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| 1 | 10520596 | FM-CW radar and method of generating FM-CW signal | An FM-CW radar includes a high frequency circuit that receives a reflected wave from a target, and a signal processing unit that converts an analog signal generated by the high frequency circuit into a digital signal and detects at least a distance to the target and velocity of the target. The high frequency circuit includes a VCO that receives a modulation voltage from the signal processing unit and generates a frequency-modulated high frequency signal. The signal processing unit includes an LUT that stores default modulation control data. The signal processing unit calculates frequency information from phase information of output of the VCO, and updates the data stored in the LUT with correction data that is generated by using a result of the calculation. | Kazunori Kurashige (Tokyo, JP) | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Chiyoda-ku, JP) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-12-31 | G01S13/58, G01S7/40 | 15/549477 |
| 2 | 10516875 | Method and apparatus for obtaining depth image by using time-of-flight sensor | A method and an apparatus for obtaining a depth image by using a time-of-flight sensor may generate a depth image based on a plurality of images in which a motion blur area caused by a movement of an object was corrected. In this case, since the motion blur area is corrected after an initial phase difference of emitted light is compensated, an accuracy of the depth image may be enhanced. | Ji Zhao (Beijing, CN), Wen Zhou (Beijing, CN), Haitao Wang (Beijing, CN), Yonghwa Park (Yongin-si, KR) | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon-si, KR) | 2017-01-19 | 2019-12-24 | H04N7/12, G06T7/521, G06T5/00, H04N11/02, G01S7/497, G01S17/36, H04N13/128, H04N13/271, G06T7/55, G06T5/50, H04N13/254, H04N11/04, H04N13/00 | 15/410127 |
| 3 | 10514483 | Time-of-flight camera for imaging through optical cavity | In illustrative implementations, an imaging system may comprise a lens, an optical cavity and a time-of-flight camera. The imaging system may capture an image of a scene. The image may be formed by light that is from the scene and that passes through the optical cavity and the lens. In some cases, the lens is in front of the optical cavity, enabling the Euclidean distance between the lens and the camera sensor to be less than the nominal focal length of the lens. In some cases, the lens is inside the optical cavity, enabling the camera to acquire ultrafast multi-zoom images without moving or changing the shape of any optical element. In some cases, the lens is behind the optical cavity, enabling the system to perform ultrafast multi-spectral imaging. In other cases, an optical cavity between the scene and time-of-camera enables ultrafast ellipsometry measurements or ultrafast spatial frequency filtering. | Barmak Heshmat Dehkordi (Cambridge, MA), Matthew Tancik (Cambridge, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 2017-08-21 | 2019-12-24 | H04N5/225, G02B5/28, H04N5/262, H04N5/265, G02B27/28, G01S17/88, G06T7/521, G02B27/30, G01S7/48 | 15/682145 |
| 4 | 10509417 | Flight planning for unmanned aerial tower inspection with long baseline positioning | Inspections of towers with unmanned aerial vehicles is challenging because judging the distance to narrow tower members, phase conductors, or guy wires is very difficult for people. These flights may be automated by first creating a three dimensional model of the tower from a scan, determining a safe standoff distance for the unmanned aerial vehicle, generating flight segments to provide complete inspection coverage of the tower while maintaining the standoff distance, and then safely and accurately flying the segments in most wind conditions by using location correction messages from remote reference stations. | Izak Jan van Cruyningen (Saratoga, CA) | --- | 2016-03-17 | 2019-12-17 | G05D1/00, G01S19/14, G01S17/89, G05D1/10, G01S19/43 | 15/558363 |
| 5 | 10509126 | Method for driving a time-of-flight system | The present invention relates to a method for driving a Time-of-Flight system for use with an illumination system being adapted to illuminate a scene with a modulated signal, the ToF system having an imaging sensor comprising at least one pixel, said pixel comprising taps driven by driving signals for detecting the modulated signal reflected from the scene, the method comprising, for each pixel, the steps of determining at least a first and a second pair of taps and driving each pair of taps to detect the reflected modulated signal during a predetermined number N of cycles of the modulated signal. | Ward Van Der Tempel (Keerbergen, BE), Thomas Finateu (Brussels, BE), Kyriaki Korina Fotopoulou (Brussels, BE) | Sony Depthsensing Solutions Sa/Nv (Brussels, BE) | 2015-01-08 | 2019-12-17 | G01C3/08, G01S17/89, G01S17/36 | 14/897275 |
| 6 | 10509124 | Method for estimating time of flight for acoustic pyrometry | A method for estimating a time of flight of an acoustic signal in a hot gas flow path having background noise wherein a plurality of transceivers each generate an acoustic signal. The method includes providing an acoustic signal of interest that travels in a direction opposite a reference acoustic signal on a first acoustic path between a pair of transceivers. The method also includes identifying at least one minimum peak height in the acoustic signal of interest having a peak height that is greater than the background noise. Further, the method includes obtaining time of flight information of other acoustic paths having substantially the same path length as the first path to provide a range of time of flights wherein a time of flight that falls within the time of flight range and is associated with a minimum peak height forms the estimated time of flight. | Upul P. DeSilva (Oviedo, FL), Heiko Claussen (North Brunswick, NJ), Karthik Ragunathan (Bangalore, IN) | Siemens Energy, Inc. (Orlando, FL) | 2016-03-01 | 2019-12-17 | G01S15/58, F02C9/26, G01K13/02, G01F1/66, G01M15/14, G01K11/24 | 15/057520 |
| 7 | 10502830 | Limitation of noise on light detectors using an aperture | The present disclosure relates to limitation of noise on light detectors using an aperture. One example embodiment includes a system. The system includes a lens disposed relative to a scene and configured to focus light from the scene onto a focal plane. The system also includes an aperture defined within an opaque material disposed at the focal plane of the lens. The aperture has a cross-sectional area. In addition, the system includes an array of light detectors disposed on a side of the focal plane opposite the lens and configured to intercept and detect diverging light focused by the lens and transmitted through the aperture. A cross-sectional area of the array of light detectors that intercepts the diverging light is greater than the cross-sectional area of the aperture. | Pierre-Yves Droz (Los Altos, CA), Blaise Gassend (East Palo Alto, CA), Caner Onal (Palo Alto, CA), David Hutchison (Santa Clara, CA) | Waymo Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-10-13 | 2019-12-10 | G01J1/42, G01S17/42, G01J1/04, G01S7/481, G01J1/44, G01S7/486, G01J3/02, G01S17/08 | 15/292251 |
| 8 | 10502618 | Waveguide diffuser for light detection using an aperture | The present disclosure relates to limitation of noise on light detectors using an aperture. One example implementation includes a system. The system includes a lens disposed relative to a scene. The lens focuses light from the scene. The system also includes an aperture defined within an opaque material. The system also includes a waveguide having a first side that receives light focused by the lens and transmitted through the aperture. The waveguide guides the received light toward a second side of the waveguide opposite to the first side. The waveguide has a third side extending between the first side and the second side. The system also includes an array of light detectors that intercepts and detects light propagating out of the third side of the waveguide. | Pierre-Yves Droz (Los Altos, CA), David Hutchison (Santa Clara, CA) | Waymo Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-03 | 2019-12-10 | G01C3/08, G02B6/08, G01S7/481, G01S17/89, G01J1/04, G01J1/44 | 15/368579 |
| 9 | 10498955 | Commercial drone detection | One embodiment provides a method of capturing the presence of a drone, including: collecting, using at least one sensor, data associated with an aerial object, analyzing, using a processor, the data to determine at least one characteristic of the aerial object, accessing, in a database, a library of stored characteristics of commercially available drones, determining, based on the analyzing, if the at least one characteristic of the aerial object matches a characteristic of a commercially available drone, and responsive to the determining, generating an indication of a positive match. Other aspects are described and claimed. | Gary J. Nadler (Marlboro, NJ) | Disney Enterprises, Inc. (Burbank, CA) | 2015-08-03 | 2019-12-03 | G01S13/14, H04N5/232, H04N5/247, G01S7/539, G06K9/62, G06K9/00, G01S15/14, H04N5/77, B64C39/02 | 14/816829 |
| 10 | 10497738 | First photon correlated time-of-flight sensor | A time-of-flight (TOF) sensor includes a light source, a plurality of avalanche photodiodes, and a plurality of pulse generators. Control circuitry is coupled to the light source, the plurality of avalanche photodiodes, and the plurality of pulse generators, and the control circuitry includes logic that when executed by the control circuitry causes the time-of-flight sensor to perform operations. The operations include emitting the light from the light source, and receiving the light reflected from an object with the plurality of avalanche photodiodes. A plurality of pulses is output from the individual pulse generators corresponding to the individual avalanche photodiodes that received the light, and a timing signal is output when the plurality of pulses overlap temporally. A time is calculated when a first avalanche photodiode in the plurality of avalanche photodiodes received the light. | Olivier Bulteel (Oslo, NO) | Omnivision Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) | 2018-04-20 | 2019-12-03 | H01L27/146, G06T7/50, G02B27/22, G01S17/89, H01L31/107, G02B27/09, H01L31/02 | 15/958434 |
| 11 | 10495751 | System and method for detecting and visualizing targets by airborne radar | A SYSTEM for DETECTING and VISUALIZING TARGETS BY AIRBORNE RADAR, comprising a plurality of N antennae with a narrow beam in elevation and wide in azimuth, regularly disposed on a rotary base coupled to an engine, the elevation orientations of said antennae being staggered according to a defined pattern, each antenna being associated to a radar device endowed with computer means furnishing information relating to distance, azimuth, elevation and speed of fixed and moving obstacles above and below the plane of said rotary base. Some antennae point towards a place above the horizon, the angles of view being progressively descending so as to cover a volume that extends above and below the plane of the horizon, and may reach the ground. Said volume results from the sum of the volumes of superimposed cones, each cone corresponding to an elevation angle. The system combines the images of the N conical volumes to provide the pilot or operator a three-dimensional image. | Joao Roberto Moreira Neto (Valinhos-SP, BR), Kostyantyn Alexandrovich Lukin (Kharkov, UA) | Bradar Industria S.A. (Sao Jose dos Campos, BR) | 2016-11-25 | 2019-12-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/94, G01S13/87, G01S13/42 | 15/361238 |
| 12 | 10495750 | Spectral replacement to mitigate interference for multi-pass synthetic aperture radar | Various technologies for mitigating interference artifacts in multi-pass synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery are described herein. First and second phase histories corresponding to first and second SAR passes over a scene are processed in image and phase-history domains to correct for spatially-variant and constant phase offsets between the phase histories that can be caused by known and unknown variations in motion of a SAR platform between passes. Data samples from one phase history can then be replaced with data samples from the other phase history to remove artifacts and distortions caused by sources of interference in the scene. | Cameron Musgrove (Albuquerque, NM), Richard M. Naething (Albuquerque, NM), Douglas L. Bickel (Albuquerque, NM) | National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, Llc (Albuquerque, NM) | 2016-11-15 | 2019-12-03 | G01S13/90 | 15/351949 |
| 13 | 10495728 | Signal interference prevention system for a frequency-modulated continuous wave radar altimeter | Systems and methods of operating an interference prevention system in a radar altimeter are provided. A method includes generating integer values with at least one pseudorandom noise sequence generator. The generated integer values are used as indexes to select at least one of start frequencies and stop frequencies from at least one frequency table for frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) ramps for a generated radar signal. The selected at least one of the start frequencies and the stop frequencies is provided to a frequency synthesizer. The at least one of start frequencies and the stop frequencies are used in generating transmit frames of the radar signal with the frequency synthesizer. | Seth T. Frick (Saint Paul, MN), Benjamin J. Winstead (South Burlington, VT) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2017-03-06 | 2019-12-03 | G01S7/02, G01S13/88, G01S13/34 | 15/451336 |
| 14 | 10495662 | Multifunction probe for primary references for aircraft, associated measuring system, aircraft and method for obtaining physical quantities | A multifunction probe for primary references for an aircraft, an associated measuring system, aircraft and method for obtaining physical quantities are disclosed. In one aspect, the multifunction probe includes a base designed to be fastened on the cockpit of an aircraft, a plurality of static pressure taps arranged through the base and connected to pressure measuring devices and an optical window transparent to laser radiation and positioned in the base for the passage of laser radiation through the base. The multifunction probe further includes at least one laser anemometry optical head positioned to take laser anemometry measurements through the optical window and a static temperature probe mounted on the base. | Gilles Genevrier (Valence, FR), Jacques Mandle (Valence, FR), Cedric Flaven (Valence, FR), Jean-Pierre Schlotterbeck (Valence, FR) | Thales (Courbevoie, FR) | 2016-04-19 | 2019-12-03 | G01P3/36, G01C23/00, G01S7/481, G01P5/14, G01P5/26, G01P21/02, G01S17/02, G01S17/95, G01S17/58, G01P13/02, B64D43/02 | 15/132978 |
| 15 | 10495465 | System and method of extracting ground route of aircraft, and computer-readable recording medium thereof | A system for extracting a ground route of an aircraft includes an airport surface detector acquiring ground movement information of an aircraft detected in an airport, a mapper acquiring node information of the airport from a database and mapping the ground movement information with the node information, a route detector detecting taxi route information of the aircraft by collecting adjacent node information of a mapped coordinate and erasing redundant node information among collected adjacent node information, a node identifier identifying start node information or end node information of a taxi route by using stand node information of the aircraft, and a final route extractor extracting a final taxi route including an extracted shortest route by dividing the taxi route into a plurality of sub-routes and applying a shortest route algorithm to the divided sub-routes. | Myeong-Sook Jeong (Daejeon, KR), Yeonju Eun (Daejeon, KR), Hyoun Kyoung Kim (Daejeon, KR), Eun Mi Oh (Daejeon, KR), Daekeun Jeon (Daejeon, KR), Sungkwon Hong (Daejeon, KR), Jihyeon Kwon (Seoul, KR) | Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Daejeon, KR) | 2017-06-29 | 2019-12-03 | G01C21/00, G08G5/06, G01S13/91 | 15/636696 |
| 16 | 10488520 | Time-of-flight sensor | A time-of-flight (TOF) sensor includes a set of optical converters, each optical converter is configured to convert a reflection of the optical pulse from an object in the scene into an analog signal indicative of a time-of-flight of the optical pulse to the object. To that end, the set of optical converters produces a set of analog signals. The TOF sensor also includes at least one modulator to uniquely modulate each analog signal from the set of analog signals to produce a set of modulated signals, a mixer to mix the modulated signals to produce a mixed signal, and an analog to digital converter to sample the mixed signal to produce a set of data samples indicative of the TOF to the scene. | Petros T Boufounos (Winchester, MA), Achuta Kadambi (Cambridge, MA) | Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) | 2016-10-11 | 2019-11-26 | G01S17/00, G01S17/42, G01S7/486, G01S17/89, G01S7/48 | 15/290147 |
| 17 | 10488512 | Landing guidance for remotely operated aerial vehicles using crossed radar beams | The present invention extends to methods, systems, devices, and apparatus for landing guidance for remotely operated aerial vehicles using crossed radar beams. Radar units can be angled over a landing pad/dish for a Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicle. The Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicle lines up over radar beams by basically following radar beams to equalize the returned energy of each beam. The radar units facilitate lateral position tracking. When a Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicle is off to one side, returns for one or more beams may be stronger than returns for one or more other beans. When a Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicle is maneuvered to an appropriate position for terminal guidance, rotors can be turned off and/or thrust settled (e.g., to 90%) . | Paul E. I. Pounds (Brisbane, AU) | Olaeris, Inc. (Burleson, TX) | 2017-04-07 | 2019-11-26 | G01S13/91, G01S13/87, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, B64C39/02, B64D45/04 | 15/481769 |
| 18 | 10480986 | Aircraft fuel measurement | A method of estimating a quantity of a liquid fuel in a fuel tank of an aircraft is disclosed. A surface of the fuel is illuminated with light so that the light is reflected or scattered by the surface of the fuel onto an array of sensors. The light travels to and from the surface of the fuel via a measurement path containing a transmission medium. A measured time of flight is made at each sensor for the light which travels via the measurement path to that sensor. At least one of the sensors is illuminated with light via a reference path containing a transmission medium with substantially the same refractive index as the transmission medium in the measurement path, the reference path having a known reference distance which does not vary in accordance with the quantity of the fuel. | Alessio Cipullo (Bristol, GB), Stephen Burnell (Bristol, GB), Joseph K-W Lam (Bristol, GB) | Airbus Operations Limited (Bristol, GB) | 2016-06-22 | 2019-11-19 | G01C3/08, G01F23/292, B64D37/00, G01S17/10 | 15/189511 |
| 19 | 10478841 | Modular sprayer system for heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles | A modular sprayer system for use with heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles includes a liquid storage tank for receiving and storing any type of agricultural products. A mounting unit is located along the top of the tank and includes hardware for securing the system to a UAV. Skid-type landing gear is permanently secured to the outside of the tank, and an electric pump is disposed within the tank. The location of the pump dampens movement of fluid within the tank during flight. One or more elongated booms are in fluid communication with the pump and terminate into dispensing units having one or more nozzles for releasing the fluid. A control unit is in electrical communication with one or both of the UAV to which the system is secured and a system operator. A tank level sensor and imaging systems are communicatively linked with the control unit. | Benjamin Harris (Casselberry, FL) | Harris Aerial Llc (Casselberry, FL) | 2017-11-21 | 2019-11-19 | B05B9/00, A01C23/04, B05B12/08, H04N7/18, B64D1/18, A01M7/00, B05B12/12, G01S17/88, B64C1/06, B05B9/04, B64C25/52, A01C23/00, B64C39/02, G01S17/02, B05B15/65, B05B1/16 | 15/819756 |
| 20 | 10472086 | Sensor-based detection of landing zones | A method of detecting a landing zone includes scanning an area using a sensor system to obtain data of the area. One or more markings are identified from the data. The one or more markings are verified as corresponding to an intended landing zone. | William McNeill (Stratford, CT) | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Stratford, CT) | 2017-03-20 | 2019-11-12 | B64D45/08, G06F7/02, G01S17/89, G06F16/25, G01S17/42, G01S7/48, B64F1/18 | 15/463430 |
| 21 | 10455178 | Optical sensor device and method for operating a time-of-flight sensor | An optical sensor device, which may be a time-of-flight sensor, comprises a pixel array having a plurality of pixels. Moreover, the optical sensor device comprises a read-out node configured to provide photo-generated charge carriers from a first pixel and a second pixel for read-out and a first transfer gate configured to enable a read-out of the first pixel using the read-out node and a second transfer gate to disable a read-out of the second pixel during read-out of the first pixel. | Henning Feick (Dresden, DE) | Infineon Technologies Ag (Neubiberg, DE) | 2017-03-29 | 2019-10-22 | H04N5/374, H04N5/378, G01S17/00, H04N5/3745 | 15/472340 |
| 22 | 10451741 | Time of flight camera | A continuous wave time of flight (CW-TOF) camera operable to determine distances to features in a scene that are corrected for light that the camera transmits that is back scattered to a photosensor in the camera by structural features of the camera. | Zhanping Xu (Sunnyvale, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2017-04-30 | 2019-10-22 | G01C3/08, G01S17/32, G01S7/497, G01S7/491, G01S7/493, G01S17/89, H04N5/225 | 15/582702 |
| 23 | 10446040 | Safe speed advisories for flight deck interval management (FIM) paired approach (PA) systems | Technologically improved Flight Deck Interval Management Paired Approach (FIMPA) system and methods are provided that provide safe speed guidance to a trail aircraft. The FIMPA system comprises a processor operatively coupled to a memory and a database of aircraft-specific parameters. The processor is configured to: receive instantaneous target traffic state data, receive instantaneous state data of a trail aircraft, process the state data, target traffic state data, and aircraft-specific parameters to determine a safe speed zone to perform paired approach, and a recommended speed, render, on a cockpit display, a paired approach bar (PAB) with indicators for (i) a current location of the target traffic, (ii) a current trail aircraft speed, and (iii) the recommended speed, and wherein the indicators are separate and visually distinguishable from each other, determine a wake risk area, and render the wake risk area in a visually distinguishable manner on the PAB. | Umesh Hosamani (Karnataka, IN), Prashanth Thirumalaivenjamur (Karnataka, IN), Abdur Rab (Karnataka, IN), Raghu Shamasundar (Karnataka, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2018-01-05 | 2019-10-15 | G08G5/02, G08G5/00, B64D45/08, G01C23/00, G01S13/95, G01S13/93 | 15/863014 |
| 24 | 10445893 | Dot-based time of flight | A system for three-dimensional imaging includes a structured light illuminator, an imaging sensor, and a time-of-flight controller in data communication with the structured light illuminator and the imaging sensor. The structured light illuminator provides an output light in a structured light pattern and the imaging sensor receives a reflected portion of the output light. The time-of-flight controller coordinates the structured light illuminator and imaging sensor and calculates a time-of-flight of the output light and the reflected portion. | Michael Bleyer (Seattle, WA), Raymond Kirk Price (Redmond, WA), Denis Demandolx (Bellevue, WA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2017-03-10 | 2019-10-15 | G06T7/557, H04N5/225, G01B11/25, G01S17/89, G06T7/521 | 15/455808 |
| 25 | 10444368 | Measuring cloud metrics using diverging quasi-optical radar | Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining, based on a detected portion of a projected pulse of quasi-optical energy backscattered by water particles within a divergent projection volume of a cloud atmosphere, properties of the backscattering water particles. The pulse of quasi-optical energy is projected into the divergent projection volume of the cloud atmosphere. The divergent projection volume is defined by an axis of projection and an angle of projection about the axis of projection. The portion of the projected pulse of optical energy backscattered by water particles within the divergent projection volume of the cloud atmosphere is received and detected. Various properties of the backscattering water particles, which can be determined from the detected portion of the projected pulse backscattered by water particles can include particle density and/or particle size. | Mark Ray (Burnsville, MN), Kaare Josef Anderson (Farmington, MN), Mark Sherwood Miller (Lakeville, MN) | Rosemount Aerospace Inc. (Burnsville, MN) | 2016-08-18 | 2019-10-15 | G01C3/08, G01S17/95, G01S7/02, G01S7/28, G01S7/481, G01S7/483, G01S7/499, G01S13/86, G01S13/95, H01P1/161, B64D45/00, B64D15/20, H01P1/17, H01Q5/22, H01Q13/02 | 15/240438 |
| 26 | 10439293 | Antenna systems using aircraft propellers | In one embodiment, a system includes an aircraft body and a propeller coupled to the aircraft body. The propeller includes a plurality of blades forming a rearward-facing curvature with respect to an axis running longitudinally with the aircraft body. The system further includes a surface coupled to a first blade of the propeller that is operable to reflect radio frequency (RF) waves. | Mike I. Jones (Azle, TX) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2017-03-20 | 2019-10-08 | H01Q15/14, H01Q15/16, B64C1/36, B64C39/02, B64C11/20, B64C11/00, H01Q1/28, H01Q1/44, G01S13/00 | 15/463167 |
| 27 | 10436174 | Turbine fluid velocity field measurement | A method of three-dimensional Doppler velocimetry applicable to turbines such as wind turbines achieves improved velocimetry by use of various possible convergent beam geometries and employing beam sources mounted on the turbine such as on a wind turbine nacelle, rotor hub or rotor blades. | Theodore Holtom (Glasgow, GB) | Wind Farm Analytics Ltd (Glasgow, GB) | 2014-06-09 | 2019-10-08 | G01P3/36, F03D1/06, G01P5/26, G01S17/58, G01S17/95, F03D17/00, F03D7/02, F03D80/80 | 14/901664 |
| 28 | 10431104 | Aircraft collision avoidance system | An aircraft collision avoidance system including (a) at least one separation monitoring device connectable to at least a portion of an aircraft and/or vehicle, the separation monitoring device comprising (1) at least one transmitter, (2) at least one receiver, and (3) an image sensor, and (b) a master unit. | Gregory M. Griffith (Holland, MI) | Wingguard, Llc (Holland, MI) | 2018-07-03 | 2019-10-01 | G08G5/04, G08G5/06, G08B3/10, B64F1/22, G01S13/93, G01S13/86 | 16/026843 |
| 29 | 10429940 | Device and method for recognizing hand gestures using time-of-flight sensing | An electronic device includes at least one laser source configured to direct laser radiation toward a user's hand. Laser detectors are configured to receive reflected laser radiation from the user's hand. A controller is coupled to the at least one laser source and laser detectors and configured to determine a set of distance values to the user's hand for each respective laser detector and based upon a time-of-flight of the laser radiation. The controller also determines a hand gesture from among a plurality of possible hand gestures based upon the sets of distance values using Bayesian probabilities. | Olivier Pothier (Sceaux, FR) | Stmicroelectronics Sa (Montrouge, FR) | 2017-12-28 | 2019-10-01 | G06F3/01, G06F3/03, G01S17/58 | 15/856603 |
| 30 | 10429501 | Motorcycle blind spot detection system and rear collision alert using mechanically aligned radar | A blind spot detection system for a motorcycle, which includes an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a detection device for detecting the presence of a vehicle in at least one blind spot. The accelerometer detects a gravity force vector, and the gyroscope detects the position of the motorcycle relative to the gravity force vector such that a lean angle of the motorcycle is calculated. The detection device is then configured to maintain the same position of the motorcycle relative to the gravity force vector and compensate for the position of the motorcycle if the lean angle is greater or less than 90.degree., such that the detection device is able to detect the presence of the vehicle in the at least one blind spot, independent of the lean angle of the motorcycle. | David Pineda-Deom (Tlajomulco de Zuniga, MX) | Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (Auburn Hills, MI) | 2015-12-18 | 2019-10-01 | G01S13/93, B60W40/112, G01S7/40, G06K9/20, G06K9/00, G08G1/16, G01S13/02 | 14/973832 |
| 31 | 10429490 | Unmanned aerial vehicle with deployable transmit/receive module apparatus with ramjet | A system for bistatic radar target detection employs an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a ramjet providing supersonic cruise of the UAV. Deployable antenna arms support a passive radar receiver for bistatic reception of reflected radar pulses. The UAV operates with a UAV flight profile in airspace beyond a radar range limit. The deployable antenna arms have a first retracted position for supersonic cruise and are adapted for deployment to a second extended position acting as an airbrake and providing boresight alignment of the radar receiver. A mothership aircraft has a radar transmitter for transmitting radar pulses and operates with an aircraft flight profile outside the radar range limit. A communications data link operably interconnects the UAV and the tactical mothership aircraft, transmitting data produced by the bistatic reception of reflected radar pulses in the UAV radar antenna to the mothership aircraft. | Inyoung Daniel Kim (St. Louis, MO), Ryan S. Wilson (Creve Coeur, MO) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2018-07-30 | 2019-10-01 | B64C29/00, B64C39/02, B64D5/00, F02K7/10, G01S7/00, G05D1/00, B64C3/38, F42B10/48, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, B64C30/00, G01S7/02, H01Q1/28, B64D47/02, B64D7/00, B64C9/32 | 16/049158 |
| 32 | 10427789 | Unmanned aerial vehicle used in fishing | The present disclosure discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , comprising a housing having a top part and a bottom part, a plurality of arms arranged on the top part, each arm having a motor and an airscrew, a battery unit arranged within the housing, a processor arranged within the housing, a sonar unit having a wire connected thereto, and a positioning unit detachably mounted within a mounting groove recessed from the bottom part, wherein the positioning unit is connected to the wire and configured to retract or release the wire. An UAV readily configured for fishing can be provided by embodiments of the present disclosure. | Tao Gan (Melbourne, AU) | --- | 2017-07-09 | 2019-10-01 | B64C39/02, A01K93/00, B64D1/00, G05D1/00, A01K83/00, A01K97/02, A01K91/02, B64D1/22, A01K79/00, G01S15/96, A01K99/00, A01K97/12 | 15/644794 |
| 33 | 10425628 | Alternating frequency captures for time of flight depth sensing | Time-of-flight (ToF) 3D depth sensors are used virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) due to their light weight, small form factor, low computation cost and high depth quality. Phase based ToF sensors can provide depth maps with reasonable resolutions (VGA or equivalent) at adequate framerates for traditional 3D sensing applications such as video surveillance, surface reconstruction, gesture recognition and skeleton tracking. Recently, more sophisticated input methods, such as articulated hand tracking, require substantially higher frame rates. Traditionally increasing the frame rate increases the sensor and compute power proportionally to the increased number of frames/second. However, wireless, wearable devices, have limited power capacity. The teachings of this disclosure enable a 2.times. increase in frame rate without increase to the camera power consumption, and with only modest increases in the computational load. | Raymond Kirk Price (Redmond, WA), Michael Bleyer (Seattle, WA), Denis Demandolx (Bellevue, WA), Jian Zhao (Kenmore, WA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2017-02-01 | 2019-09-24 | H04N13/204, G06F3/03, G06F3/01, G02B27/01, G01S17/32, G01S17/36, G01S17/66, G01S17/88, G01S17/89, G01S7/491, G06F1/16, G06F1/3234 | 15/422400 |
| 34 | 10422879 | Time-of-flight distance measuring device | A time-of-flight distance measuring device divides a base exposure period into a plurality of sub exposure periods and holds without resetting an electric charge stored in the sub exposure period for a one round period which is one round of the plurality of sub exposure periods. The distance measurement value of short time exposure is acquired during the one round period and the distance measurement value of long time exposure is acquired during a plurality of the one round periods. Both of the distance measurement value of the long time exposure and the distance measurement value of the short time exposure can be acquired from the same pixel. With this, a dynamic range is expanded without being restricted by a receiving state of reflected light, optical design of received light, and an arrangement of pixels. | Toshiaki Nagai (Kariya, JP) | Denso Corporation (Kariya, JP) | 2015-11-12 | 2019-09-24 | G01C3/08, G01S17/08, G01S17/36, G01S17/89, G01S7/491, H04N5/353, H04N5/355, H04N5/3745 | 15/525311 |
| 35 | 10422872 | Integrity monitoring of radar altimeters | Methods for radar altimeter integrity monitoring are provided. One method comprises obtaining one or more GNSS measurements, or one or more hybridized GNSS/INS measurements, in an earth-centered-earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate frame for a vehicle, obtaining one or more altitude measurements from one or more radar altimeters, transforming the altitude measurements into the ECEF coordinate frame using a terrain map and a GNSS or hybridized GNSS/INS based position estimate with ensured integrity, determining a full solution estimate of position for the vehicle based on the transformed altitude measurements, and the GNSS or hybridized GNSS/INS measurements, determining one or more sub-solution estimates of position based on a subset of the transformed altitude measurements, and the GNSS or hybridized GNSS/INS measurements, comparing the full solution estimate with the sub-solution estimates using statistical analysis, and determining an altitude protection level based on a probability of hazardous misleading information and a probability of false detection. | Jindrich Dunik (Plzen, CZ), Milos Sotak (Slavkov u Brna, CZ), Zdenek Kana (Dubnany, CZ), David C. Vacanti (Renton, WA), Michal Dobes (Olomouc, CZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2016-06-01 | 2019-09-24 | G01S13/88, G01S19/20, G01S7/40, G01S13/08, G01S13/86, G01S19/47, G01C21/20, G01C21/16, G01C21/30 | 15/170322 |
| 36 | 10416668 | Scanning environments and tracking unmanned aerial vehicles | Systems and methods for scanning environments and tracking unmanned aerial vehicles within the scanned environments are disclosed. A method in accordance with a particular embodiment includes using a rangefinder off-board an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to identify points in a region. The method can further include forming a computer-based map of the region with the points and using the rangefinder and a camera to locate the UAV as it moves in the region. The location of the UAV can be compared with locations on the computer-based map and, based upon the comparison, the method can include transmitting guidance information to the UAV. In a further particular embodiment, two-dimensional imaging data is used in addition to the rangefinder data to provide color information to points in the region. | Asa Hammond (Cotati, CA), Nathan Schuett (Belmont, CA), Naimisaranya Das Busek (Seattle, WA) | Prenav, Inc. (Redwood City, CA) | 2016-03-02 | 2019-09-17 | G05D1/00, G06T17/05, G06K9/52, G06K9/62, G06T7/20, G06T7/60, G01S17/66, G08G5/04, G01S7/481, G01S17/02, G01S17/93, G01S17/89, G01S17/87, H04N13/128, G05D1/10, G08G5/00, B64C39/02, G06F3/0484, G06K9/00, G06T7/00, H04N13/00, F03D17/00 | 15/059101 |
| 37 | 10416293 | Histogram readout method and circuit for determining the time of flight of a photon | A histogramming readout circuit is described. The readout circuit comprises a time to digital converter (TDC) configured to continually report time-stamps defining an arrival time of a laser clock and a signal output from a photosensor. Memory is provided for 10 storing TDC events. A programmable processor is configured to implement a state machine. The state machine being operable to save a time-stamp when a TDC event is detected, determine the time of flight of each of the photons detected by the photosensor, use each calculated time of flight to address a memory location, build up a histogram of the TDC data values using the memory locations as time-bins, and maintain a pointer to a maximum memory location where the highest number of TDC event resides. A calculator is operable to read the value of the maximum memory location and one or more adjacent time-bins either side for processing. | Steven John Buckley (Henlow, GB), John Carlton Jackson (Cobb, IE) | Sensl Technologies Ltd. (County Cork, IE) | 2016-12-12 | 2019-09-17 | G01C3/08, G01S7/486, G01S17/10, G04F10/00 | 15/376464 |
| 38 | 10410450 | Wireless backscatter with time-of-flight for vehicle communication | Method and apparatus are disclosed for wireless backscatter with time-of-flight for vehicle communication. An example vehicle includes a communication module for Wi-Fi communication and a controller. The controller is to send a signal via the communication module upon identifying a passive-entry passive-start (PEPS) request and receive a backscatter signal from an electronic device. The backscatter signal is a reflection of the signal. The controller also is to determine a distance to the electronic device based upon the backscatter signal and perform the PEPS request upon determining the distance corresponds with the PEPS request. | Aaron Matthew DeLong (Toledo, OH), Vivekanandh Elangovan (Canton, MI), Ali Hassani (Ann Arbor, MI), John Robert Van Wiemeersch (Novi, MI) | Ford Global Technologies, Llc (Dearborn, MI) | 2018-06-27 | 2019-09-10 | G07C9/00, G01S13/75, G01S13/76, B60C23/02, B60R25/24 | 16/020216 |
| 39 | 10409293 | Gimbal stabilized components for remotely operated aerial vehicles | The present invention extends to methods, systems, devices, apparatus, and computer program products for gimbal stabilized components for remotely operated vehicles. Aspects of the invention include a gimbal stabilized radar system. A radar unit is mounted on a vertical (or horizontal) gimbal attached to a remotely operated aerial vehicle. In aspects, a radar unit is mounted to a gimbal having multiple degrees of freedom. When the remotely operated aerial vehicle rotates and/or changes its orientation in space, the gimbal compensates keeping the direction and elevation angle of the radar essentially constant. | Paul E. I. Pounds (Brisbane, AU), Edward Lindsley (Burelson, TX) | Olaeris, Inc. (Burleson, TX) | 2017-03-31 | 2019-09-10 | G05D1/08, B64C39/02, B64D47/08, B64C9/00, G05D1/10, G05D3/00, G01S13/02, G05D1/00, G01S19/42 | 15/475142 |
| 40 | 10403161 | Interface for accessing airspace data | A process is described that includes the generation and transmission of collision avoidance data and/or collision avoidance instructions based on data from 3-D radar scans of an airspace. The transmitted data and/or instructions could facilitate collision avoidance by aerial vehicles operating in the airspace. The transmitted data could be limited to protect the security, privacy, and/or safety of other aerial vehicles, airborne objects, and/or individuals within the airspace. The transmitted data could be limited such that only information pertaining to a region of the airspace proximate to a particular aerial vehicle was transmitted. The transmitted data could be limited such that it included instructions that could be executed by a particular aerial vehicle to avoid collisions and such that the transmitted data did not include location or other data associated with other aerial vehicles or airborne objects in the airspace. | Adam Bry (San Mateo, CA), Abraham Bachrach (San Francisco, CA), Bruno Andre Posokhow (Redwood City, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-07-07 | 2019-09-03 | G08G5/04, B64C39/02, G01S13/93, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, G01S13/00 | 15/204949 |
| 41 | 10403158 | Vertical landing vehicle, situational awareness system, and method thereof | A vertical landing vehicle including an airframe forming a hull and having at least one wing coupled to the airframe, at least one proximity sensor coupled to the airframe, and a flight control system including a control processor and an operator interface, the at least one proximity sensor being coupled to the control processor, the control processor being configured to receive proximity signals from the at least one proximity sensor and present, through the operator interface and based on the proximity signals, situational awareness information of obstacles within a predetermined distance of the vertical landing vehicle relative to the hull and/or the at least one wing. | Eric Lieberman (Broomall, PA), William Brendan Blanton (Wilmington, DE) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2017-04-06 | 2019-09-03 | G08G5/02, G01S13/94, G01S13/88, G01S13/86, G08G5/04, G05D1/06, B64D45/08, G05D1/08, B64D45/06 | 15/480927 |
| 42 | 10401496 | Optoelectronic modules operable to collect distance data via time-of-flight and triangulation | An optoelectronic module operable to collect distance data via a time-of-flight mode and a time-of-flight-triangulation mode includes an illumination assembly and an imaging assembly. The imaging assembly includes at least one demodulation pixel operable to determine distance to an object via a time-of-flight mode and a time-of-flight-triangulation mode. Multi-path distance inaccuracies can be mitigated in some implementations. | Bernhard Buettgen (Adliswil, CH) | Ams Sensors Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2016-08-18 | 2019-09-03 | G01C3/08, G01S17/36, G01S17/48, G01S7/491 | 15/240146 |
| 43 | 10401466 | System for identifying drones | A system for identifying a drone is adapted to determine a base threat value for a drone. The system includes a scanning system, configured to obtain data that is stored in a pattern database. A timer that has a data structure for storing a counter initialized to a predetermined value, the timer being operable to iteratively increment the counter if the counter value is less than a timer increment. A microprocessor is programmed with instructions to receive information from the scanning system about the drone. Then, to store the information in a pattern database. After that, to determine a base threat value of the drone based on the information stored in the pattern database. Finally, to communicate the base threat value to a user so that the user can determine whether the drone is a friend or a foe. | Zain Abedien Naboulsi, Jr. (Katy, TX) | --- | 2018-08-24 | 2019-09-03 | G01S3/02, G01S7/48, G01S7/02, G01S3/78, G01S13/04, G01S17/02 | 16/111756 |
| 44 | 10397802 | Detecting changes at cell sites and surrounding areas using unmanned aerial vehicles | Systems and method for cell site inspection by a cell site operator using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and a processing device include creating an initial computer model of a cell site and surrounding geography at a first point in time, wherein the initial computer model represents a known good state of the cell site and the surrounding geography, providing the initial computer model to one or more of the UAV and the processing device, capturing current data of the cell site and the surrounding geography at a second point in time using the UAV, comparing the current data to the initial computer model by the processing device, and identifying variances between the current data and the initial computer model, wherein the variances comprise differences at the cell site and the surrounding geography between the first point in time and the second point in time. | Lee Priest (Charlotte, NC) | Etak Systems, Llc (Huntersville, NC) | 2017-07-07 | 2019-08-27 | H04W16/22, G06T17/05, G06T7/00, G05D1/00, G05D1/08, G06F3/0481, H04L12/413, H04L12/46, H04N7/18, H04W24/02, B64C39/02, B64D47/08, H04W88/08, G01S17/89, H04W24/10, G01S15/89 | 15/644144 |
| 45 | 10393875 | Time of flight based sensor | An adjustable security sensor device is described. The device comprises a time of flight sensor, a user input element, and a processor. The time of flight sensor generates a first set of sample distance measurements based on a first position of the time of flight sensor relative to the reflector, in response to receiving the identification of the first position of the device relative to the reflector. The processor associates the identification of the first position with the first set of sample distance measurements. A second set of sample distance measurements is measured based on a second position of the time of flight sensor relative to the reflector. The processor compares a first range of the first set of sample distance measurements with a second range of the second set of sample distance measurements, and identifies a position of the device relative to the reflector based on the comparison. | Sivakumar Kathan (Ocenaside, CA) | Nortek Security & Control Llc (Carlsbad, CA) | 2017-12-19 | 2019-08-27 | G01S7/486, G01S17/10, G08B13/08 | 15/847767 |
