Line array winding and deployment system
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsJoseph Misulia, Curtis B. Carlsten
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A packed sensor line array system includes sensors mounted outboard of cable packs wrapped around a central mandrel. The system may have multiple rows (layers) of the sensors and cable packs, surrounded by a cannister. Cable retainers may be used to retain cable ends near sensors, to keep the cable ends out of the way of subsequent winding operations. The winding may be done in situ, with the mandrel mounted to a rotatable chuck that is rotated to wind the individual cable packs sequentially around the mandrel, with positioning of the sensors outboard of the windings occurring between the winding operations. A positionable indexing tool may be coupled to and moved along the mandrel, to define a space along the mandrel for each cable pack winding.
Claims20
A packed sensor line array system comprising:
- a central mandrel;
- and
- sensors connected by cable packs that are between successive of the sensors, the sensors and the cable packs together constituting a sensor line array;
- wherein the cable packs are wound around the central mandrel;
- and
- wherein the sensors are outboard of the cable packs.
A method of loading a sensor line array of alternating cable packs and sensors for a packed sensor line array system, the method comprising:
- iteratively, for each of the cable packs in succession, winding the cable pack around a central mandrel, and placing the sensor next to the cable pack outboard of the wound cable pack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.