US 2017/0322298 A1Published application

Ambiguous radar range resolution using range lookup table

AssigneeRaytheon Company

InventorsJustin R. Beitelspacher, Carlos A. Martinez

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Abstract

System and method for determining range to targets using an M-of-N range resolver includes transmitting multiple coherent processing interval (CPI) signals with different pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) towards the targets, receiving and storing threshold hits from prior N−1 CPIs; converting the threshold hits from the current CPI and prior N−1 CPIs to range unfolded threshold hits; generating a lookup table of the plurality of range unfolded threshold hits from the prior N−1 CPIs; determining the number of the prior N−1 CPIs in which a range unfolded threshold hit from the current CPI has at least one range coincident range unfolded threshold hit from a prior CPI utilizing the lookup table; generating a range resolved threshold hit when the number is greater than or equal to M−1; accumulating range resolved threshold hits; and determining the range to the targets.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A method, executed by a radar system, for determining range to targets using an M-of-N range resolver, the method comprising:

a) transmitting multiple coherent processing interval (CPI) signals with different pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) towards the targets;
b) receiving and storing a plurality of threshold hits from prior N−1 CPIs, where N is an integer greater than 1;
c) receiving a plurality of threshold hits from a current CPI;
d) converting a plurality of received threshold hits from the prior N−1 CPIs to range unfolded threshold hits;
e) converting a plurality of received threshold hits from the current CPI to range unfolded threshold hits;
f) generating a lookup table of the plurality of range unfolded threshold hits from the prior N−1 CPIs, based on the CPI of each range unfolded threshold hit and a range of each range unfolded threshold hit;
g) determining the number of the prior N−1 CPIs in which a range unfolded threshold hit from the current CPI has at least one range coincident range unfolded threshold hit from the prior CPI, utilizing the lookup table;
h) generating a range resolved threshold hit when the number of the prior N−1 CPIs in which a range unfolded threshold hit from the current CPI has at least one range coincident range unfolded threshold hit from the prior CPI determined in step g is greater than or equal to M−1, where M is an integer greater than 1;
i) repeating steps g and h for each of the plurality of range unfolded threshold hits from the current CPI;
j) accumulating a plurality of range resolved threshold hits over one or more CPIs;
and
k) determining the range to the targets, using the accumulated plurality of range resolved threshold hits over said one or more CPIs.

9 more elements

A radar target detection system including an M-of-N range resolver comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting multiple coherent processing interval (CPI) signals with different pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) towards the targets;
a receiver for receiving a plurality of threshold hits from prior N−1 CPIs and a plurality of threshold hits from a current CPI, where N is an integer greater than 1;
a storage device for storing the plurality of threshold hits from prior N−1 CPIs;
and
a processor including a set of instructions stored in a memory device, the set of instructions when executed by the processor performing the following processes:
a) converting a plurality of received threshold hits from the prior N−1 CPIs to range unfolded threshold hits;
b) converting a plurality of received threshold hits from the current CPI to range unfolded threshold hits;
c) generating a lookup table of the plurality of range unfolded threshold hits from the prior N−1 CPIs, based on the CPI of each range unfolded threshold hit and a range of each range unfolded threshold hit and storing the lookup table in the storage device;
d) determining the number of the prior N−1 CPIs in which a range unfolded threshold hit from the current CPI has at least one range coincident range unfolded threshold hit from the prior CPI, utilizing the lookup table;
e) generating a range resolved threshold hit when the number of the prior N−1 CPIs in which a range unfolded threshold hit from the current CPI has at least one range coincident range unfolded threshold hit from the prior CPI determined in step d is greater than or equal to M−1, where M is an integer greater than 1;
f) repeating steps d and e for each of the plurality of range unfolded threshold hits from the current CPI;
g) accumulating a plurality of range resolved threshold hits over one or more CPIs in the storage device;
and
h) determining the range to the targets, using the accumulated plurality of range resolved threshold hits over said one or more CPIs.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.