| 46 | 10393527 | UAV navigation obstacle avoidance system and method thereof | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigation obstacle avoidance system and method thereof are introduced. The UAV navigation obstacle avoidance system provides with functions of automatically controlling the UAV motive power sources to control the flight of UAV and avoid the obstacle. The system comprises a sensing device, a signal processing module, a communication module, a control module. The sensing device detects the relative direction, velocity and distance between a UAV and a dynamic or static obstacle. The sensing device also detects the real-time position, flight attitude and inertia signals of the UAV. The signal processing module generates a UAV flight control signal. The control module receives the UAV flight control signal and controls each of the UAV motive power sources. Therefore, the system achieves the purpose of controlling flight and obstacle avoidance and forward to the original planned follow-on flight route after the avoidance. | Tain-Wen Suen (Taoyuan, TW), Feng-Ling Liu (Taoyuan, TW), Yu Han (Taoyuan, TW) | National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (TW) | 2017-12-20 | 2019-08-27 | G01C21/00, B64D47/08, G01S13/86, G01S19/47, B64C39/02, G01S13/93 | 15/848313 |
| 47 | 10389957 | Readout voltage uncertainty compensation in time-of-flight imaging pixels | Pixel arrangements in time-of-flight sensors are presented that include sensing elements that establish charges related to incident light, charge storage elements that accumulate integrated charges transferred from the sensing elements, and diffusion nodes configured to establish measurement voltages representative of the integrated charges that are dumped from the charge storage elements. The pixel arrangement includes analog domain output circuitry comprising a measurement capacitance element that stores the measurement voltage, and a reset capacitance element that stores a reset voltage established at the diffusion node during a reset phase performed prior to a measurement phase. The analog domain output circuitry subtracts the stored reset voltage from the stored measurement voltage for processing into a pixel output voltage that at least partially reduces readout voltage uncertainty of the pixel arrangement. | Cyrus Soli Bamji (Fremont, CA), Onur Can Akkaya (Palo Alto, CA), Tamer Elkhatib (San Jose, CA), Swati Mehta (San Mateo, CA), Satyadev H. Nagaraja (San Jose, CA), Vijay Rajasekaran (Saratoga, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2016-12-20 | 2019-08-20 | H04N5/363, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, H01L27/146 | 15/385198 |
| 48 | 10388006 | Synthetic aperture imaging assisted by three-dimensional scanning imaging for height reconstruction | Synthetic aperture (SA) imaging methods and systems are assisted by three-dimensional (3D) beam scanning imaging, for example scanning lidar. The methods can include concurrently acquiring an SA image and a 3D scanning image of a target region, determining an elevation map of the target region from the 3D scanning image, and processing the SA image based on the elevation map to provide or enhance 3D imaging capabilities in the SA image. In some implementations, the SA image is a two-dimensional (2D) SA image and the elevation map is used to orthorectify the 2D SA image. In other implementations, the SA image is a phase-wrapped 3D SA image resulting from the combination of two or more 2D SA images and the elevation map is used to perform phase unwrapping on the phase-wrapped 3D SA image. | Simon Turbide (Quebec, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, Quebec, CA) | 2017-05-31 | 2019-08-20 | G06T5/50, G01S17/42, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01S13/90, G01S13/86 | 15/610210 |
| 49 | 10386486 | Systems and methods for time of flight laser pulse engineering | A time-of-flight 3D imaging system includes a light source having a plurality of P-N junctions in electrical series, an imaging sensor, and a time measurement device configured to measure the elapsed time-of-flight between a pulse of output light being emitted from the plurality of P-N junctions in series and incoming light including the pulse of output light being detected at the imaging sensor. | Raymond Kirk Price (Redmond, WA), Ravi Kiran Nalla (San Jose, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2016-06-21 | 2019-08-20 | G01C3/08, G01S17/89, H01S5/00, H01S5/40, G01S7/481 | 15/188219 |
| 50 | 10386475 | Method of detecting collisions on an airport installation and device for its implementation | A method of detecting collisions between an equipped mobile object travelling around an airport installation and at least one obstacle. The method comprises the following steps. Determining the real-time positions of the equipped mobile object in a reference frame tied to the airport installation. Reading at least one item of information contained in at least one marker fixed to the equipped mobile object. Determining an outline of the equipped mobile object on the basis of the read item of information contained in the marker. Positioning the outline determined in the reference frame tied to the airport installation. Triggering an alert if the distance between the outline of the equipped mobile object and the obstacle is less than a given threshold. | Diego Alonso Tabares (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus Sas (Blagnac, FR) | 2016-11-21 | 2019-08-20 | G08G5/00, G08G5/06, G01S13/82, G01S13/75, G01S13/87, G01S13/91, H04L12/26, G08G5/04 | 15/357180 |
| 51 | 10386188 | Geo-location or navigation camera, and aircraft and navigation method therefor | Provided are a geo-location or navigation camera, and an aircraft and a navigation method therefor. The geo-location or navigation camera comprises an image capturing apparatus (15) , an image capturing direction of the image capturing apparatus (15) being vertically downward. The camera further comprises a gimbal stability-enhancement system comprising a gimbal body and a gimbal control system connected to the gimbal body. The image capturing apparatus (15) is arranged on the gimbal body. By means of the balance control and shock absorption effects of the gimbal stability-enhancement system, the stability of the image capturing apparatus (15) is better, and the image capturing direction of the image capturing apparatus (15) is maintained to be always vertically downward. The aircraft can still be navigated without a GPS. The method has advantages of being highly accurate and widely applicable. | Yu Tian (Jiangsu, CN), Wenyan Jiang (Jiangsu, CN) | Yuneec Technology Co., Limited (Hong Kong, CN) | 2016-06-29 | 2019-08-20 | G01C21/00, G05D1/00, G06K9/46, G08G5/04, H04N5/232, G01S7/481, G01S17/93, G05D1/10, G06K9/00, G06K9/62, G01S17/02, G06T7/60, G06K9/20, G05D1/02, G03B17/12, G03B15/00, B64D47/08, B64C39/02, H04N5/247 | 15/577303 |
| 52 | 10384805 | Optimizing range of aircraft docking system | The present invention relates to an aircraft docking system comprising: a light based verification and positioning system adapted to scan a volume (120) in connection to a stand, a receiving unit adapted to receive surveillance data from an airport surveillance system, wherein the light based verification and positioning system is further adapted to control the extension of the scanned volume based on the received surveillance data. | Ola Hakansson (Lomma, SE) | Adb Safegate Sweden Ab (Malmo, SE) | 2017-03-07 | 2019-08-20 | B64F1/00, G08G5/06, G08G5/00, G01S7/48, G01S17/42 | 16/086972 |
| 53 | 10379221 | Apparatus for determining distance information, time of flight light source and a docking station | An apparatus for determining distance information. The apparatus includes a control module configured to control a transmission of a request signal by a transmit module. The request signal includes information related to a request for information related to a light modulation of a modulated light emitted by a time of flight light source. The control module is configured to provide a modulation reference signal to a time of flight sensor circuit for determination of distance information after the request for information related to the light modulation. The modulation reference signal is based on a receive signal received by a receiver module from the time of flight light source. | Hansjoerg Kuemmel (Munich, DE) | Infineon Technologies Ag (Neubiberg, DE) | 2016-01-25 | 2019-08-13 | G01S17/10, G01S7/484, G01S7/486, G01S17/00, G01S7/00, G01S7/481 | 15/005196 |
| 54 | 10373506 | Method and system for pilot target aircraft and target obstacle alertness and awareness | There is provided systems and methods for pilot alertness and awareness of target aircraft and target obstacle that are flying within a proceeding flight path collision. Transmitted guiding sound signals consisting of three dimensional effects and tonal sounds are generated by a flight unit, and sent to the pilot's headset for the desired purpose of directing the pilot's head position to locate the target aircraft and target obstacle. The flight unit processes time of collision from received target aircraft broadcast, and contain at least GPS data and target obstacle information from stored navigational maps. The flight unit further receives the pilot's head position through means of a head tracker. Furthermore, the flight unit is able to perform the functions of, storing piloted flight information, voice language instruction, flight assisted notification, and communicating with one or multiple mobile devices such for the information to be displayed visually, and is upgradable remotely. | Christopher Schupp (Lafayette, CO), Jay David Marks (Westminster, CO) | Beeper Avionics Inc. (Denver, CO) | 2018-10-20 | 2019-08-06 | G08G5/04, G01S19/03, G01S19/14, G01S19/13, G08G5/00, G01S13/93 | 16/166069 |
| 55 | 10371813 | Systems and methods for using time of flight measurements for imaging target objects | An imaging system as disclosed can include multiple bistatic radar sensors configured to transmit electromagnetic waves towards a surface of a target object and configured to measure the electromagnetic waves reflected from the surface of the target object. The imaging system includes a computing device that determines time of flight estimates based on the measured waves. The computing device can draw, within an image model for the target object, multiple candidate surface portions of the surface of the target object based on the TOF estimates and predetermined positions of the bistatic radar sensors. Further, the computing device can assign weights to the candidate surface portions. The computing device can determine points where the candidate surface portions meet with a predetermined probability based on the weights. The computing device is configured to define an estimated surface of the target object in the image model based on the determined points. | Orges Furxhi (Sanford, FL), Ruoyu Zhu (Durham, NC), David J. Brady (Durham, NC), Daniel Marks (Durham, NC) | Duke University (Durham, NC) | 2014-08-13 | 2019-08-06 | G01S13/89, G01S13/34, G01S13/00, G01S7/35, G01S13/87 | 14/896375 |
| 56 | 10371812 | Ultra-wideband radar altimeter | A system can include an unmanned aerial vehicle and an altimeter disposed on the unmanned aerial vehicle. The altimeter can include an ultra-wideband radar antenna disposed orthogonally to a plane of straight and level flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle and having an omnidirectional azimuthal beam pattern orthogonal to the plane of straight and level flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The altimeter can be configured to determine an altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle above a target surface based on time of flight of radar pulses between the ultra-wideband radar antenna and the target surface. | Joseph T. Pesik (Eagan, MN), Todd Anthony Ell (Savage, MN) | Rosemount Aerospace Inc. (Burnsville, MN) | 2017-02-23 | 2019-08-06 | G01S13/88, G08G5/00, G01S13/10, G01S13/02, H01Q1/28, G01S7/03, G01S7/02, B64C39/02, G01S13/93 | 15/440796 |
| 57 | 10371794 | Unmanned aerial vehicle with deployable transmit/receive module apparatus with ramjet | A system for bistatic radar target detection employs an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a ramjet providing supersonic cruise of the UAV. Deployable antenna arms support a passive radar receiver for bistatic reception of reflected radar pulses. The UAV operates with a UAV flight profile in airspace beyond a radar range limit. The deployable antenna arms have a first retracted position for supersonic cruise and are adapted for deployment to a second extended position acting as an airbrake and providing boresight alignment of the radar receiver. A mothership aircraft has a radar transmitter for transmitting radar pulses and operates with an aircraft flight profile outside the radar range limit. A communications data link operably interconnects the UAV and the tactical mothership aircraft, transmitting data produced by the bistatic reception of reflected radar pulses in the UAV radar antenna to the mothership aircraft. | Inyoung Daniel Kim (St. Louis, MO), Ryan S. Wilson (Creve Coeur, MO) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2016-05-26 | 2019-08-06 | B64C29/00, F02K7/10, B64D5/00, B64C39/02, B64C30/00, G01S7/02, G01S7/00, G05D1/00, B64C3/38, F42B10/48, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, H01Q1/28 | 15/165663 |
| 58 | 10365363 | Mobile localization using sparse time-of-flight ranges and dead reckoning | Mobile localization of an object having an object positional frame of reference using sparse time-of-flight data and dead reckoning can be accomplished by creating a dead reckoning local frame of reference, including an estimation of object position with respect to known locations from one or more Ultra Wide Band transceivers. As the object moves along its path, a determination is made using the dead-reckoning local frame of reference. When the object is within a predetermine range of one or more of the Ultra Wide Band transceivers, a ''conversation'' is initiated, and range data between the object and the UWB transceiver (s) is collected. Using multiple conversations to establish accurate range and bearing information, the system updates the object's position based on the collected data. | David Rohr (Carlsbad, CA), Josh Senna (Carlsbad, CA), Akshay Kumar Jain (Carlsbad, CA), J. Alan Atherton (Carlsbad, CA), David J. Bruemmer (Idaho Falls, ID) | Humatics Corporation (Waltham, MA) | 2016-06-01 | 2019-07-30 | G01S19/31, G01S13/86, G01C21/28, G01C21/12, G01S5/02, G01S13/06, G01S17/06, G01S13/02, G01S19/26, G01S17/02, G01S17/42 | 15/170665 |
| 59 | 10359513 | Dynamic-metamaterial coded-aperture imaging | A coded aperture sensing system includes a tunable coding aperture positioned relative to one or more electromagnetic (EM) detectors and voxels to scatter EM radiation traveling from the voxels towards the EM detectors. The system also includes a controller configured to determine EM fields at each of the voxels. A method includes determining a desired aggregate coding matrix of the tunable coding aperture, determining control parameters corresponding to the desired aggregate coding matrix, applying sequentially each of the control parameters to tunable inputs of the tunable coding aperture, and determining the EM fields at each of the voxels. Determining the EM fields includes determining the EM fields at least in part as a function of EM fields detected at the EM detectors responsive to each of the controls being applied to the tunable inputs of the tunable coding aperture. | Yaroslav A. Urzhumov (Bellevue, WA) | Elwha Llc (Bellevue, WA) | 2017-05-03 | 2019-07-23 | H01Q3/22, G01S13/88, G01S13/89, H01Q15/00, G01S7/28 | 15/586157 |
| 60 | 10359505 | Optical imaging modules and optical detection modules including a time-of-flight sensor | The present disclosure describes optical imaging and optical detection modules that include sensors such as time-of-flight (TOF) sensors. Various implementations are described that, in some instances, can help reduce the amount of optical cross-talk between active detection pixels and reference pixels and/or can facilitate the ability of the sensor to determine an accurate phase difference to be used, for example, in distance calculations. | Bernhard Buettgen (Adliswil, CH), Miguel Bruno Vaello Panos (Zurich, CH), Stephan Beer (Schaffhausen, CH), Michael Lehmann (Winterthur, CH), Daniel Perez Calero (Zurich, CH), Sophie Gode (Zurich, CH), Bassam Hallal (Thalwil, CH) | Ams Sensors Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2015-03-13 | 2019-07-23 | G01C3/08, G01S7/491, G01S7/497, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01J1/04, G01J1/42, G01J1/02 | 15/124045 |
| 61 | 10354521 | Facilitating location positioning service through a UAV network | Embodiments are provided for providing location positioning service for locating a transportation apparatus through a UAV network. A location center may be employed to receive a location service request for locating a specific transportation apparatus. After receiving such a request, the location center may inquire a location database for last known location of the requested transportation apparatus. Based on the last known location of the requested transportation apparatus, the location center may predict one or more areas in which the requested transportation apparatus may be currently in. Based on the prediction, the location center may be configured to generate one or more control instructions to one or more UAVs in the UAV network to locate the requested transportation apparatus in those areas. | Wellen Sham (Taipei, TW) | Wellen Sham (Taipei, TW) | 2017-09-27 | 2019-07-16 | G08G1/017, G01S13/74, G06F16/00, G05D1/00, B60W30/02, H04M11/04, B64C39/02, B64D47/08, G05D1/10, G06K9/00, G08G1/01, G08G1/04, G08G5/00, H04L29/06, G01S5/16 | 15/717483 |
| 62 | 10353064 | Method and apparatus for detecting airborne objects | Provided is an apparatus for detecting airborne objects comprising a kill vehicle bus having a radar sensor. The radar sensor may be an interferometric sensor comprising a plurality of transmit-receive arrays. Each of the transmit-receive arrays may be adapted to be stowed in a stowed position in or on the kill vehicle bus, and may be adapted to be expandable from the stowed position to an operable position. | Jess Granone (Decatur, AL), James Kirkland (Huntsville, AL), Robert DeSilva (Huntsville, AL) | Decisive Analytics Corporation (Arlington, VA) | 2016-08-04 | 2019-07-16 | F41G7/00, F41G7/22, F41H11/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S13/86, G01S13/88 | 15/228315 |
| 63 | 10349917 | Synthetic aperture ultrasound system | A synthetic aperture ultrasound system includes an ultrasound probe, and an ultrasound signal processor configured to communicate with the ultrasound probe to receive phase and amplitude information from a plurality of ultrasonic echo signals from a corresponding plurality of ultrasound pulses. The synthetic aperture ultrasound system also includes a positioning system configured to communicate with the ultrasound signal processor to provide probe position information. The positioning system is configured to determine a first position and a second position of the ultrasound probe relative to a region of interest. The ultrasound signal processor is further configured to coherently sum, utilizing the probe position information, at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic echo signals from the first position with at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic echo signals from the second position to provide a synthetic aperture that is larger than a physical aperture of the ultrasound probe. | Emad M. Boctor (Baltimore, MD), Gregg Trahey (Durham, NC), Nick Bottenus (Durham, NC), Haichong Zhang (Baltimore, MD) | The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), Duke University (Durham NC) | 2015-06-11 | 2019-07-16 | A61B8/00, A61B8/14, A61B8/08, G01S15/89, A61B34/30 | 14/737318 |
| 64 | 10345803 | Multi-part navigation process by an unmanned aerial vehicle for navigation | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a target in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) determining an approximate target location associated with a target, (b) using a first navigation process to navigate the UAV to the approximate target location, where the first navigation process generates flight-control signals based on the approximate target location, (c) making a determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, and (d) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, using a second navigation process to navigate the UAV to the target, wherein the second navigation process generates flight-control signals based on real-time localization of the target. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-10-16 | 2019-07-09 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G01S5/02, G05D1/12, G08G5/00, B64C19/00, G01S13/94, G01S15/93, G01S17/93, G01S13/88, G01S5/00, G01S13/93 | 15/785212 |
| 65 | 10345435 | Waveform design for wi-fi time-of-flight estimation | Some embodiments relate to a waveform design for time-of-flight estimation in a wireless communication system. The waveform may include a number N of signal tones, wherein the number N of signal tones is greater than a number M of signal tones that the receiving wireless device is configured to decode. Upon receipt of the waveform, the receiving wireless device may store a timestamp which indicates a time of receipt of the waveform. The receiving wireless device may decode M of the N signal tones. for example, the receiving wireless device may decode the middle M signal tones of the N signal tones. One or more of the transmitting or receiving wireless devices may then estimate a distance between them based at least in part on the timestamp. | Syed Aon Mujtaba (Santa Clara, CA), Xiaowen Wang (Cupertino, CA) | Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA) | 2018-07-23 | 2019-07-09 | H04W24/00, H04L27/26, H04L27/00, G01S11/08, G01S11/02, H04L27/18, H04W4/02, G01S7/486, H04W64/00, H04L27/34, H04L1/00, G01S5/14, G01S17/10 | 16/041874 |
| 66 | 10345434 | Time-of-flight measurement apparatus and time-of-flight measurement method with ambiguity resolution in real time | The invention relates to a distance measurement apparatus for measuring the time of flight of electromagnetic signals, having at least: a transmitter for transmitting coded transmission signals according to a pattern specified by a coder, a receiver for detecting the signals reflected by at least one object as receive signals, a counter unit having a time counter for writing time counter values, which are generated in each case with the transmission of the transmission signals and the receipt of the receive signals, into at least one register, and a control and evaluation unit for calculating the time of flight on the basis of decoding the receive signals and reading the register of the counter unit. | Jurg Hinderling (Marbach, CH), Reto Stutz (Berneck, CH), Julien Singer (Berneck, CH), Rainer Wohlgenannt (Klaus, AT), Simon Bestler (Langenargen, DE) | Hexagon Technology Center Gmbh (Heerbrugg, CH) | 2016-07-15 | 2019-07-09 | G01C3/08, G01S7/486, G01S7/487, G01S17/42, G01S17/10 | 15/212014 |
| 67 | 10345324 | Flight parameter measuring apparatus and flight parameter measuring method | The image capturing part 201 captures a ball in flight with a camera continuously. The image corresponding part 203 generates a first registered ball image obtained by making a size of a first ball image in a first capturing image captured first correspond to a size of a second ball image in a second capturing image captured second. The 3D model constructing part 204constructs a 3D model of the first registered ball image obtained by converting a camera coordinate system of the generated first registered ball image into a world coordinate system. The virtual rotating part 205 rotates virtually the constructed 3D model of the first registered ball image by using a rotation parameter estimated in advance and rotation matrix information. The registered image generating part 206 generates a second registered ball image in the camera coordinate system obtained by converting the world coordinate system of a visible surface to see from the camera in the 3D model of the first registered ball image after the rotation into the camera coordinate system. The difference calculating part 207 extracts a second compared ball image corresponding to the second registered ball image in the second ball image, and calculates a difference between the second registered ball image and the second compared ball image. The rotation parameter determining part 208 repeats the virtual rotation of the 3D model, the generation of the second registered ball image and the calculation of the difference, and determines a rotation parameter to minimize the difference as a real rotation parameter. | Hideaki Kawamoto (Hyogo, JP), Viet Manh Do (Hanoi, VN), Hong Quan Luong (Hanoi, VN), Trung Kien Le (Hanoi, VN) | Grpo Co., Ltd. (Hyogo, JP) | 2018-02-01 | 2019-07-09 | G06T7/246, A63B69/36, G01P3/38, G06T7/73, G01S7/48, G01P3/68, G01S17/02, A63B24/00 | 15/885888 |
| 68 | 10342518 | Point source transmission and speed-of-sound correction using multi-aperture ultrasound imaging | A Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging system and methods of use are provided with any number of features. In some embodiments, a multi-aperture ultrasound imaging system is configured to transmit and receive ultrasound energy to and from separate physical ultrasound apertures. In some embodiments, a transmit aperture of a multi-aperture ultrasound imaging system is configured to transmit an omni-directional unfocused ultrasound waveform approximating a first point source through a target region. In some embodiments, the ultrasound energy is received with a single receiving aperture. In other embodiments, the ultrasound energy is received with multiple receiving apertures. Algorithms are described that can combine echoes received by one or more receiving apertures to form high resolution ultrasound images. Additional algorithms can solve for variations in tissue speed of sound, thus allowing the ultrasound system to be used virtually anywhere in or on the body. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (San Jose, CA) | 2018-06-05 | 2019-07-09 | A61B8/08, A61B8/00, G01S15/89, G01S7/52, A61B8/14 | 16/000507 |
| 69 | 10338608 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and water sampling method thereof | A water sampling method includes acquiring, by an unmanned aerial vehicle, a sampling depth at which a water sample is to be taken. The sampling depth is sent by a portable electronic device or is a preset default depth. The method further includes calculating a descending distance based on the sampling depth and a distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and a water surface, controlling the water sampler to descend for the descending distance, sampling, by the water sampler, a water sample, and sending a sampling result to a ground station or the portable electronic device. | Mingyu Wang (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen, CN) | 2017-05-25 | 2019-07-02 | G01N1/02, G05D1/04, G05D1/00, G01N1/14, G01N1/12, G01N1/10, G05D1/10, G01S19/49, G01S19/42, G01S15/88, G01N33/18, B64C25/54, B64C39/02 | 15/604894 |
| 70 | 10338202 | System and method for improving LIDAR sensor signal availability on a wind turbine | The present subject matter is directed to a system and method for sequencing Light Detecting and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor beam signals from a LIDAR sensor mounted on a nacelle of a wind turbine with the rotor position of the wind turbine so as to improve signal availability. More specifically, the method includes generating, via the LIDAR sensor, one or more laser signals towards the rotor of the wind turbine, the rotor having one or more rotor blades. The method also includes receiving, via a controller, a rotor position of the rotor of the wind turbine. Thus, the method further includes coordinating, via a control algorithm programmed within the controller, the rotor position with the one or more laser signals of the laser sensor so as to minimize interference between the laser signal (s) and the rotor blades during rotation of the rotor. | Dale Robert Mashtare (Simpsonville, SC), Samuel David Draper (Simpsonville, SC), Thomas Stephen Markham (Glenville, NY), Conner B. Shane (Glenville, NY), Katherine Derksen Stinson (Greenville, SC) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2016-01-28 | 2019-07-02 | F03D7/04, G01P5/26, F03D17/00, G01S7/497, F03D1/06, G01S7/481, G01S17/95, G01S17/58 | 15/008858 |
| 71 | 10325506 | Method for monitoring airspace | A method for monitoring an airspace includes a first control and detection system and a second control and detection system. The first control and detection system has a first flying device and a first control and detection unit, and the second control and detection system has a second flying device and a second control and detection unit. An airspace monitoring system is different from the first control and detection unit and also from the second control and detection unit. First data relating to the first flying device is transmitted from the first control and detection unit to the airspace monitoring system, and data based on the first data is transmitted from the airspace monitoring system to the second control and detection unit. In this manner, the method allows a system-independent airspace monitoring process. | Niklas Goddemeier (Witten, DE), Sebastian Rohde (Bochum, DE), Christian Wietfeld (Dortmund, DE) | Technische Universitat Dortmund (Dortmund, DE) | 2015-04-08 | 2019-06-18 | G01S13/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/74, G01S13/78 | 15/303104 |
| 72 | 10324187 | Three-dimensional triangulation and time-of-flight based tracking systems and methods | A three-dimension position tracking system is presented. The system includes transmitters and receivers. A transmitter scans continuous or pulsed coherent light beams across a target. The receiver detects the reflected beams. The system recursively determines the location of the target, as a function of time, via triangulation and observation of the time-of-flight of the incoming and outgoing beams. The transmitter includes ultra-fast scanning optics to scan the receiver's field-of-view. The receiver includes arrays of ultra-fast photosensitive pixels. The system determines the angles of the incoming beams based on the line-of-sight of the triggered pixels. By observing the incoming angles and correlating timestamps associated with the outgoing and incoming beams, the system accurately, and in near real-time, determines the location of the target. By combining the geometry of the scattered beams, as well as the beams' time-of-flight, ambiguities inherent to triangulation and ambiguities inherent to time-of-flight location methods are resolved. | Gerard Dirk Smits (Los Gatos, CA) | --- | 2016-06-27 | 2019-06-18 | G01C3/08, G01S7/497, G01S17/48, G01S7/481, G01S7/486, G01S17/10, G01S17/66, G01S17/42 | 15/194502 |
| 73 | 10324183 | UAV measuring apparatus and UAV measuring system | The invention provides a UAV measuring apparatus, which comprises a flying vehicle, a laser scanner mounted on the flying vehicle and for performing two-dimensional scanning with a reference optical axis extending in an approximately vertically downward direction as the center, an image pickup unit having an image pickup optical axis parallel to the reference optical axis and a control arithmetic component, wherein the control arithmetic component is configured to synchronize the two-dimensional scanning performed by the laser scanner with an image pickup performed by the image pickup unit, and to correspond a scanning locus obtained by the two-dimensional scanning with an acquired image. | Fumio Ohtomo (Saitama, JP), Kaoru Kumagai (Tokyo-to, JP) | Topcon Corporation (Tokyo-to, JP) | 2017-09-13 | 2019-06-18 | G01C9/02, G01S17/89, G01S17/66, B64C39/02, G01S17/02, G01S7/481, G01C11/02, G06T7/30, G01S7/48, G01S17/42, G01C15/00 | 15/702902 |
| 74 | 10324178 | Harmonizing code from independent airborne aircraft identification systems | An Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system, and method of harmonizing a transponder Squawk code and an ADS-B system, ensures that a Squawk code broadcast by the ADS-B system matches the transponder Squawk code. The transponder Squawk code is transmitted from a transponder positioned onboard an aircraft, and the transmitted transponder Squawk code is received by a device positioned onboard the aircraft in which the transponder is installed. The ADS-B system is updated with the received transmitter squawk code. The squawk code is transmitted using the ADS-B system. | Gary S. Watson (Ada, MI), Lee R. Carlson (Grand Rapids, MI), Blake R. Getson (Columbus, OH), Matthew J. Bundy (Galloway, OH), James R. Troxel (Glendale, AZ) | L3 Aviation Products, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2015-12-22 | 2019-06-18 | G01S13/82, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G01S13/78, G01S19/03 | 14/978831 |
| 75 | 10322819 | Autonomous system for taking moving images from a drone, with target tracking and improved target location | The displacements of the drone are defined by piloting commands to take moving images of a target carrying the ground station. The system comprises means for adjusting the sight angle of the camera during the displacements of the drone and of the target, so that the images are centerd to the target, and means for generating flying instructions so that the distance between drone and target fulfills determined rules, these means being based on a determination of the GPS geographical position of the target with respect to the GPS geographical position of the drone, and of the angular position of the target with respect to a main axis of the drone. These means are also based on the analysis of a non-geographical signal produced by the target and received by the drone. The system allows freeing from the uncertainty of the GPS systems equipping this type of device. | Laure Chevalley (Paris, FR), Edouard Leurent (Paris, FR) | Parrot Drones (Paris, FR) | 2017-07-22 | 2019-06-18 | B64D47/08, H04N17/00, G01S17/02, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, H04N5/232, H04N5/225 | 15/657145 |
| 76 | 10321889 | Coherent spread-spectrum coded waveforms in synthetic aperture image formation | Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging using spread-spectrum, wide instantaneous band, coherent, coded waveforms. In one aspect, a method includes synthesizing a composite waveform formed of a plurality of individual orthogonal coded waveforms that are mutually orthogonal to each other, correspond to different frequency bands and including a unique frequency with a corresponding phase, transmitting an acoustic wave based on the composite waveform toward a target from one or more transmitting positions, and receiving at one or more receiving positions acoustic energy returned from at least part of the target corresponding to the transmitted acoustic waveforms, in which the transmitting and receiving positions each include one or both of spatial positions of an array of transducer elements relative to the target and beam phase center positions of the array, and the transmitted acoustic waveforms and the returned acoustic waveforms produce an enlarged effective aperture. | Allan Wegner (Del Mar, CA) | Decision Sciences International Corporation (Poway, CA) | 2017-11-06 | 2019-06-18 | A61B8/00, A61B8/14, G01S15/89, A61B8/08 | 15/804955 |
| 77 | 10317518 | Phased array radar systems for small unmanned aerial vehicles | Phased array radar systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are disclosed. A disclosed example radar apparatus for a small UAVs includes a transmitter to transmit a transmit signal in the X-band, a receive phased array including at least two receive antennas, wherein the receive phased array provides a field-of-view of at least 100 degrees in a first direction and at least 20 degrees in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a first processor programmed to determine a location of an object based on an output from each of the at least two antennas, a second processor programmed to perform collision avoidance based on the location of the object, and a mount to mechanically couple the radar apparatus to the UAV. | Karl Foster Warnick (Spanish Fork, UT), Jonathan Cullinan Spencer (Provo, UT) | Brigham Young University (BYU), (Provo, Ut) | 2016-07-20 | 2019-06-11 | G01S7/35, H01Q21/06, H01Q3/34, G01S13/02, G01S13/06, G01S13/32, H01Q13/08, G01S13/93, B64C39/02 | 15/215333 |
| 78 | 10312275 | Single-photon avalanche diode image sensor with photon counting and time-of-flight detection capabilities | A back side illuminated image sensor may operate using the single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) concept in a Geiger mode of operation for single photon detection. The image sensor may be implemented using two layer stacking with a silicon on insulator (SOI) chip. The chip-to-chip electrical connections between the top level image sensing chip and the second level ASIC circuit chip may be realized at each pixel with a single bump connection per pixel. A light level signal may be obtained from pixels that have photon counting capabilities while a distance measurement signal for 3-dimensional imaging may be obtained from pixels that have time-of-flight (ToF) detection capabilities. Both types of pixels may be integrated within the same array and use the same SPAD structure placed on the top chip. | Jaroslav Hynecek (Allen, TX) | Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2017-04-25 | 2019-06-04 | G01S7/481, H01L27/146, H01L31/107, H01L31/02, G01S7/486, H01L29/08, H01L27/32, G01S17/10, G01S17/02, G01J1/44, H03K21/00 | 15/496915 |
| 79 | 10311378 | Depth from time-of-flight using machine learning | A depth detection apparatus is described which has a memory storing raw time-of-flight sensor data received from a time-of-flight sensor. The depth detection apparatus also has a trained machine learning component having been trained using training data pairs. A training data pair comprises at least one simulated raw time-of-flight sensor data value and a corresponding simulated ground truth depth value. The trained machine learning component is configured to compute in a single stage, for an item of the stored raw time-of-flight sensor data, a depth value of a surface depicted by the item, by pushing the item through the trained machine learning component. | Sebastian Nowozin (Cambridge, GB), Amit Adam (Haifa, IL), Shai Mazor (Binyamina, IL), Omer Yair (Haifa, IL) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2017-08-08 | 2019-06-04 | G06N99/00, G06K9/62, G06K9/20, G06T7/50, G01S17/89, G06N20/00, G01S7/48, G06T7/521, G01S17/66, G01S17/36 | 15/672261 |
| 80 | 10311282 | Depth from time of flight camera | Region of interest detection in raw time of flight images is described. for example, a computing device receives at least one raw image captured for a single frame by a time of flight camera. The raw image depicts one or more objects in an environment of the time of flight camera (such as human hands, bodies or any other objects) . The raw image is input to a trained region detector and in response one or more regions of interest in the raw image are received. A received region of interest comprises image elements of the raw image which are predicted to depict at least part of one of the objects. A depth computation logic computes depth from the one or more regions of interest of the raw image. | Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton (Cambridge, GB), Cem Keskin (Cambridge, GB), Christoph Rhemann (Cambridge, GB), Toby Sharp (Cambridge, GB), Duncan Paul Robertson (Cambridge, GB), Pushmeet Kohli (Cambridge, GB), Andrew William Fitzgibbon (Cambridge, GB), Shahram Izadi (Cambridge, GB) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2017-09-11 | 2019-06-04 | G06T7/11, G01S17/89, G06K9/00, G01S17/10, G01S7/48, G01S7/491, G06T7/50, G06K9/62, G01S17/36 | 15/701170 |
| 81 | 10310074 | System and method for denoising synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images via sparse and low-rank (SLR) decomposition and using SAR images to image a complex scene | Described is a system for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. The system is adapted to reconstruct a set of images to generate a set of reconstructed SAR images, wherein at least some of the reconstructed SIR images have noise and contain glint. The reconstructed SAR images are then stacked into a matrix D, in which each column of the matrix is a reconstructed SAR image. Using sparse and low-rank decomposition on the matrix D, the system then extracts a clean background from the reconstructed SAR images and separates the noise and glint. Based on that, the system is operable to detect moving targets in sparse part S and issuing a notification of such a moving target. | Kang-Yu Ni (Calabasas, CA), Shankar R. Rao (Agoura Hills, CA) | Hrl Laboratories, Llc (Malibu, CA) | 2015-03-26 | 2019-06-04 | G01S13/90, G06T11/00, G06T7/20, G06T5/00, G06T7/194 | 14/670199 |
| 82 | 10310070 | Radio altimeter | A radio altimeter includes a voltage controlled oscillator outputting a radio frequency signal through a forward path in a direction from the voltage controlled oscillator to a radio frequency antenna, a path extending unit positioned in the forward path to receive the radio frequency signal to delay the radio frequency signal to generate a delayed radio frequency signal. The radio frequency antenna transmits the delayed radio frequency signal to ground and receives the delayed radio frequency signal reflected from the ground. The radio altimeter also includes a mixer that receives the reflected delayed radio frequency signal through a signal reception path from the radio frequency antenna and the radio frequency signal from the voltage controlled oscillator and mixes the radio frequency signal and the reflected delayed radio frequency signal to output a beat frequency signal which is used to calculate altitude with respect to the ground. | Tae-Wook Lim (Suwon-si, KR), Jae-Hong Lim (Suwon-si, KR), Seung-Mo Park (Suwon-si, KR), Kwang-Won Lee (Suwon-si, KR) | Mutronics Co., Ltd. (Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-Do, KR) | 2018-06-26 | 2019-06-04 | G01S13/88, G01S13/32, G01S13/34, G01S7/35, G01S13/18, G01S7/40 | 16/018299 |
| 83 | 10306209 | Illuminator for camera system having three dimensional time-of-flight capture with movable mirror element | An apparatus is described that includes a camera system having a time-of-flight illuminator. The time of flight illuminator has a light source and one or more tiltable mirror elements. The one or more tiltable mirror elements are to direct the illuminator's light to only a region within the illuminator's field of view. | Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA), Chung Chun Wan (Fremont, CA) | Google Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-11-17 | 2019-05-28 | G01S17/89, H04N13/254, H04N13/296, H04N5/225, H04N13/286, G01S7/481 | 15/816112 |
| 84 | 10306172 | Time-of-flight sensor readout circuit | A time-of-flight image sensor including a readout circuit is provided. The readout circuit may include a pixel array including multiple pixels. The pixel array may be configured to produce a pixel signal for each of one or more pixels over a series of timesteps. The pixel signal may include an illuminated value and a reset value. The readout circuit may further include a plurality of gain selection comparators configured to receive the pixel signal and select an amplifier gain value. The readout circuit may further include analog correlated double sampling circuitry. The readout circuit may further include a programmable gain amplifier configured to generate an amplified pixel signal from the pixel signal, which may be amplified at the selected amplifier gain value. The readout circuit may further include a plurality of analog-to-digital converters. Each of the analog-to-digital converters may have a common ramp generated by a global ramp generator. | Barry Thompson (Menlo Park, CA), Lawrence Albert Prather (Boulder Creek, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2018-01-12 | 2019-05-28 | H04N5/378, H04N5/374, H04N5/3745, G01S7/486, H04N5/357, G01S17/10 | 15/870722 |
| 85 | 10303941 | Locating light sources using aircraft | Provided are methods and systems for identifying location of light sources from airborne aircraft. Light sources are ground based and may be low power lasers and other like devices. An aircraft equipped with a detecting module, such as a camera of a ground maneuver camera system, may defect light source output and associate this output with the relative position of the aircraft to the light source. This information may be analyzed together with aircraft location information (at the time of light source detection) to generate a light source location estimate. In some embodiments, other information, such as transmission from other aircraft and/or ground based nodes can be used. The estimate may be transmitted to a ground based node, such as a law enforcement unit. The data from multiple aircraft and/or ground based nodes may be aggregated to more precisely identify the light source location. | Radhakrishna G. Sampigethaya (Snoqualmie, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2014-07-30 | 2019-05-28 | G06K9/00, G06T7/70, G01S5/16, G06T7/73, G01S5/00, G01S17/06, G01S3/78, H04B7/185 | 14/447020 |
