS Inc AN OH CORP
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Filing: 1992-04-29
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Granted: 1994-06-28
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Expires: 2012-04-29
Abstract
Abstract A system for classifying detected lightning strikes detects signals representative of a lightning strike and processes such signals to generate a frequency signature thereof which is used to classify the lightning strike represented by the detected signals into a type. In a preferred embodiment, the type is selected from a plurality of predetermined types based on the frequency signature. In an alternate embodiment, a pulse width of the lightning strike is determined from the detected signals and used in combination with the frequency signature to classify the lightning strike into its type.
Inventors
- 👤 Randolph L. Moses
- 👤 Joseph G. Kuzma
- 👤 Kenneth A. Ostrander
- 👤 William J. White
- 👤 Billie M. Stevens, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 20:18
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01W; G01W1/00; G01W1/16
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 42
Claim 1
Independent Claim
53 words
A system for classifying detected lightning strikes comprising: means for detecting signals representative of a lightning strike; means for processing said detected signals to generate a frequency signature thereof; and means for classifying the lightning strike represented by said detected signals into a type based on said frequency signature of said detected signals.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
53 words
A system for classifying detected lightning strikes comprising: means for detecting signals representative of a lightning strike; means for processing said detected signals to generate a frequency signature thereof; and means for classifying the lightning strike represented by said detected signals into a type based on said frequency signature of said detected signals.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into a type selected from a plurality of predetermined types based on said frequency signature of said detected signals.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing means includes means for determining a pulse width of said detected signals; and wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into said type based on a combination of frequency signature and pulse width of said detected signals thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
68 words
The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the detecting means includes means for receiving a pair of signals representing the lightning strike; and means for detecting which signal of said pair has a magnitude exceeding a predetermined threshold; and wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into said type based on the frequency signature of the detected signal of said pair of signals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
77 words
The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing means includes a plurality of filters, each filter of said plurality characterized by a predetermined different frequency passband, the detected signals being processed by said plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals representing the frequency signature of the detected signals; and wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into said type based on the corresponding plurality of filtered signals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system in accordance with claim 5 wherein each said filter of said plurality comprises an Nth order Butterworth filter, where N is an integer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
11 words
The system in accordance with claim 6 where N equals 4.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system in accordance with claim 5 wherein the plurality of passband filters comprise at least three filters which have center frequency and quality factor characteristics of: 6.25 kHz and 2; 12.5 kHz and 3; and 25 kHz and 4, substantially.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system in accordance with claim 5 including means for normalizing the filtered signal of each filter of the plurality to yield a corresponding plurality of normalized filtered outputs.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system in accordance with claim 9 wherein the normalizing means includes means for ratioing each filtered signal with the summation of the other filtered signals.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
51 words
The system in accordance with claim 5 wherein the processing means includes means for determining a pulse width of said detected signals; and wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into the type based on a combination of the determined pulse width and plurality of filtered signals.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
88 words
A system for estimating a location of a detected lightning strike with reference to an observation location, said system comprising: means for detecting signals representative of a lightning strike; means for processing said detected signals to generate a frequency signature thereof; means for classifying the lightning strike represented by said detected signals into a type based on said frequency signature of said detected signals; and means for estimating a location of the lightning strike based on the frequency signature of its representative signals and the classified type thereof.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
88 words
A system for estimating a location of a detected lightning strike with reference to an observation location, said system comprising: means for detecting signals representative of a lightning strike; means for processing said detected signals to generate a frequency signature thereof; means for classifying the lightning strike represented by said detected signals into a type based on said frequency signature of said detected signals; and means for estimating a location of the lightning strike based on the frequency signature of its representative signals and the classified type thereof.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into a type selected from a plurality of predetermined types based on said frequency signature of said detected signals.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
140 words
The system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the processing means processes the detected signals through a plurality of filters, each filter of said plurality characterized by a predetermined different frequency passband, the detected signals being processed by said plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals representing the frequency signature of the detected signals; and wherein the estimating means includes: means for establishing a set of weighting factors based on the classified type of lightning strike, the set including a weighting factor corresponding to each filtered signal of the plurality; means for generating weighted sums of the plurality of filtered signals using the established set of weighting factors; and means for estimating the location of the lightning strike in range and bearing from the observation location based on respective predetermined relationships of said generated weighted sums.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the detecting means includes means for receiving a plurality of waveform signals representing the lightning strike; and wherein the processing means processes the plurality of waveform signals through the plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals for each waveform signal of said plurality.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the detecting means includes means for receiving a pair of waveform signals representing the lightning strike; and wherein the processing means processes the pair of waveform signals through the plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals for each waveform signal of said pair.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system in accordance with claim 16 wherein the pair of waveform signals comprises waveform signals representing components of a magnetic field generated by the lightning strike.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
110 words
The system in accordance with claim 16 wherein the estimating means includes: means for establishing a set of weighting factors for range approximation based on the classified type of lightning strike, the set including a weighting factor corresponding to the plurality of filtered signals of the pair; means for generating a weighted sum of the plurality of filtered signals for each signal of the pair using the established set of weighting factors, whereby first and second weighted sums are generated; and means for estimating range of the lightning strike with reference to the observation location based on an inverse relationship of a function of the first and second weighted sums.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system in accordance with claim 18 wherein the function of the first and second weighted sums used in estimating range comprises the root-mean-square thereof.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system in accordance with claim 18 wherein the range estimating means includes means for compensating the range estimate with a compensating factor established from the classified type of lightning strike.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
