Antenna ice loading sensor and method
AssigneeNanowave Technologies Inc.
InventorsJustin Dinsdale Miller, Charles William Tremlett Nicholls
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a system and method for determining a thickness of ice on Radio Frequency (RF) systems The system includes a sensor unit for use in determining the thickness of ice on a surface of a RADAR system having a RADAR antenna, the sensor unit including a sensor unit antenna tunable to a harmonic of a RADAR antenna signal, the harmonic having a frequency within an ice absorption band, wherein the sensor unit antenna emits the harmonic at a first signal strength; and, a sensor unit receiver communicatively coupled to the sensor unit antenna and configured to detect a second signal strength of the harmonic received by the sensor unit antenna.
Claims20
A sensor unit for use in determining a thickness of ice on a surface of a RADAR system having a RADAR antenna, the sensor unit comprising:
- a sensor unit antenna tunable to a harmonic of a RADAR antenna signal, the harmonic having a frequency within an ice absorption band, wherein the sensor unit antenna emits the harmonic at a first signal strength, and
- a sensor unit receiver communicatively coupled to the sensor unit antenna and configured to detect a second signal strength of the harmonic received by the sensor unit antenna.
A Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) system, comprising:
- a radome;
- a waveguide antenna housed in the radome and configured to operate at an RF frequency;
- a sensor unit antenna array mounted to a surface of the radome exposed to ice accumulation, the sensor unit antenna array being tunable to a harmonic of the RF frequency within an ice absorption band, wherein the sensor unit antenna is configured to emit the harmonic at a first signal strength;
- and
- a sensor unit receiver housed in the radome and communicatively coupled to the sensor unit antenna, the sensor unit receiver configured to detect a second signal strength of the harmonic.
A method of determining a thickness of ice accumulated on a surface of a RADAR system using a sensor unit coupled to the RADAR system, comprising:
- tuning a sensor unit antenna to a harmonic of a signal transmitted by the RADAR system, the harmonic falling within an ice absorption band;
- emitting the harmonic, from the sensor unit antenna, through the ice, at a first signal strength;
- receiving the harmonic at the sensor unit antenna;
- detecting, using a sensor unit receiver communicatively coupled to the sensor unit antenna, a second signal strength of the harmonic received by the sensor unit antenna;
- determining, using the sensor unit receiver, an attenuation of the harmonic based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength;
- and
- determining a thickness of the ice based on the attenuation of the harmonic and an attenuation rate of the ice absorption band.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.