| 86 | 10303172 | Unmanned aerial vehicle having automatic tracking function and method of controlling the same | The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle having an automatic tracking function and a control method thereof, the unmanned aerial vehicle comprising: an image input unit for acquiring an image of a peripheral image of a subject to be photographed, an object recognition unit for extracting a region of interest using the image acquired through the image input unit, detecting a specific region located within the region of interest to measure coordinates, and recognizing the specific region as an object to be tracked, an object tracking unit for calculating and tracking a position of the object to be tracked recognized by the object recognition unit using a tracking learning detection (TLD) learning algorithm and generating a drive command for driving the unmanned aerial vehicle corresponding to the position, a motion recognition unit for recognizing a motion of the object to be tracked and generating a driving command corresponding to a photographing mode, a moving picture photographing mode, and a return mode, and a drive control unit for driving the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the drive command. Due to this feature, the present invention has an effect of enabling autonomous flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle by recognizing and automatically tracking an object to be tracked. | Jinbyuk Hwang (Seoul, KR), Ju Hong Park (Incheon, KR), Jang Dong Im (Bucheon-si, KR), Hyo Jin Park (Seoul, KR) | Eyedea Inc. (Seoul, KR) | 2016-02-27 | 2019-05-28 | H04N7/18, G08G5/00, G06K9/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, B64F1/36, G01S17/89, H04N5/232, B64D47/08, G05D1/12 | 15/556203 |
| 87 | 10295657 | Time of flight-based systems operable for ambient light and distance or proximity measurements | A time of flight-based system is operable for ambient light measurements. A method of operation includes detecting, in at least one active demodulation detection pixel, a first particular wavelength and generating amplitude data of the first particular wavelength, and detecting, in at least one spurious reflection detection pixel, a second particular wavelength and generating amplitude data of the second particular wavelength. In a computational device that stores spectrum data corresponding respectively to a plurality of different ambient light source types, an ambient lighting condition is determined based on the amplitude data of the first particular wavelength, the amplitude data of the second particular wavelength and the spectrum data of a particular one of the ambient light source types associated with the amplitude data of the first particular wavelength and the amplitude data of the second particular wavelength. | Bernhard Buettgen (Adliswil, CH), Jens Geiger (Thalwil, CH), Michael Kiy (Winterthur, CH), Oliver Chidley (Regensdorf, CH), Markus Rossi (Jona, CH) | Ams Sensors Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2017-08-29 | 2019-05-21 | G01K1/08, G01S7/481, G01S17/02, G01S7/497, G01S17/36, G01S17/42, G01S7/483 | 15/689079 |
| 88 | 10291329 | Exchanging information between time-of-flight ranging devices | Embodiments address a concept for exchanging information between time-of-flight ranging devices. for example, a first time-of-flight camera has an illumination unit configured to transmit information to a second time-of-flight camera by modulating a light signal to be emitted in accordance with an information bearing signal. The second time-of-flight camera has a time-of-flight sensor configured to detect the information bearing signal included in the emitted light signal of the first time of flight camera. | Christoph Steiner (St. Margarethen, AT), Robert Lobnik (Bad Eisenkappel, AT) | Infineon Technologies Ag (Neubiberg, DE) | 2013-12-20 | 2019-05-14 | H04N13/204, G01S17/89, H04B10/11, H04B10/556, G01S7/00, G01S7/484, G01S11/12, G01S17/87 | 14/136257 |
| 89 | 10291314 | Method and system to dynamically identify and control a UAV with emitting instruments | A system and methodology to dynamically identify and control a UAV with a beam instrument is provided. Specifically, each UAV is provided with a telecommunication module. User equipment is provided with a beam device capable of measuring the distance, speed and location of a UAV. The user equipment is coupled to a command and control center through a command and control center network that can access a data store storing information about UAVs. Identification of the UAV is obtained through a telecommunication network that communicates with the telecommunication module to obtain location information and identity information for each telecommunication module associated with a UAV. The command and control center acquires the identity information and correlates the identity information with FAA register information from an FAA network. Identification of the target UAV is then communicated to the user equipment. | Sangar Dowlatkhah (Alpharetta, GA), Zhi Cui (Sugar Hill, GA), Venson Shaw (Kirkland, WA) | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. (Atlanta, GA) | 2018-03-14 | 2019-05-14 | H04W8/24, H04W8/18, H04B7/185, B64C39/02, B64D47/00, G01S17/08, G01S17/42, G01S17/58, H04W84/04 | 15/921019 |
| 90 | 10281574 | Method for assessing a ground area for suitability as a landing zone or taxi area for aircraft | A method for assessing a ground area for suitability as a landing zone or taxi area for aircraft is provided. Three-dimensional data for the ground area in a plurality of measurement cycles in a 3D sensor is produced. The measured-value density of the three-dimensional data and also of at least one further statistical property of the three-dimensional data is determined. A measure of the local roughness of the ground area is produced based on the measured-value density and the at least one further statistical property. The individual area elements of the ground area are classified on the basis of the roughness values produced according to the degree of suitability of said area elements as a landing area or taxi area. | Thomas Muensterer (Tettnang, DE), Matthias Wegner (Friedrichshafen, DE) | Hensoldt Sensors Gmbh (Taufkirchen, DE) | 2011-07-28 | 2019-05-07 | G01S7/41, G08G5/00, G01S7/48, G01S13/94, G01S17/89, G01S17/93, G01S13/89 | 13/193084 |
| 91 | 10279893 | System and method for validating rotorcraft position coordinates | In accordance with an embodiment, a method of operating a rotorcraft includes receiving a first sensor value comprising a first coarse resolution portion and a first fine resolution portion, receiving a second sensor value comprising a second coarse resolution portion and a second fine resolution portion, and determining that the second coarse resolution portion corresponds with the second fine resolution portion when a difference between the second sensor value and the first sensor value is within a first threshold. | John Wesley Melton (Ft. Worth, TX), Stephanie Baynham (Tacoma Park, MD) | Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. (Fort Worth, TX) | 2017-02-16 | 2019-05-07 | G01C23/00, B64D43/00, G05D1/10, B64C13/50, G01S19/13, G05D1/00, G05D3/00, G06F7/00, G06F17/00, G01D7/00, G01S13/08, G01L3/00 | 15/435033 |
| 92 | 10278550 | Fluid dispenser with time of flight proximity sensor | A hand cleaning fluid dispenser for dispensing fluid onto a user's hand includes a time of flight sensor to determine a distance of a hand of a user below an outlet of the dispenser from which the dispenser when activated dispenses the fluid and a controller to activate the dispenser to dispense the fluid from the outlet when the hand is sensed to be within a predetermined range of distances below the outlet. | Heiner Ophardt (Arisdorf, CH), Albrecht Lang (Niederbipp, CH) | Op-Hygiene Ip Gmbh (Niederbipp, CH) | 2017-05-08 | 2019-05-07 | A47K10/42, B65F1/14, A47K10/38, A47K5/12, G01S17/08, A47K10/24, G01S17/88 | 15/589011 |
| 93 | 10275610 | Time of flight sensing for providing security and power savings in electronic devices | An electronic device includes a time-of-flight sensor configured to sense a distance between the electronic device and at least one object proximate the electronic device. Processing circuitry is coupled to the time-of-flight sensor and controls access to the electronic device based on the sensed distance. The electronic device may include a digital camera that the processing circuitry controls to perform facial or iris recognition utilizing the sensed distance from the time-of-flight sensor. | Xiaoyong Yang (San Jose, CA), Riu Xiao (Cupertino, CA), Duncan Hall (Edinburgh, GB) | Stmicroelectronics, Inc. (Coppell, TX), Stmicroelectronics (Research & Development), Limited (Marlow GB) | 2017-03-31 | 2019-04-30 | G06K9/00, G06F21/62, G06F21/32, G01S7/484, G01S7/486, G01S17/88, G01S17/10, G01S7/497 | 15/475908 |
| 94 | 10269256 | Aircraft landing aid with rangefinder | A landing aid is removably attachable to an aircraft to provide precise measurements of distance and descent rate to ground which are conveyed to the pilot in real time via sound such that the pilot does not have to look away from the flight path ahead during the landing process. The landing aid may generate energy waves that pass from an interior portion of the aircraft to an area exterior of the aircraft through a window of the aircraft. A reflector may be positioned on an exterior portion of the aircraft to direct the energy waves toward the ground. The energy waves reflected back towards the aircraft by the ground permit a distance from the aircraft to the ground and a descent rate to be determined and concurrently output to a pilot via audible signals. | John S. Youngquist (Niagara Falls, CA) | --- | 2016-07-27 | 2019-04-23 | G05D1/06, G01S17/10, G01S17/32, G01S17/93, G01S17/02, G01S7/481, G08G5/02, B64D45/08 | 15/220971 |
| 95 | 10268193 | Method of fishing with unmanned aerial vehicle | The present disclosure discloses a method of using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising a housing, a processor, a positioning unit, a sonar unit, a launching unit and a fishhook unit in fishing. The method comprises manipulating the UAV to fly to a designated destination determined by the processor according to one of a received wireless communication and a preset program, adjusting the sonar unit to a predetermined height by the positioning unit, determining a coordinate corresponding to a signal detected by the sonar unit as a fishing region when the signal is consistent with a predetermined value, launching bait to the fishing region by the launching unit, releasing a fishhook from the fishhook unit to the fishing region, and manipulating the UAV to hover or return by the processor according to one of a received wireless communication and a preset program. | Tao Gan (Melbourne, AU) | Ningbo Pelican Drone Co., Ltd. (Ningbo, CN) | 2017-07-09 | 2019-04-23 | A01K79/00, G01S15/96, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, B64D1/00, A01K91/02, A01K97/02, A01K83/00, A01K93/00, B64D1/22, A01K99/00, A01K97/12 | 15/644791 |
| 96 | 10267913 | Alignment of ultrasound transducer arrays and multiple aperture probe assembly | The effective aperture of an ultrasound imaging probe can be increased by including more than one transducer array and using the transducer elements of all of the arrays to render an image can greatly improve the lateral resolution of the generated image. In order to render an image, the relative positions of all of the elements must be known precisely. Systems and methods for accurately calibrating and adjusting a multi-aperture ultrasound system are disclosed. The relative positions of the transducer elements can be computed and aligned prior to and during probe assembly. | David M. Smith (Lodi, CA), Sharon L. Adam (San Jose, CA), Dennis R. Dietz (Littleton, CO) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2016-11-29 | 2019-04-23 | A61B8/00, G01S7/52, G01S15/89, A61B8/08 | 15/364092 |
| 97 | 10266280 | Cooperative safe landing area determination | A method of performing a cooperative safe landing area determination includes receiving perception sensor data indicative of conditions at a plurality of potential landing areas. A processing subsystem of a vehicle updates a local safe landing area map based on the perception sensor data. The local safe landing area map defines safe landing area classifications and classification confidences associated with the potential landing areas. One or more remotely-generated safe landing area maps are received from one or more remote data sources. The one or more remotely-generated safe landing area maps correspond to one or more additional potential landing areas and non-landing areas. The local safe landing area map and the remotely-generated safe landing area maps are aggregated to form a fused safe landing area map. The fused safe landing area map is used to make a final safe landing area determination. | Jason C. Derenick (Hamden, CT), Xuchu Ding (Manchester, CT), Igor Cherepinsky (Sandy Hook, CT), Harshad S. Sane (Southbury, CT), Christopher Stathis (Hamden, CT) | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Stratford, CT) | 2015-06-18 | 2019-04-23 | B64D45/04, B64C39/02, G01S13/91, G08G5/02, G06K9/00, G08G5/00, B64D45/08, G06K9/46, G06K9/52, G06K9/62, G01S17/89, G01S17/93, G01S13/89 | 15/321006 |
| 98 | 10255520 | System and method for aircraft docking guidance and aircraft type identification | A system and method for aircraft docking guidance and aircraft type identification. The method is executed in the system for aircraft docking guidance and aircraft type identification comprising a machine vision sub-system, a laser scanning sub-system and a fusion module. The method includes: in step 1000, obtaining, by the machine vision sub-system, an image via image capturing means, and calculating a first aircraft front wheel position therefrom, in step 2000, obtaining, by the laser scanning sub-system, the position of the nose of an aircraft via laser scanning means, and calculating a second aircraft front wheel position, in step 3000, fusing the first aircraft front wheel position and the second aircraft front wheel position according to a fusion rule, to obtain deviation of an aircraft front wheel. | Lan Deng (Shenzhen, CN), Shaomin Chang (Shenzhen, CN), Wei Xiang (Shenzhen, CN), Yuefeng Yang (Shenzhen, CN), Haibin Wang (Shenzhen, CN), Haiqiu Liu (Shenzhen, CN) | Shenzhen Cimc-Tianda Airport Support Ltd. (Guangdong, CN), China International Marine Containers (Group), Ltd. (Guangdong CN) | 2015-07-02 | 2019-04-09 | G06K9/62, G01S17/06, G01S17/88, G08G5/06, B64F1/00, G06K9/00, G06K9/20, G06K9/36, G06K9/60, H04N7/00 | 15/329990 |
| 99 | 10249199 | System and method for aerial system discrimination and action | An aerial system discrimination system includes an aerial system disruption system, an aerial system identification system, and a permissions module. The discrimination system can additionally include or use an identifier transmission system configured to mount to the aerial system. The discrimination system functions to determine whether an aerial system is authorized or unauthorized to be in the airspace. The discrimination system can additionally function to prevent, disrupt, remove, or otherwise interact with an unauthorized aerial system within the airspace. | Jasminder S. Banga (San Francisco, CA) | Airspace Systems, Inc. (San Leandro, CA) | 2017-05-17 | 2019-04-02 | G08G5/00, G01S13/78, B64C39/02, G01S15/74, G06F21/00, G07C9/00, G01S19/13 | 15/598303 |
| 100 | 10249094 | Method of synthetic representation of elements of interest in a viewing system for aircraft | A method of synthetic representation of elements of interest in a viewing system for aircraft, the viewing system comprises location sensors, a cartographic database and a database of elements of interest, an image sensor, a unit for processing images and a unit for generating three-dimensional digital images representative of the terrain overflown and a viewing device, wherein, when the terrain overflown comprises an element of interest, the method of synthetic representation comprises: a first step of searching for and detecting the element of interest in each image of a sequence of images, and, a second step of generating three-dimensional digital images representative of the terrain overflown, the element of interest represented according to a first representation if it has not been detected in any of the images of the sequence of images and according to a second representation if it is detected. | Thierry Ganille (Merignac, FR), Bruno Aymeric (St Medard en Jalles, FR), Johanna Lux (Le Haillan, FR) | Thales (Courbevoie, FR) | 2017-03-26 | 2019-04-02 | G06T19/00, G06K9/00, G01C23/00, H04N7/18, G06T15/20, G02B27/01, G01S17/89, G08G5/00, G08G5/02, G01S7/24, G01S13/89, G01S13/91, G01S13/94, B64D45/08, H04N5/33 | 15/469555 |
| 101 | 10247854 | Methods and systems for detecting weather conditions using vehicle onboard sensors | Example methods and systems for detecting weather conditions using vehicle onboard sensors are provided. An example method includes receiving laser data collected for an environment of a vehicle, and the laser data includes a plurality of laser data points. The method also includes associating, by a computing device, laser data points of the plurality of laser data points with one or more objects in the environment, and determining given laser data points of the plurality of laser data points that are unassociated with the one or more objects in the environment as being representative of an untracked object. The method also includes based on one or more untracked objects being determined, identifying by the computing device an indication of a weather condition of the environment. | Jiajun Zhu (Sunnyvale, CA), Dmitri Dolgov (Mountain View, CA), Dave Ferguson (San Francisco, CA) | Waymo Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-03-03 | 2019-04-02 | G01N21/47, G05D1/02, G05D1/00, H04N7/18, G01W1/00, G01W1/14, G01S17/02, G01S17/87 | 15/449097 |
| 102 | 10247821 | Panoramic weather radar display system for aircraft | A weather radar system for an aircraft includes a weather radar system and a processing circuit. The weather radar system is configured to determine weather data, the weather data including an indication of precipitation at a plurality of altitudes, a plurality of azimuth angles, and at a plurality of ranges from the aircraft. The processing circuit is configured to receive the weather data from the weather radar system and generate an overhead display from an overhead perspective based on the weather data. The overhead display visually illustrates the precipitation at a particular distance from the aircraft and at a particular azimuth angle. The processing circuit is configured to generate a face-on on display based on the weather data and cause a display screen to display the overhead display and the face-on display. The face-on display visually illustrates a particular altitude of the precipitation and the azimuth angle of the precipitation. | Keith A. Stover (Lisbon, IA), Eric N. Anderson (Marion, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2017-08-04 | 2019-04-02 | G01S13/95, G01W1/10, G01S7/06, G08G5/00 | 15/669067 |
| 103 | 10242577 | Data communication between airport surveillance radar and onboard airborne weather radar | This disclosure is directed to weather radar configured to act as a communication device to allow real time data communication. This disclosure describes using weather radar on board aircraft as a high bandwidth X-band radio for communication. The X-band weather radar is used for receiving flight related data and weather-related data while still acting as a weather radar. As the weather radar system is already present on most commercial aircraft, there is no requirement for additional hardware, devices or equipment onboard the aircraft to meet the data communication needs. An airport may install an X-band data transmitter to broadcast digital data received from detection systems at or near an airport such as an Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) , predictive wind shear (PWS) and bird strike warning systems. | Yogesh Prabhakar Gharote (Bangalore, IN), Venkatesh Ramachandra (Bangalore, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2016-12-01 | 2019-03-26 | G08G5/00, G01S13/95, G01S7/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/02 | 15/366603 |
| 104 | 10241203 | Weather radar integrating system combining ground-based and aircraft-based weather radar data | This disclosure is directed to systems, methods, and devices for integrating weather radar data from both ground-based and aircraft weather radar systems. An example system is configured to receive weather radar data from a first weather radar system. The system is further configured to receive weather radar data from one or more additional weather radar systems. The system is further configured to combine the weather radar data from the first weather radar system and the weather radar data from the one or more additional weather radar systems into a combined weather radar data set. The system is further configured to generate an output based on the combined weather radar data set. | Donald C. Kauffman (Laurel, MD), Kenneth R. Jongsma (Albuquerque, NM) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-03-13 | 2019-03-26 | G01S13/95, G01S13/87, G08G5/00, G01W1/02, G01S7/00, G01W1/00 | 14/657996 |
| 105 | 10241194 | Mobile device utilizing time of flight for personal security and localization | A method for determining the location of a frequency receiver device with respect to at least two frequency originator devices, each of a current location, the method including synchronizing a clock of the frequency receiver device with a clock of one of the at least two frequency originator devices, receiving by the frequency receiver device, a message including an identification code configured for identifying one of the at least two frequency originator devices and obtaining a broadcast time and a current location of the one of the at least two frequency originator devices by looking up a table correlating the at least two frequency originator devices and their respective broadcast times and current locations, calculating a time of flight of the message by calculating the difference between a receive time at which the message is received by the frequency receiver device and the broadcast time. | Steven Lee Bietz (Cypress, TX), Clinton Courier (Cotati, CA) | Voll, Inc. (Cypress, TX) | 2018-04-11 | 2019-03-26 | H04W4/23, G01S5/02, G01S5/18, G01S5/28, G01S13/76, G01S13/87, H04W64/00, G01S5/20, H04B1/3877, H04W4/02, G01S1/80, H04B1/3827, H04B1/3888, H04W4/80, G01S1/82, H04W56/00, G01S5/14, G01S5/12 | 15/950678 |
| 106 | 10234560 | Method and time-of-flight camera for providing distance information | The invention relates to a method for providing distance information of a scene with a time-of-flight camera, comprising the steps of emitting a modulated light pulse towards the scene, receiving reflections of the modulated light pulse from the scene, evaluating a time-of-flight information for the received reflections of the modulated light pulse, and deriving distance information from the time-of-flight information for the received reflections, whereby a spread spectrum signal is applied to a base frequency of the modulation of the light pulse, and the time-of-flight information is evaluated under consideration of the a spread spectrum signal applied to the base frequency of the modulation of the light pulse. The invention further relates to a time-of-flight camera for providing distance information from a scene, whereby the time-of-flight camera performs the above method. | Ward Van Der Tempel (Muizen, BE), Riemer Grootjans (Antwerp, BE) | Sony Depthsensing Solutions Sa/Nv (Brussels, BE) | 2018-01-31 | 2019-03-19 | G01C3/08, G01S17/10, G05D13/08, G01S7/486, G01S7/484, G01S7/487 | 15/884815 |
| 107 | 10234554 | Synthetic aperture radar | Embodiments described herein simplify the recognition of objects in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. This may be achieved by processing the image in order to make the shadow caused by the object appear more similar to the object. Alternatively, this may be achieved by processing the image in order to make the layover caused by the object appear more similar to the object. Manipulation of the shadow caused by the object and the layover caused by the object may comprise altering the aspect ratio of the image, and in the case of manipulating the shadow caused by the image, may further comprise transforming the image by reflection or rotation. The aspect ratio of the image may be altered based on information about the image collection geometry, obtained by the SAR. | Malcolm Stevens (Crowborough, GB) | Thales Holdings Uk Plc (Reading, Berkshire, GB) | 2016-05-06 | 2019-03-19 | G01S13/90, G01S7/41 | 15/148285 |
| 108 | 10234551 | Method and system for managing data from an aircraft radio altimeter | A method and system for managing data from an aircraft radio-altimeter. The data management system includes a monitoring unit for checking, automatically and repetitively, when the radio-altimeter is outside of its operational range, from data generated by the radio-altimeter for a predetermined duration, whether the trend of the data corresponds to an aircraft approaching the ground, and a data transmission unit configured to automatically transmit the data generated by the radio-altimeter to a user system, only if the monitoring unit considers that the trend of the data corresponds to an aircraft approaching the ground. | Nicolas Marconnet (Castelnau d'Estretefonds, FR) | Airbus Operations (S.A.S.), (Toulouse, Fr) | 2016-05-13 | 2019-03-19 | G01S13/60, G01S13/70, G01S13/86, G01S13/87, G01S13/88 | 15/154246 |
| 109 | 10234549 | Circuit for acoustic distance time of flight compensation | In one form, an acoustic signal is generated for an acoustic transducer, where the acoustic transducer transmits the acoustic signal to determine a first position of an obstacle. In response to the acoustic signal encountering the obstacle within a predetermined distance, an echo, or pulse, is detected at the acoustic transducer. At a first time, a magnitude is detected in response to a rising edge of the pulse intersecting a determined threshold. A second magnitude is detected in response to the detection of a first peak of the pulse. A time of flight of the acoustic signal, within the predetermined distance, is determined when a compensation time is extracted from a correction calculation algorithm in response to detecting the first magnitude and the second magnitude. The compensation time is subtracted from the first time, and the difference of the compensation time and the first time is the time of flight. | Tomas Suchy (Brno, CZ), Marek Hustava (Bratislava, SK) | Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2016-10-06 | 2019-03-19 | G01S7/00, G01S7/521, G01S7/527, G01S15/10, G01S15/93, G01S7/52, G01S7/536, G01S15/87 | 15/286822 |
| 110 | 10229502 | Temporal time-of-flight | A depth detection apparatus is described which has a memory and a computation logic. The memory stores frames of raw time-of-flight sensor data received from a time-of-flight sensor, the frames having been captured by a time-of-flight camera in the presence of motion such that different ones of the frames were captured using different locations of the camera and/or with different locations of an object in a scene depicted in the frames. The computation logic has functionality to compute a plurality of depth maps from the stream of frames, whereby each frame of raw time-of-flight sensor data contributes to more than one depth map. | Amit Adam (Haifa, IL), Sebastian Nowozin (Cambridge, GB), Omer Yair (Haifa, IL), Shai Mazor (Binyamina, IL), Michael Schober (Tuebingen, DE) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2016-02-03 | 2019-03-12 | G06T7/00, G01S17/50, G01S17/89, G01S7/48, G06F3/01, G06K9/00, G06T7/55 | 15/015065 |
| 111 | 10228691 | Augmented radar camera view for remotely operated aerial vehicles | The present invention extends to methods, systems, devices, and apparatus for augmented radar camera view for remotely operated vehicles. A camera and a radar unit are co-located on a remotely controlled aerial vehicle, for example, in a forward looking view. The camera captures images and the radar unit senses reflections from transmitted waves. The images (operator view) and radar returns (radar view) are combined in an augmented view. The augmented view is displayed to an operator (e.g., a pilot) at a control station to provide the operator with an augmented reality sense of obstacles in the environment of the remotely controlled aerial vehicle. Thus, when a remotely controlled aerial vehicle is flying through an environment that may be dark, clouded, foggy, etc., the operator may still be able to detect obstacles from the radar view. | Paul E. I. Pounds (Brisbane, AU), Edward Lindsley (Burelson, TX) | Olaeris, Inc. (Burleson, TX) | 2017-03-31 | 2019-03-12 | G05D1/00, G01S7/00, G01S13/86, G05D1/10, B64C39/02, B64D47/08 | 15/475143 |
| 112 | 10228689 | Methods and apparatuses for engagement management of aerial threats | Embodiments include engagement management systems and methods for managing engagement with aerial threats. Such systems include radar modules and detect aerial threats within a threat range of a base location. The systems also track intercept vehicles and control flight paths and detonation capabilities of the intercept vehicles. The systems are capable of communication between multiple engagement management systems and coordinated control of multiple intercept vehicles. | James Kolanek (Goleta, CA), Behshad Baseghi (Santa Barbara, CA), David Sharpin (Simi Valley, CA), Anthony Visco (Woodland Hills, CA), Falin Shieh (Calabasas, CA) | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Inc. (Plymouth, MN) | 2016-11-18 | 2019-03-12 | G05D1/00, F41G7/30, F42B15/01, G01S13/88, F41H11/02 | 15/355839 |
| 113 | 10226234 | Motion detection using ping-based and multiple aperture doppler ultrasound | A method of full-field or ''ping-based'' Doppler ultrasound imaging allows for detection of Doppler signals indicating moving reflectors at any point in an imaging field without the need to pre-define range gates. In various embodiments, such whole-field Doppler imaging methods may include transmitting a Doppler ping from a transmit aperture, receiving echoes of the Doppler ping with one or more separate receive apertures, detecting Doppler signals and determining the speed of moving reflectors. In some embodiments, the system also provides the ability to determine the direction of motion by solving a set of simultaneous equations based on echo data received by multiple receive apertures. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA), David M. Smith (Lodi, CA), Josef R. Call (Campbell, CA), Viet Nam Le (San Jose, CA), Bruce R. Ritzi (Sunnyvale, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2012-11-30 | 2019-03-12 | A61B8/08, G01S7/52, G01S15/89, A61B8/00, A61B8/14 | 13/690989 |
| 114 | 10222467 | Two-way coded aperture three-dimensional radar imaging | A two-way coded aperture radar imaging system is disclosed. The system includes an antenna reflector and a radar signal transceiver configured to generate sequential radar transmission signals and receive a plurality of respective reflected radar signals. The system also includes a phase control component configured to phase-encode the sequential radar transmission signals via a plurality of phase-codes to generate a respective plurality of phase-coded radar pulses that are concurrently reflected at a respective plurality of sub-aperture portions of the antenna reflector to concurrently transmit the plurality of phase-coded radar pulses from the antenna reflector to a target. The transmitted phase-coded radar pulses can be reflected from the target as the respective plurality of reflected radar signals. The system further includes a sub-aperture radar controller configured to integrate the plurality of reflected radar signals and to generate a three-dimensional image of the target from the integrated plurality of reflected radar signals. | George A. Ioannidis (Bel Air, MD), George W. Gigioli (Brookeville, MD) | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Falls Church, VA) | 2015-11-10 | 2019-03-05 | H01Q3/38, G01S13/88, G01S13/89, G01S7/282, H01Q19/17, H01Q19/19 | 14/937394 |
| 115 | 10222452 | Method for prioritizing and transmitting data generated from an airplane during flight | A method, system, and computer product for transmitting data generated from an airplane includes collecting a plurality of flight data generated from the airplane, analyzing the plurality of flight data, generating a feedback signal based on an analyzed result on the plurality of flight data, selecting a first group of flight data from the plurality of flight data based on the feedback signal, changing a respective data resolution of each of the first group of flight data based on the feedback signal, providing each of the first group of flight data with the changed data resolution to a transmitting device, and transmitting, using the transmitting device, the first group of flight data with the changed data resolution. | Jeffrey E. Bisti (New Paltz, NY), Raymond J. Cadmus, Jr. (New Fairfield, CT), Frank J. De Gilio (Poughkeepsie, NY), Joseph Foti, Jr. (New Windsor, NY), Jovanna Marquez (Reston, VA) | International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) | 2016-12-09 | 2019-03-05 | G08G5/00, H04B7/185, G01S13/95, G01S7/00 | 15/373702 |
| 116 | 10218448 | System and method for determining vehicle position based upon light-based communication and time-of-flight measurements | A system and method for determining vehicle position uses light based communication (LBC) signals and a time-of-flight (TOF) pulse. Each vehicle includes a LBC system having light emitting diodes (LEDs) and receiver photodiodes capable of sending and receiving pulsed light binary messages. The LBC system may also include a TOF transceiver for sending and receiving TOF pulses, or the transmitter and receiver diodes may be used to send and receive TOF pulses. Each LBC system has a controller coupled to the transmitter diodes and receiver diodes (and the TOF transceiver when present) . The controller includes a processor configured to determine the distance between vehicles. Optical characteristics are used to discern relative angle, a header is used to determine relative orientation, and the time-of-flight is used to determine distance, which together may be used by the processor to determine the relative location between transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle. | Joseph Laski (Stoneham, MA), Vimlesh Shukla (Chicago, IL), Jeremy Spaulding (Washington, DC) | Osram Sylvania Inc. (Wilmington, MA) | 2017-02-02 | 2019-02-26 | H04B10/114, G01S17/87, G01S17/08, H04B10/69, H04B10/50, H04B10/116, H04B10/80, G01S17/93, G08C23/04, H04B10/00, G08G1/16, G01S7/486, G01S7/48 | 15/422570 |
| 117 | 10198956 | Unmanned aerial vehicle collision avoidance system | An automatic system to detect and avoid collisions between piloted aircraft operating at low altitudes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) . UAV's are typically remote controlled helicopters, quad-copters, airplanes and other airborne vehicles (e.g., Drones) . Aircraft operating at low altitudes are subject to interference (accidental or purposefully) by those on the ground operating said UAV's, which is likely to cause great injury or death to the aircraft and its occupants. | Randy Lane Silverman (San Jose, CA) | --- | 2016-10-11 | 2019-02-05 | G08G5/00, G01S17/93, B64C39/02, G08G5/04, G01S13/93 | 15/290838 |
| 118 | 10192452 | Determining landing locations | In some examples, a landing location within a region for an aerial vehicle may be determined. The landing location may be determined by comparing a first digital elevation dataset and a second digital elevation dataset to identify open areas within the region. Information about the landing location can be shared with the aerial vehicle. | Jason Douglas Willison (Redmond, WA) | Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Seattle, WA) | 2017-05-15 | 2019-01-29 | G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G06F9/06, G01S13/91, G05D1/06, G08G5/02 | 15/595591 |
| 119 | 10191496 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and a landing guidance method using the same | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is provided. The UAV includes a main body, a plurality of motors connected to the main body, each of the plurality of motors having a rotor blade, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors located at least one of the plurality of motors and the main body, and transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a ground surface, and measuring distances from the ground surface, a gyro sensor disposed at the main body and maintaining the UAV in a horizontal state, and a controller disposed at the main body, detecting an unevenness of the ground surface based on the distances from the plurality of ultrasonic sensors to the ground surface, generating a control signal whether to land on the ground surface or not in response to the detection of the unevenness, and transmitting the control signal to the plurality of motors. | Jin Oh Kim (Seoul, KR), Sang Ok Seon (Seoul, KR) | Foundation of Soongsil University-Industry Cooperation (Seoul, KR) | 2017-04-20 | 2019-01-29 | G05D1/06, B64C17/06, B64C39/02, B64D45/04, G01S15/08, G01S15/87, G01S15/88, B64C27/08, G01S7/521 | 15/492099 |
| 120 | 10191150 | High precision radar to track aerial targets | High precision radar to track aerial targets installed on the ground, in a container or in a vehicle, to determine the target parameters, such as azimuth angle (.theta..sub.a) , elevation angle (.theta..sub.e) , range, speed and flying direction and transmits them to a weapon system which comprises an array of two collinear antennas (19, 21) with narrow beam in elevation, installed on a platform (12) and rotating around a vertical axis at a rotational speed of, at least, 50 rpm, in which the direction of the said array varies between 0.degree. and 90.degree. by means of a positioning motor in elevation (18) , and the precise target elevation angle (.theta..sub.e) is determined by interferometry. The precise target azimuth angle (9a) is determined through correlation between a signal detected by the said antennas (19, 21) with a +1/-1 step function, complemented by the search for the zero transition provided by the determination of the return pulse maximum. The target speed and direction values are determined by a prediction filter (50) based on the history of range, elevation and azimuth values obtained in previous measurements. | Joao Roberto Moreira Neto (Valinhos, BR) | Embraer S.A. (Sao Jose dos Campos-SP, BR) | 2015-03-12 | 2019-01-29 | G01S13/42, G01S13/88, G01S13/44, G01S13/66, G01S13/87 | 14/656401 |
| 121 | 10181201 | Time-of-flight camera system and method to improve measurement quality of weak field-of-view signal regions | A time-of-flight camera system is described. The time-of-flight camera system includes an illuminator to illuminate a region within the time-of-flight camera system's field of view. The time-of-flight camera system includes an image sensor to receive optical signals from the illumination for determining depth profile information within the field of view using time-of-flight measurement techniques. The image sensor has circuitry to determine one or more regions within the field of view where a received optical signal from the illuminating was weak. The illuminator is also to re-illuminate the one or more regions with stronger light than the one or more regions received during the illuminating. Each of the one or more regions being smaller than the region. The image sensor is also to receive optical signals from the re-illumination for determining depth profile information within the one or more regions. | Chung Chun Wan (San Jose, CA), Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA) | Google Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-11-09 | 2019-01-15 | H04N5/222, G01S7/481, H04N5/235, G02B7/02, H04N5/225, G01S7/491, G01S17/89, G06T7/521, G02B26/10, G02B26/08 | 15/808159 |
| 122 | 10177868 | Systems and methods to synchronize wireless devices in the presence of a FMCW radio altimeter | Systems and methods to synchronize wireless device nodes in the presence of a FMCW radio altimeter are provided. In one embodiment, a wireless device network comprises: a plurality of device nodes that share a radio frequency spectrum using time-division multiple accesses, a network synchronizing device in wireless communication with the plurality of device nodes, the network synchronizing device coupled to a timeslot allocation function, wherein the timeslot allocation function allocates to the network synchronizing device a timeslot on a first designated synchronization channel within the radio frequency spectrum, wherein the network synchronizing device broadcasts an arbitrary timeslot synchronization beacon to the plurality of device nodes on the first designated synchronization channel in the timeslot, wherein the arbitrary timeslot synchronization beacon comprises a Sync Timeslot identifier that identifies the timeslot, and a Sync Time indicator that includes a time that the arbitrary timeslot synchronization beacon was transmitted. | Steven L. Timm (Golden Valley, MN), Kelly P. Muldoon (Golden Valley, MN), Michael R. Franceschini (Centerport, NY) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-12-17 | 2019-01-08 | H04L7/00, H04W56/00, H04W72/04, H04B7/185, H04J3/16, G01S13/34 | 14/972898 |
| 123 | 10175699 | Method for automatically assisting with the landing of an aircraft | The present invention relates to a method for automatically assisting with the landing of an aircraft on a runway from a return point (A) to a completion point (D) , at which the aircraft touches the runway, by means of a data-processing device on-board said aircraft, which device is configured to be connected to an altimeter and a deviation meter, the method including: a return-navigation assistance phase including guidance of the aircraft, on the basis of measurements of the azimuth deviation of the aircraft relative to a reference direction linking said return point (A) and the position of the deviation meter (E) transmitted by said deviation meter, from the return point (A) towards the position of the deviation meter (E) , determination of the position of the aircraft at a predetermined capture point (B) that is aligned with the return point (A) and the position of the deviation meter (E) , and guidance of the aircraft along a predetermined path from the capture point (B) to a predetermined holding point (C) , which is approximately aligned with the axis of the runway, on the basis of altitude data provided by the altimeter and heading and speed data relating to the aircraft, a landing assistance phase including guidance from the holding point (C) to the completion point (D) . | Alain Chiodini (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR), Francois Dufresne De Virel (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR), Sylvain Pouillard (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR) | Safran Electronics and Defense (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR) | 2016-07-15 | 2019-01-08 | G05D1/06, G01S3/14, G01S13/86, G01S13/91, G01P3/38, G01S11/10, B64D45/04 | 15/744040 |
| 124 | 10175351 | Method and apparatus for compensating for a parameter change in a synthetic aperture imaging system | There is described a method for processing data generated by a synthetic aperture imaging system, comprising: receiving raw data representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by a target area to be imaged, receiving a parameter change for the synthetic aperture imaging system, digitally correcting the raw data in accordance with the parameter change, thereby compensating for the parameter change in order to obtain corrected data, and generating an image of the target area using the corrected data. | Alain Bergeron (Quebec, CA), Linda Marchese (Quebec, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, CA) | 2015-10-30 | 2019-01-08 | G01S13/90, G01S15/89, G01S7/40, G01S17/89, G03H1/04, G02B27/58, G06T5/50 | 14/927776 |
| 125 | 10171723 | Frequency domain range determination for a periodic or quasi-periodic target | Examples disclosed herein relate to determining peak distances between an origin, point in the frequency domain and peak points of a discrete Fourier transform magnitude of an image of a periodic or quasi-periodic target. In some implementations, a range distance between the target and the imaging lens is determined based on the peak distances. | Robert Ulichney (Stow, MA), Matthew D Gaubatz (Seattle, WA), Stephen Pollard (Bristol, GB) | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (Houston, TX) | 2014-07-18 | 2019-01-01 | H04N5/232, G02B7/36, G01S13/08, G01S11/12, G03B13/20 | 15/327290 |
| 126 | 10162353 | Scanning environments and tracking unmanned aerial vehicles | Systems and methods for scanning environments and tracking unmanned aerial vehicles within the scanned environments are disclosed. A method in accordance with a particular embodiment includes using a rangefinder off-board an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to identify points in a region. The method can further include forming a computer-based map of the region with the points and using the rangefinder and a camera to locate the UAV as it moves in the region. The location of the UAV can be compared with locations on the computer-based map and, based upon the comparison, the method can include transmitting guidance information to the UAV. In a further particular embodiment, two-dimensional imaging data is used in addition to the rangefinder data to provide color information to points in the region. | Asa Hammond (Cotati, CA), Nathan Schuett (Belmont, CA), Naimisaranya Das Busek (Seattle, WA) | Prenav, Inc. (San Carlos, CA) | 2016-03-02 | 2018-12-25 | G05D1/10, G06F3/0484, G06K9/00, G06T7/00, G06K9/52, G06K9/62, G06T7/20, G06T7/60, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, H04N13/128, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G06T17/05, B64D47/08, G01S17/66, G01S7/481, G01S17/02, G01S17/93, G01S17/89, G01S17/87, H04N13/00, F03D17/00 | 15/059069 |