58 words
The system in accordance with claim 18 including a display for mapping lightning strikes; and means for driving the display with the estimated range to display an indication of the lightning strike on the display at a radial dimension from a reference point representative of the observation location, the radial dimension being substantially proportional to the estimated range.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
107 words
The system in accordance with claim 16 wherein the estimating means includes: means for establishing a set of weighting factors for bearing approximation based on the classified type of lightning strike, the set including a weighting factor corresponding to the plurality of filtered signals of the pair; means for generating a weighted sum of the plurality of filtered signals for each signal of the pair using the established set of weighting factors, whereby first and second weighted sums are generated; and means for estimating bearing of the lightning strike with reference to the observation location based on a trigonometric relationship of the first and second weighted sums.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system in accordance with claim 22 wherein the relationship of the first and second weighted sums used in estimating bearing comprises the arctangent of the ratio thereof.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system in accordance with claim 22 wherein the bearing estimating means includes means for determining the proper quadrant of the bearing estimate.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
57 words
The system in accordance with claim 22 including a display for mapping lightning strikes; and means for driving the display with the estimated bearing to display an indication of the lightning strike on the display at an angle from a reference angle representative of the observation location, the bearing angle being substantially proportional to the estimated bearing.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
105 words
A system for estimating a location of a detected lightning strike with reference to an observation location, said system comprising: means for detecting signals representative of a lightning strike; means for processing said detected signals to generate a frequency signature thereof; means for determining a pulse width of said detected signals; means for classifying the lightning strike represented by said detected signals into a type based on a combination of said frequency signature and said pulse width of said detected signals; and means for estimating a location of the lightning strike based on the frequency signature of its representative signals and the classified type thereof.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
105 words
A system for estimating a location of a detected lightning strike with reference to an observation location, said system comprising: means for detecting signals representative of a lightning strike; means for processing said detected signals to generate a frequency signature thereof; means for determining a pulse width of said detected signals; means for classifying the lightning strike represented by said detected signals into a type based on a combination of said frequency signature and said pulse width of said detected signals; and means for estimating a location of the lightning strike based on the frequency signature of its representative signals and the classified type thereof.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system in accordance with claim 26 wherein the classifying means includes means for classifying the lightning strike into a type selected from a plurality of predetermined types based on the combination of frequency signature and pulse width of the detected signals.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
140 words
The system in accordance with claim 26 wherein the processing means processes the detected signals through a plurality of filters, each filter of said plurality characterized by a predetermined different frequency passband, the detected signals being processed by said plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals representing the frequency signature of the detected signals; and wherein the estimating means includes: means for establishing a set of weighting factors based on the classified type of lightning strike, the set including a weighting factor corresponding to each filtered signal of the plurality; means for generating weighted sums of the plurality of filtered signals using the established set of weighting factors; and means for estimating the location of the lightning strike in range and bearing from the observation location based on respective predetermined relationships of said generated weighted sums.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system in accordance with claim 27 wherein the detecting means includes means for receiving a plurality of waveform signals representing the lightning strike; and wherein the processing means processes the plurality of waveform signals through the plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals for each waveform signal of said plurality.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system in accordance with claim 28 wherein the detecting means includes means for receiving a pair of waveform signals representing the lightning strike; and wherein the processing means processes the pair of waveform signals through the plurality of filters to yield a corresponding plurality of filtered signals for each waveform signal of said pair.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system in accordance with claim 30 wherein the pair of waveform signals comprises waveform signals representing components of a magnetic field generated by the lightning strike.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
110 words
The system in accordance with claim 30 wherein the estimating means includes: means for establishing a set of weighting factors for range approximation based on the classified type of lightning strike, the set including a weighting factor corresponding to the plurality of filtered signals of the pair; means for generating a weighted sum of the plurality of filtered signals for each signal of the pair using the established set of weighting factors, whereby first and second weighted sums are generated; and means for estimating range of the lightning strike with reference to the observation location based on an inverse relationship of a function of the first and second weighted sums.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system in accordance with claim 32 wherein the function of the first and second weighted sums used is estimating range comprises the root-mean-square thereof.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system in accordance with claim 32 wherein the range estimating means includes means for compensating the range estimate with a compensating factor established from the classified type of lightning strike.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
58 words
The system in accordance with claim 32 including a display for mapping lightning strikes; and means for driving the display with the estimated range to display an indication of the lightning strike on the display at a radial dimension from a reference point representative of the observation location, the radial dimension being substantially proportional to the estimated range.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
107 words
The system in accordance with claim 30 wherein the estimating means includes: means for establishing a set of weighting factors for bearing approximation based on the classified type of lightning strike, the set including a weighting factor corresponding to the plurality of filtered signals of the pair; means for generating a weighted sum of the plurality of filtered signals for each signal of the pair using the established set of weighting factors, whereby first and second weighted sums are generated; and means for estimating bearing of the lightning strike with reference to the observation location based on a trigonometric relationship of the first and second weighted sums.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system in accordance with claim 36 wherein the relationship of the first and second weighted sums used in estimating bearing comprises the arctangent of the ratio thereof.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system in accordance with claim 36 wherein the bearing estimating means includes means for determining the proper quadrant of the bearing estimate.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
57 words
The system in accordance with claim 36 including a display for mapping lightning strikes; and means for driving the display with the estimated bearing to display an indication of the lightning strike on the display at an angle from a reference angle representative of the observation location, the bearing angle being substantially proportional to the estimated bearing.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-06-27 | 1997-12-27 | 1998-06-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-06-27 | 2001-12-27 | 2002-06-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-06-27 | 2005-12-27 | 2006-06-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |