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US 5,477,224 AGranted
Radar arrangements and methods
AssigneeRacal (Newbridge) Limited
InventorPeter J. Sinnock
Life of this patent
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AssigneeRacal (Newbridge) Limited
InventorPeter J. Sinnock
Estimating the term…
A radar arrangement has a transmitter/receiver unit which is rotatable and has an aerial projecting an elongate radar beam onto a reflector which rotates therewith. The reflected beam therefore scans the target area. Target reflections are reflected by the reflector on to the aerial for detection thereby. The reflector is switchable about the vertical axis through 90.degree. with respect to the aerial. In one position, the beam is therefore projected into, and scans, the target area with its elongate dimension vertical (so as to be best suited to detect rapidly approaching targets of small aspect such as aircraft or missiles), and in the other position the beam is projected into, and scans, the target area with its elongate dimension horizontal (so as to be best suited to detect intermittent targets appearing in relatively slow moving positions such as the rotor blades of a helicopter).
A radar arrangement including means for emitting a radar beam of a first predetermined shape, a reflector for reflecting the beam into a target area, and means for rotating said reflector relative to said emitting means so as to produce in different relative orientations of the emitting means and reflector, two radar beams which have substantially the same size and said first predetermined shape but different orientations relative to the emitting means.
A radar arrangement comprising a single transmitting aerial system emitting a radar beam of narrow elongate shape, a reflector for reflecting the beam into a target area, means for turning the aerial and the reflector bodily together to scan the emitted beam through at least part of the said area, and means for turning the reflector relative to the aerial system so as to turn the reflected beam between two positions and switch the arrangement between corresponding operating modes.
A radar arrangement comprising a base, mechanical driving means mounted on the base, a transmitter/receiver unit mounted on the base so as to be angularly movable relative to the base by the driving means about a first axis which is vertical when the base is standing on a horizontal plane, there being no high frequency connections to the transmitter/receiver, a transmitting and receiving aerial system mounted on and rotating with the transmitter/receiver unit and arranged to emit a radar beam which is of predetermined elongate shape in cross-section, a reflector, mounting means mounting the reflector above the aerial system and at an angle both to the vertical and horizontal axes so as to receive the emitted beam and to reflect it in a generally horizontal direction into a target area, the mounting means mounting the reflector so that it turns bodily with the angular movement of the transmitter/receiver unit about the vertical axis and thereby scans the reflected beam through the target area and being also capable of turning the reflector through substantially 90.degree. with respect to the vertical axis and relative to the aerial system whereby to turn the reflected beam through a corresponding angle and thereby to switch the radar arrangement between first and second operating modes.
A method of detecting first and second types of target within a predetermined target area, comprising the steps of emitting a radar beam of predetermined elongate cross-sectional shape onto a reflector which reflects the beam into the target area with the beam having a first predetermined orientation with respect to the target area, turning the emitted beam and the reflector bodily together about a predetermined axis so as to scan the reflected beam through at least part of the target area, shifting the reflector relative to the emitted beam by a predetermined angular distance with respect to an axis aligned with the emitted beam so as to give the reflected beam a second, different, predetermined orientation with respect to the target area, and then moving the emitted beam and the reflector bodily together again about the said axis so as to scan the reflected beam through at least part of the target area, the first and second predetermined orientations of the beam with respect to the target areas being suited to detect targets of the first and second types respectively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.