| 127 | 10156631 | Deterrent for unmanned aerial systems | A system for providing integrated detection and deterrence against an unmanned vehicle including but not limited to aerial technology unmanned systems using a detection element, a tracking element, an identification element and an interdiction or deterrent element. Elements contain sensors that observe real time quantifiable data regarding the object of interest to create an assessment of risk or threat to a protected area of interest. This assessment may be based e.g., on data mining of internal and external data sources. The deterrent element selects from a variable menu of possible deterrent actions. Though designed for autonomous action, a Human in the Loop may override the automated system solutions. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2017-06-19 | 2018-12-18 | G01S7/38, G01S13/66, G01S13/88, G01S3/782, G01S7/41, G01S13/42, G01S13/86, G01S7/02, F41H11/02, F41H13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/93 | 15/627229 |
| 128 | 10151300 | System and method for protecting a wind turbine against impending weather events | A blade mounted radar system comprises a wind turbine having a hub and blades extending therefrom, a radar antenna configured to transmit and/or receive a radio frequency (RF) signal, and a processor in electrical communication with the radar antenna and configured to generate the RF signal for transmission and/or to process the received RF signal. The radar antenna is affixed to one of the blades of the wind turbine such that relative motion is defined between the radar antenna and a target within a line of sight of the radar antenna. The radar antenna detects impending weather events. A turbine controller generates a signal which alters at least one aspect of the wind turbine to secure and protect the wind turbine from the impending weather event. | Svetlana M. Bachman (Liverpool, NY), Elliott Reitz (Liverpool, NY) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2016-09-12 | 2018-12-11 | G06F19/00, F03D7/02, F03D7/04, F03D9/00, F03D1/06, G01S13/95, G05B19/042, G01S13/90, F03D9/25, G01S7/02 | 15/263348 |
| 129 | 10145943 | Method for operating an optical proximity switch in accordance with the time-of-flight principle | The invention relates to a method for operating an optical proximity switch, wherein an object distance E is determined by means of a time-of-flight method and a specified range is limited by an adjustable switching distance SAE. The switching output (6) is activated at an object distance E1< SAE and deactivated at an object distance E2>,SAE+H (SAE) , wherein a hysteresis H (SAE,R) depending on the switching distance SAE and on a reflectivity R is stored in the proximity switch, and, after the switching output (6) has been activated, the reflectivity R of the object is determined in addition to the object distance E2 and the switching output (6) is deactivated again only when the condition E2>,SAE+H (SAE,R) is satisfied. The invention further relates to an optical proximity switch for performing the method according to the invention. | Rolf Fensterle (Ravensburg, DE), Hartmut Bielefeldt (Friedrichshafen, DE), Eduard Gjabri (Friedrichshafen, DE) | Ifm Electronic Gmbh (Essen, DE) | 2015-02-10 | 2018-12-04 | G01C3/08, G01S17/08, G01S7/497, G01S17/02 | 15/121545 |
| 130 | 10139837 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and method with environmental sensing | An aerial system and method of operating an aerial system is provided. The aerial system includes a body, a lift mechanism, a processing system, a camera, and a sensor module. The lift mechanism is coupled to the body and configured to controllably provide lift and/or thrust. The processing system is configured to control the lift mechanism to provide flight to the aerial system. The camera is coupled to the body and is configured to obtain images of an environment proximate the aerial system. The sensor module is coupled to the body and includes an emitter and a receiver. The receiver is configured to sense data related to an ambient environment associated with the aerial system. The processing system controls a controllable parameter of the lift mechanism or the emitter as a function of the sensed data. | Yusen Qin (HangZhou, CN), Tong Zhang (HangZhou, CN), Menqiu Wang (HangZhou, CN) | Hangzhou Zero Zero Technology Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou, Zhejiang, CN) | 2017-09-12 | 2018-11-27 | G05D1/10, B64D47/08, G05D1/00, H04N5/225, B64C39/02, H04N7/18, G01S17/93, G01S17/02, G01S17/08, G01S15/93, G01S13/94, G01S13/93, G01S13/88, G01S13/86, G01S15/02, G01S15/08, G01S13/08 | 15/701740 |
| 131 | 10139474 | Methods and systems for providing live weather data onboard an aircraft | A method for presenting weather information onboard an aircraft is provided. The method obtains a first set of weather data from aircraft onboard radar system, obtains a second set of weather data from external sources including one or more external aircraft, a satellite, a remote server, and a ground-based weather station, wherein the communication device is compatible a communication protocol for the external sources, and wherein the communication protocol comprises at least one of a datalink communication protocol, a satellite communication protocol, a very high frequency (VHF) radio communication protocol, and a transponder communication protocol, and presents graphical elements comprising a first set of graphical elements associated with the first set of weather data and a second set of graphical elements associated with the second set of weather data, wherein the second set of graphical elements include visual characteristics distinguishable from the first set of graphical elements. | Saravanakumar Gurusamy (Tamil Nadu, IN), Madhava Gadicherla (Karnataka, IN), Jayasenthilnathan B (Karnataka, IN), Roger W Burgin (Scottsdale, AZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2017-02-22 | 2018-11-27 | G01S7/24, G01S13/95, G09G5/02, G01S7/00, G06F3/0484, G08G5/00, G01S7/52 | 15/439158 |
| 132 | 10134926 | Quantum-efficiency-enhanced time-of-flight detector | A time-of-flight detector includes a semiconductor layer and a light modulation structure. The semiconductor layer is configured to translate light radiation into electrical charge. The light modulation structure is configured to increase a path of interaction of light radiation through the semiconductor layer. In some example implementations, the light modulation structure is configured to deflect at least some light radiation at an increased angle through the semiconductor layer. In some example implementations, the light modulation structure is configured to reflect light radiation more than once through the semiconductor layer. | Onur Can Akkaya (Palo Alto, CA), Satyadev Nagaraja (San Jose, CA), Tamer Elkhatib (San Jose, CA), Cyrus Bamji (Fremont, CA), Swati Mehta (Palo Alto, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2015-06-30 | 2018-11-20 | H01L31/0232, H01L27/146, H01L31/028, G01S7/481, G01S17/32 | 14/755306 |
| 133 | 10132923 | Method for controlling transmission power and aircraft anti-collision system for implementing such a method | A method and system for controlling the transmission of power of request-response messages implemented by a system to prevent collisions between a first aircraft and a second aircraft. The method comprises measuring at least the value, referred to as the quality value, of a quantity representative of the reception quality of the transponder of the second aircraft and, implemented by the anti-collision device of the first aircraft, and a control step to control the transmission power of the radio-frequency signals carrying the request-response messages according to the quality value or values contained in the response messages sent by the transponder. | Jean-Luc Robin (Saint-jean, FR) | Airbus Operations Sas (Toulouse, FR) | 2016-06-09 | 2018-11-20 | G01S13/76, G01S7/282, G01S13/93, G01S7/40 | 15/735512 |
| 134 | 10130333 | Method and apparatus to produce ultrasonic images using multiple apertures | A combination of an ultrasonic scanner and an omnidirectional receive transducer for producing a two-dimensional image from received echoes is described. Two-dimensional images with different noise components can be constructed from the echoes received by additional transducers. These can be combined to produce images with better signal to noise ratios and lateral resolution. Also disclosed is a method based on information content to compensate for the different delays for different paths through intervening tissue is described. The disclosed techniques have broad application in medical imaging but are ideally suited to multi-aperture cardiac imaging using two or more intercostal spaces. Since lateral resolution is determined primarily by the aperture defined by the end elements, it is not necessary to fill the entire aperture with equally spaced elements. Multiple slices using these methods can be combined to form three-dimensional images. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2016-08-18 | 2018-11-20 | A61B8/14, A61B8/08, G01S7/52, G01S15/89, A61B5/00, A61B8/00 | 15/240884 |
| 135 | 10115315 | Systems and methods for requesting flight plan changes onboard an aircraft during flight | A method for generating a request onboard an aircraft, by a processor communicatively coupled to system memory and a communication device, is provided. In response to a requested change to a current flight plan, the method automatically generates, by the processor, a text-based clearance request for the requested change, the text-based clearance request comprising aircraft identification and the requested change, and the requested change comprising at least one of a new cruising level, a new cruising speed at the new cruising level, flight rules, a new route description, and revised time estimates associated with waypoints of the current flight plan, and transmits the text-based clearance request, via the communication device. | Jaroslav Jonak (Brno, CZ), Vitezslav Cip (Zubri, CZ), Karel Mundel (Vrane nad Vltavou, CZ), Petr Vesely (Horni Marsov, CZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2017-03-13 | 2018-10-30 | G01S13/91, G08G5/00, B64D43/00 | 15/457566 |
| 136 | 10109207 | Method and device for an aircraft for handling potential collisions in air traffic | A method for an aircraft for handling potential collisions in air traffic includes providing by a collision avoidance system a collision avoidance maneuver to avoid a collision with one or more intruders. The collision avoidance system is configured to obtain information about these intruders. The method includes further providing flight management constraints from an onboard flight system. Further, the method includes providing flight situation data from a navigation system. The method includes generating a modified collision avoidance maneuver based on the collision avoidance maneuver provided by the collision avoidance system, the flight situation data and the flight management constraints. | Joy Jonatan Bousquet (Gaimersheim, DE), Winfried Lohmiller (Freising, DE), Joerg Meyer (Mainburg, DE) | Airbus Defence and Space Gmbh (Taufkirchen, DE) | 2016-03-30 | 2018-10-23 | G08G5/04, G01S17/08, G01S13/95, G01S13/02, G05D1/00 | 15/084917 |
| 137 | 10107904 | Method and apparatus for mapping and characterizing sea ice from airborne simultaneous dual frequency interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) measurements | X-band and P-band synthetic aperture radars are used to simultaneously gather swaths of reflected radar data over a specific area simultaneously. The P-band is used to penetrate surface clutter that may be on the top of an ice formation as well as to penetrate an ice mass. X-band is used to map surface clutter on the top of an ice formation as well as to map the top of snow that may appear on an ice formation. Digital elevation maps of the top of the snow or ice clutter, the top of the ice, and the bottom of the ice and or ice thickness are constructed. By summing these various digital elevation maps a measurement of the thickness of sea ice can be determined. Further analysis of DEM, MAG and CRV layers provides an indication of the quality of the ice, for example cracks and pressure ridges, and its weak points. | James J. Reis (New Market, MD), Carl Sonnier (Lafayette, LA), Joe Jones (Hagerstown, MD), Mark L. Sanford (Chambersburg, PA), Edward Saade (Frederick, MD) | Fugro N.V. (NL) | 2013-08-07 | 2018-10-23 | G01S13/90 | 13/961567 |
| 138 | 10107895 | Amplitude calibration of a stepped-chirp signal for a synthetic aperture radar | A Radar Calibration Processor (''RCP'') for calibrating the amplitude of a stepped-chirp signal utilized by a synthetic aperture radar (''SAR'') is disclosed. The RCP includes a periodic amplitude error (''PAE'') calibrator, first non-periodic amplitude error (''NPAE'') calibrator in signal communication with the PAE calibrator, and a second NPAE calibrator in signal communication with the first NPAE calibrator. | Kwang M. Cho (Los Angeles, CA), Kenneth W. Conte (Los Angeles, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2014-09-19 | 2018-10-23 | G01S13/93, G01S7/40, G01S13/90 | 14/491291 |
| 139 | 10102759 | Systems and methods for collecting weather information for selected airspace regions | Systems and methods for collecting weather information for selected airspace regions are provided. In one embodiment, a method for collecting weather information for selected airspace regions comprises: receiving aircraft position information for a plurality of aircraft, forming an aircraft weather group based on flight path attributes derived from the aircraft position information, selecting at least a first representative aircraft from the weather group, and receiving at a weather information ground station, weather data from one or more representative aircraft of the aircraft weather group, wherein only the one or more representative aircraft transmit weather information to the weather information ground station from the aircraft weather group. | Haiming Wang (Beijing, CN), Leo Wang (Beijing, CN), Yi Zhong (Shanghai, CN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-09-25 | 2018-10-16 | H04W4/00, G08G5/00, G01S5/00, G01S5/02, G01S19/03, G01S7/00, G01W1/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/95 | 14/865039 |
| 140 | 10101456 | Method and device for measuring the speed of an aircraft by Doppler | The invention relates to the measurement of the speed of an aircraft by Doppler laser anemometry, the aircraft being equipped with a LiDAR using coherent detection. According to the invention, the measurement method comprises the following steps: emission by the lidar of a laser beam, reception by the lidar of a signal backscattered by particles present in the path of the beam emitted and generation of the corresponding heterodyne signal, processing of the heterodyne signal by the processor unit which comprises the following sub-steps: time-frequency analysis of the heterodyne signal, estimation of the speed of the aircraft based on the time-frequency analysis, wherein the step for processing the heterodyne signal comprises a statistical test sub-step with: estimation of a statistical function from the TFR of the heterodyne signal, estimation of a reference statistical function from the TFR of the noise associated with the heterodyne signal, calculation of a difference between the statistical function from the TFR of the heterodyne signal and the reference statistical function from the TFR of the noise. | Gregory Baral-Baron (Seyssins, FR), Xavier Lacondemine (Alixan, FR), Elisabeth Lahalle (Gif sur Yvette, FR), Gilles Fleury (Paris, FR) | Thales (Courbevoie, FR) | 2014-07-11 | 2018-10-16 | G01P5/00, G01S17/88, G01P3/36, G01S7/486, G01S17/58 | 14/329734 |
| 141 | 10091492 | Imaging apparatuses and a time of flight imaging method | The imaging apparatus includes an image sensor circuit comprising a time of flight sensor pixel. The imaging apparatus further includes a first light emitter having a first spatial offset relative to the time of flight sensor pixel. The imaging apparatus further includes a second light emitter having a second spatial offset relative to the time of flight sensor pixel. The imaging apparatus further includes an image processing circuit configured to produce an image of a region of an object based on first sensor pixel image data and second sensor pixel image data generated by the time of flight sensor pixel. The first sensor pixel image data is based on received light emitted by the first light emitter and reflected at the object's region and wherein the second sensor pixel image data is based on received light emitted by the second light emitter and reflected at the object's region. | Markus Dielacher (Graz, AT), Martin Flatscher (Graz, AT), Michael Mark (Graz, AT), Josef Prainsack (Graz, AT) | Infineon Technologies Ag (Neubiberg, DE) | 2015-10-20 | 2018-10-02 | H04N13/254, G01S7/481, G01S7/499, G01S7/486, G01S17/08, G01S17/89 | 14/887400 |
| 142 | 10088572 | Time-of-flight camera system, robot milking system comprising a time-of-flight camera system and method of operating a time-of-flight camera system | A time-of-flight (TOF) camera system for a robot milking system includes a housing accommodating a light source, imaging optics, an image sensor, and electronics, a front part including a light transparent window disposed in front of the light source and the imaging optics, and fasteners. The housing has a front side and a back side, and the front part has a front side and a backside, the surface of the front side being flat and including a front surface of the light transparent window. The fasteners releasably mechanically fasten the front part to the housing with the back side of the front part and the front side of the housing facing each other. The fasteners are maneuverable from the back side of the housing to fasten the front part to, and release the front part from, the housing, thereby enabling the front part to be replaceable. | Thomas Axelsson (Tumba, SE), Nils-Erik Holmertz (Tumba, SE), Helmut Obermuller (Tumba, SE) | Delaval Holding Ab (Tumba, SE) | 2014-12-04 | 2018-10-02 | G01S17/89, A01J5/017, G01S17/88, G01S7/481, G01S7/497 | 15/101934 |
| 143 | 10088555 | Automated method for selecting training areas of sea clutter and detecting ship targets in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar imagery | Method for selecting a sea clutter training area in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar input data. A sea clutter reference distribution for a pixel magnitude value is provided. Based on the input data, one or more parameters of the reference distribution and a global covariance matrix are computed. The pixels are grouped into blocks. A block that minimizes a cost function is pre-selected, the cost function being derived from empirical moments of the block and moments of the reference distribution. A goodness-of-fit is computed for the pre-selected block with respect to the reference distribution. If the goodness-of-fit is sufficient, the block is selected as sea clutter training area. Otherwise, the steps of preselecting and computing a goodness of fit are repeated. | Timo Rolf Bretschneider (Singapore, SG), Ken Yoong Lee (Singapore, SG) | Airbus Singapore Private Limited (Singapore, SG) | 2015-10-08 | 2018-10-02 | G01S7/41, G01S13/90, G01S13/00 | 15/535997 |
| 144 | 10084960 | Panoramic view imaging system with drone integration | Example apparatus and methods acquire individual frames of a portion of a scene under a variety of different operating parameters. Example apparatus and methods then piece together strips of frames from the individual frames. Example apparatus and methods then produce a panoramic image from the strips of frames. Frames are acquired using different imaging parameters (e.g., focal length, pan position, tilt position) under different imaging conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, pan rate, tilt rate) . The frames may be acquired by cameras located in a panoramic view image system and in a drone. The drone may provide imagery or data. The imagery or data may be used to update or enhance the panoramic image by, for example, displaying imagery of a blind spot in the panoramic image. In different embodiments, drones may be detected or controlled. | Richard Pettegrew (Cleveland, OH), John Paximadis (Cleveland, OH) | Iec Infrared Systems, Llc (Middleburg Heights, OH) | 2015-09-25 | 2018-09-25 | H04N7/18, H04N17/00, H04N5/357, G06T3/40, G06T5/50, G01S17/42, B64D47/08, G06T7/20, B64C39/02, G01S7/48, G01C3/08, H04N5/265, G06T3/00, H04N5/225, H04N5/232, G06T7/80, H04N5/33, G06T7/00 | 14/865939 |
| 145 | 10082573 | System and method to identify regions of airspace having ice crystals using an onboard weather radar system | Systems and methods of detecting type I ice crystals using an aircraft's onboard weather radar system are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment identifies radar returns having a return level signal strength less than a radar return sensitivity threshold level, determines if at least one of a weather condition and a flight condition concurrently exists with the identified radar returns having the return level signal strength less than the radar return sensitivity threshold level, and identifies a region of airspace potentially having type I ice crystals when the at least one of the weather condition and the flight condition concurrently exists with the identified radar returns having the return level signal strength less than the radar return sensitivity threshold level. | Brian P. Bunch (Snohomish, WA), Paul E. Christianson (Seattle, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-10-14 | 2018-09-25 | G01S13/95, G01S7/06, G01W1/08, G01W1/00, B64D15/20 | 14/883149 |
| 146 | 10082570 | Integrated MIMO and SAR radar antenna architecture for self driving cars | A radar system includes a split-block assembly unit comprising a first portion and second portion, where the first portion and the second portion form a seam. The radar system further includes a plurality of ports located on a bottom side of the second portion opposite the seam. Additionally, the radar system includes a plurality of radiating elements located on a top side of the first portion opposite the seam. The plurality of radiating elements is arranged in a plurality of arrays. The plurality of arrays includes a set of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission arrays, a set of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) transmission arrays, and at least one reception array. Further, the radar system includes a set of waveguides configured to couple each array to a port. | Jamal Izadian (Mountain View, CA), Russell Smith (Mountain View, CA), Tim Campbell (Mountain View, CA), Adam Brown (Mountain View, CA) | Waymo Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-02-26 | 2018-09-25 | G01S13/86, H01Q1/32, H01Q21/00, G01S13/90, G01S13/93 | 15/054540 |
| 147 | 10072908 | Missile seeker and guidance method | In a method of guiding a missile in flight to a target (FIG. 1) , the location of the missile and the range to the target are measured at a plurality of moments during the flight of the missile (step 10) . The location of the target is calculated from the measured ranges and the measured missile locations (step 20) . A required velocity vector angle is calculated from the calculated location of the target and a guidance law (step 30) . A lateral acceleration required to provide the missile with a velocity oriented to the target at the required velocity vector angle is calculated for the missile (step 40) . The missile is caused to accelerate with the calculated lateral acceleration, so that the missile to follows a trajectory according to the guidance law (step 50) . | Nigel Stansfield (Stevenage, GB) | Mbda Uk Limited (Stevenage, Hertfordshire, GB) | 2014-01-10 | 2018-09-11 | F41G7/28, G01S13/88, G01S13/87, G01S7/40, F41G7/22, G01S13/90, G01S13/06, G01S13/00 | 14/760546 |
| 148 | 10065746 | Determining validity of location signal combinations for securing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigation | A navigation security module of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) receives a combination of signals from a location technology, each signal comprising at least a signal identification and location data. The combination of signal identifications is processed against known identifications. If the identification is not found, or if the combination of signal identification is not possible, the signal may be a rogue signal, resulting in a quarantine protocol. | Naga Kishore Reddy Tarimala (Bangalore, IN), Anil Kaushik (Bangalore, IN) | Fortinet, Inc (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2016-06-27 | 2018-09-04 | B64D45/00, B64C39/02, H04W4/02, G05D1/10, G01S19/21, G01S13/00, G01S19/13, G01S13/87, G08G5/00 | 15/194503 |
| 149 | 10064154 | System and method for channel information exchange for time of flight range determination | A system for time-of-flight (ToF) positioning in an IEEE 802.11 network comprises an initiating station that transmits a request frame over a channel to a responding station for a ToF position measurement. The responding station may respond with an offloading of the channel information, request frame receipt time, and response frame transmit time back to the initiating station to enable the initiating station to calculate the ToF position with respect to the responding station. | Leor Banin (Petach Tikva, IL), Yuval Amizur (Kfar-Saba, IL), Uri Schatzberg (Kiryat Ono, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2016-02-04 | 2018-08-28 | H04W4/00, G01S5/02, G01S5/10, H04W4/02, G01S13/87, H04W64/00, G01S5/14, G01S5/06, H04W84/12 | 15/015308 |
| 150 | 10063844 | Determining distances by probabilistic time of flight imaging | An embodiment of the invention provides a time of flight three-dimensional TOF-3D camera that determines distance to features in a scene responsive to amounts of light from the scene registered by pixels during different exposure periods and an experimentally determined probabilistic model of how much light the pixels are expected to register during each of the different exposure periods. | Amit Adam (Haifa, IL), Erez Tadmor (Tel Aviv, IL) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc. (Redmond, WA) | 2013-10-17 | 2018-08-28 | H04N13/296, G01C11/02, G01S17/89, H04N5/235, G01S17/10, G01S7/486 | 14/055897 |
| 151 | 10062201 | Time-of-flight simulation of multipath light phenomena | Examples of time-of-flight (''TOF'') simulation of multipath light phenomena are described. for example, in addition to recording light intensity for a pixel during rendering, a graphics tool records the lengths (or times) and segment counts for light paths arriving at the pixel. Such multipath information can provide a characterization of the temporal light density of light that arrives at the pixel in response to one or more pulses of light. The graphics tool can use stratification and/or priority sampling to reduce variance in recorded light path samples. Realistic, physically-accurate simulation of multipath light phenomena can, in turn, help calibrate a TOF camera so that it more accurately estimates the depths of real world objects observed using the TOF camera. Various ways to improve the process of inferring imaging conditions such as depth, reflectivity, and ambient light based on images captured using a TOF camera are also described. | Sebastian Nowozin (Cambridge, GB), Amit Adam (Haifa, IL), Christoph Dann (Pittsburgh, PA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2015-04-21 | 2018-08-28 | G06T15/50, G01S7/491, G01S17/89, G06T15/00, G01S7/486, G06K9/62, G01S7/497, G06K9/46 | 14/692527 |
| 152 | 10061028 | Time-of-flight (TOF) assisted structured light imaging | A method for computing a depth map of a scene in a structured light imaging system including a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor and a projector is provided that includes capturing a plurality of high frequency phase-shifted structured light images of the scene using a camera in the structured light imaging system, generating, concurrently with the capturing of the plurality of high frequency phase-shifted structured light images, a time-of-flight (TOF) depth image of the scene using the TOF sensor, and computing the depth map from the plurality of high frequency phase-shifted structured light images wherein the TOF depth image is used for phase unwrapping. | Sanjeev Jagannatha Koppal (Gainesville, FL), Vikram VijayanBabu Appia (Dallas, TX) | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX) | 2014-09-05 | 2018-08-28 | G01S17/89, G01S17/46, G01B11/25 | 14/478858 |
| 153 | 10061018 | System for identifying drones | A system for identifying a drone is adapted to determine a base threat value for a drone. The system includes a scanning system, configured to obtain data that is stored in a pattern database. A timer that has a data structure for storing a counter initialized to a predetermined value, the timer being operable to iteratively increment the counter if the counter value is less than a timer increment. A microprocessor is programmed with instructions to receive information from the scanning system about the drone. Then, to store the information in a pattern database. After that, to determine a base threat value of the drone based on the information stored in the pattern database. Finally, to communicate the base threat value to a user so that the user can determine whether the drone is a friend or a foe. | Zain Naboulsi (Katy, TX) | --- | 2016-02-19 | 2018-08-28 | G01S7/41, G01S13/02, G01S13/86 | 15/048911 |
| 154 | 10055855 | Time-of-flight camera system and method to improve measurement quality of weak field-of-view signal regions | A time-of-flight camera system is described. The time-of-flight camera system includes an illuminator to illuminate a region within the time-of-flight camera system's field of view. The time-of-flight camera system includes an image sensor to receive optical signals from the illumination for determining depth profile information within the field of view using time-of-flight measurement techniques. The image sensor has circuitry to determine one or more regions within the field of view where a received optical signal from the illuminating was weak. The illuminator is also to re-illuminate the one or more regions with stronger light than the one or more regions received during the illuminating. Each of the one or more regions being smaller than the region. The image sensor is also to receive optical signals from the re-illumination for determining depth profile information within the one or more regions. | Chun Wan (San Jose, CA), Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA) | Google Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-11-09 | 2018-08-21 | H04N5/222, G01S7/491, H04N5/235, H04N5/225, G06T7/521, G01S17/89, G01S7/481 | 15/808769 |
| 155 | 10055854 | Time-of-flight camera system and method to improve measurement quality of weak field-of-view signal regions | A time-of-flight camera system is described. The time-of-flight camera system includes an illuminator to illuminate a region within the time-of-flight camera system's field of view. The time-of-flight camera system includes an image sensor to receive optical signals from the illumination for determining depth profile information within the field of view using time-of-flight measurement techniques. The image sensor has circuitry to determine one or more regions within the field of view where a received optical signal from the illuminating was weak. The illuminator is also to re-illuminate the one or more regions with stronger light than the one or more regions received during the illuminating. Each of the one or more regions being smaller than the region. The image sensor is also to receive optical signals from the re-illumination for determining depth profile information within the one or more regions. | Chung Chun Wan (San Jose, CA), Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA) | Google Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-03-31 | 2018-08-21 | H04N5/222, G01S17/89, G01S7/491, G01S7/481, H04N5/225, G06T7/521, H04N5/235 | 15/476288 |
| 156 | 10054675 | Active compensation for phase alignment errors in time-of-flight cameras | Methods, apparatuses, and systems can be provided to implement active feedback to electrically sense or monitor the illumination and shutter pulses and adjust them actively to maintain the desired phase relationship/difference between the pulses. By maintaining the desired phase difference, the distance calculation can be made more accurate, even when conditions of the time-of-flight camera varies (e.g., temperature, aging, etc.) . Advantageously, active compensation can correct for errors `on-the-fly`, eliminating detailed characterization and manual adjustment during operation. | Erik D. Barnes (Cambridge, MA) | Analog Devices, Inc. (Norwood, MA) | 2015-10-06 | 2018-08-21 | G01S7/48, G01S7/484, G01S7/497, H04N5/232, G01S17/89, H04N5/372, G01S17/10, G01S7/486, H04N13/214 | 14/876392 |
| 157 | 10054673 | Method and apparatus for increasing the resolution of a time of flight pixel array | An apparatus is described having an image signal processor. The image signal processor has a plurality of depth calculation units to calculate a respective time of flight depth value for different pixel array locations. Each of the plurality of depth calculation units is to receive a response signal from a same pixel in a pixel array so that the plurality of depth calculation units are able to calculate multiple depth values for the different locations of the pixel array from respective response signals from different groups of pixels in the pixel array of which the pixel is a member. Each of the groups include pixels of different receive clock phases sufficient to calculate a respective depth value. Another apparatus is also described where multiple depth values are similarly calculated from different groups of pixels that each include a same pixel but where a depth calculation unit calculates each of the multiple depth values. | Vlad Constantin Cardei (Redwood City, CA) | Google Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-02-05 | 2018-08-21 | G01C3/08, G06F17/30, G06T7/50, G06T15/20, H04N5/341, H04N5/3745, G01S7/486, G01S17/89, G01S7/48, G06K9/00 | 15/888163 |
| 158 | 10053231 | Integration of aircraft exterior lighting with proximity sensing and warning | A system and method for estimating a distance between an aircraft and an object is disclosed. An exterior light of the aircraft transmit a test light signal and a parameter the transmitted test light signal is measured. A sensor receives a reflection of the test light signal from the object and the parameter is measured for the reflection test signal. The distance between the aircraft and the object is estimated using the parameter of the reflection and the parameter of the test light signal. The exterior light is generally a light that is built into the aircraft during aircraft construction while the sensor is retrofitted onto the aircraft. | Philippe Lapujade (Chandler, AZ) | Goodrich Lighting Systems, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ) | 2015-10-20 | 2018-08-21 | B64F1/00, G01S17/10, G01S17/46, G01S17/00, G01S7/486, G01S17/93, B64D47/02 | 14/887540 |
| 159 | 10049588 | Computer system for determining approach of aircraft and aircraft | A computer system 20 provided in an aircraft 1 includes, as a module of a computer program to be executed, an approach determination section 31 configured to determine whether the aircraft 1 is approaching a landing site. The approach determination section 31 includes, as a condition for determination of approaching, establishment (C1) of one or both of a condition (C11) that a first absolute altitude A1 obtained by an radio altimeter 21 mounted on the aircraft 1 is low relative to a first approach altitude AA1, and a condition (C12) that a second absolute altitude A2 that is obtained by subtracting an altitude A.sub.L of the landing site from a pressure altitude Ap determined by a barometric altimeter 22 mounted on the aircraft 1 is low relative to a predetermined second approach altitude AA2. | Tomoka Mashio (Aichi, JP), Kotaro Tomida (Aichi, JP) | Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (Aichi, JP) | 2016-08-04 | 2018-08-14 | G08G5/02, G08G5/00, G01C5/00, B64D45/04, B64C25/28, G01S13/88 | 15/228475 |
| 160 | 10048362 | Rotorcraft fitted with a radioaltimeter having plane antennas and a lens for modifying the field of view of the antennas | A method of measuring the height of a rotorcraft above the ground by means of a radioaltimeter having plane antennas, and it also provides to such a radioaltimeter and a rotorcraft fitted with such a radioaltimeter. The rotorcraft is provided with sling equipment for transporting a load swinging under the rotorcraft in a given field of mobility, and a lens modifies the basic field of view of the radioaltimeter as supplied by the antennas between firstly a limited field of view for the radioaltimeter excluding the field of mobility of the load transported by the sling equipment from the field of view of the radioaltimeter, and secondly an optimum field of view of the radioaltimeter of scope that is optimized in the event that no load is being transported by the sling equipment. | Eddy Jehamy (Chateauneuf les Martigues, FR) | Airbus Helicopters (Marignane, FR) | 2015-10-02 | 2018-08-14 | G01S13/08, H01Q1/42, H01Q1/28, H01Q3/14, G01S13/88, G01S7/03, G01S7/02 | 14/873389 |
| 161 | 10048357 | Time-of-flight (TOF) system calibration | In accordance with certain embodiments of the present technology, edges of light drive pulses, which are produced by a light source driver and are used to drive a light source, are aligned with edges of light reference pulses that have a predetermined fixed delay relative to light timing pulses. This way, light pulses are emitted by the light source at precisely known times, so that accurate time-of-flight (TOF) measurements can be made. Additionally, edges of shutter drive pulses, which are produced by a shutter driver and are used to drive a gated light detector, are aligned with edges of shutter reference pulses that have a predetermined fixed delay relative to shutter timing pulses. This way, the gated light detector is shuttered on at precisely known times, so that accurate TOF measurements can be made. | David Wyland (Morgan Hill, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2015-06-15 | 2018-08-14 | G01S7/497, G01S17/89, G01S7/483, G01S17/10, G01S7/486 | 14/740049 |
| 162 | 10046866 | Apparatus for automatically mounting and dismounting aircraft fuselage | An apparatus for automatically mounting and dismounting an aircraft fuselage includes stages disposed to be spaced apart from each other, positioners disposed between the stages and on which a plurality of fuselage parts are mounted, the positioners adjusting a position of each of the mounted fuselage parts in X, Y, and Z directions, and a transfer unit allowing the fuselage parts to be automatically respectively mounted on the positioners, the transfer unit automatically dismounting the assembled fuselage from the positioners to transfer the assembled fuselage after the fuselage parts are completely assembled with each other. The apparatus may automatically mount and dismount the fuselage to reduce assembly time, thereby improving productivity of the fuselage, assembly quality and workability. | Sung Min Lim (Sacheon-si, KR) | Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (Sacheon-si, KR) | 2015-05-14 | 2018-08-14 | G01S17/66, B64F5/10, B64F5/00, G01S17/89, G01S17/88 | 14/712653 |
| 163 | 10043404 | Method and system for aircraft taxi strike alerting | Apparatus and associated methods relate to ranging an object nearby an aircraft by triangulation of spatially-patterned light projected upon and reflected from the object. The spatially patterned light can have a wavelength corresponding to infrared light and/or to an atmospheric absorption band. In some embodiments, images of the object are captured both with and without illumination by the spatially-patterned light. A difference between these two images can be used to isolate the spatially-patterned light. The two images can also be used to identify pixel boundaries of the object and to calculate ranges of portions of the object corresponding to pixels imaging these portions. for pixels imaging reflections of the spatially-patterned light, triangulation can be used to calculate range. for pixels not imaging reflections of the spatially-patterned light, ranges can be calculated using one or more of the calculated ranges calculated using triangulation corresponding to nearby pixels. | Todd Ell (Savage, MN), Robert Rutkiewicz (Edina, MN), Joseph T. Pesik (Eagan, MN) | Rosemount Aerospace Inc. (Burnsville, MN) | 2016-12-20 | 2018-08-07 | B64D47/02, G06T7/50, G01S17/89, G06K9/00, G08G5/06, B64F1/00, B64D43/00, G08G5/04, B64D47/08 | 15/385224 |
| 164 | 10042049 | Method and apparatus for compensating for a parameter change in a synthetic aperture imaging system | There is described a method for processing data generated by a synthetic aperture imaging system, comprising: receiving raw data representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by a target area to be imaged, receiving a parameter change for the synthetic aperture imaging system, digitally correcting the raw data in accordance with the parameter change, thereby compensating for the parameter change in order to obtain corrected data, and generating an image of the target area using the corrected data. | Alain Bergeron (Quebec, CA), Linda Marchese (Quebec, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, CA) | 2015-10-30 | 2018-08-07 | G01S13/90, G01S7/40, G01S15/89, G03H1/04, G01S17/89, G06T5/50, G02B27/58 | 14/928194 |
| 165 | 10042048 | Superpixels for improved structure and terrain classification using multiple synthetic aperture radar image products | Various embodiments presented herein relate to assigning labels to segments of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, where the segments are based upon a speckle-reduced SAR image product. A plurality of SAR images of a scene are co-registered to form a registered stack of SAR images. A speckle-reduced SAR image product is generated based upon at least one registered SAR image in the registered stack of SAR images. The speckle-reduced SAR image product is segmented into a plurality of superpixels, and boundaries of the superpixels are applied to the at least one registered SAR image to form a segmented SAR image. A segment of the SAR image is then labeled as including or not including a feature, wherein the label is assigned based upon values of pixels in the segment. | Mary M. Moya (Albuquerque, NM), Mark W. Koch (Albuquerque, NM), David Nikolaus Perkins (Albuquerque, NM) | National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, Llc (Albuquerque, NM) | 2015-02-19 | 2018-08-07 | G01S13/90 | 14/626582 |
| 166 | 10037703 | Method for coupling flight plan and flight path using ADS-B information | The present invention relates to a method for coupling a flight plan and a flight path using ADS-B information, and more specifically to a method for coupling a flight plan and a flight path, wherein a flight data processing unit of an air traffic control system or an arrival management system separately and directly receives ADS-B information such that the received ADS-B information can be used for coupling a flight plan and a flight path of an aircraft. | Hyoun Kyoung Kim (Daejeon, KR), Dae Keun Jeon (Daejeon, KR) | Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Daejeon, KR) | 2014-11-28 | 2018-07-31 | G01S13/93, G08G5/00 | 15/531378 |
| 167 | 10036807 | Radio altimeter | The present disclosure relates to a radio altimeter including a path extending unit positioned in a signal transmission path or a signal reception path of the radio altimeter, wherein the path extending unit delays a signal received from the outside to reduce a dynamic range of the radio altimeter. | Tae-Wook Lim (Suwon-si, KR), Jae-Hong Lim (Suwon-si, KR), Seung-Mo Park (Suwon-si, KR), Kwang-Won Lee (Suwon-si, KR) | Mutronics Co., Ltd. (Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-Do, KR) | 2013-06-12 | 2018-07-31 | G01S13/88, G01S7/35, G01S13/34, G01S13/32, G01S13/18, G01S7/40 | 14/408317 |
| 168 | 10036806 | Distance measurement using the time-of-flight of signals | There is provided a method of measuring the distance between a first device and a second device, the method comprising performing a time-of-flight-based distance measurement to measure the distance between the first device and the second device, wherein the length of the signals transmitted and/or the number of time-of-flight measurements obtained during the time-of-flight-based distance measurement is determined according to an accuracy level required for the distance measurement. | Klaas Cornelis Jan Wijbrans (Rijen, NL) | Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Eindhoven, NL) | 2014-05-26 | 2018-07-31 | G01S3/02, G01S11/06, G01S13/82, G01S13/74, G01S7/40 | 14/895094 |
| 169 | 10030995 | Controller for an aircraft tracker | A method, apparatus, and aircraft tracker system for reporting state information for an aircraft. A state of the aircraft is identified using sensor data received from an aircraft sensor system in the aircraft. The state information is transmitted at a reporting rate set using the state of the aircraft identified from the sensor data, at least one of a crew command or a ground command when at least one of the crew command is received from a crew interface or the ground command is received from a ground source, and a policy defining priorities for reporting that are based on at least one of the crew command, the ground command, or the state of the aircraft identified from the sensor data. | Charles Otis Adler (Bellevue, WA), Ted Eigle (Upland, CA), William Raymond Richards (Mercer Island, WA), Timothy Allen Murphy (Mukilteo, WA), John Harvey Roberson (Fountain Valley, CA), Thomas Jose Thalakottur (Folsom, PA), Ricardo Messias Fricks (Lake Stevens, WA), Fadl Ibrahim Khalil (Edmonds, WA), Steven Mark Walstrom (Lynnwood, WA), Daniel Bruce Holton (Edmonds, WA), Jessie Turner (Mukilteo, WA), Timothy Edward Jackson (Mukilteo, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2015-09-18 | 2018-07-24 | G01C23/00, G01S13/91, G01S19/17, B64D45/00, G07C5/08, G08G5/00, G07C5/00 | 14/858235 |
