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US 11,598,867 B2Granted
Seeker sequential lobing radar antenna system
AssigneeRockwell Collins, Inc.
InventorsJames B. West, Keagan Peters
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A radar antenna includes a plurality of horns in the annular space of a munition nose cone. The horns are disposed near the exterior surface of the nose cone. In a further aspect, the nose cone may be injection molded or additively manufactured so that the horns are embedded a known distance from the exterior surface. In a further aspect, the horns placed in either a transmit mode or a receive mode so as to maintain a minimum special separation between transmitting horns and receiving horns.
Claims12
A radar antenna comprising:
- a plurality of radiating horns, each disposed around an axis defined by a nose cone;
- and
- a feed layer connected to each of the radiating horns,
- wherein:
- a first set of radiating horns and corresponding feed layer circuitry is dedicated to a sequential receive channel;
- a second set of radiating horns and corresponding feed layer circuitry is dedicated to a sequential transmit channel;
- the first set of radiating horns and second set of radiating horns are interleaved around the axis;
- the plurality of radiating horns embedded in a dielectric material comprising the nose cone;
- the feed layer is configured to sequentially activate each of the plurality of radiating horns to produce a conical scan/sequential lobing radiation pattern;
- the first set of radiating horns are activated sequentially in a clockwise fashion and the second set of radiating horns are activated sequentially in an anti-clockwise fashion;
- and
- radiating horns in the first set of radiating horns and the second set of radiating horns are activated to produce a circular polarization via phase shifted vertical polarizing and horizontal polarizing radiating horns.
9 more elements
A nose cone comprising:
- a plurality of radiating horns, each disposed in an annular space around an axis defined by the nose cone;
- and
- a feed layer connected to each of the radiating horns,
- wherein:
- a first set of radiating horns and corresponding feed layer circuitry is dedicated to a sequential receive channel;
- a second set of radiating horns and corresponding feed layer circuitry is dedicated to a sequential transmit channel;
- the first set of radiating horns and second set of radiating horns are interleaved around the axis;
- the plurality of radiating horns embedded in a dielectric material comprising the nose cone;
- the feed layer is configured to sequentially activate each of the plurality of radiating horns to produce a conical scan/sequential lobing radiation pattern;
- the first set of radiating horns are activated sequentially in a clockwise fashion and the second set of radiating horns are activated sequentially in an anti-clockwise fashion;
- and
- radiating horns in the first set of radiating horns and the second set of radiating horns are activated to produce a circular polarization via phase shifted vertical polarizing and horizontal polarizing radiating horns.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.