| 170 | 10018718 | Artifact reduction within a SAR image | The various technologies presented herein relate to reducing and/or filtering undesired artifacts in a SAR image, wherein the artifacts are generated by RF interference resulting from a communication signal being included in a radar return which also comprises radar clutter. The radar return is separated into two subapertures, a first subaperture comprising radar clutter only, and a second subaperture comprising radar clutter and the communication signal. The communication signal is extracted from the second subaperture and reapplied to the initially received radar return. Reapplication of the communication signal to the radar return enables any undesired artifacts arising from the communication signal to have their return strength reduced or minimized, while maintaining any desired radar returns in the SAR image. | Cameron Musgrove (Albuquerque, NM), Richard M. Naething (Albuquerque, NM), Richard C. Ormesher (Albuquerque, NM) | National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, Llc (Albuquerque, NM) | 2015-10-29 | 2018-07-10 | G01S13/90, G01S7/292 | 14/927130 |
| 171 | 10018716 | Systems and methods for calibration and optimization of frequency modulated continuous wave radar altimeters using adjustable self-interference cancellation | Systems and methods for calibrating and optimizing frequency modulated continuous wave radar altimeters using adjustable self-interference cancellation are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, a radar altimeter system comprises: a local oscillator delay line including a variable delay circuit configured to output a delayed signal, a transmitter coupled to the local oscillator delay line and configured to output a transmitter signal, a transceiver circulator coupled to an antenna and coupled to the transmitter, and a frequency mixer coupled to the delay line and coupled to the transceiver circulator. The transceiver circulator directs the transmitter signal to the antenna and the antenna is configured to transmit the transmitter signal and receive a reflected signal from a target. Further, the frequency mixer is configured to receive the delayed signal and the target reflected signal from the transceiver circulator. | Paul David Ferguson (Redmond, WA), Marc Pos (Duvall, WA), Robert Jason Tinsley (Norcross, GA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2014-06-26 | 2018-07-10 | G01S7/34, G01S13/88, G01S7/03, G01S7/40, G01S13/34 | 14/316176 |
| 172 | 10013888 | Aircraft collision avoidance system | An aircraft collision avoidance system including (a) at least one separation monitoring device connectable to at least a portion of an aircraft and/or vehicle, the separation monitoring device comprising (1) at least one transmitter, (2) at least one receiver, and (3) an image sensor, and (b) a master unit. | Gregory M. Griffith (Holland, MI) | Wingguard, Llc (Holland, MI) | 2016-03-08 | 2018-07-03 | G08G5/04, G01S13/86, G08G5/06, G01S13/93, G08B3/10, B64F1/22 | 15/064138 |
| 173 | 10006991 | Velocity and attitude estimation using an interferometric radar altimeter | A method and system for estimating velocity of an aircraft is provided. The method comprises transmitting a beam toward a surface from the aircraft using a Doppler beam sharpened radar altimeter, receiving a plurality of reflected signals that correspond to portions of the transmitted beam that are reflected by the surface, and forming a plurality of Doppler beams by filtering the received signals. A complex-valued array of range bin is computed with respect to frequency of the Doppler beams from at least one antenna aperture of the radar altimeter, and a range for each of the Doppler beams is estimated. A velocity vector magnitude for the aircraft is estimated by a curve fit of the range with respect to the frequency of the Doppler beams. | Benjamin J. Winstead (Minneapolis, MN), Adam Moya (Chandler, AZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-07-28 | 2018-06-26 | G01S13/60, G01S13/58, G01S13/44 | 14/811059 |
| 174 | 10006747 | Drone mitigation methods and apparatus | Systems and methods for drone mitigation, or the deterrence of aerial drones from flying in an given area, are described. The systems and methods take advantage of the fact that destabilization of a drone can be accomplished by externally changing the performance of one or more of its propeller driven systems. In doing so, the drone is incapable of maintaining stability in flight, thereby causing the remote controlled pilot to force a retreat, or risk and result in a crash of the drone. Embodiments utilizing sonic energy and liquids are described. | Nathan Cohen (Belmont, MA), Alexander Shelman-Cohen (Houston, TX) | --- | 2016-07-25 | 2018-06-26 | F41H13/00, G01S17/66, G01S15/66, G01S13/66 | 15/219137 |
| 175 | 9995167 | Turbine blade monitoring | A blade monitoring system and method for a turbine assembly comprising rotating blades (14) , the system comprising at least one sensor (10, 12) for transmitting a signal towards said rotating blades and detecting a time-varying return signal therefrom, and one or more processors (20) configured to calculate the time derivative of said return signal, generate a phase variation signal for said time derivative, determine minima points within said phase variation signal and measure said signal at said minima points so as to identify data representative of respective minimum path lengths, each said minimum path length corresponding to the returned signal as each respective blade passes said sensor, and generate, using said minimum path lengths, a time series of data representing the returned signal from individual blades as they pass the sensor. | David John Shepard (Essex, GB) | Bae Systems Plc (London, GB) | 2015-07-28 | 2018-06-12 | F01D21/00, B64D45/00, B64D27/16, G01S7/41, G01S13/00, F01D11/14, G01S13/88 | 15/329381 |
| 176 | 9994329 | Method and apparatus for controlling aircraft | A method and an apparatus for controlling an aircraft are disclosed. The method includes: determining a horizontal velocity V.sub.h and a vertical velocity V.sub.v of the aircraft, acquiring, along a moving direction of the aircraft, an object having a distance that is no greater than a preset distance L away from the aircraft, predicting, according to the horizontal velocity V.sub.h, the vertical velocity V.sub.v, and the preset distance L, a position relationship between the aircraft and the object after the aircraft flies the preset distance L, and controlling the aircraft, by using a preset control measure, if the position relationship meets a preset relationship. | Lei Luo (Beijing, CN) | Cloudminds (SHENZHEN), Robotics Systems Co., Ltd. (Beijing, CN) | 2017-07-25 | 2018-06-12 | B64C39/02, G01S17/93, B64D25/00 | 15/658772 |
| 177 | 9990855 | Method for guiding an aircraft | The guiding method such as described correctly guides an aircraft on a platform of an airport, even in complex taxiing areas. | Christophe Guettier (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR), Julien Farjon (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR) | Safran Electronics & Defense (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR) | 2015-04-22 | 2018-06-05 | G05D1/00, G06K9/52, G08G5/00, G06K9/00, G08G5/06, G06K9/62, G06T7/73, G01S13/76, G06K9/46 | 15/305634 |
| 178 | 9986975 | Point source transmission and speed-of-sound correction using multi-aperture ultrasound imaging | A Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging system and methods of use are provided with any number of features. In some embodiments, a multi-aperture ultrasound imaging system is configured to transmit and receive ultrasound energy to and from separate physical ultrasound apertures. In some embodiments, a transmit aperture of a multi-aperture ultrasound imaging system is configured to transmit an omni-directional unfocused ultrasound waveform approximating a first point source through a target region. In some embodiments, the ultrasound energy is received with a single receiving aperture. In other embodiments, the ultrasound energy is received with multiple receiving apertures. Algorithms are described that can combine echoes received by one or more receiving apertures to form high resolution ultrasound images. Additional algorithms can solve for variations in tissue speed of sound, thus allowing the ultrasound system to be used virtually anywhere in or on the body. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2016-11-29 | 2018-06-05 | A61B8/14, G01S7/52, A61B8/00, A61B8/08, G01S15/89 | 15/364075 |
| 179 | 9984690 | Microphone gain using a time of flight (ToF) laser range finding system | Range to a human speaker is determined using a laser-based time of flight (ToF) system, with the range then being used to adjust the gain of a microphone receiving the speaker's voice. If desired, an acoustic-based Direction of Arrival (DoA) system uses acoustic information to determine the direction of incoming sound, such as a person talking, and the direction of the sound is then used to focus the area of laser illumination. | Peter Shintani (San Diego, CA), Morio Usami (Tokyo, JP), Keith Resch (San Diego, CA) | Sony Corporation (Tokyo, JP), Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Tokyo JP) | 2017-08-09 | 2018-05-29 | H03F99/00, G10L15/26, G10L15/08, G01S3/80, G01S15/42, G10L15/22, G06F3/16, G01S17/02, G01S13/46 | 15/672522 |
| 180 | 9983584 | Method and apparatus for developing a flight path | A method of developing a flight path for precision flying over an area of interest, the method including, in an electronic processing device, determining coordinate and elevation data relating to an area of interest, using the coordinate and elevation data to determine a flight path including precision paths corresponding to precision flying trajectories and non-precision paths interconnecting at least some of the precision paths, and generating path data at least partially indicative of the flight path, the path data being useable in generating control signals for at least partially controlling operation of the aircraft, in use. | Troy Bruggemann (Queensland, AU), Jason Ford (Queensland, AU) | Spatial Information Systems Research Limited (Victoria, AU) | 2014-11-20 | 2018-05-29 | G05D1/00, G05D1/04, G05D1/06, G05D1/08, G01C15/02, G01C7/02, B64D31/06, G01S17/89, G05D1/10, G01C5/00, G01C23/00 | 15/038026 |
| 181 | 9975648 | Using radar derived location data in a GPS landing system | In aspects herein, if GPS signals used as inputs into a GPS landing system become unreliable, an aircraft instead uses signals derived from radar data to operate the GPS landing system. Generally, GPS signals are unreliable if they cannot be received or if the signals are corrupted. Instead of using GPS signals, the landing system uses radar derived location data as inputs. In one example, the radar derived location data is generated using a radar system located at the intended landing site--e.g., an airport or aircraft carrier. The landing site transmits this data to the aircraft which processes the data using its GPS landing system that outputs control signals for landing the aircraft. Thus, even when GPS signals are unreliable, the aircraft can use the GPS landing system to land. | Larry Dean Arnold (Florissant, MO) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2015-12-04 | 2018-05-22 | G06F19/00, G01S19/48, G01S19/15, B64D45/04, G01S13/86, G05D1/06, G01S13/91, G01S19/46, G05D1/04 | 14/959125 |
| 182 | 9975640 | Ejectable flight data recorder systems, methods, and devices | An ejectable flight data recorder for robust retention of flight data and aiding in locating an aircraft after an emergency situation comprises: a buoyant housing comprising an internal cavity, a door for access to at least a portion of the internal cavity, and an aerodynamic outer shape having a longitudinal axis, an energy-dissipating nose cone for reducing an impact load on the housing when the flight data recorder impacts a water surface, a nonvolatile memory configured to store flight data, a position sensor for detecting a geographic position of the flight data recorder, a radio transmitter, an antenna electrically coupled to the radio transmitter, a sustainable power system, and a hydrophone for acoustically tracking a sinking trajectory of the aircraft in a body of water. | Mingwei Wang (Irvine, CA), Wei Ye (Westminster, CA) | Comac America Corporation (Newport Beach, CA) | 2017-07-13 | 2018-05-22 | B64D45/00, B64D25/08, G01S19/14, G01S7/00, G01S15/88, B64D1/14, G01S15/66, G01S1/72, G01S1/70, G10K11/00, B64D1/12 | 15/649557 |
| 183 | 9975632 | Aerial vehicle system | A system is provided for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, and may include first and second aerial vehicles coupled by a tether to a ground station. Sensor systems and processors in the ground station and aerial vehicles may track obstacles and the tether's and the vehicles' positions and attitude to maneuver the payload and the tether to carry out a mission. The sensor system may include airborne cameras providing data for a scene reconstruction process and simultaneous mapping of obstacles and localization of aerial vehicles relative to the obstacles. The aerial vehicles may include a frame formed substantially of a composite material for preventing contact of the rotors with the tether segments. | Loren Alegria (Portland, OR) | Drona, Llc (Portland, OR) | 2016-04-08 | 2018-05-22 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G01S19/13, G01S17/02, G01S15/02, G01S13/02, G01C21/16, B64D47/08 | 15/095011 |
| 184 | 9971023 | Systems and methods for time of flight measurement using a single exposure | A sensor array arrangement for a time of flight measurement system is disclosed. The arrangement includes a plurality of pixels and circuitry. The plurality of pixels are configured such that a first plurality of pixels receive a first reference signal and a second plurality of pixels receive a second reference signal. The first and second reference signals are phase shifted with respect to each other. The circuitry calculates depth information by combining information from first and second pixel sensor signals. The first pixel sensor signal is based on the first reference signal. The second pixel sensor signal is based on the second reference signal. | Markus Dielacher (Graz, AT), Josef Prainsack (Graz, AT), Martin Flatscher (Graz, AT), Michael Mark (Graz, AT), Hartwig Unterassinger (Graz, AT) | Infineon Technologies Ag (Neubiberg, DE) | 2015-05-04 | 2018-05-15 | G01C3/08, G01S7/491, G01S17/36, G01S17/89 | 14/703092 |
| 185 | 9969492 | Crop height estimation with unmanned aerial vehicles | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be configured for crop height estimation. In some examples, the UAV includes an aerial propulsion system, a laser scanner configured to face downwards while the UAV is in flight, and a control system. The laser scanner is configured to scan through a two-dimensional scan angle and is characterized by a maximum range. The control system causes the UAV to fly over an agricultural field and maintain, using the aerial propulsion system and the laser scanner, a distance between the UAV and a top of crops in the agricultural field to within a programmed range of distances based on the maximum range of the laser scanner. The control system determines, using range data from the laser scanner, a crop height from the top of the crops to the ground. | Carrick Detweiler (Lincoln, NE), David Anthony (Lincoln, NE), Sebastian Elbaum (Lincoln, NE) | Nutech Ventures (Lincoln, NE) | 2016-09-06 | 2018-05-15 | G05D1/10, G01S7/48, G01S17/88, G01S17/42, G05D1/00, G01S17/89, B64C39/02, G05D1/08, G05D1/06, B64D47/08 | 15/257441 |
| 186 | 9964643 | Vehicle occupancy detection using time-of-flight sensor | Vehicle occupancy detection involves projecting modulated light onto an occupant from a light source outside of a vehicle. Reflections of the light source are received at a detector located outside of the vehicle. Three-dimensional data is determined based on a time-of-flight of the reflections, and the occupant is detected based on the three-dimensional data. | Patrick Yasuo Maeda (Mountain View, CA) | Conduent Business Services, Llc (Dallas, TX) | 2011-12-08 | 2018-05-08 | G01S17/02, G08G1/04, G01S17/89 | 13/315016 |
| 187 | 9964638 | Method and passenger information system for providing flight information data | Method for providing flight information data for a passenger in an aircraft, wherein the flight information data are transmitted from a cockpit system in the aircraft to at least one passenger information system in the same aircraft, wherein the flight information data are transmitted as a secondary radar signal and/or monitoring signal and received by the at least one passenger information system. | Gerko Wende (Hamburg, DE) | Lufthansa Technik Ag (Hamburg, DE) | 2013-05-29 | 2018-05-08 | G01S13/74, B64D11/00, H04N7/18 | 14/408156 |
| 188 | 9959773 | Transportation using network of unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy. | Andreas Raptopoulos (Palo Alto, CA), Darlene Damm (Mountain View, CA), Martin Ling (Edinburgh, GB), Ido Baruchin (San Francisco, CA) | Singularity University (Moffet Field, CA) | 2016-02-08 | 2018-05-01 | G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, G06Q10/08, H04B7/185, G01S13/93, G01S5/00, G08G5/04, G08G5/02, G01S13/94 | 15/018423 |
| 189 | 9958539 | Real aperture radar system for use on board a satellite and for maritime surveillance applications | The present invention regards a method of operation of a real aperture radar system for surveillance of the Earth's surface, said real aperture radar system being installed on a space vehicle/platform that moves in a direction of flight and comprising a transceiving antenna, or a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna, which is/are electronically steerable. All the radar pulses are transmitted: with a predefined pulse repetition frequency and a predefined timing of the scanning cycle such that to guarantee a complete coverage of each of the N swaths parallelly to the direction of flight, and by using a frequency agility technique. | Andrea Torre (Rome, IT) | Thales Alenia Space Italia S.P.A. Con Unico Socio (Rome, IT) | 2014-03-13 | 2018-05-01 | G01S13/02, G01S13/24, G01S13/42, G01S13/00 | 14/208162 |
| 190 | 9954599 | Method and system to dynamically identify and control a UAV with emitting instruments | A system and methodology to dynamically identify and control a UAV with a beam instrument is provided. Specifically, each UAV is provided with a telecommunication module. User equipment is provided with a beam device capable of measuring the distance, speed and location of a UAV. The user equipment is coupled to a command and control center through a command and control center network that can access a data store storing information about UAVs. Identification of the UAV is obtained through a telecommunication network that communicates with the telecommunication module to obtain location information and identity information for each telecommunication module associated with a UAV. The command and control center acquires the identity information and correlates the identity information with FAA register information from an FAA network. Identification of the target UAV is then communicated to the user equipment. | Sangar Dowlatkhah (Alpharetta, GA), Zhi Cui (Sugar Hill, GA), Venson Shaw (Kirkland, WA) | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. (Atlanta, GA) | 2016-07-14 | 2018-04-24 | H04W8/24, B64C39/02, H04B7/185, H04W8/18, B64D47/00, G01S17/08, H04W84/04 | 15/209868 |
| 191 | 9952313 | Phase calibration of a stepped-chirp signal for a synthetic aperture radar | A Radar Calibration Processor (''RCP'') for calibrating the phase of a stepped-chirp signal utilized by a synthetic aperture radar (''SAR'') is disclosed. The RCP includes a periodic phase error (''PPE'') calibrator, first non-periodic phase error (''NPPE'') calibrator in signal communication with the PPE calibrator, and a second NPPE calibrator in signal communication with the first NPPE calibrator. | Kwang M. Cho (Los Angeles, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2014-09-19 | 2018-04-24 | G01S13/90, G01S7/40, G01S13/28, G01S13/30 | 14/491354 |
| 192 | 9950758 | Systems and methods for a turbine trailer mechanical docking and alignment system | A system includes a docking guide comprising a first alignment guide configured to couple with a first mobile unit that supports a turbine engine and a second alignment guide configured to couple with a second mobile unit that supports a generator. The first and second alignment guides are configured to guide a coupling between the first and second mobile units to help align the turbine engine with the generator. | Raymond Ka Lok Fong (Houston, TX), Robert Allen Baten (Baytown, TX) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2014-09-17 | 2018-04-24 | B60D1/36, G01S17/08, B62D53/04, B62D63/08, G01S17/93, B60D1/62, B60D1/64, F01D15/10, F01D21/00, F02C7/36, F01D25/28 | 14/489323 |
| 193 | 9947232 | Methods and apparatus for identifying terrain suitable for aircraft landing | A method for providing landing assistance for an aircraft is provided. The method analyzes terrain data, identifies one or more landing zones, based on analyzing the terrain data, each of the one or more landing zones comprising a flat area lacking obstacles to aircraft landing, and presents the one or more landing zones via a display element onboard the aircraft. | Amit Srivastav (Karnataka, IN), Travis Pike (Seattle, WA), Sajeev Achuthan Divakaran (Kerala, IN), Sreedhar Garbham (Telengana, IN), Krishna Idupunur (Telengana, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-12-08 | 2018-04-17 | G08G5/00, G08G5/02, B64D43/00, G06F3/0481, G01S17/93, G05D1/06, G01S13/94, G01S17/89, B64G1/00, G01S13/89 | 14/962438 |
| 194 | 9945948 | Method and apparatus for providing time-of-flight calculations using distributed light sources | An approach is provided for acquiring both depth and surface normal of an object using a time-of-flight sensor with multiple distributed light sources. The approach involves causing, at least in part, at least one sequential illumination of at least one object by a plurality of distributed light sources associated with a time-of-flight sensor. The approach also involves causing, at least in part, a capturing of reflected light intensity data using the time-of-flight sensor during the at least one sequential illumination. The approach further involves processing and/or facilitating a processing of the reflected light intensity data to determine at least one depth, at least one surface normal, or a combination thereof of the at least one object. | Ruigang Yang (Lexington, KY), Xin Chen (Evanston, IL) | Nokia Technologies Oy (Espoo, FI) | 2015-06-18 | 2018-04-17 | G01S17/46, G01S7/481, G01S7/48, G01S7/497 | 14/743602 |
| 195 | 9939819 | System and methods for automatically landing aircraft | Disclosed is an autonomous landing system for landing a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The autonomous landing system may include a flight control system having radar sensors, altimeters, and/or velocity sensors. The flight control system can include a processor to provide pitch, roll, and yaw commands to the VTOL aircraft based at least in part on data from the radar sensors, the altimeters, and/or the velocity sensors. The flight control system can be used to navigate and land the VTOL aircraft on a movable object, such as a ship. | Edward Lim (Belmont, MA) | Auror Flight Sciences Corporation (Manassas, VA) | 2016-12-22 | 2018-04-10 | G05D1/06, B64D45/04, B63B35/50, G01S17/88, G01S13/91 | 15/388793 |
| 196 | 9939530 | Optical system for extended time of flight ranging | A time of flight detector includes an electromagnetic radiation emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation. A first optical element receives the beam of radiation and generates a collimated beam of radiation. A second optical element defines a narrow imaging field of view sufficient to capture reflected electromagnetic radiation from the collimated beam. An electromagnetic radiation sensor then senses the captured reflected electromagnetic radiation from the collimated beam in the narrow imaging field of view. Further narrowing of the imaging field of view is accomplished by selective enabling a sub-array of photosensitive elements with the electromagnetic radiation sensor. | Adam Caley (Fife, GB), Colin Campbell (Darvel, GB), Christopher Townsend (Edinburgh, GB) | Stmicroelectronics (Research & Development), Limited (Marlow, GB) | 2015-04-14 | 2018-04-10 | G01C3/08, G01S17/08, G01S7/481, G01S7/497 | 14/685656 |
| 197 | 9939524 | Systems and methods for measuring velocity with a radar altimeter | Systems and methods for measuring velocity with a radar altimeter are provided. In at least one embodiment a method for measuring velocity magnitude of a platform in relation to a surface comprises transmitting a radar beam, wherein the radar beam is aimed toward a surface, receiving a plurality of reflected signals, wherein the plurality of reflected signals correspond to portions of the transmitted radar beam that are reflected by a plurality of portions of the surface, and applying Doppler filtering to the plurality of signals to form at least one Doppler beam. The method also comprises identifying range measurements within each Doppler beam in the at least one Doppler beam, and calculating the velocity magnitude based on the range measurements of the at least one Doppler beam. | Benjamin J. Winstead (Minneapolis, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-02-04 | 2018-04-10 | G01S13/88, G01S13/18, G01S13/58, G01S7/285, G01S13/60 | 14/613879 |
| 198 | 9933521 | Aerial positioning systems and methods | Aerial positioning systems and methods include a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) device mounted to a hub and one or more reflectors attached to a portion of an aircraft and configured to encode information scanable by the LIDAR device. The LIDAR device is configured to scan a field of view to identify the one or more reflectors and reflector encoded information to determine reflector position data. | David Ray Riley (Chesterfield, MO), John N. Sanders-Reed (Albuquerque, NM) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2014-11-17 | 2018-04-03 | G01S17/06, G01S17/42, G05D1/10, G01S17/88, G08G5/00, G08G5/02, G05D1/06, B64D39/00, G01S17/93, G01S17/74 | 14/543493 |
| 199 | 9927513 | Method for determining the geographic coordinates of pixels in SAR images | A method for effecting the airborne determination of geographic coordinates of corresponding pixels from digital synthetic aperture radar images, where the SAR images are available in the form of slant range images and the recording position of the respective SAR image is known. The coordinates of the corresponding pixels in the SAR images and the corresponding range gates are used in each case to determine the distance between a corresponding resolution cell on the ground and the respective recording position of the respective SAR image. The determined distances and associated recording positions of the SAR images are used to determine the geographic coordinates of the corresponding pixels in the SAR images by employing a WGS84 ellipsoid. | Benjamin Benninghofen (Riemerling, DE), Tamer Koban (Neustadt, DE), Christoph Stahl (Geisenfeld, DE) | Airbus Defence and Space Gmbh (Taufkirchen, DE) | 2010-06-16 | 2018-03-27 | G01S7/295, G01S13/90, G09B29/10 | 13/380397 |
| 200 | 9927456 | Probe system, mixed primary reference probe for an aircraft, associated aircraft and measuring method | A probe system, mixed primary reference probe for an aircraft, associated aircraft and measuring method are disclosed. In one aspect, the probe system includes a base designed to be fastened on the cockpit of an aircraft, a plurality of regularly spaced static pressure taps, arranged through the base and designed to be connected to a pressure measurement device. The system includes at least one optical window transparent to laser radiation and inserted into the base. | Gilles Genevrier (Valence, FR), Bernard Ledain (Valence, FR), Jacques Mandle (Valence, FR), Jean-Pierre Schlotterbeck (Valence, FR) | Thales (Courbevoie, FR) | 2015-01-29 | 2018-03-27 | G01P3/36, G01P5/02, G01S7/481, G01S17/02, G01S17/58, G01P21/02, G01P5/26, G01P5/14, G01S17/95 | 14/608962 |
| 201 | 9927356 | Systems and methods for detecting gases, airborne compounds, and other particulates | Systems and methods for detecting gases, airborne compounds, and other particulates, are provided. The system detects materials of interest, including but not limited to, volatile organic compounds, aerosols, particulates, and biological and other pathogens in a three dimensional volume over an area of interest. The system detects the concentration of analytes of interest in the presence of atmospheric contaminants. Data points form a three-dimensional ''point cloud'' to which particle swarm optimization and feature extraction algorithms are applied, providing leak detection, mapping of chemical plumes, and short-term and long-term flux measurements, among other functions. | Richard J. Skibo (Skillman, NJ) | Sms Sensors Incorporated (Monmouth Junction, NJ) | 2016-03-18 | 2018-03-27 | G01N21/39, G01N21/53, G01N21/47, G01N21/17, G01S7/48, G01S17/95, G01N21/3504, G06N99/00, G01S17/88, G01N21/31 | 15/074840 |
| 202 | 9922570 | Aircraft navigation performance prediction system | Systems and methods for predicting aircraft navigation performance are provided. In one embodiment, a method can include determining that one or more navigational aid measurements are not available to the aircraft. The method can include estimating a future actual navigation performance of the aircraft for a future point in the flight plan. The method can include determining a future required navigation performance associated with the future point in the flight plan. The method can include comparing the future actual navigation performance to the future required navigation performance to determine if the future actual navigation performance satisfies the future required navigation performance. The method can include providing, to an onboard system of the aircraft, information indicative of whether the future actual navigation performance satisfies the future required navigation performance. | Gregory Alan Stark (Wayland, MI) | Ge Aviation Systems, Llc (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2016-02-17 | 2018-03-20 | G08G5/00, G08G5/02, G01C23/00, G05D1/06, G01S1/16, G01S1/18, G01S13/91, G01C21/16 | 15/045510 |
| 203 | 9922427 | Time-of-flight camera with location sensor system | A time-of-flight (TOF) camera system includes a radiation source, a radiation detector, a location sensor system and a processor. The radiation source is configured to generate and emit a radiation that strikes a target object. The radiation detector is configured to detect the radiation reflected from the target object and generate a sample set comprising at least two raw samples detected in succession at different times based on the reflected radiation. The location sensor system is configured to detect movements of the TOF camera during the detection and generate a movement signal having portions thereof uniquely corresponding to each of the raw samples of the sample set based on the movements of the TOF camera, wherein a portion of the movement signal is detected at a same time of generating the corresponding raw sample. The processor is configured to receive the raw samples and the corresponding movement signal portions and generate an object information based on the raw samples and the corresponding movement signal portion. | Markus Dielacher (Graz, AT), Josef Prainsack (Graz, AT), Martin Flatscher (Graz, AT), Michael Mark (Graz, AT) | Infineon Technologies Ag (Neubiberg, DE) | 2014-06-06 | 2018-03-20 | G01S7/497, G06T7/20, G06T7/00, H04N7/18, G01S17/89, G01S17/02, G01S17/36, G01C11/08 | 14/297999 |
| 204 | 9921311 | Method and time-of-flight camera for providing distance information | The invention relates to a method for providing distance information of a scene with a time-of-flight camera, comprising the steps of emitting a modulated light pulse towards the scene, receiving reflections of the modulated light pulse from the scene, evaluating a time-of-flight information for the received reflections of the modulated light pulse, and deriving distance information from the time-of-flight information for the received reflections, whereby a spread spectrum signal is applied to a base frequency of the modulation of the light pulse, and the time-of-flight information is evaluated under consideration of the a spread spectrum signal applied to the base frequency of the modulation of the light pulse. The invention further relates to a time-of-flight camera for providing distance information from a scene, whereby the time-of-flight camera performs the above method. | Ward Van Der Tempel (Muizen, BE), Riemer Grootjans (Antwerp, BE) | Softkinetic Sensors Nv (Brussels, BE) | 2017-02-06 | 2018-03-20 | G01C3/08, G01S17/10, G01S7/484, G01S7/487, G01S7/486 | 15/425361 |
| 205 | 9921300 | Waveform reconstruction in a time-of-flight sensor | A time-of-flight (TOF) sensor device is provided that is capable of accurately recovering waveforms of reflected light pulses incident on the sensor's photo-receiver array using a low sampling rate. A number of samples for a received light pulse incident on a given photo-receiver are obtained by emitting a light pulse to the viewing field, integrating the electrical output generated by the photo receiver over an integration period, and adding the integral values for respective integration cycles to yield an accumulation value. This process is repeated for multiple accumulation cycles, however, for each consecutive accumulation cycle the start of the integration period is delayed relative the start time of the integration period for the previous cycle by a delay period. Sampled values for the waveform are obtained by determining the difference values between consecutive accumulation values for the respective accumulation cycles. | Richard Galera (Nashua, NH), Anne Bowlby (Milwaukee, WI), Derek W. Jones (Galloway, GB), Nilesh Pradhan (Milwaukee, WI), Francis L. Leard (Sudbury, MA), Rafael Dominguez Castro (Benacazon, ES), Sergio Morillas Castillo (Seville, ES), Rafael Romay Juarez (Seville, ES) | Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. (Mayfield Heights, OH), Innovaciones Microelectronicas S.L. (Sevilla ES) | 2015-01-29 | 2018-03-20 | G01C3/08, G01S17/89, G01S17/10, G01S7/486 | 14/609340 |
| 206 | 9921298 | Method and apparatus for increasing the resolution of a time of flight pixel array | An apparatus is described having an image signal processor. The image signal processor has a plurality of depth calculation units to calculate a respective time of flight depth value for different pixel array locations. Each of the plurality of depth calculation units is to receive a response signal from a same pixel in a pixel array so that the plurality of depth calculation units are able to calculate multiple depth values for the different locations of the pixel array from respective response signals from different groups of pixels in the pixel array of which the pixel is a member. Each of the groups include pixels of different receive clock phases sufficient to calculate a respective depth value. Another apparatus is also described where multiple depth values are similarly calculated from different groups of pixels that each include a same pixel but where a depth calculation unit calculates each of the multiple depth values. | Vlad Constantin Cardei (Redwood City, CA) | Google Llc (N/A) | 2015-07-20 | 2018-03-20 | G01C3/08, G06T7/50, G01S7/486, G01S7/48, H04N5/341, H04N5/3745, G01S17/89, G06F17/30, G06K9/00, G06T15/20 | 14/804243 |
| 207 | 9918073 | Integrated camera system having two dimensional image capture and three dimensional time-of-flight capture with movable illuminated region of interest | An apparatus is described having an integrated two-dimensional image capture and three-dimensional time-of-flight depth capture system. The integrated two-dimensional image capture and three-dimensional time-of-flight depth capture system includes an illuminator to generate light for the time-of-flight depth capture system. The illuminator includes an array of light sources and a movable lens assembly. The movable lens assembly is to movably direct an emitted beam of the light to one of any of a plurality of locations within the illuminator's field of view to form an illuminated region of interest within the illuminator's field of view. The illuminated region of interest has a size that is smaller than the illuminator's field of view. | Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA), Chung Chun Wan (Fremont, CA) | Google Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-22 | 2018-03-13 | G01S17/89, G01S7/481 | 14/579587 |
| 208 | 9916765 | Aircraft systems and methods for providing landing approach alerts | A method is provided for monitoring a landing approach of an aircraft. The method includes receiving instrument landing system (ILS) signals, determining a glideslope deviation from the ILS signals, disabling, when the glideslope deviation is less than a first predetermined threshold, at least one glideslope alert function, evaluating a current glideslope condition by comparing a designated glideslope angle to a glideslope check value, and re-enabling the at least one glideslope alert function when the glideslope check value differs from the designated glideslope angle by more than a second predetermined threshold. | Yasuo Ishihara (Kirkland, WA), Steve Johnson (North Bend, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-11-04 | 2018-03-13 | G06F19/00, G01S1/02, G01S1/08, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/02 | 14/932492 |
| 209 | 9910154 | Sonar obstacle avoidance system and method, and unmanned aerial vehicle | An obstacle avoidance system based on sonar for an unmanned aerial vehicle includes an electric motor, a single sonar module, and a control panel. The sonar module rotates with the electric motor. The control panel controls a rotation of the electric motor, thereby controlling the direction in which obstacles to the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle are detected by the sonar module. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a fuselage, the sonar obstacle avoidance system, and an aerial vehicle controller. A sonar obstacle avoidance method is also disclosed. | Yea-Chin Yeh (New Taipei, TW), Chung-Che Wei (New Taipei, TW), Chieh-Yao Lin (New Taipei, TW), I-Thun Lin (New Taipei, TW) | Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (New Taipei, TW) | 2016-05-10 | 2018-03-06 | G01C23/00, B64C39/02, G01S15/93 | 15/151139 |
| 210 | 9903941 | Time of flight camera device and method of driving the same | A time of flight (TOF) camera device and a method of driving the same are provided. The TOF camera device includes a pulse generator configured to generate a pulse signal, and generate a first photo gate signal and a second photo gate signal, a light source configured to irradiate an object with light emitted in synchronization with the pulse signal, and an image sensor configured to receive light reflected from the object in synchronization with the first photo gate signal during a first frame, and receive light reflected from the object in synchronization with the second photo gate signal during a second frame. The pulse generator is further configured to modulate the pulse signal so as to use a frequency of the light as a single frequency. | Seong-Yeong Jeong (Daegu, KR), Kyu-Min Kyung (Seoul, KR), Tae-Chan Kim (Yongin-si, KR), Kwang-Hyuk Bae (Seoul, KR), Shung-Han Cho (Seoul, KR) | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon-si, KR) | 2014-10-30 | 2018-02-27 | G01S7/48, G01S17/36, G01S17/10, G01S17/89, G01S7/486 | 14/528033 |
| 211 | 9898933 | Method and a device for assisting low altitude piloting of an aircraft | A method of assisting low altitude piloting of an aircraft and comprising determining at least one main guard curve, determining all of the obstacles present in at least one search zone, and performing a comparison between a top of each obstacle of a search zone and the main guard curve. In order to perform the comparison, if at least one ''potentially dangerous'' obstacle is situated above the main guard curve in a search zone, then, for each potentially dangerous obstacle, a sight angle (.alpha.) is determined for the top of the potentially dangerous obstacle, and it is considered that the most dangerous obstacle is the potentially dangerous obstacle presenting the greatest sight angle (.alpha.) . | Richard Pire (Istres, FR) | Airbus Helicopters (Marignane, FR) | 2016-02-04 | 2018-02-20 | G08G5/00, G08G5/04, G05D1/06, G01S13/94 | 15/015446 |
| 212 | 9886095 | Device and method for recognizing hand gestures using time-of-flight sensing | An electronic device includes at least one laser source configured to direct laser radiation toward a user's hand. Laser detectors are configured to receive reflected laser radiation from the user's hand. A controller is coupled to the at least one laser source and laser detectors and configured to determine a set of distance values to the user's hand for each respective laser detector and based upon a time-of-flight of the laser radiation. The controller also determines a hand gesture from among a plurality of possible hand gestures based upon the sets of distance values using Bayesian probabilities. | Olivier Pothier (Sceaux, FR) | Stmicroelectronics Sa (Montrouge, FR) | 2015-09-24 | 2018-02-06 | G06F3/01, G06F3/03, G01S17/58 | 14/863493 |
| 213 | 9885785 | Stray light compensation method and system for time of flight camera systems | A method and system to compensate for stray light errors in time of flight (TOF) camera systems uses reference targets in the in the field of view (FOV) that can be used to measure stray light. In different embodiments, one or more reference targets are used. | Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2015-01-09 | 2018-02-06 | H04N9/47, G01S17/08, G01S7/497, G01S17/36, G01S17/89, A01J5/007, A01J5/017, G01S17/02 | 14/593048 |
| 214 | 9880281 | LADAR sensor for landing, docking and approach | A system for landing or docking a mobile platform is enabled by a flash LADAR sensor having an adaptive controller with Automatic Gain Control (AGC) . Range gating in the LADAR sensor penetrates through diffuse reflectors. The LADAR sensor adapted for landing/approach comprises a system controller, pulsed laser transmitter, transmit optics, receive optics, a focal plane array of detectors, a readout integrated circuit, camera support electronics and image processor, an image analysis and bias calculation processor, and a detector array bias control circuit. The system is capable of developing a complete 3-D scene from a single point of view. | Patrick Gilliland (Santa Barbara, CA), Robert W. Koseluk (Santa Barbara, CA), Steve Penniman (Goleta, CA), Brad Short (Goleta, CA), Joseph Spagnolia (Ventura, CA), Roger Stettner (Santa Barbara, CA) | Continental Advanced Lidar Solutions Us, Llc. (Carpinteria, CA) | 2015-02-11 | 2018-01-30 | G01C3/08, B64D47/00, B64D39/00, G01S17/10, G01S17/88, G01S7/486, G01S7/481, B64G1/64, G01S17/89 | 14/619405 |
| 215 | 9880277 | Synthetic aperture radar processing | For synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing, a SAR receives a plurality of SAR signals. The SAR generates a piecewise approximation of the plurality of SAR signals over a coherent processing interval. The piecewise approximation may mitigate phase reflection components of each SAR signal. The SAR further generates an estimate of the scene from the piecewise approximation. | Chad P. Knight (Hyde Park, UT), Jacob H. Gunther (North Logan, UT) | Utah State University Research Foundation (Logan, UT) | 2015-05-01 | 2018-01-30 | G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S7/35 | 14/702272 |
| 216 | 9874638 | Time of flight camera system which resolves direct and multi-path radiation components | A time of flight camera system resolves the direct path component or the multi-path component of modulated radiation reflected from a target. The camera system includes a time of flight transmitter arranged to transmit modulated radiation at a target, and at least one pattern application structure operating between the transmitter and the target, the pattern application structure operating to apply at least one structured light pattern to the modulated transmitter radiation, and an image sensor configured to measure radiation reflected from a target. The time of flight camber is arranged to resolve from the measurements received the contribution of direct source reflection radiation reflected from the target. | Adrian Andrew Dorrington (Auckland, NZ), Refael Zabdi Whyte (Hamilton, NZ) | University of Waikato (Hamilton, NZ) | 2014-11-25 | 2018-01-23 | G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01S7/493, G01S7/484 | 14/553047 |
| 217 | 9874630 | Extended range gated time of flight camera | A gated time of flight (GT-TOF) range camera that transmits a plurality of light pulses to illuminate features in a scene and gates ON a photosensor in the camera for one multi-exposure gate having a plurality of exposure periods following each of the plurality of light pulses to register amounts of light reflected by features in the scene from the light pulses and uses the registered amounts of light to determine distances to the features. | Michael Hall (Bellevue, WA), Algird Gudaitis (Fall City, WA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2015-01-30 | 2018-01-23 | G01S7/486, G01B11/14, H04N5/235, G01S17/89, G01N21/86, G01S17/10, G01S17/08 | 14/609475 |
| 218 | 9869764 | Multiple-swath stripmap SAR imaging | A SAR imaging method is provided that performs N SAR acquisitions in stripmap mode of areas of the earth's surface by means of a synthetic aperture radar transported by an aerial or satellite platform and which includes a single, non-partitioned antenna and a single receiver coupled to the single, non-partitioned antenna, N being an integer greater than one. Each SAR acquisition in stripmap mode is performed using a respective squint angle with respect to the flight direction of the synthetic aperture radar and a respective elevation angle with respect to the nadir of the synthetic aperture radar. The method may further generate SAR images of areas of the respective swath observed via the SAR acquisition in stripmap mode. All SAR images have the same azimuth resolution that is equal to half the physical or equivalent length along the azimuth direction of the single, non-partitioned antenna of the synthetic aperture radar. | Diego Calabrese (Rome, IT) | Thales Alenia Space Italia S.P.A. Con Unico Socio (Rome, IT) | 2014-02-08 | 2018-01-16 | G01S13/90, G06T1/00, G06T7/60 | 14/766222 |
| 219 | 9869763 | High-resolution stripmap SAR imaging | A SAR imaging method performs N SAR acquisitions in stripmap mode of the earth's surface using a synthetic aperture radar transported by an aerial or satellite platform and including a single, non-partitioned antenna and a single receiver coupled thereto. All N SAR acquisitions are performed using the same predetermined elevation angle relative to the nadir of the synthetic aperture radar and using a respective squint angle relative to the flight direction of the synthetic aperture radar. Radar transmission and reception operations are time interleaved with other N-1 SAR acquisitions, resulting in the respective acquisition directions being parallel to each other and not parallel to acquisition directions of other N-1 SAR acquisitions. Radar beams in two immediately successive time instants and related to two different SAR acquisitions are contiguous along the azimuth. SAR images may be generated using all the N SAR acquisitions having an enhanced azimuth resolution. | Diego Calabrese (Rome, IT) | Thales Alenia Space Italia S.P.A. Con Unico Socio (Rome, IT) | 2014-02-08 | 2018-01-16 | G01S13/90, G06T1/00, G06T7/60 | 14/766211 |
| 220 | 9864055 | Weather radar system and method for detecting a high altitude crystal cloud condition | The hazard warning system that included processing system for detecting a high altitude ice crystal (HAIC) or HAIC cloud (HAIC.sup.2) condition. The aircraft warning system can use an inferred detected process or a non-inferred detection process. Warnings of high altitude ice crystal conditions can allow an aircraft to avoid threats posed by HAIC or HAIC.sup.2 conditions including damage to aircraft equipment and engines. | Venkata A. Sishtla (Marion, IA), Roy E. Robertson (Marion, IA), Roger A. Dana (Marion, IA), Kevin M. Kronfeld (Cedar Rapids, IA), Gregory J. Koenigs (Cedar Rapids, IA), Jeffery A. Finley (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2014-03-12 | 2018-01-09 | G01S13/95, B64D15/20 | 14/206239 |
| 221 | 9864054 | System and method for 3D SAR imaging using compressive sensing with multi-platform, multi-baseline and multi-PRF data | A method generates a 3D synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image of an area by first acquiring multiple data sets from the area using one or more SAR systems, wherein each SAR system has one or more parallel baselines and multiple pulse repetition frequency (PRF) , wherein the PRF for each baseline is different. The data sets are registered and aligned to produce aligned data sets. Then, a 3D compressive sensing reconstruction procedure is applied to the aligned data sets to generate the 3D image corresponding to the area. | Dehong Liu (Lexington, MA), Petros T. Boufounos (Boston, MA) | Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) | 2014-03-10 | 2018-01-09 | G01S13/90, H03M7/30, G01S13/22, G01S13/42 | 14/202449 |
| 222 | 9856860 | Wind turbine blade vibration detection and radar calibration | A wind turbine is provided, having a wind turbine tower and at least one rotatable blade, and further comprising a system for measuring rotor blade vibration of said wind turbine. The system comprises at least one Doppler radar unit operatively configured to emit and receive radar signals, the radar unit being mounted on the wind turbine tower at a position above the lowest position of the at least one blade, the radar unit being positioned so as to measure reflections of an emitted radar signal from the turbine blade. A processing unit is configured to receive measurement data from the radar unit and to determine, by analysis of Doppler shift in received radar signals relative to transmitted signals due to movement of the blade towards or away from the turbine tower, the velocity of the blade in the direction towards or away from the turbine tower. Using a radar unit to measure blade velocity allows a determination to be made of the vibrations occurring in the blade without needing an internal sensor in the blade. This reduces manufacturing and maintenance costs of the blades since sensors in the blades will not need to be replaced, and sensors positioned on the tower are easier to replace in the field. | Knut Vangen (Sandvika, NO), Erik Meum (Oslo, NO), Jan Pleym (Vikhammer, NO) | Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Aarhus N, DK) | 2015-05-05 | 2018-01-02 | G01S7/40, F03D7/02, G01S13/50, G01S13/58, F03D17/00, G01S13/64, F03D1/06, G01S13/87, G01S13/88, F03D7/04, G01S7/00, G01S13/00 | 14/704744 |
| 223 | 9856859 | Wind turbine blade vibration detection and radar calibration | A wind turbine (1) is provided, having a wind turbine tower (2) and at least one rotatable blade (5) , and further comprising a system for measuring rotor blade vibration of said wind turbine. The system comprises at least one Doppler radar unit (7) operatively configured to emit and receive radar signals, the radar unit being mounted on the wind turbine tower at a position above the lowest position of the at least one blade, the radar unit being positioned so as to measure reflections of an emitted radar signal from the turbine blade. A processing unit is configured to receive measurement data from the radar unit and to determine, by analysis of Doppler shift in received radar signals relative to transmitted signals due to movement of the blade towards or away from the turbine tower, the velocity of the blade in the direction towards or away from the turbine tower. Using a radar unit to measure blade velocity allows a determination to be made of the vibrations occurring in the blade without needing an internal sensor in the blade. This reduces manufacturing and maintenance costs of the blades since sensors in the blades will not need to be replaced, and sensors positioned on the tower are easier to replace in the field. | Knut Vangen (Sandvika, NO), Erik Meum (Oslo, NO), Jan Roar Pleym (Vikhammer, NO) | Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Aarhus N, DK) | 2013-06-25 | 2018-01-02 | F03D7/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/64, G01S13/87, G01S13/88, F03D7/04, F03D1/06, G01S13/50, F03D7/02, F03D17/00, G01S13/58 | 14/410812 |
| 224 | 9854226 | Illuminator for camera system having three dimensional time-of-flight capture with movable mirror element | An apparatus is described that includes a camera system having a time-of-flight illuminator. The time of flight illuminator has a light source and one or more tiltable mirror elements. The one or more tiltable mirror elements are to direct the illuminator's light to only a region within the illuminator's field of view. | Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA), Chung Chun Wan (Fremont, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-22 | 2017-12-26 | H04N13/02, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, H04N5/225 | 14/580053 |
| 225 | 9847736 | Driver circuit for LEDs for time-of-flight calculation | An electronic driver circuit for LEDs and LASERs is provided for use in time-of-flight applications featuring a high efficiency of energy-conversion and a high precision of distance-measurements based on a dual conversion circuit. A voltage to voltage DC-DC conversion is hereby merged with a DC-voltage to pulsed-current booster, this booster operating at a time-of-flight modulation frequency. At the start of a new measurement cycle, the PWM signal for driving the DC-DC conversion is updated in response to currents observed during previous illumination periods. | Riemer Grootjans (Antwerp, BE), Sebastien Resimont (Muizen, BE), Maarten Kuijk (Antwerp, BE) | Softkinetic Sensors Nv (Brussels, BE) | 2012-07-12 | 2017-12-19 | H02M7/537, H02M7/42, H05B33/08, G01C3/08, G01S7/484, G01S17/10, H02M3/158 | 13/991824 |
| 226 | 9844359 | Coherent spread-spectrum coded waveforms in synthetic aperture image formation | Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging using spread-spectrum, wide instantaneous band, coherent, coded waveforms. In one aspect, a method includes synthesizing a composite waveform formed of a plurality of individual orthogonal coded waveforms that are mutually orthogonal to each other, correspond to different frequency bands and including a unique frequency with a corresponding phase, transmitting an acoustic wave based on the composite waveform toward a target from one or more transmitting positions, and receiving at one or more receiving positions acoustic energy returned from at least part of the target corresponding to the transmitted acoustic waveforms, in which the transmitting and receiving positions each include one or both of spatial positions of an array of transducer elements relative to the target and beam phase center positions of the array, and the transmitted acoustic waveforms and the returned acoustic waveforms produce an enlarged effective aperture. | Allan Wegner (Del Mar, CA) | Decision Sciences Medical Company, Llc (Poway, CA) | 2014-09-05 | 2017-12-19 | A61B8/14, A61B8/00, A61B8/08, G01S15/89 | 14/479249 |
| 227 | 9841496 | Multiple pattern illumination optics for time of flight system | Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products are provided for creating multiple patterns of flood illumination for a time of flight (TOF) camera system. Light is generated, and from the generated light, illumination light is formed that is projected into an image environment. The illumination light is formed by: diverging the generated light to form divergent light characterized by a light profile that is less intense in a first region centered on an optical axis of the divergent light than in a second region that at least partially rings the first region, and converting the divergent light into a plurality of illumination light patterns to be projected into the illumination environment. The illumination light patterns are each projected to a corresponding region of the illumination environment. | Joshua M. Hudman (Issaquah, WA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2014-11-21 | 2017-12-12 | G01S7/486, G01S17/89, G01S17/08, G01S7/481 | 14/550644 |
| 228 | 9836064 | Aircraft landing systems and methods | A method for controlling an aircraft includes storing data aboard the aircraft. The data include the relative positions of radar targets disposed within a region adjacent to the runway. The region is scanned with a radar aboard the aircraft to obtain data corresponding to the relative positions of radar reflections from the region, including reflections from the radar targets. The data corresponding to the radar targets is distinguished from the data corresponding to the radar reflections from the region using correlation techniques. The position and attitude of the aircraft relative to the runway is then assessed using the stored data and the data corresponding to the radar targets. The position and attitude of the aircraft relative to the runway is also evaluated using an independent navigation system. The difference between the assessed position and attitude and the evaluated position and attitude is then used to control the aircraft. | Thomas E. Yochum (Bothell, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2016-03-02 | 2017-12-05 | G06F19/00, H01Q15/18, G05D1/04, G01S13/95, G01S13/91, G05D1/06 | 15/059173 |
| 229 | 9832545 | System and method for providing a distributed directional aperture | A distributed directional aperture (DDA) system provides the capability to receive and/or transmit signals, limiting that reception or transmission to a 3-dimensional beam. The DDA system includes sensing and/or emitting array subsystems which comprise sensors and/or emitters distributed across, within, or under the skin of an aircraft, ship, ground vehicle, or fixed installation. The sensors receive energy, convert the received signals to digital information, and transmit that information via a telemetry subsystem to a beamformer subsystem. The beamformer subsystem analyzes the received signals from the sensors and/or emitters in order to determine the signal content from a specific direction. The emitters transmit energy, converting signals received from the beamformer subsystem via the telemetry subsystem into energy emissions. Methods of providing the DDA system including subsystems thereof are also disclosed. | Peter B. Houser (Poway, CA), Suzanna J. LaMar (San Diego, CA), Bayne R. Bunce (San Diego, CA), Jinous Valizadeh (San Diego, CA) | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Falls Church, VA) | 2014-10-10 | 2017-11-28 | G01S13/88, H04Q9/00, G01S13/44, G01S13/48 | 14/511962 |
| 230 | 9832357 | Time-of-flight camera system with scanning iluminator | A time of flight camera system is described. The time of flight camera system includes an illuminator. The illuminator has a movable optical component to scan light within the time-of-flight camera's field of view to illuminate a first region within the field of view that is larger than a second region within the time-of-flight camera's field of view that is illuminated at any instant by the light. The illuminator also includes an image sensor to determine depth profile information within the first region using time-of-flight measurement techniques. | Chung Chun Wan (Fremont, CA), Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-06-05 | 2017-11-28 | H04N5/222, H04N13/02, G01S17/02, G01S17/42, H04N5/235, G01S7/481, G01S7/497, H04N5/232, H04N5/225, G01B11/24, G01S17/89 | 15/614504 |
| 231 | 9826418 | Apparatus, system and method of performing a time of flight (ToF) measurement | Some demonstrative embodiments include apparatuses, systems and/or methods of performing a Time of Flight (ToF) measurement. for example, a first wireless device may include a controller to perform a Time of Flight (ToF) measurement procedure with a second wireless device, and a radio to communicate with the second wireless device a ToF frame including a first time value of a Time Synchronization Function (TSF) of a sender of the frame to indicate a beginning time of a ToF measurement period, and a second time value of the TSF at transmission of the ToF frame. | Jonathan Segev (Tel Mond, IL), Gaby Prechner (Rishon Lezion, IL), Shahar Michaelovich (Raanana, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2014-09-22 | 2017-11-21 | H04W24/02, H04W56/00, G01S13/76, G01S11/08 | 14/492347 |
| 232 | 9824598 | Flight hindrance display apparatus, flight hindrance display method, and computer-readable medium | A flight hindrance display apparatus includes circuitry. The circuitry is configured to acquire surrounding information of an aircraft. The surrounding information is related to a hindrance factor which is a possible flight hindrance to the aircraft. The circuitry is configured to determine a spatial range of the flight hindrance factor on a basis of the acquired surrounding information. The circuitry is configured to determine a flight hindrance cross-section that intersects a plane including a vector of a flight direction of the aircraft and is included in the determined spatial range of the flight hindrance factor. The circuitry is configured to cause a display unit to stereoscopically display an own position of the aircraft, the spatial range of the flight hindrance factor, and the flight hindrance cross-section. | Yoichi Onomura (Tokyo, JP), Shinei Takahashi (Tokyo, JP), Yu Itabashi (Tokyo, JP) | Subaru Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 2017-01-13 | 2017-11-21 | G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G01S13/93, H04N13/04 | 15/405507 |
| 233 | 9823664 | Unmanned aircraft for positioning an instrument for inspection purposes and methods of inspecting a target surface | A method of positioning an instrument by an unmanned aircraft for measurement purposes relating to a target surface is provided. The method includes coupling the instrument to the unmanned aircraft and moving the unmanned aircraft to position the instrument away from the target surface. The method further includes stabilizing the unmanned aircraft to maintain a constant altitude and a level attitude relative to the target surface and orientating the instrument perpendicular to the target surface. A measurement is conducted by the instrument while the instrument is orientated perpendicular to the target surface. The method also includes transmitting the measurement to a receiver. | Michael L. Krogh (Lee's Summit, MO), Ed DeMoss (Lone Jack, MO) | A.M.T.S., Llc (Kansas City, MO) | 2016-02-25 | 2017-11-21 | G05D1/04, B64D45/00, G01C5/00, G01S19/42, B64D47/08, G01S17/06 | 15/053455 |
| 234 | 9823654 | Multi-part navigation process by an unmanned aerial vehicle for navigation | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a target in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) determining an approximate target location associated with a target, (b) using a first navigation process to navigate the UAV to the approximate target location, where the first navigation process generates flight-control signals based on the approximate target location, (c) making a determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, and (d) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, using a second navigation process to navigate the UAV to the target, wherein the second navigation process generates flight-control signals based on real-time localization of the target. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-03-28 | 2017-11-21 | G08G5/00, G05D1/12, G01S5/02, B64C39/02, B64C19/00, G05D1/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/94 | 15/082205 |
| 235 | 9823352 | Absolute distance measurement for time-of-flight sensors | A time-of-flight (TOF) sensor device is provided with features for correcting distance measurement offset errors caused by such factors as temperature, dynamic reflectivity ranges of objects in the viewing space, or other factors. In various embodiments, the TOF sensor device generates corrected distance values based on comparison of two different distance values measured for an object by two different measurement techniques, including but not limited to phase shift measurement, pulsed TOF measurement, distance measurement based on the focal length of the TOF sensor's lens, and comparison of distance variations with light intensity variations. In addition, some embodiments of the TOF sensor device perform self-calibration using internal waveguides or parasitic reflections as distance references. | Carl Meinherz (Malans, CH), Martin Hardegger (Sargans, CH), Manfred Stein (Domat/Ems, CH), Danilo Dorizzi (Klosters, CH) | Rockwell Automation Safety Ag (Landquart, CH) | 2014-10-31 | 2017-11-21 | G01S17/08, G01S17/48, G01S17/36, G01S17/10, G01S17/02, G01C3/32, G01S17/87, G01S17/89, G01S7/497 | 14/530628 |
| 236 | 9823347 | Weather radar system and method for high altitude crystal warning interface | A hazard warning system can be utilized in an aircraft. The hazard warning system can include a processing system for determining a high altitude ice crystal (HAIC) condition and causing a warning of the HAIC condition to be displayed. An avionic display can be used to display the warning of the HAIC condition. | Gregory J. Koenigs (Cedar Rapids, IA), Jeffery A. Finley (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2014-03-12 | 2017-11-21 | G01S13/95, B64D15/20 | 14/207034 |
| 237 | 9823345 | System and method for determining helicopter rotor blade performance | A helicopter rotor blade performance system (BPS) allows for accurate determination of blade track height and blade track phase while reducing size, weight, and complexity of the system. The BPS uses sensing technology that is scalable to adapt to a variety of helicopters and is readily and unobtrusively installed. The BPS includes a bused smart system methodology that can directly measure track height, while phase can be estimated using the time synchronous average of the magnitude or range of the return signal from a radar wave. The BPS includes a rotation monitor, radar tracker, and control unit, that allows for a determination of the track errors and consequentially whether a track rebalancing should occur. | Eric Robert Bechhoefer (Cornwall, VT) | Green Power Monitoring Systems, Llc (Cornwall, VT) | 2015-04-23 | 2017-11-21 | G01S13/88, B64C27/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/50, G01S13/08, G01S13/00 | 14/695014 |
| 238 | 9823340 | Method for time of flight modulation frequency detection and illumination modulation frequency adjustment | A method removing adjecent frequency interference from a Time of Flight sensor system by adaptively adjusting the transmitted infrared illumination frequency of the TOF sensor by measuring the interfering infrared illuminating frequencies and dynamicaly adjusting the transmitted illuminating infrared frequency of the TOF sensor to eliminate the interference. | Dong-Ik Ko (McKinney, TX) | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX) | 2012-12-04 | 2017-11-21 | G01S3/08, G01S7/493, G01S17/36, G01S17/89, G01C15/00 | 13/693390 |
| 239 | 9823339 | Plural anode time-of-flight sensor | A time of flight (TOF) camera comprises a light source for illuminating an object with light and a plurality of light-sensitive pixels for collecting return image light reflected by the object. Further, each light-sensitive pixel of the TOF camera may comprise a photoelectric cathode for generating electrons responsive to return image light incident on the pixel and a plurality of anodes for collecting electrons generated at the photoelectric cathode. | David Cohen (Nesher, IL) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2010-12-21 | 2017-11-21 | G01S7/486, G01S17/89, G01S7/481 | 12/975174 |
| 240 | 9819930 | Time of flight imaging with improved initiation signaling | A time of flight sensor includes control circuitry and a time of flight pixel array. The control circuitry is coupled to synchronously send a sync signal. The time of flight pixel array includes a plurality of time of flight pixel cells. Each one of the time of flight pixel cells includes a photosensor and a delay circuit. The photosensor is configured to generate an image signal in response to receiving photons from a light pulse reflected from an object. The delay circuit is coupled to generate a delayed sync signal in response to the sync signal. The delay circuit includes a delay transistor. The time of flight pixel array includes a transistor gradient where a transistor gate length of the delay transistor varies so that each of the time of flight pixel cells receive their respective delayed sync signal at a same time. | Tianjia Sun (San Jose, CA), Rui Wang (San Jose, CA), Tiejun Dai (Santa Clara, CA) | Omnivision Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) | 2015-05-26 | 2017-11-14 | H04N13/02, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01S7/497, H01L27/146, H04N5/374, G01S7/486, H04N13/00 | 14/721424 |
| 241 | 9818304 | Method and apparatus for representing an aerial delivery path | An approach is provided for constructing a delivery path that enables a UAV to safely access a delivery surface and avoids restricted access surfaces from the open sky. The approach involves determining at least one delivery path to at least one delivery surface, wherein the delivery path represents at least one three-dimensional variable width path along which an aerial delivery vehicle can access the at least one delivery surface. The approach also involves transecting the delivery path with one or more planar surfaces. The approach further involves determining one or more shapes on the one or more planar surfaces, wherein the one or more shapes represent one or more intersections of the delivery path and the one or more planar surfaces. The approach also involves constructing at least one delivery path data object comprising at least one ordered list of the one or more shapes to represent the delivery path. | Leo Modica (Sawyer, MI), Leon Stenneth (Chicago, IL) | Here Global B.V. (Veldhoven, NL) | 2015-10-28 | 2017-11-14 | G08G5/00, G01S17/02 | 14/925565 |
| 242 | 9810780 | Time of flight (ToF) measurement | Embodiments of a communication station and method for time-of-flight (ToF) location determination in a wireless network are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a responding communication station receives a ToF measurement request. The responding communication station transmits an acknowledgment of the ToF measurement request. The responding communication station also transmits a response to the ToF measurement request that includes an indication of a time period for an initiating communication station to poll the responding communication station for a ToF result. | Shani Ben-Haim (Haifa, IL), Yuval Amizur (Kfar-Saba, IL), Jonathan Segev (Tel Mond, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2016-11-02 | 2017-11-07 | G01S13/76, H04W24/08, G01S5/14, H04W24/00, H04W64/00 | 15/341326 |
| 243 | 9807569 | Location based services provided via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) | An automated method of determining a location of an aerial platform is described. The method includes: transmitting, from the aerial platform, a first pilot signal, receiving, at a set of ground devices, the first pilot signal, determining a first set of values based on measurements associated with the first pilot signal, and calculating a position of the aerial platform based at least partly on the first set of values. An automated method adapted to determine a location of a ground device includes: transmitting, from the ground device, a first pilot signal, receiving, at each aerial platform in a set of aerial platforms, the first pilot signal, determining a first set of values based on measurements associated with the first pilot signal, and calculating a position of the ground device based at least partly on the first set of values. A system adapted to provide location information is described. | Ahmad Jalali (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) | Ubiqomm, Inc (San Diego, CA) | 2014-11-05 | 2017-10-31 | H04W24/00, H04W4/04, H04W64/00, H04B7/185, G01S13/87, G01S5/14, G06Q10/08, G01S5/02 | 14/533756 |
| 244 | 9804262 | Radar weather detection for a wind turbine | A radar system for a wind turbine is provided. The radar system comprises a first radar unit (42) and a control unit (41) arranged to receive an output from the radar unit, the control unit comprising a central processing unit. The central processing unit is configured to perform a first function of determining at least one property of aircraft within a monitoring zone in the vicinity of the wind turbine and controlling a warning device to output a warning signal to detected aircraft based on the determined property, and perform a second function of determining at least one parameter of prevailing weather in the vicinity of the wind turbine. A corresponding method is also provided. | Justin Fun (Singapore, SG), Simon Trist (Aarhus C, DK) | Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Aarhus N, DK) | 2012-10-04 | 2017-10-31 | G01S13/93, F03D80/10, G01S13/95 | 14/350621 |
| 245 | 9791563 | Joint synthetic aperture radar plus ground moving target indicator from single-channel radar using compressive sensing | The various embodiments presented herein relate to utilizing an operational single-channel radar to collect and process synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) imagery from a same set of radar returns. In an embodiment, data is collected by randomly staggering a slow-time pulse repetition interval (PRI) over a SAR aperture such that a number of transmitted pulses in the SAR aperture is preserved with respect to standard SAR, but many of the pulses are spaced very closely enabling movers (e.g., targets) to be resolved, wherein a relative velocity of the movers places them outside of the SAR ground patch. The various embodiments of image reconstruction can be based on compressed sensing inversion from undersampled data, which can be solved efficiently using such techniques as Bregman iteration. The various embodiments enable high-quality SAR reconstruction, and high-quality GMTI reconstruction from the same set of radar returns. | Douglas Thompson (Albuquerque, NM), Aaron Hallquist (Albuquerque, NM), Hyrum Anderson (Albuquerque, NM) | National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, Llc (Albuquerque, NM) | 2015-01-07 | 2017-10-17 | G01S13/90, G01S13/52 | 14/591519 |
| 246 | 9788813 | Multiple aperture probe internal apparatus and cable assemblies | A Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging (MAUI) probe or transducer is uniquely capable of simultaneous imaging of a region of interest from separate physical apertures of ultrasound arrays. The probe can include separate backing plates configured to secure the ultrasound arrays in predetermined positions and orientations relative to one another. Some embodiments of the probe include flex circuit connected to the ultrasound arrays. In additional embodiments, a flex/PC board comprising flex connectors and an array of terminals is connected to the ultrasound arrays. Algorithms can solve for variations in tissue speed of sound, thus allowing the probe apparatus to be used virtually anywhere in or on the body. | Sharon L. Adam (San Jose, CA), David M. Smith (Lodi, CA), Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2011-10-12 | 2017-10-17 | A61B8/12, A61B8/00, G10K11/00, G01S15/89, G01S7/52 | 13/272098 |
| 247 | 9784822 | Time of flight sensor binning | A time-of-flight sensor device generates and analyzes a high-resolution depth map frame from a high-resolution image to determine a mode of operation for the time-of-flight sensor and an illuminator and to control the time-of-flight sensor and illuminator according to the mode of operation. A binned depth map frame can be created from a binned image from the time-of-flight sensor and combined with the high-resolution depth map frame to create a compensated depth map frame. | Werner Adam Metz (Chandler, AZ), Dong-Ik Ko (McKinney, TX) | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX) | 2015-09-14 | 2017-10-10 | G01B11/22, G01S7/48, G01S17/89, G01B11/02, G01S7/486, G01S7/491, G01S17/08, G01B11/24, H04N13/00 | 14/853194 |
| 248 | 9778363 | Methods and apparatus for coded time-of-flight camera | In illustrative implementations, a time-of-flight camera robustly measures scene depths, despite multipath interference. The camera emits amplitude modulated light. An FPGA sends at least two electrical signals, the first being to control modulation of radiant power of a light source and the second being a reference signal to control modulation of pixel gain in a light sensor. These signals are identical, except for time delays. These signals comprise binary codes that are m-sequences or other broadband codes. The correlation waveform is not sinusoidal. During measurements, only one fundamental modulation frequency is used. One or more computer processors solve a linear system by deconvolution, in order to recover an environmental function. Sparse deconvolution is used if the scene has only a few objects at a finite depth. Another algorithm, such as Wiener deconvolution, is used is the scene has global illumination or a scattering media. | Achuta Kadambi (Cambridge, MA), Refael Whyte (Hillcrest, NZ), Ayush Bhandari (Cambridge, MA), Lee Streeter (Hamilton, NZ), Christopher Barsi (Exeter, NH), Adrian Dorrington (Auckland, NZ), Ramesh Raskar (Cambridge, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 2014-10-24 | 2017-10-03 | G01S17/89, G01S17/32, G01S7/491 | 14/523708 |
| 249 | 9778360 | Method and system for generating a geoid via three computation spaces and airborne-acquired gravity data | Airborne gravity measurements may be added to the collection of airborne LiDAR so that it may be used to produce a digital elevation model (DEM) , which may be used along with gravity data to produce an improved geoid, which may be used to produce an improved DEM based on the improved orthometric heights. A computing device may be configured to receive airborne navigation, gravity and LiDAR data, generate position information based on the navigation data, generate gravity field information based on the gravity data and the position information, generate orthometric height information based on the LiDAR data and the position information, and generate a geoid based on the gravity field and orthometric height information. The computing device may also generate a geoid model based on the gravity field and an existing DEM, and generate the orthometric height information based on the LiDAR data, position information, and geoid model. | Robert Kingdon (Fredericton, CA), Carl Sonnier (Lafayette, LA), Detang Zhong (Nepean, CA) | Fugro N.V. (Aa Leidschendam, NL) | 2014-12-16 | 2017-10-03 | G01S17/02, G06T17/05, G01S17/89, G01V11/00, G01V7/06 | 14/572297 |
| 250 | 9778228 | Turbine sensor system for environmental impact monitoring | A self-contained monitor array for measuring at least one type of electromagnetic emission and at least one type of mechanical wave emission from a marine-based and/or terrestrial human activity or installation such as alternate energy sources. A multi-modal monitor system includes at least two such arrays, at least one clock, and at least one data storage unit. The monitor system is employed at the site of a turbine installation to measure at least one type of emission generated by the turbine and may comprise a controller to compare the emission signals with pre-determined acceptable value ranges and adjust the performance of the turbine accordingly. | Paul D. Fucile (Waquoit, MA), Glenn E. McDonald (Marstons Mills, MA), Edward L. Hobart (Cataumet, MA) | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA) | 2016-02-10 | 2017-10-03 | G01N21/00, G01N21/88, G01S15/00, G01N29/46, F03D17/00, G01N29/14, G01N15/06, G01J1/00 | 15/040008 |
| 251 | 9773155 | Depth from time of flight camera | Region of interest detection in raw time of flight images is described. for example, a computing device receives at least one raw image captured for a single frame by a time of flight camera. The raw image depicts one or more objects in an environment of the time of flight camera (such as human hands, bodies or any other objects) . The raw image is input to a trained region detector and in response one or more regions of interest in the raw image are received. A received region of interest comprises image elements of the raw image which are predicted to depict at least part of one of the objects. A depth computation logic computes depth from the one or more regions of interest of the raw image. | Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton (Cambridge, GB), Cem Keskin (Cambridge, GB), Christoph Rhemann (Cambridge, GB), Toby Sharp (Cambridge, GB), Duncan Paul Robertson (Cambridge, GB), Pushmeet Kohli (Cambridge, GB), Andrew William Fitzgibbon (Cambridge, GB), Shahram Izadi (Cambridge, GB) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2014-10-14 | 2017-09-26 | G06T7/11, G01S7/48, G01S7/491, G06T7/50, G01S17/89, G06K9/62, G01S17/36, G06K9/00, G01S17/10 | 14/513746 |
| 252 | 9766623 | Detection and tracking of land, maritime, and airborne objects using a radar on a parasail | A method and apparatuses may be provided for detection, tracking, and classification of one or more land, maritime, or airborne objects using a real-aperture radar mounted on a parasail airborne platform. Both wide-area and localized radar surveillance can be provided, and the radar can be either a non-coherent radar or coherent radar. A method and apparatus may use a low-cost, rotating, single-beam, non-coherent, X-band radar that is mounted on an unmanned powered parasail and operated remotely like an Unattended Airborne System (UAS) . The parasail, which may be expendable or recoverable, manned or unmanned, powered or unpowered, may have a low operational cost, can carry a heavy payload, stay on station for a long time, circle or move to a specified location for surveillance, operate at an optimal altitude and look-angle, and automatically cue or manually steer an EO/IR camera to a target of interest for classification and identification. | George W. Moe (Columbia, MD), Phillip A. Fox (Hertford, NC), Joseph W. Maresca, Jr. (Sunnyvale, CA) | Vista Research, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2013-01-11 | 2017-09-19 | G01S13/66, G01S7/04, G01S13/88, G01S7/00, H04N7/18, G05D1/00, G01S7/41, G01S13/04, G01S13/86, G01S13/89, G01S13/91, G01S13/42 | 13/739382 |
| 253 | 9753133 | Apparatus and method for converting multi-channel tracking information for integrated processing of flight data | The present inventive concept relates to an apparatus and method for multiplexing tracking information output from a plurality of tracking radar systems that are operated upon testing the flight of guided weapons, converting the multiplexed tracking information into a single PCM stream signal, and processing the tracking information together with telemetry data in an integrated manner, thus enabling the tracking information to be simply and economically utilized for test control and measurement tasks. The apparatus for converting multi-channel tracking information for integrated processing of flight data, includes a signal receiver for receiving pieces of tracking information from tracking radar systems through a plurality of input channels, a programmable semiconductor for multiplexing the pieces of tracking information, and converting the multiplexed tracking information into a data stream-type Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) frame, and a line driver for outputting the PCM frame to another piece of equipment. | Dongsoo Seo (Taean-gun, KR), Jeongbu Baek (Taean-gun, KR), Yongjae Lee (Seosan-si, KR) | Agency for Defense Development (Daejeon, KR) | 2014-11-21 | 2017-09-05 | G01S13/88, G01S13/72, G01S7/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/02 | 14/550690 |
| 254 | 9753128 | Multi-path compensation using multiple modulation frequencies in time of flight sensor | A method to compensate for multi-path in time-of-flight (TOF) three dimensional (3D) cameras applies different modulation frequencies in order to calculate/estimate the error vector. Multi-path in 3D TOF cameras might be caused by one of the two following sources: stray light artifacts in the TOF camera systems and multiple reflections in the scene. The proposed method compensates for the errors caused by both sources by implementing multiple modulation frequencies. | Matthias Schweizer (Lenzburg, CH), Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH), Bernhard Buettgen (Adliswil, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2011-07-25 | 2017-09-05 | G01C3/00, G01S17/89, G01S13/08, G01C3/08, G01S7/491, G01S17/36, H04N13/02 | 13/189903 |
| 255 | 9746557 | Proximity sensor module including time-of-flight sensor wherein a second group of light sensitive elements is in a second one of the chambers of the module | The present disclosure describes proximity sensor modules that include a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor. The module can include a plurality of chambers corresponding, respectively, to a light emission channel and a light detection channel. The channels can be optically separated from one another such that light from a light emitter element in the light emission chamber does not impinge directly on light sensitive elements of the TOF sensor in the light detection chamber. To achieve a module with a relatively small footprint, some parts of the TOF sensor can be located within the light emission chamber. | Camilla Camarri (Au, CH), Jonathan Hobbis (Kilchberg, CH), Bassam Hallal (Thalwil, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2015-07-23 | 2017-08-29 | G01S17/02, G01S17/08, G01S7/481, G01S7/497, H05K1/02, H05K1/18 | 14/806770 |
| 256 | 9745078 | Systems and methods of precision landing for offshore helicopter operations using spatial analysis | Systems and methods of precision landing in adverse conditions are provided. In one embodiment, a precision landing system comprises a vehicle including: a receiver configured to receive position information for structures and a landing zone of a landing site and a processor coupled to a memory, the memory includes three-dimensional geometric structural information for a landing site. The processor configured to: receive the position information from the receiver, assign geographical coordinates to the three-dimensional geometric structural information using the position information for the structures and the landing zone of the landing site, send the three-dimensional geometric structural information and graphical rendering information to a display device. The vehicle further includes a display device, wherein the display device is configured to render and display a three-dimensional representation of the landing site in real-time based on the three-dimension geometric structural information and the graphical rendering information from the processor. | Amit Srivastav (Karnataka, IN), John Hajdukiewicz (Minneapolis, MN), Sreedhar Garbham (Telengana, IN), Raman Srinivasan (Hyderabad, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2016-02-01 | 2017-08-29 | B64D45/08, B64D45/04, G01S19/15, G08G5/00, G06T15/00, G01S13/90, B64F1/18 | 15/012728 |
| 257 | 9742737 | Authenticated time-of-flight indoor positioning systems and methods | This disclosure describes systems, methods, and computer-readable media related to testing tools for devices. In some embodiments, a plurality of public keys may be received from a server via a secured network connection where each of the plurality of keys corresponds to a respective private key associated with an access point. A time-of-flight (ToF) measurement protocol may be initiated with one or more access points. Data generated by ToF measurement protocol with the one or more access points may be received. In some embodiments, the one or more access points may be authenticated based at least in part on the plurality of public keys. A location of a user device may be determined based at least in part on the received data. | Itai Steiner (Petach Tikva, IL), Jonathan Segev (Tel Mond, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2013-09-25 | 2017-08-22 | H04L9/32, G01S5/14, H04W12/04, G01S5/02, H04L29/06, H04W64/00, H04K3/00, H04W12/06, G01S13/76, G01S13/87 | 14/127401 |
| 258 | 9739570 | Gimbal-assisted radar detection system for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) | A gimbal-assisted continuous-wave (CW) Doppler radar detection system mountable to an unmanned aircraft system may be rotated in three degrees of freedom relative to the UAS to provide targeted multidirectional obstacle detection by transmitting CW signals throughout a field of view and analyzing reflected signals from obstacles within the field of view. The radar assembly may be articulated to provide track-ahead detection in anticipation of a heading or altitude change of the UAS, to center on a detected obstacle in order to classify or identify it more clearly. The radar assembly may be rotated below the UAS and its field of view changed to increase breadth and accuracy at a shorter effective range, in order to determine real-time altitude or terrain data while the UAS executes a landing. | Paul Beard (Bigfork, MT) | Uavionix Corporation (Palo Alto, CA) | 2017-05-03 | 2017-08-22 | F41G7/22, G01S13/72, G01S13/66, G01S7/41 | 15/585998 |
| 259 | 9738398 | Ejectable flight data recorder systems, methods, and devices | An ejectable flight data recorder for robust retention of flight data and aiding in locating an aircraft after an emergency situation comprises: a buoyant housing comprising an internal cavity, a door for access to at least a portion of the internal cavity, and an aerodynamic outer shape having a longitudinal axis, an energy-dissipating nose cone for reducing an impact load on the housing when the flight data recorder impacts a water surface, a nonvolatile memory configured to store flight data, a position sensor for detecting a geographic position of the flight data recorder, a radio transmitter, an antenna electrically coupled to the radio transmitter, a sustainable power system, and a hydrophone for acoustically tracking a sinking trajectory of the aircraft in a body of water. | Mingwei Wang (Irvine, CA), Richard Lane (Fullerton, CA), Don Harris (Corona, CA), Chen Li (Irvine, CA) | Comac America Corporation (Newport Beach, CA) | 2017-04-28 | 2017-08-22 | B64D45/00, G01S15/66, G01S1/72, B64D1/14, B64D1/12, G10K11/00, G01S1/70 | 15/581567 |
| 260 | 9736778 | Method, system and apparatus of time of flight operation | An apparatus, a system and a method of waking up a station in a wireless local area network (WLAN) to perform time of flight (ToF) measurements. A wake-up signal for waking the station may be configured for a low energy signaling. | Yuval Amizur (Kfar-Saba, IL), Leor Banin (Petach Tikva, IL), Uri Schatzberg (Kiryat Ono, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2014-10-19 | 2017-08-15 | H04W52/02, H04W84/12, G01S13/76, G01S5/14, G01S1/20, G06F1/32, G06F9/44 | 14/517867 |
| 261 | 9728094 | Redundant determination of positional data for an automatic landing system | An automatic landing system contains a control device for providing positional data for controlling an aircraft, a first position or range measuring device for detecting first positional data of the aircraft, a second position or range measuring device for detecting second positional data of the aircraft, and a sensor device for detecting sensor data from which a direction in which a landmark is located and/or a distance of the landmark to the aircraft can be determined. The control device may be configured to generate, based on the first positional data, a first hypothesis for the direction and distance of the landmark and, based on the second positional data, a second hypothesis for the direction and distance of the landmark. Moreover, the control device may be configure to confirm or discard the first hypothesis and the second hypothesis, respectively, using the sensor data detected by the sensor device. | Martin Hanel (Ingolstadt, DE), Christoph Stahl (Karlskron, DE), Winfried Lohmiller (Freising, DE) | Airbus Defence and Space Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2015-09-25 | 2017-08-08 | G06F19/00, G08G5/02, G01C21/00, G01S19/13, G01S13/02, G05D1/06 | 14/865599 |
| 262 | 9720082 | Weather radar system and method for detecting a high altitude crystal condition using two or more types of radar signals | The hazard warning system that included processing system for detecting a high altitude ice crystal (HAIC) condition. The aircraft warning system can use at least two types of radar returns to detect the HAIC condition. Warnings of high altitude ice crystal conditions can allow an aircraft to avoid threats posed by HAIC conditions including damage to aircraft equipment and engines. | Roger A. Dana (Marion, IA), James B. West (Cedar Rapids, IA), Kevin M. Kronfeld (Cedar Rapids, IA), Gregory J. Koenigs (Cedar Rapids, IA), Jeffery A. Finley (Cedar Rapids, IA), Daniel L. Woodell (Holtz Summit, MO) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2014-03-12 | 2017-08-01 | G01S13/95, B64D15/20 | 14/206651 |
| 263 | 9720077 | Radio altimeter for detecting accurate height | A method and system for adjusting a gain from a receiver antenna. The method may include accessing a radio altimeter data structure for antenna gain data. The antenna gain data may be associated with one or more antennas including a receiver antenna. Additionally, the method may include receiving aircraft maneuver data from a reference system. Furthermore, the method may include adjusting a gain from the receiver antenna based at least on the aircraft maneuver data. | Madjid N. Sarpoolaki (Melbourne, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2014-04-17 | 2017-08-01 | G01S13/08, G01S13/88, G01S13/95, G01S13/02, G01S7/34 | 14/255399 |
| 264 | 9720076 | Calibration circuitry and method for a time of flight imaging system | A time of flight imaging system includes a light source coupled to emit light pulses to an object in response a light source modulation signal generated in response to a reference modulation signal. Each pixel cell of a time of flight pixel cell array is coupled to sense light pulses reflected from the object in response a pixel modulation signal. A programmable pixel delay line circuit is coupled to generate the pixel modulation signal with a variable pixel delay programmed in response to a pixel programming signal. A control circuit is coupled to receive pixel information from the time of flight pixel array representative of the sensed reflected light pulses. The control circuit is coupled to vary the pixel programming signal during a calibration mode to synchronize the light pulses emitted from the light source with the pulses of the pixel modulation signal. | Jian Guo (Milpitas, CA), Rui Wang (San Jose, CA), Tiejun Dai (Santa Clara, CA) | Omnivision Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) | 2014-08-29 | 2017-08-01 | G01S7/497, G01S17/89, G01S7/483, G06F3/01 | 14/473803 |
| 265 | 9715009 | Deterent for unmanned aerial systems | A system (100) for providing an integrated multi-sensor detection and countermeasure against commercial unmanned aerial systems/vehicles (44) and includes a detecting element (103, 104, 105) , a tracking element (103,104, 105) an identification element (103, 104, 105) and an interdiction element (102) . The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The tracking element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The identification/classification element utilizing data from the other elements generates the identification and threat assessment of the UAS. The interdiction element, based on automated algorithms can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. The interdiction process may be over ridden by intervention by a System Operator/HiL. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2016-12-02 | 2017-07-25 | G01S13/88, G01S13/86, F41H11/02, G01S7/38, G01S13/66, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G01S7/02, F41H13/00 | 15/368269 |
| 266 | 9711055 | Flight management mode transitioning for aircraft trajectory management | This disclosure is directed to systems and methods for smart transitioning between aircraft trajectory management modes. In one example, a system is configured to track a speed of a target aircraft in flight ahead of an own aircraft on which the system is positioned. The system is further configured to determine whether the target aircraft has maintained a rate of change in speed within a selected range of variation in change of speed, for a selected period of time. The system is further configured to enable an activation of a merging trajectory management mode of the own aircraft in response to determining that the own aircraft is in a trajectory management mode transition airspace and that the target aircraft has maintained the rate of change in speed within the selected range of variation in change of speed, for the selected period of time. | Petr Vesely (Horni Marsov, CZ), Petr Krupansky (Veverska Bityska, CZ), Pavel Klang (Brno, CZ), Jaroslav Jonak (Brno, CZ), Michal Polansky (Brno, CZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-06-08 | 2017-07-18 | G08G5/02, G01C23/00, G05D1/06, G08G5/04, G05D1/10, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G08G5/00 | 14/733555 |
| 267 | 9709673 | Method and system for rendering a synthetic aperture radar image | The present disclosure relates to a method (100) for rendering a simulated Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR, image. The method comprises providing (110) a digital surface model or the like comprising 3D coordinate data in a geo-referenced coordinate system, determining (120) a sub-section of the digital surface model, and obtaining (130) the simulated SAR image based on the subsection of the digital surface model, wherein substantially each point in the simulated SAR image being associated to a 3D coordinate in the geo-referenced coordinate system. | Per Carlbom (Linkoeping, SE), Tomas Toss (Linkoeping, SE), Patrik Dammert (Goeteborg, SE), Leif Haglund (Brokind, SE) | Vricon Systems Ab (Linkoeping, SE) | 2014-04-14 | 2017-07-18 | G01S13/90, G06T17/05, G06T15/20, G06T15/00 | 14/363267 |
| 268 | 9702971 | High-availability ISAR image formation | A system and method for high-availability inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) . In one embodiment a set of quadratic phase vectors, each corresponding to a different acceleration, is multiplied, one at a time, in a Hadamard product, with a 3-dimensional data cube, and a fast Fourier transform (FFT) is taken of the result, to form a 2-dimensional array. The two-dimensional array is made sparse by setting to zero elements that fall below a threshold based on a coherency metric, and the sparse arrays are stacked to form a sparse 3-dimensional image. Projections of the sparse 3-dimensional image are formed for presentation to an operator or an image exploitation system. | Benjamin Mitchell (Tucson, AZ), Andrew J. Patterson (Tucson, AZ), Raymond Samaniego (McKinney, TX) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2014-03-17 | 2017-07-11 | G01S13/90, G01S7/288 | 14/215737 |
| 269 | 9696422 | Synthetic aperture radar system | Low cost, generally broad bandwidth synthetic aperture radar systems are detailed. The systems may be bistatic and include analog to digital converters in ground based receivers while transmitters and analogoue repeaters may be space-borne or airborne. Methods of producing synthetic aperture radar images also are detailed. | Darren George Muff (Salisbury, GB) | The Secretary of State for Defence (Salisbury, Wiltshire, GB) | 2013-05-08 | 2017-07-04 | G01S13/90 | 14/399532 |
| 270 | 9696410 | Jamming suppression apparatus and method of altitude measuring sensor | Provided are an apparatus for minimizing occurrence of an error in measuring an altitude, and a method thereof. A jamming suppression apparatus of an altitude measuring sensor includes a signal unit configured to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal to the outside or receive an RF signal from the outside, and a processing unit configured to determine whether jamming has occurred on the basis of a noise signal received from the signal unit, and suppress jamming by performing at least one of a plurality of jamming suppression algorithms sequentially or simultaneously on the basis of a current altitude when jamming has occurred according to the determination result. | Jaehwan Lee (Sejong, KR), Jonghun Jang (Daejeon, KR), Jaehyun Choi (Daejeon, KR), Jineep Roh (Sejong, KR) | Agency for Defense Development (KR) | 2016-06-27 | 2017-07-04 | G01S19/21, G01S7/36, G01S13/88 | 15/193636 |
| 271 | 9696123 | Method for focusing a high-energy beam on a reference point on the surface of a flying object in flight | A method for focusing a beam of a high energy radiation source on a reference point on the surface of a flying object, comprising: recording a number of consecutive two-dimensional images of the flying object determining the trajectory of the flight path simultaneously determining the line of sight angle between the image acquisition device and the position of the flying object calculating a three-dimensional model of the flying object displaying the currently acquired two-dimensional image marking the reference point on the displayed two-dimensional image of the flying object, calculating the three-dimensional reference point on the surface of the flying object focusing the beam of the high energy radiation source on the three-dimensional reference point. | Wolfgang Schlosser (Grafelfing, DE) | Mbda Deutschland Gmbh (Schrobenhausen, DE) | 2016-05-27 | 2017-07-04 | B64D1/04, G01S13/66, G01S13/58, F41G5/08, G06T7/246, F41F5/00, G06T7/60, F41G3/16, G01S13/86, F41H11/02, F41H13/00 | 15/167005 |
| 272 | 9689976 | Deterent for unmanned aerial systems | A system for providing integrated detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles include a detecting element, an location determining element and an interdiction element. The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The location determining element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The interdiction element can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can cause disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2015-08-10 | 2017-06-27 | G01S13/86, G01S7/38, F41H13/00, G01S13/88, F41H11/02, G01S7/02, G01S13/42, G01S7/41, G01S3/782, G01S13/06, G01S13/91, G01S13/93 | 14/821907 |
| 273 | 9684075 | Scanning laser time of flight 3D imaging | Laser light pulses are reflected off a scanning mirror. A time-of-flight distance measurement device receives reflected light pulses and determines distances. The light pulses have abrupt changes in amplitude. Reflected pulses are differentiated to reduce sensitivity to amplitude variations. Differentiated pulses may be compressed to keep the receiver from saturating. Distance measurements are combined with location information to produce a 3D image of a surface. | Bin Xue (Mukilteo, WA), Robert James Jackson (Monroe, WA), Joshua O. Miller (Woodinville, WA), Steve Holmes (Sammamish, WA), Margaret K. Brown (Seattle, WA) | Microvision, Inc. (Redmond, WA) | 2011-10-27 | 2017-06-20 | H04N13/02, G01S17/42, H01S3/13, G01J1/44, G01S17/02, G01S7/486, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01S17/10 | 13/282851 |
| 274 | 9684071 | SAR data processing | An apparatus is disclosed for a spaceborne or aerial platform having a frequency demultiplexer for frequency demultiplexing a signal corresponding to a range line or an azimuth line of SAR data, and including information about a plurality of target points, into a plurality of frequency channels, and a compression device for performing compression on each frequency channel, each frequency channel signal having information about the same target points. The frequency demultiplexer and the compression device can be implemented in hardware. The apparatus may be used for either or both of the range compression and the azimuth compression of a SAR arrangement on board a spaceborne or aerial platform and the SAR arrangement may generate a plurality of sub-images corresponding to the frequency channels from the SAR raw data. The sub-images may be combined by averaging in order to reduce the volume of memory required to store the SAR data. | Alexander Walker Wishart (Stevenage, GB) | Astrium Limited (Hertfordshire, GB) | 2012-03-09 | 2017-06-20 | G01S13/90 | 14/004002 |
| 275 | 9681123 | Time-of-flight phase-offset calibration | A method to calibrate an imaging array of a time-of-flight depth camera includes the act of modulating emission from a light source of the camera while synchronously biasing the imaging array. In this method, the modulated emission reflects from a compact reflector positioned a known distance from the camera and passes through an optical diffuser en route to the imaging array. for each pixel of the imaging array, a correction term is stored, which brings the output from that pixel into agreement with the actual distance between the camera and the compact reflector. | Travis Perry (Menlo Park, CA), Cyrus Bamji (Fremont, CA), Mike Fenton (Palo Alto, CA), Karen Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Michael Anthony Hall (Bellevue, WA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2014-04-04 | 2017-06-13 | H04N17/00, G01S17/02, G01S17/89, G01S7/491, G01S7/497, H04N13/02 | 14/245751 |
| 276 | 9677986 | Airborne particle detection with user device | Described are techniques and systems for determining presence of airborne particles using one or more sensors on a user device. The airborne particles include, but are not limited to, smoke resulting from combustion, dust, fog, and so forth. In one implementation, an optical proximity sensor may be used to determine a distance to an object such as a ceiling. Smoke which collects on the ceiling reflects light that is detected by the proximity sensor and results in an apparent reduction in height. A notification of this change in height may be generated. In other implementations, other techniques may be used to detect airborne particles, such as images from a camera, dedicated particular sensors, and so forth. Information about airborne particles may aid user safety. for example, an alarm may be issued indicating a potential fire or unsafe level of pollution. | Leo Benedict Baldwin (San Jose, CA), Michael Serge Devyver (Palo Alto, CA), Aleksandar Pance (Saratoga, CA) | Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Seattle, WA) | 2014-09-24 | 2017-06-13 | G04F1/00, G06T7/00, H04N5/225, G01D7/00, G01S17/06, G01N15/06, G01N15/14, G01C3/08 | 14/494925 |
| 277 | 9676493 | System and method for damage tracking and monitoring during ground handling of aircraft | A system for damage tracking and monitoring during ground handling of aircraft includes a ground service communication network configured to transmit communication data between ground support equipment, GSE, and aircraft, a database configured to store configuration data and status data of GSE and aircraft, and a computer-based system configured to communicate with the ground service communication network and the database. The computer-based system is configured to update the configuration data and the status data of GSE and aircraft stored in the database on basis of communication data received from the ground service communication network. The computer-based system is further configured to estimate a damage source among the GSE for a damage inflicted on the aircraft by one of the GSE by correlating damage characteristics of the damage with the configuration data and the status data from the database. | Tim Fu.beta. (Hamburg, DE), Diego Alonso-Tabares (Hamburg, DE) | Airbus Operations Gmbh (Hamburg, DE), Airbus S.A.S. (Toulouse FR) | 2016-01-12 | 2017-06-13 | G07C5/00, B64D45/00, G06Q40/00, G08G5/00, G07C5/08, G01S13/91 | 14/993278 |
| 278 | 9658336 | Programmable current source for a time of flight 3D image sensor | A programmable current source for use with a time of flight pixel cell includes a first transistor. A current through the first transistor is responsive to a gate-source voltage of the first transistor. A current control circuit is coupled to the first transistor and coupled to a reference current source to selectively couple a reference current of the reference current source through the first transistor during a sample operation. A sample and hold circuit is coupled to the first transistor to sample a gate-source voltage of the first transistor during the sample operation. The sample and hold circuit is coupled to hold the gate-source voltage during a hold operation after the sample operation substantially equal to the gate-source voltage during the sample operation. A hold current through the first transistor during the hold operation is substantially equal to the reference current. | Tianjia Sun (Santa Clara, CA), Rui Wang (San Jose, CA), Tiejun Dai (Santa Clara, CA) | Omnivision Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) | 2014-08-20 | 2017-05-23 | G01S17/89, G01S7/486, G01S17/10 | 14/464453 |
| 279 | 9658321 | Method and apparatus for reducing noise in a coded aperture radar | A method and apparatus for reducing noise in a coded aperture radar system, the coded aperture radar system transmitting signals which occur in sweeps, with K sweeps utilized to cover field of view of the coded aperture radar system and Q frequency shifts or steps occurring each sweep thereof. An array of N antenna elements is provided, the array of antenna elements each having an associated two state modulator coupled therewith. Energy received at the array is modulated according to a sequence of multibit codes, the number of codes in the sequence of codes comprising at least K times Q times N, thereby reducing noise in the coded aperture radar system compared to a coded aperture radar system radar system having fewer than K times Q times N codes in its sequence of multibit codes. | Jonathan J. Lynch (Oxnard, CA) | Hrl Laboratories, Llc (Malibu, CA) | 2014-12-04 | 2017-05-23 | G01S13/34, G01S7/02, G01S13/536, G01S13/02, G01S13/44, G01S7/28, G01S7/35, G01S13/88, G01S13/93, G01S13/94 | 14/561142 |
| 280 | 9651655 | Positioning enhancement through time-of-flight measurement in WLAN | Method and system for obtaining positioning of nodes in a wireless local access network (WLAN) , comprise, by an initiator node of the WLAN, calculating a compensated time-of-flight (ToF) of messages exchanged between the initiator node and a target node and calculating a distance of the target node relative to the initiator node using the compensated ToF, thereby obtaining relative positioning between the initiator and target nodes. The compensated ToF is calculated using OFDM symbol slope inputs measured at the initiator and target nodes. Each node is associated with an enhanced WLAN unit adapted to measure and calculate the compensated ToF. | Ariel Feldman (Ra'anana, IL), Alex Kobzancev (Tel-Aviv, IL), Leonid Menis (Hertzliyah, IL), Onn Haran (Bnei Dror, IL) | Autotalks Ltd. (Kfar Netter, IL) | 2015-10-26 | 2017-05-16 | G01S5/02, G01S13/76, H04W64/00, G01S19/51, G01S5/14, G01S13/87, H04W84/12 | 14/922720 |
| 281 | 9647324 | System and method for reducing reflections from metallic surfaces onto aircraft antennas | An aircraft traffic system is provided that includes a primary antenna operable to generate interrogation signals and receive interrogation replies from other aircraft. The system additionally includes a secondary antenna configured as a tuned absorber having a matched impedance to at least partially absorb reflections of the interrogation signals or interrogation replies utilized by the primary antenna. | Jeffrey S. Hall (Bucyrus, KS), Bharath Parthasarathy (Olathe, KS) | Garmin International, Inc. (Olathe, KS) | 2014-09-29 | 2017-05-09 | G01S13/93, H01Q3/24, H01Q3/26, H01Q21/28, H01Q1/28, H01Q17/00, G01S13/00, H01Q1/00, H01Q15/14 | 14/500534 |
| 282 | 9638802 | Unmanned aerial vehicle detection method using global positioning system leakage signal and system therefor | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detection method and a system therefor are provided. The UAV detection method includes receiving a radio signal from air, detecting a global positioning system (GPS) leakage signal of a predetermined frequency from the received radio signal, and determining that a UAV is detected when the GPS leakage signal is detected. | Seong Ook Park (Daejeon, KR), Rao Shahid Aziz (Daejeon, KR), Myung Hun Jeong (Daejeon, KR) | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon, KR) | 2015-11-03 | 2017-05-02 | G08G5/04, G01S19/01, G01S13/91, G01S11/06, G01S13/00, H01Q1/28, H01Q21/20 | 14/931026 |
| 283 | 9638791 | Methods and apparatus for performing exposure estimation using a time-of-flight sensor | This application relates to capturing an image of a target object using information from a time-of-flight sensor. In one aspect, a method may include a time-of-flight (TOF) system configured to emit light and sense a reflection of the emitted light and may determine a return energy based on the reflection of the emitted light. The method may measure a time between when the light is emitted and when the reflection is sensed and may determine a distance between the target object and the TOF system based on that time. The method may also identify a reflectance of the target object based on the return energy and may determine an exposure level based on a distance between the target object and a reflectance of the target object. | Ying Chen Lou (Escondido, CA), Hengzhou Ding (San Diego, CA), Ruben Manuel Velarde (Chula Vista, CA) | Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA) | 2015-06-25 | 2017-05-02 | G01S7/486, G01S7/497, G01S17/08, H04N5/232, H04N5/235, G01S17/89 | 14/750209 |
| 284 | 9635739 | Dynamic exterior aircraft light unit and method of operating a dynamic exterior aircraft light unit | A dynamic exterior aircraft light unit includes a plurality of LEDs, with at least two subsets of the plurality of LEDs being separately, an optical system for transforming light output from the plurality of LEDs into at least two light emission distributions, a control unit for controlling the plurality of LEDs, and a photo detector arranged to detect light, emitted by the dynamic exterior aircraft light unit as part of the at least two light emission distributions and reflected by the aircraft environment, and configured to output a light detection signal. | Christian Schoen (Mainz, DE), Andre Hessling-Von Heimendahl (Koblenz, DE), Anil Kumar Jha (Lippstadt, DE) | Goodrich Lighting Systems Gmbh (Lippstadt, DE) | 2016-05-19 | 2017-04-25 | H05B37/02, B64D47/04, B64D47/06, G01S17/02, H05B33/08, G01S17/42 | 15/158911 |
| 285 | 9635231 | Time-of-flight camera system and method to improve measurement quality of weak field-of-view signal regions | A time-of-flight camera system is described. The time-of-flight camera system includes an illuminator to illuminate a region within the time-of-flight camera system's field of view. The time-of-flight camera system includes an image sensor to receive optical signals from the illumination for determining depth profile information within the field of view using time-of-flight measurement techniques. The image sensor has circuitry to determine one or more regions within the field of view where a received optical signal from the illuminating was weak. The illuminator is also to re-illuminate the one or more regions with stronger light than the one or more regions received during the illuminating. Each of the one or more regions being smaller than the region. The image sensor is also to receive optical signals from the re-illumination for determining depth profile information within the one or more regions. | Chung Chun Wan (Fremont, CA), Jamyuen Ko (San Jose, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-22 | 2017-04-25 | H04N5/222, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01S7/491, H04N5/225 | 14/579243 |
| 286 | 9632174 | Apparatus for testing performance of synthetic aperture radar | An apparatus for testing the performance of a synthetic aperture radar is provided. The apparatus for testing the performance of a synthetic aperture radar includes: a three-axis motion platform that is coupled to an antenna and driven in roll, pitch, and yaw directions so as to reproduce motion components generated from a pointing plane of the antenna, a target simulator configured to reproduce a ground target, and a system simulator that allows the three-axis motion platform and the target simulator to work in conjunction with each other in real time, and controls the three-axis motion platform and the target simulator. Here, the three-axis motion platform may include a three-axis driver that determines the attitude of the three-axis motion platform, based on position and speed information received from the system simulator. The target simulator may include a target modulator that adjusts the amplitude of an output signal, performs range and phase delays, and reproduces a Doppler component, based on simulation target information received from the system simulator. | Se Young Kim (Daejeon, KR), Jong Hwan Lee (Daejeon, KR), Jin Bong Sung (Daejeon, KR) | Agency for Defense Development (KR) | 2013-04-22 | 2017-04-25 | G01S7/40, G01S13/90 | 13/867205 |
| 287 | 9625569 | Time-of-flight camera with motion detection | A method for operating a time-of-flight camera including a time-of-flight sensor comprising an array of time-of-flight pixels with at least two integration nodes, wherein in a 3D mode the time-of-flight sensor and an illumination means are operated by means of a modulation signal and on the basis of the charges accumulated at the integration nodes distance values are determined, characterized in that in a power saving mode the time-of-flight sensor is operated with a control signal for motion detection, the frequency of which is lower than a lowest frequency of the modulation signal for a distance determination in the 3D mode, wherein an object motion is determined based on a differential value at the integration nodes is provided. | Robert Lange (Netphen, DE) | Pmdtechnologies Ag (DE) | 2013-12-11 | 2017-04-18 | G01S7/48, G01S17/08, G01S17/36, G01S17/89 | 14/652132 |
| 288 | 9612327 | Methods and apparatus for persistent deployment of aerial vehicles | Methods and apparatus are disclosed for persistent deployment of aerial vehicles. The present application discloses a mission control system that is configured to control and manage one or more aerial vehicles for deployment to and from one or more docking stations. The one or more docking stations may be configured with a battery swapping device for removing the depleted battery from an aerial vehicle and for refilling a charged battery into the aerial vehicle. The mission control system may be configured to generate a priority list used to determine the recharging order of the one or more aerial vehicles. | Richard Yang Zhang (Belle Mead, NJ), Andy Wu (Lexington, MA) | Identified Technologies Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA) | 2014-02-28 | 2017-04-04 | G01S13/88, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, B64F1/02, G08G5/00, G05D1/00, B64F1/28, G05B19/00, A61M5/20, B64F1/22, H04B7/185, B64F1/12 | 14/193110 |
| 289 | 9608756 | Concurrent airborne communication methods and systems | Aircrafts or unmanned air vehicles flying near Earth are used as airborne communications towers or relays. Using techniques of ground based beam forming and wavefront multiplexing enhance the ability to coherently combine the power of the communication signals, and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. | Donald C. D. Chang (Thousand Oaks, CA) | Spatial Digital Systems, Inc. (Agoura Hills, CA) | 2014-06-10 | 2017-03-28 | H04B7/185, H04J14/02, G01S13/93, H04B10/2581, B64C39/02, H04B7/204, H04L25/03, G01S7/00 | 14/300391 |
| 290 | 9607522 | Unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination | Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination. One of the methods includes determining, by an electronic system in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) , an estimated fuel remaining in the UAV. An estimated fuel consumption of the UAV is determined. Estimated information associated with wind affecting the UAV is determined using information obtained from sensors included in the UAV. Estimated flights times remaining for a current path, and one or more alternative flight paths, are determined using the determined estimated fuel remaining, determined estimated fuel consumption, determined information associated wind, and information describing each flight path. In response to the electronic system determining that the estimated fuel remaining, after completion of the current flight path, would be below a first threshold, an alternative flight path is selected. | Jonathan Downey (San Francisco, CA), Bernard J. Michini (San Francisco, CA), Joseph Moster (San Francisco, CA), Donald Curry Weigel (Los Altos, CA), James Ogden (Tracy, CA) | Unmanned Innovation, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) | 2016-05-18 | 2017-03-28 | G06F7/00, H04W12/06, G05D1/10, G07C5/02, G05D1/02, H04W48/02, G07C5/08, G07C5/00, H04W4/02, G05D1/00, G05D3/00, G01S13/00, G08G5/00, B64C39/02, G01S1/00, G06F19/00, G01S19/14 | 15/158009 |
| 291 | 9607447 | Automated transmission of aircraft anomalous incident data via preferred transmission modes | This disclosure is directed to techniques for automated transmission of surveillance incident data or other anomalous incident data from an aircraft via a preferred transmission mode. An example method includes detecting, by a processing device onboard an aircraft, an anomalous incident involving the aircraft that qualities for reporting relative to a set of anomalous incident reporting criteria. The method further includes identifying, by the processing device, data onboard the aircraft relevant to the anomalous incident. The method further includes detecting that the aircraft is in a status that makes available a selected data transmission mode for transmitting the data relevant to the anomalous incident. The method further includes communicating the data relevant to the anomalous incident to a transmission system for transmission from the aircraft via the selected data transmission mode in response to detecting that the aircraft is in the status that makes available the selected data transmission mode. | Scott R. Gremmert (Redmond, WA), Stephen Wilmot (Monroe, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-03-31 | 2017-03-28 | G01S17/00, G07C5/00, G01S13/95, G01S17/93 | 14/675317 |
| 292 | 9606028 | Aerial water sampler | In one aspect, a vehicle includes an aerial propulsion system, an altitude sensor system, a water sampling system, and a control system. The water sampling system includes a water sampling extension configured to extend away from the vehicle, one or more water sample receptacles, and a water pump. The control system is configured to perform operations including: guiding, using the aerial propulsion system, the vehicle over a water source, causing, using sensor data from the altitude sensor system, the vehicle to descend towards the water source so that the water sampling extension contacts the water source, and causing, using the water sampling system, the water pump to pump water from the water source into the one or more water sample receptacles through the water sampling extension while the vehicle is in flight over the water source. | Carrick Detweiller (Lincoln, NE), John-Paul Ore (Seward, NE), Baoliang Zhao (Lincoln, NE), Sebastian Elbaum (Lincoln, NE) | Nutech Ventures (Lincoln, NE) | 2015-02-13 | 2017-03-28 | B64C29/00, G01N1/10, G01N1/14, G05D1/10, G01S15/02, B64C39/02, G05D1/04, G01S15/08, G01N1/02 | 14/621733 |
| 293 | 9599712 | Method and time-of-flight camera for providing distance information | The invention relates to a method for providing distance information of a scene with a time-of-flight camera (1) , comprising the steps of emitting a modulated light pulse towards the scene, receiving reflections of the modulated light pulse from the scene, evaluating a time-of-flight information for the received reflections of the modulated light pulse, and deriving distance information from the time-of-flight information for the received reflections, whereby a spread spectrum signal is applied to a base frequency of the modulation of the light pulse, and the time-of-flight information is evaluated under consideration of the a spread spectrum signal applied to the base frequency of the modulation of the light pulse. The invention further relates to a time-of-flight camera (1) for providing distance information from a scene, whereby the time-of-flight camera (1) performs the above method. | Ward Van Der Tempel (Muizen, BE), Riemer Grootjans (Antwerp, BE) | Softkinetic Sensors Nv (Brussels, BE) | 2012-07-12 | 2017-03-21 | G01C3/08, G01S17/10, G01S7/484, G05D13/08 | 14/232518 |
| 294 | 9589472 | Runway incursion detection and indication using an electronic flight strip system | An electronic flight strip system and method of detecting and indicating runway incursions are disclosed. One such method receives an aircraft location, compares the location to a geofenced area, and generates an indication on the touchscreen display in response to the aircraft location being within the geofenced area without an indication of clearance to enter the geofenced area. The indication may be part of the electronic flight strip associated with the offending aircraft. | Herbert L. Resnick (Needham, MA), Colin R. Greenlaw (Marlborough, MA), Kevin M. Graue (Lowell, MA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2014-09-23 | 2017-03-07 | G08G5/00, G08G5/06, H04W4/02, G08G5/04, G01S13/91 | 14/493989 |
| 295 | 9581681 | Method and apparatus for processing coded aperture radar (CAR) signals | A radar system in which Coded Aperture Radar processing is performed on received radar signals reflected by one or more objects in a field of view which reflect a transmitted signal which covers a field of view with K sweeps and each sweep including Q frequency changes. for Type II CAR, the transmitted signal also includes N modulated codes per frequency step. The received radar signals are modulated by a plurality of binary modulators the results of which are applied to a mixer. The output of the mixer, for one acquisition results in a set of QK (for Type I CAR) or QKN (for Type II CAR) complex data samples, is distributed among a number of digital channels, each corresponding to a desired beam direction. for each channel, the complex digital samples are multiplied, sample by sample, by a complex signal mask that is different for each channel. | Jonathan J. Lynch (Oxnard, CA), Zhiwei A. Xu (Irvine, CA), Yen-Cheng Kuan (Los Angeles, CA) | Hrl Laboratories, Llc (Malibu, CA) | 2014-12-04 | 2017-02-28 | G01S13/72, G01S7/28, G01S13/536, G01S13/02, G01S7/02, G01S13/34, G01S13/44, G01S13/94, G01S13/88, G01S7/35, G01S13/93 | 14/561111 |
| 296 | 9578311 | Time of flight depth camera | A method for operating a time of flight (TOF) depth camera is provided. The method includes, using an image processing module, interpolating an updated timing delay calibration for each of a plurality of pixel sensors based at least on an updated set of modulation frequency and duty cycle calibration combinations received by the image processing module, the plurality of pixel sensors coupled to a timing clock, and receiving light generated by a light source and reflected in a 3-dimensional environment, the updated set of modulation frequency and duty cycle calibration combinations replacing the corresponding factory-preloaded timing delay calibrations. The method further includes applying the updated timing delay calibrations to pixel data corresponding to each of the plurality of the pixel sensors to generate a depth map of the 3-dimensional environment. | Michael Anthony Hall (Bellevue, WA), Mirko Schmidt (San Francisco, CA), Travis Perry (Menlo Park, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2014-10-22 | 2017-02-21 | H04N13/02, G06F3/01, G06T7/00, H04N5/225, G01S7/497, G01S7/491, G01S17/89, G01S17/36, G01S17/10, G01S7/00, G01S7/481 | 14/521145 |
| 297 | 9576449 | Door and window contact systems and methods that include time of flight sensors | Systems and methods that address the gap, security, and robustness limitations of known door and window contact systems and methods without increasing the overall cost thereof are provided. A system can include a time of flight sensor for mounting in or on a first portion of a window unit or a door unit and a microcontroller unit in communication with the time of flight sensor. The sensor can measure a time for a signal to travel from the sensor to a second portion of the window unit or the door unit and back to the sensor, the sensor can transmit the measured time to the microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit can use the measured time to make a security determination. | Richard Alan Smith (Sunriver, OR) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2015-06-03 | 2017-02-21 | G08B13/08, G01S13/88 | 14/729586 |
| 298 | 9575175 | System for protecting an airborne platform against collisions | Systems and methods for protecting an airborne platform against collisions are provided. One system includes FMCW radar sensors including transmitting antennae, means for receiving signals from echoes and for processing and digitizing same, and means for sending a central unit data representing said digital signals via a dedicated point to point link. The central unit includes means for processing said data to detect obstacles, means for calculating parameters for each obstacle including its radial velocity, distance range and azimuth, and means to transmit an avionic system of said platform data representing said detected obstacles and parameters. The system further includes means for guaranteeing that said emitted signals are shifted in time to create a shift in frequency guaranteeing that the radar sensors operate in the whole frequency band without perturbing each other. | Reindert Grooters (Amsterdam, NL), Arnoldus Petrus Maria Maas (The Hague, NL), Pascal Olive (Toulouse, FR), Sebastien Mazuel (Toulouse, FR), Didier Marchetti (Ramonville Saint Agne, FR), Eric Itcia (Toulouse, FR) | Rockwell Collins France (Blagnac, FR), Nederlandse Organisatic Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzock Tno (Delft NL) | 2013-08-27 | 2017-02-21 | G01S13/93, G01S7/02, G01S7/40, G01S13/34 | 14/011407 |
| 299 | 9575171 | Single antenna altimeter | A radio altimeter with at least one transmitting antenna and at least one receiving antenna in a single housing reduces coupling with antennae housings shaped to deflect electromagnetic signals, and spacing between the antennae based on the phase of the transmitting signal. Coupling of less than -40 dB is filtered by software using adaptive leakage cancelling. | Howard Tetrault (Melbourne, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2012-01-27 | 2017-02-21 | G01S13/08, G01S13/88, G01S13/46 | 13/359655 |
| 300 | 9572549 | Calibration of multiple aperture ultrasound probes | The quality of ping-based ultrasound imaging is dependent on the accuracy of information describing the precise acoustic position of transmitting and receiving transducer elements. Improving the quality of transducer element position data can substantially improve the quality of ping-based ultrasound images, particularly those obtained using a multiple aperture ultrasound imaging probe, i.e., a probe with a total aperture greater than any anticipated maximum coherent aperture width. Various systems and methods for calibrating element position data for a probe are described. | Artem Belevich (San Jose, CA), Josef R. Call (Campbell, CA), Bruce R. Ritzi (Sunnyvale, CA), Nathan W. Osborn (Palo Alto, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2013-08-12 | 2017-02-21 | G01S15/00, A61B8/00, A61B6/00, A61B8/12 | 13/964701 |
| 301 | 9561865 | Systems and methods for improving positional awareness within an airport moving map | Systems and methods for displaying a location reference indicator (LRI) associated with an ownship icon are provided. In various embodiments, an airport moving map (AMM) is displayed, and the ownship icon is displayed in the AMM, where the ownship icon represents the ownship. A degree of zoom of the AMM is determined. In response to a determination that the degree of zoom is not within a range of center referenced threshold values, a first LRI is displayed that indicates that the icon representing the ownship is not to scale with other objects displayed in the AMM. In response to a determination that the degree of zoom is within the range of center referenced threshold values, a second LRI is displayed. | Tomas Marczi (Beroun, CZ), Jan Flasar (Brno, CZ), Juliana Sevcikova (Brno, CZ), Christine Marie Haissig (Chanhassen, MN), Stephen Whitlow (St. Louis Park, MN), Kevin J Conner (Kent, WA), John Howard Glover (Seattle, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-02-16 | 2017-02-07 | B64D45/00, G06F3/14, G01S7/22, G08G5/00, G08G5/06, G08G5/04, G01S13/93, G01S13/91 | 14/623004 |
| 302 | 9557416 | System and method for graphically displaying neighboring rotorcraft | A system and method is provided that displays graphical symbology that enables a pilot to rapidly discern (1) that a neighboring aircraft is a rotorcraft, and (2) whether the rotorcraft is hovering. The provided system and method enables a user to define hovering, by editing a position change (distance) within a predetermined time. | Subash Samuthirapandian (Tamilnadu, IN), Mohammed Ibrahim Mohideen (Karnataka, IN), Elsa Mary Sebastian (Karnataka, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2014-10-14 | 2017-01-31 | G01S13/93, G01C23/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/02, G01S7/22 | 14/513777 |
| 303 | 9557409 | Method of system compensation to reduce the effects of self interference in frequency modulated continuous wave altimeter systems | An altimeter system is provided. The altimeter system includes a receiver mixer including an antenna-input and a local-oscillator-input, a transceiver circulator communicatively coupled to an antenna via a transmission line having a selected length and communicatively coupled to the antenna-input of the receiver mixer, and a transmitter configured to output a transmitter signal to the antenna via the transceiver circulator. The transmitter signal is frequency modulated with a linear ramp. The transmitter is communicatively coupled to the receiver mixer to input a local oscillator signal at the local-oscillator-input of the receiver mixer. The receiver mixer is communicatively coupled to input a target-reflected signal from the antenna at the antenna-input of the receiver mixer. The selected length of the transmission line is set so that a composite-leakage signal at the antenna-input of the receiver mixer has a linear phase across a sweep bandwidth. | Paul David Ferguson (Redmond, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2016-01-26 | 2017-01-31 | G01S7/03, G01S13/88, G01S13/32, G01S7/02, G01S13/34 | 15/006766 |
| 304 | 9551790 | Aircraft enhanced reference system and method | A method including placing first and second measurement devices proximate first and second aircraft doors, respectively, and determining a first position of the second measurement device relative to a second position of the first measurement device. The method includes placing first and second pluralities of reflective devices inside the aircraft proximate the first and second doors, respectively. The method includes measuring first and second distances from the first and second measurement devices to the first and second pluralities of reflective devices, respectively, and measuring second distances from the second measurement device to the second plurality of reflective devices. Based on a determined position of the second measurement device and further based on the first distances and second distances, third distances are determined between each of the first and second pluralities of reflective devices. The third distances provide a measurement baseline for points on a fuselage and wings. | Bobby Joe Marsh (Lake Stevens, WA), Michael Anthony Lazar (Arlington, WA), Kinson D. Vanscotter (West Richland, WA), Barry Theophile Cooke (Black Diamond, WA), Leonard S. Bodziony (Seattle, WA), Richard M. Coleman (Renton, WA), Michael Marcus Vander Wel (Lynwood, WA), Andrew S. Olson (Snohomish, WA), Douglas V. Dorsey (Hansville, WA), Orval Marion Nobles (Dittmer, MO) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2014-05-02 | 2017-01-24 | G01C3/08, B64F5/00, G01S17/66, G01S7/48, G01S17/87, G01S17/08, G01S17/88, G01B11/00 | 14/268841 |
| 305 | 9547993 | Automated aircraft ground threat avoidance system | This disclosure is directed to methods, systems, and computer program products for automated avoidance of ground threats by an aircraft. In one example, a method includes determining, by one or more processing devices, whether a sufficient evasive maneuver for an aircraft to avoid a detected ground surface threat is performed via pilot controls of the aircraft within a selected threshold after an alert of the ground surface threat is outputted via one or more cockpit systems of the aircraft. The method further includes, in response to determining that a sufficient evasive maneuver via the pilot controls is not performed within the selected threshold, controlling, by the one or more processing devices, one or more flight systems of the aircraft to perform an automated evasive maneuver to avoid the ground surface threat. | Ratan Khatwa (Sammamish, WA), Jayasenthilnathan B (Bangalore, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-02-23 | 2017-01-17 | G08G5/06, G01S13/93, B64D45/04, G05D1/00, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G01S19/51 | 14/629017 |
| 306 | 9547081 | Synthetic-aperture-radar apparatus and method for production of synthetic-aperture-radar images of moving objects | A SAR apparatus including: a radar transceiver to emit electromagnetic pulses and to provide a radar signal in response to echoes of the electromagnetic pulses, and a processing unit, configured to produce SAR images of moving objects from the radar signal. The processing unit includes: a first processing module to apply translational motion compensation to a central reference point of a moving object in a subaperture of the radar signal, a second processing module, to execute phase compensation with the single central reference point as reference, and a third processing module to apply phase compensation to the radar signal as a function of an estimated phase component the auxiliary point and of a normalization parameter to a distance in range between the central reference point and the auxiliary point. | Angelo Aprile (Glussago, IT) | Selex Es S.P.A. (IT) | 2012-12-28 | 2017-01-17 | G01S13/90 | 14/369685 |
| 307 | 9542782 | Aircraft landing and takeoff logging system | An aircraft logging system is disclosed. The aircraft logging system may be mounted on an aircraft and may be configured to generate a log of aircraft landing, takeoff or both. The aircraft logging system may have an independent power supply and may be electrically decoupled from the aircraft on which it is mounted. The aircraft logging system may include a sensor, such as an altimeter, that enables identifying the occurrence of a landing using emitted signals. The aircraft logging system includes a positioning device configured to provide a position measurement. | Justin James Blank, Sr. (Eagle River, AK) | --- | 2014-08-25 | 2017-01-10 | G07C5/08, G01S17/88, G01S17/93, G01S19/45, G01S17/08, G01S19/01 | 14/467647 |
| 308 | 9542749 | Fast general multipath correction in time-of-flight imaging | Fast general multipath correction in time of flight imaging is described, for example, to obtain accurate depth maps at frame rate from a time of flight camera. In various embodiments accurate depth maps are calculated by looking up corrected depth values stored in a look up table. In various embodiments the corrected depth values are highly accurate as they take into account three or more possible light ray paths between the camera and a surface in a scene being imaged. In an example accurate depth maps are computed at a frame rate of a time of flight camera. In an example accurate depth maps are computed in less than 30 milliseconds for an image having over 200,000 pixels using a standard CPU. | Daniel Freedman (Zikhron Ya'aqov, IL), Eyal Krupka (Shimshit, IL), Yoni Smolin (Haifa, IL), Ido Leichter (Haifa, IL), Mirko Schmidt (San Francisco, CA) | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc (Redmond, WA) | 2014-01-06 | 2017-01-10 | G06K9/00, G01S7/497, G01S17/89, G01S17/36, G06T7/00, H04N13/00, H04N13/02 | 14/148184 |
| 309 | 9538162 | Synthesis system of time-of-flight camera and stereo camera for reliable wide range depth acquisition and method therefor | Provided is a synthesis system of a time-of-flight (ToF) camera and a stereo camera for reliable wide range depth acquisition and a method therefor. The synthesis system may estimate an error per pixel of a depth image, may calculate a value of a maximum distance multiple per pixel of the depth image using the error per pixel of the depth image, a left color image, and a right color image, and may generate a reconstructed depth image by conducting phase unwrapping on the depth image using the value of the maximum distance multiple per pixel of the depth image. | Ouk Choi (Yongin-si, KR), Seung Kyu Lee (Seoul, KR) | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Gyeonggi-Do, KR) | 2013-02-28 | 2017-01-03 | H04N13/02, G01S17/36, G06T7/00, G01S17/02, G01S17/89 | 13/780555 |
| 310 | 9531081 | Reflector antenna for a synthetic aperture radar | A reflector antenna for synthetic aperture radar, having a reflector including a reflector surface, a vertex, and an optical axis. The reflector antenna also as a plurality of antenna elements arranged side by side and in a row, for transmitting radar transmission signals and receiving radar reception signals produced from a reflection on a surface. The reflector is designed as a one-dimensional defocused reflector having two focal planes. The optical axis coincides with the line of inter-section of two imaginary planes extending at right angles to one another. The reflector has, in a first (X-) plane, a first (X-) focal plane that extends at right angles thereto and to the optical axis, and, in a second (Y-) plane, a second (Y-) focal plane which extends at right angles thereto and to the optical axis. The second (Y-) focal plane is at a greater distance from the vertex than the first (X-) focal plane. | Sigurd Huber (Munich, DE), Gerhard Krieger (Gauting, DE), Marwan Younis (We.beta.ling, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 2012-07-17 | 2016-12-27 | H01Q21/00, H01Q5/45, H01Q3/26, H01Q15/16, H01Q19/17, G01S13/90 | 14/233816 |
| 311 | 9530323 | Aircraft systems and methods to monitor proximate traffic | An aircraft system for an own-ship aircraft includes an ADS-B unit configured to receive ADS-B messages with flight information from other aircraft over a plurality of time periods, the other aircraft including a first aircraft. The system further includes a database configured to store at least a portion of the flight information associated with the other aircraft over the plurality of time periods. The system further includes a processing unit configured to compare the flight information for a current time period to the flight information for a previous time period to identify missing flight information from the current time period relative to the previous time period, the missing flight information including the flight information associated with the first aircraft, and initiate an annunciation to an operator of the own-ship aircraft based on the missing flight information associated with the first aircraft. | Sanjib Kumar Maji (Karnataka, IN), Satyanarayan Kar (Karnataka, IN), Sandeep Chakraborty (West Bengal, IN), Jitender Kumar Agarwal (UttarPradesh, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-07-15 | 2016-12-27 | G08G5/00, G01S13/06 | 14/800179 |
| 312 | 9526475 | Point source transmission and speed-of-sound correction using multi-aperture ultrasound imaging | A Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging system and methods of use are provided with any number of features. In some embodiments, a multi-aperture ultrasound imaging system is configured to transmit and receive ultrasound energy to and from separate physical ultrasound apertures. In some embodiments, a transmit aperture of a multi-aperture ultrasound imaging system is configured to transmit an omni-directional unfocused ultrasound waveform approximating a first point source through a target region. In some embodiments, the ultrasound energy is received with a single receiving aperture. In other embodiments, the ultrasound energy is received with multiple receiving apertures. Algorithms are described that can combine echoes received by one or more receiving apertures to form high resolution ultrasound images. Additional algorithms can solve for variations in tissue speed of sound, thus allowing the ultrasound system to be used virtually anywhere in or on the body. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2015-09-04 | 2016-12-27 | A61B8/14, G01S15/89, G01S7/52, A61B8/08, A61B8/00 | 14/846374 |
| 313 | 9523766 | Phase error correction in synthetic aperture imaging | A method for phase error correction in a synthetic aperture (SA) imaging system is configured to image a target region of a scene from a platform in relative movement with respect to the scene. The method includes acquiring target SA data from the target region and reference SA data from a reference region of the scene, using a SA acquisition unit. One or more phase correction factors are determined from the reference SA data based on an assumption that the reference region has a known topography. The phase correction factors are representative of uncompensated optical-path-length fluctuations along the optical path between the reference region and the SA acquisition unit mounted on the platform. A phase correction is applied to the target SA data based on the phase correction factors so as to obtain phase-corrected target SA data. A SA imaging system implementing the method is also disclosed. | Simon Turbide (Quebec, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, Quebec, CA) | 2014-09-19 | 2016-12-20 | G01S7/497, G01S7/481, G01S7/491, G01S17/32, G01S17/89, G01S7/493 | 14/490826 |
| 314 | 9523765 | Pixel-level oversampling for a time of flight 3D image sensor with dual range measurements | A time of flight pixel cell includes a photosensor to sense photons reflected from an object. Pixel support circuitry including charging control logic is coupled to the photosensor to detect when the photosensor senses the photons reflected from the object, and coupled to receive timing signals representative of when light pulses are emitted from a light source. A controllable current source is coupled to receive a time of flight signal form the charging control logic to provide a charge current when a light pulse emitted from the light source until the photosensor senses a respective one of the photons reflected from the object. A capacitor is coupled to receive the charge current, and a voltage on the capacitor is representative of a round trip distance to the object. A reset circuit is coupled to reset the voltage on the capacitor after being charged a plurality number of times. | Tianjia Sun (Santa Clara, CA), Rui Wang (San Jose, CA), Tiejun Dai (Santa Clara, CA) | Omnivision Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) | 2014-07-14 | 2016-12-20 | G01C3/08, G01S7/486, G01S17/10, G01S17/89 | 14/330212 |
| 315 | 9507019 | Method for acquiring and tracking an in-flight target | A method for acquiring and tracking an in-flight or airborne target using an antenna is provided. In the acquisition process, the antenna is rotated to collect RF power data. The location of peak RF power is determined and the antenna is pointed to that location. The antenna may then undergo a search pattern on either side of that location to detect a specified drop in RF power and a modem on which to lock. In the tracking process, an algorithm allows the antenna to track the target in a pure RF mode, a GPS-based open loop pointing mode or a hybrid mode. The tracking may automatically switch between the pure RF mode and the hybrid mode, depending upon whether GPS data is available from the target. | Scott M. Lyon (South Weber, UT), Jonathan R. Lawton (Provo, UT), Joshua R. Warr (South Jordan, UT), Richard A. Vester (Olathe, KS) | L-3 Communications Corp. (New York, NY) | 2013-04-18 | 2016-11-29 | G01S5/02, G01S13/72 | 13/865929 |
| 316 | 9501936 | Aircraft systems and methods for displaying spacing information | A display system for a subject aircraft is provided. The system includes a processing unit configured to receive air traffic spacing information associated with a lead aircraft and flight information associated with the subject aircraft and to generate display signals associated with the air traffic spacing information and the flight information, and a display unit coupled to the processing unit and configured to receive the display signals from the processing unit and to render a horizontal situation indicator with spacing symbology based on the air traffic spacing information and the flight information. | Helena Trefilova (Jihomoravsky kraj, CZ), Petr Casek (Jihomoravsky kraj, CZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2014-09-02 | 2016-11-22 | G01C21/00, G08G5/02, G01S13/93, G01C23/00, G08G5/00, B64D45/00 | 14/475067 |
| 317 | 9501055 | Methods and apparatuses for engagement management of aerial threats | Embodiments include engagement management systems and methods for managing engagement with aerial threats. Such systems include radar modules and detect aerial threats within a threat range of a base location. The systems also track intercept vehicles and control flight paths and detonation capabilities of the intercept vehicles. The systems are capable of communication between multiple engagement management systems and coordinated control of multiple intercept vehicles. | James Kolanek (Goleta, CA), Behshad Baseghi (Santa Barbara, CA), David Sharpin (Simi Valley, CA), Anthony Visco (Woodland Hills, CA), Falin Shieh (Calabasas, CA) | Orbital Atk, Inc. (Plymouth, MN) | 2013-03-15 | 2016-11-22 | F41H11/02, G05D1/00, F41G7/30, F42B15/01, G01S13/88 | 13/839176 |
| 318 | 9482552 | Method of simulating a real-time aircraft system input to an avionics component | A method of simulating a real-time aircraft system input to an avionics component for an aircraft includes receiving the simulation input and providing the simulated input to the avionics component. | Stephen Dabrowski (Kentwood, MI) | Ge Aviation Systems Llc (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2014-06-23 | 2016-11-01 | G01C23/00, G06F17/00, G01S15/87, G06F19/00, G07C5/00, B64D13/00, H04W8/18, G01S15/89, H04W8/20, G08G5/00 | 14/311436 |
| 319 | 9476979 | Method for evaluating position and motion using time of flight detectors | A method is for evaluating a coverage factor of a photon emission cone of a time of flight sensor. The method may include the steps of assigning a reference curve to the sensory providing a photon flux intensity as a function of time of flight, and acquiring a time of flight and a corresponding flux intensity with the sensor. The method may also include reading the intensity provided by the reference curve for the acquired time of flight, and providing an indication of the coverage factor based on the ratio between the acquired intensity and the read intensity. | Marc Drader (Lans en Vercors, FR), Jeremie Teyssier (Grenoble, FR) | Stmicroelectronics (GRENOBLE 2), Sas (Grenoble, FR) | 2014-11-26 | 2016-10-25 | G06M7/00, G06F3/03, G06F3/01, G01S7/497, G01S17/88, G01S17/08, G01S17/02, G01S17/06, G01S7/486 | 14/554134 |
| 320 | 9472111 | Augmented aircraft autobrake systems for preventing runway incursions, related program products, and related processes | Augmented autobrake systems useful in preventing accidents related to runway incursions are provided, as are related processes and program products. In one embodiment, the augmented autobrake system is deployed on an aircraft and utilized in conjunction with a Runway Warning and Status Lights (RWSL) system. The augmented autobrake system includes a wireless receiver configured to receive runway status data from the RWSL system, an aircraft brake mechanism, and a controller coupled to the wireless receiver and to the aircraft brake mechanism. The controller is configured to: (i) identify when the aircraft is projected to enter a runway incursion zone based at least in part upon the runway status data and vector data pertaining to the aircraft, and (ii) when the aircraft is projected to enter a runway incursion zone, commanding the aircraft brake mechanism to stop the aircraft prior to entry into the runway incursion zone. | Sreenivasa Kumar Chenna (Karnataka, IN), Nitinprasad S Nashimath (Karnataka, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2015-03-03 | 2016-10-18 | G08G5/06, B60T8/17, G08G5/00, G08G9/02, G01S13/93, G01S7/04 | 14/636354 |
| 321 | 9470794 | Aircraft collision warning system | An aircraft collision warning system includes an optical detection system has a toroidal and conical field of view about the aircraft to detect near objects. The detection system utilizes thermal detection in a passive mode. Optionally, the detection system also includes radio frequency (RF) elements to form a directional radar for improved object detection confidence. The radar is used in either a passive or active mode. The detection system includes a detector array to detect light from the toroidal-shaped and conical-shaped airspace. Data from the detector array is accumulated and analyzed for objects. Upon object detection, the object is tracked, kinetically assessed for collision with the aircraft, and reported to the pilot and/or auto-pilot system. The detection system is configured as a non-cooperative system that stares into the toroidal and conical field of view. | Gregory Johnston (San Jose, CA), James Bowlby (San Jose, CA) | Jetprotect Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2013-11-12 | 2016-10-18 | G01C3/08, G01S17/93, G01S13/93 | 14/078400 |
| 322 | 9470786 | Methods for detecting the flight path of projectiles | Methods for detecting the flight path of projectiles involve a sequence of N target detections that include detecting the measured velocities and azimuthal angle bearings of the projectile along the flight path of the projectile by Doppler radar at the times tn, wherein n=1 . . . N, and determining the flight path and the direction of motion of the projectile are from these measurements. The measurements are adapted in a first nonlinear parameter fit to an analytical relationship of the time curve of the radial velocity of the projectile while the projectile passes through the detection range of the radar and so that the absolute projectile velocity, minimum distance of the project flight path from the radar, time at which the projectile passes the point having the minimum distance, flight path direction in azimuth, and flight path direction in elevation can be estimated. | Robert Schneider (Burgrieden, DE), Georg Weiss (Kipfenberg, DE), Wilhelm Gruener (Ulm, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2012-02-29 | 2016-10-18 | G01S13/58, G01S13/50, G01S13/72, G01S13/44 | 14/002618 |
| 323 | 9465111 | Time-of-flight camera with signal path monitoring | A time-of-flight camera, having a time-of-flight sensor, which has at least one receiving pixel and is configured as a photomixing detector, having an illumination means, and having a modulator, which is connected to the time-of-flight sensor and to the illumination means, wherein a control sensor is arranged in the region of the illumination means such that at least some of the radiation emitted by the illumination means can be received by the control sensor is provided. | Ralph Wilks (Meckenbeuren, DE), Bernd Damhofer (Tettnang, DE) | Ifm Electronic Gmbh (DE) | 2012-08-03 | 2016-10-11 | H04N7/18, G01S7/491, G01S17/89, G01S17/36, G01S7/497 | 14/127665 |
| 324 | 9449227 | Systems and methods for creating an aerial image | Systems/apparatuses and methods are provided for creating aerial images. A three-dimensional point cloud image is generated from an optical distancing system. Additionally, at least one two-dimensional street level image is generated from at least one camera. The three-dimensional point cloud image is colorized with the at least one two-dimensional street level image, thereby forming a colorized three-dimensional point cloud image. The colorized three-dimensional point cloud image is projected onto a two-dimensional plane, using a processor, thereby forming a synthetic aerial image. | Xin Chen (Evanston, IL), Roman Ostrovskiy (Prospect Heights, IL), Xiang Ma (Chicago, IL) | Here Global B.V. (Eindhoven, NL) | 2014-01-08 | 2016-09-20 | G06K9/00, G06T17/05, G06T19/20, G01S17/89 | 14/150147 |
| 325 | 9447773 | Arrangement to measure the deflection of a blade of a wind turbine | An arrangement to measure deflection of a blade of a wind turbine is provided. A transmitter is arranged close to the tip end of the blade, while a receiver is arranged close to the root end of the blade. The transmitter and receiver are prepared for a wireless transfer of a monitoring signal, which is sent from the transmitter to the receiver. A monitoring system is arranged close to the root end of the blade. The monitoring system is adapted to generate the monitoring signal. The monitoring system is connected with the transmitter by a cable-bound communication line, thus the monitoring signal is transferred from the monitoring system to the transmitter. The monitoring system is connected with the receiver, thus the monitoring signal is transferred from the receiver to the monitoring system. The monitoring system is adapted to determine the deflection of the blade based on the transferred monitoring signal. | Per Egedal (Herning, DK), Jesper Winther Staerdahl (Sunds, DE), Andreas Ziroff (Munich, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE) | 2014-02-16 | 2016-09-20 | G01S7/40, F03D7/06, G01B15/06, G01S13/08 | 14/181689 |
| 326 | 9442195 | Power efficient pulsed laser driver for time of flight cameras | A time of flight camera device comprises an light source for illuminating an environment including an object with light of a first wavelength, an image sensor for measuring time the light has taken to travel from the light source to the object and back, optics for gathering reflected light from the object and imaging the environment onto the image sensor, driver electronics for controlling the light source with a high speed signal at a clock frequency, and a controller for calculating the distance between the object and the illumination unit. To minimize power consumption and resulting heat dissipation requirements, the light source/driver electronics are operated at their resonant frequency. Ideally, the driver electronics includes a reactance adjuster for changing a resonant frequency of the illumination unit and driver electronics system. | An-Chun Tien (San Jose, CA), Lucas Morales (San Francisco, CA), Vincent V. Wong (Los Altos, CA) | Lumentum Operations Llc (Milpitas, CA) | 2013-10-11 | 2016-09-13 | G01C3/08, G01S17/08, G01S17/89, G01S7/491 | 14/051986 |
| 327 | 9441610 | Method of stabilizing a power grid and providing a synthetic aperture radar using a radar wind turbine | A blade mounted radar system comprises a wind turbine having a hub and blades extending therefrom, a radar antenna configured to transmit and/or receive a radio frequency (RF) signal, and a processor in electrical communication with the radar antenna and configured to generate the RF signal for transmission and/or to process the received RF signal. The radar antenna is affixed to one of the blades of the wind turbine such that relative motion is defined between the radar antenna and a target within a line of sight of the radar antenna. The problem of the ground based radar line of sight being obscured by the wind turbine is mitigated in this setup, as radar and turbine coexist in the same structure. Improved performance and additional capability are enabled by elevated installation and vertical SAR imaging capability. Doppler capabilities are extended using known motion of the antenna relative to stationary objects. | Svetlana M. Bachmann (Liverpool, NY), Elliott Reitz (Liverpool, NY) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2015-09-08 | 2016-09-13 | G01S13/95, F03D7/02, F03D1/06, F03D7/04, G01S13/60, G01S7/00, G01S13/90 | 14/847242 |
| 328 | 9435891 | Time of flight camera with stripe illumination | A time of flight (TOF) based camera system includes an illumination module that illuminates only portion of the sensor's field of view that translates to a given region of the pixels of the imaging sensor. The acquired data of the pixel region is processed and/or readout, typically. After the exposure time of the first pixel region is completed, a second pixel region is illuminated and the second pixel region is processed. This procedure can be repeated a couple of times up to a few hundred even thousand times until the entire pixel array is readout and possibly read-out a number of times. The full depth image is then reconstructed based on the results from the different pixel region acquisitions. This system can be used to reduce stray light. Compared to state-of-the-art TOF camera, the presented method and device show improvements in background light stability and a reduction in multiple reflections. | Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2013-02-15 | 2016-09-06 | G01C3/08, G01S17/89 | 13/767953 |
| 329 | 9433065 | Lighting system including time of flight ranging system | A lighting system includes a light emitting diode array, and a time of flight ranging system. A logic circuit determines a distance to an object using the time of flight ranging system and controls the light emitting diode array based upon the distance to the object. A receptacle is coupled to the logic circuit, and sized and configured to fit within and be powered from a light bulb socket. In some applications, the logic circuit may activate the light emitting diode array when the object is less than a threshold distance away from the lighting system and deactivate the light emitting diode array when the object is greater than the threshold distance away from the lighting system. In further applications, the logic circuit may activate the light emitting diode array at a duty cycle that varies based upon the distance to the object. | Jeffrey M. Raynor (Edinburgh, GB) | Stmicroelectronics (Research & Development), Limited (Marlow, Buckinghamshire, GB) | 2014-11-05 | 2016-08-30 | H05B37/02, G01S17/88, G01S17/08 | 14/533634 |
| 330 | 9429945 | Surveying areas using a radar system and an unmanned aerial vehicle | System and methods for surveying areas using a radar system and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are described herein. for example, one or more embodiments include detecting an event in the area using movement measurements from a radar system, wherein the radar system transmits electromagnetic radiation waves to capture the movement measurements in the area, and determining geographic information system (GIS) coordinates of a location of the event. Further, one or more embodiments can include navigating an UAV to the location substantially autonomously using the GIS coordinates of the location of the event and capturing a second number of images of the location using the UAV. | Uday K. Pulleti (Machilipatnam, IN), Patrick Gonia (Maplewood, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2014-10-22 | 2016-08-30 | G01S13/50, H04N1/00, G01S13/86, G05D1/00, G05D23/19, G01S13/88 | 14/521199 |
| 331 | 9420994 | Method and apparatus to produce ultrasonic images using multiple apertures | A combination of an ultrasonic scanner and an omnidirectional receive transducer for producing a two-dimensional image from received echoes is described. Two-dimensional images with different noise components can be constructed from the echoes received by additional transducers. These can be combined to produce images with better signal to noise ratios and lateral resolution. Also disclosed is a method based on information content to compensate for the different delays for different paths through intervening tissue is described. The disclosed techniques have broad application in medical imaging but are ideally suited to multi-aperture cardiac imaging using two or more intercostal spaces. Since lateral resolution is determined primarily by the aperture defined by the end elements, it is not necessary to fill the entire aperture with equally spaced elements. Multiple slices using these methods can be combined to form three-dimensional images. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2015-06-29 | 2016-08-23 | A61B8/14, G01S7/52, A61B8/00, A61B8/08, G01S15/89, A61B5/00 | 14/754422 |
| 332 | 9418562 | Onboard weather radar flight strategy system with bandwidth management | This disclosure is directed to devices, systems, and methods for enabling and operating an onboard weather display system with managed bandwidth. In one example, a method includes receiving, by a hub system, initial sets of data from one or more aircraft. The method further includes receiving secondary sets of data from the aircraft, wherein the secondary sets of data are related to a significant weather condition. The method further includes transmitting an initial data stream to a particular aircraft, wherein the initial data stream is based at least in part on the initial sets of data from the one or more aircraft. The method further includes transmitting, in response to a request from the particular aircraft, a secondary data stream based at least in part on the secondary sets of data related to the significant weather condition. | Petr Frolik (Prague, CZ), Michal Knotek (Brno, CZ) | Honeywell International Sarl (Rolle, CH) | 2014-04-24 | 2016-08-16 | G08G5/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/95, G01S7/20, G01S7/00, B64D45/00 | 14/261177 |
| 333 | 9417324 | Phase reference shift for SAR images generated from sub-aperture algorithms | Embodiments are directed to generating a plurality of sub-images associated with a target via a synthetic aperture radar, processing, by a processor, the sub-images using a sub-aperture algorithm to generate an intermediate image, and applying, by the processor, a phase shift to the intermediate image to generate an output image. | Michael Y. Jin (San Gabriel, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2014-02-14 | 2016-08-16 | G01S13/90 | 14/180700 |
| 334 | 9417323 | SAR point cloud generation system | The SAR Point Cloud Generation System processes synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired from multiple spatially separated SAR apertures in such a manner as to be able to calculate accurate three-dimensional positions of all of the scatterers within the imaged scene. No spatial averaging is applied thus preserving the high resolution of the original SAR data, and no phase unwrapping processes are required. The effects of height ambiguities are significantly reduced in the SAR Point Cloud Generation System. The SAR Point Cloud Generation System also self-filters against mixed-height pixels that can lead to incorrect height estimates. The system estimates scatterer height by a maximization of an Interferometric Response Function. | Richard E. Carande (Boulder, CO), David Cohen (Boulder, CO) | Neva Ridge Technologies (Boulder, CO) | 2013-11-06 | 2016-08-16 | G01S13/90 | 14/073664 |
| 335 | 9404997 | Communication station and method for time-of-flight positioning using cooperating stations | Embodiments of a communication station and method for time-of-flight (ToF) positioning in a wireless network are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a ToF cooperation table may be received by a positioning station from an access point. The ToF cooperation table may identify one or more cooperating stations and may include information about each cooperating station for ToF positioning. A ToF positioning protocol may be performed with at least some of the cooperating stations identified in the ToF cooperation table using the information in the ToF cooperation table. During the ToF positioning protocol, a current position and a station positional accuracy may be received from each cooperating station. The current position may be a position when ToF is measured. A location of the positioning station may be determined based on the current positions and the ranges to each of the cooperating stations determined from the ToF positioning protocol. | Yuval Amizur (Kfar-Saba, IL), Leor Banin (Petach Tikva, IL), Uri Schatzberg (Kiryat Ono, IL), Alexander Sirotkin (Tel-Aviv, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2013-03-08 | 2016-08-02 | G01S1/24, G01S5/00, G01S5/14, G01S13/87, G01S13/76 | 13/790432 |
| 336 | 9394059 | Method for monitoring autonomous accelerated aircraft pushback | A method for monitoring an autonomous accelerated pushback process in an aircraft equipped with an engines-off taxi system is provided to maximize safety and facilitate the accelerated pushback process. The aircraft is equipped with a monitoring system including a number of different kinds of sensors and monitoring devices positioned to maximally monitor the aircraft's exterior ground environment and communicate the presence or absence of obstructions in the aircraft's path while the pilot is controlling the engines-off taxi system to drive the aircraft in reverse away from a terminal gate and then turn in place at a selected location before driving forward to a taxiway. The sensors and monitoring devices may be a combination of cameras, ultrasound, global positioning, radar, and LiDAR or LADAR devices, and proximity sensors located at varying heights adapted to continuously or intermittently scan or sweep the aircraft exterior and ground environment during aircraft ground movement. | Isaiah W. Cox (London, GB), Jan Vana (Prague, CZ), Joseph J. Cox (Portland, OR), Stefan Kracht (Pullach, DE) | Borealis Technical Limited (Gibraltar, GI) | 2014-08-14 | 2016-07-19 | B64D45/00, G08G5/06, G05D1/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/86, G01S17/93, G01S15/93, B64C25/40, G08G5/00, G08G5/04 | 14/460299 |
| 337 | 9387930 | Stealth aerial vehicle | An aerial vehicle having a low radar signature includes a first side on which turbine openings, and payload bays or landing gear bays are disposed. A second side of the aerial vehicle is designed to have a smaller radar signature than the first side. | Jochen Dornwald (Munich, DE), Bartholomaeus Bichler (Raubling, DE) | Airbus Defence and Space Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2012-06-07 | 2016-07-12 | G01S13/88, B64C39/10, B64C39/02, B64D7/00, B64D7/06, B64D1/06, B64D27/14, B64C25/10 | 13/490593 |
| 338 | 9384668 | Transportation using network of unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy. | Andreas Raptopoulos (Palo Alto, CA), Darlene Damm (Mountain View, CA), Martin Ling (Edinburgh, GB), Ido Baruchin (San Francisco, CA) | Singularity University (Moffet Field, CA) | 2013-05-08 | 2016-07-05 | G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G08G5/04, G01S5/00, G08G5/02, G01S13/93, G01S13/94 | 13/890165 |
| 339 | 9384586 | Enhanced flight vision system and method with radar sensing and pilot monitoring display | An image processing system for enhanced flight vision includes a processor and memory coupled to the processor. The memory contains program instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to receive radar returns data for a runway structure, generate a three-dimensional model representative of the runway structure based on the radar returns data, generate a two-dimensional image of the runway structure from the three-dimensional model, and generate an aircraft situation display image representative of the position of the runway structure with respect to an aircraft based on the two-dimensional image. | Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA), Richard D. Jinkins (Rewey, WI), Richard M. Rademaker (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2014-06-10 | 2016-07-05 | G06T15/20, G01S13/95 | 14/301199 |
| 340 | 9377533 | Three-dimensional triangulation and time-of-flight based tracking systems and methods | A three-dimension position tracking system is presented. The system includes transmitters and receivers. A transmitter scans continuous or pulsed coherent light beams across a target. The receiver detects the reflected beams. The system recursively determines the location of the target, as a function of time, via triangulation and observation of the time-of-flight of the incoming and outgoing beams. The transmitter includes ultra-fast scanning optics to scan the receiver's field-of-view. The receiver includes arrays of ultra-fast photosensitive pixels. The system determines the angles of the incoming beams based on the line-of-sight of the triggered pixels. By observing the incoming angles and correlating timestamps associated with the outgoing and incoming beams, the system accurately, and in near real-time, determines the location of the target. By combining the geometry of the scattered beams, as well as the beams' time-of-flight, ambiguities inherent to triangulation and ambiguities inherent to time-of-flight location methods are resolved. | Gerard Dirk Smits (Los Gatos, CA) | --- | 2015-08-11 | 2016-06-28 | G01S3/08, G01S17/66, G01S7/481, G01S17/42, G01S17/48, G01S7/486, G01S17/10, G01S7/497 | 14/823668 |
| 341 | 9360556 | Methods and systems for detecting weather conditions including fog using vehicle onboard sensors | Methods and systems for detecting weather conditions including fog using vehicle onboard sensors are provided. An example method includes receiving laser data collected from scans of an environment of a vehicle, and associating, by a computing device, laser data points of with one or more objects in the environment. The method also includes comparing laser data points that are unassociated with the one or more objects in the environment with stored laser data points representative of a pattern due to fog, and based on the comparison, identifying by the computing device an indication that a weather condition of the environment of the vehicle includes fog. | Jiajun Zhu (Sunnyvale, CA), Dmitri Dolgov (Mountain View, CA), Dave Ferguson (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-02-05 | 2016-06-07 | G01S17/95, G01W1/00, B60W30/00, G01W1/02, G01S17/06, B60W50/14 | 14/614853 |
| 342 | 9354317 | Simultaneous forward and inverse synthetic aperture imaging LADAR | Devices and techniques for combined forward and inverse synthetic aperture imaging LADAR (combined SAL) include scanning a non-stationary target with an optical signal emitted from a non-stationary laser source, receiving reflections of the signal on a receiver, and determining the combined synthetic aperture. | Maurice J. Halmos (Encino, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2014-05-09 | 2016-05-31 | G01B11/26, G01S17/89, G01S17/50 | 14/274026 |
| 343 | 9352834 | Micro unmanned aerial vehicle and method of control therefor | A micro unmanned aerial vehicle or drone (''UAV'') 10 is remotely controlled through an HMI, although this remote control is supplemented by and selectively suppressed by an on-board controller. The controller operates to control the generation of a sonar bubble that generally encapsulates the UAV. The sonar bubble, which may be ultrasonic in nature, is produced by a multiplicity of sonar lobes generated by specific sonar emitters associated with each axis of movement for the UAV. The emitters produce individual and beamformed sonar lobes that partially overlap to provide stereo or bioptic data in the form of individual echo responses detected by axis-specific sonar detectors. In this way, the on-board controller is able to interpret and then generate 3-D spatial imaging of the physical environment in which the UAV is currently moving or positioned. The controller is therefore able to plot relative and absolute movement of the UAV through the 3-D space by recording measurements from on-board gyroscopes, magnetometers and accelerometers. Data from the sonar bubble can therefore both proactively prevent collisions with objects by imposing a corrective instruction to rotors and other flight control system and can also assess and compensate for sensor drift. | Barry Davies (South Glamorgan, GB) | Bcb International Ltd. (South Glamorgan, GB) | 2015-06-12 | 2016-05-31 | G05D1/10, G01S15/06, G01S15/93, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G05D1/02, G01S15/89, G01S15/88, B64C19/00 | 14/738467 |
| 344 | 9348022 | Identifying obstacles in a landing zone | Mechanisms for identifying obstacles in a landing zone are disclosed. A first polarization elevation angle matrix is generated based on reflected radar signals having a first polarization sense. A second polarization elevation angle matrix based on reflected radar signals having a second polarization sense that differs from the first polarization sense is generated. The first polarization elevation angle matrix and the second polarization elevation angle matrix are integrated to form an integrated elevation angle matrix that identifies first scatterers and second scatterers with respect to the landing zone. | Michael A. Tomcsak (Orlando, FL), Albert N. Pergande (Orlando, FL), Kenneth R. Hollon (Orlando, FL), Alexander T. Shepherd (Plant City, FL) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2013-12-16 | 2016-05-24 | G01S13/91, G01S13/44, G01S13/04, G01S13/93, G01S13/00 | 14/107659 |
| 345 | 9344705 | Time of flight camera with rectangular field of illumination | Improved field-of-illumination (FOI) and field-of-view (FOV) matching for 3D time-of-flight cameras is provided using light emitters with rectangular reflectors. A better adjustment of the FOI with the camera's FOV has the following advantages: optimal use of emitted light and reduced multi-path problems. Furthermore, embodiments bring the benefit for rather low-cost customization of the illumination to match the FOI to the specified FOV. | Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH), Michael Richter (Zufikon, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2014-06-27 | 2016-05-17 | H04N13/02, G01S7/481, G02B19/00, G02B5/09, H04N5/225, G01S17/93 | 14/316871 |
| 346 | 9341715 | Multi-level digital modulation for time of flight method and system | The modulation scheme disclosed in this invention report allows for utilizing multiple 3D time-of-flight cameras at the same time by exploiting the inherent pseudo noise properties of the optical modulation signals. Compared to recent systems based on pure pseudo noise modulation signals, the stochastic measurement error in a single-camera environment is significantly reduced. The basic concept relies on the generation of a three level optical modulation signal that includes two pseudo noise sequences. | Bernhard Buettgen (Adliswil, CH), Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2011-04-07 | 2016-05-17 | G01C3/08, G01S7/491, G01S17/89, H05B41/24, G01S7/481, G01S17/32 | 13/082000 |
| 347 | 9339256 | Determining material stiffness using multiple aperture ultrasound | Changes in tissue stiffness have long been associated with disease. Systems and methods for determining the stiffness of tissues using ultrasonography may include a device for inducing a propagating shear wave in tissue and tracking the speed of propagation, which is directly related to tissue stiffness and density. The speed of a propagating shear wave may be detected by imaging a tissue at a high frame rate and detecting the propagating wave as a perturbance in successive image frames relative to a baseline image of the tissue in an undisturbed state. In some embodiments, sufficiently high frame rates may be achieved by using a ping-based ultrasound imaging technique in which unfocused omni-directional pings are transmitted (in an imaging plane or in a hemisphere) into a region of interest. Receiving echoes of the omnidirectional pings with multiple receive apertures allows for substantially improved lateral resolution. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2013-02-21 | 2016-05-17 | A61B8/08, A61B8/14, A61B8/00, G03B42/06, G01S7/52, G01S15/89 | 13/773340 |
| 348 | 9335409 | Bistatic inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging | A bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging system and method include: combining each radar return pulse from airborne radar platforms with a sinusoid, deskewing each reduced radar return pulse, estimating motion parameters based on a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) , performing MLE motion correction to generate motion-corrected radar return pulses, acquiring position and velocity estimates of the airborne radar platforms and scattering locations, defining bistatic range and velocity vectors, defining new bistatic range and velocity vectors in a new set of orthogonal axes, projecting vector distance differences between the radar scattering locations along the new set of orthogonal axes to generate new range and velocity measurements along the new set of orthogonal axes, converting the new range and velocity measurements to map Doppler frequency into cross-range, and forming a bistatic SAR image in range and cross-range based on cross-range extent derived from the Doppler frequency mapping. | Theagenis J. Abatzoglou (Huntington Beach, CA), Johan E. Gonzalez (Carson, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2013-03-20 | 2016-05-10 | G01S13/89, G01S7/295, G01S13/90, G01S13/58 | 13/847764 |
| 349 | 9335220 | Calibration of time-of-flight measurement using stray reflections | Sensing apparatus includes a transmitter, which emits a beam comprising optical pulses toward a scene, and a receiver, which receives reflections of the optical pulses and outputs electrical pulses in response thereto. Processing circuitry is coupled to the receiver so as to receive, in response to each of at least some of the optical pulses emitted by the transmitter, a first electrical pulse output by the receiver at a first time due to stray reflection within the apparatus and a second electrical pulse output by the receiver at a second time due to the beam reflected from the scene, and to generate a measure of a time of flight of the optical pulses to and from points in the scene by taking a difference between the respective first and second times of output of the first and second electrical pulses. | Alexander Shpunt (Tel Aviv, IL), Raviv Erlich (Rehovot, IL) | Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA) | 2014-06-12 | 2016-05-10 | G01J11/00, G01S7/497, G01S7/481, G01S17/89, G02B5/18, G02B26/10 | 14/302447 |
| 350 | 9335127 | System and method for defense against radar homing missiles | A defensive interceptor missile is provided for defending a target against a radar-homing attack missile. A Missile Anti-Ship Kill Enhancement System (MASKES) comprises a defensive missile with digital RF memory device for (a) receiving radar signals from an attack missile, (b) processing received attack missile signals, and (c) transmitting amplified, Doppler shifted signals toward the attack missile such that the attack missile would interpret signals as being reflected off ship and target the source of the reflective signal, the defensive interceptor missile. | Jeffrey B. Boka (Lumberton, NJ), Joseph T. Corso (Riverton, NJ) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2012-07-11 | 2016-05-10 | F41H11/02, G01S7/38, F41G7/30, F41G7/22, G01S13/88, F41H11/00, G01S7/00 | 13/546722 |
| 351 | 9332246 | Time of flight camera unit and optical surveillance system | A time of flight, TOF, camera unit for an optical surveillance system and an optical surveillance system comprising such a TOF camera is disclosed. The TOF camera unit comprises a radiation emitting unit for illuminating a surveillance area defined by a first plane, a radiation detecting unit for receiving radiation reflected from said surveillance area and for generating a three-dimensional image from said detected radiation, and at least one mirror for at least partly deflecting said emitted radiation into at least one second plane extending across to said first plane and for deflecting the radiation reflected from said second plane to the radiation detecting unit. The TOF camera and the at least one mirror may be arranged on a common carrier element. | Carl Meinherz (Malans, CH) | Rockwell Automation Safety Ag (CH) | 2014-10-23 | 2016-05-03 | H04N13/02, G06T7/00, G01B11/24, G01B11/22, G01B11/245, G01S17/36, G01S17/89, G01S17/42, G01S17/87 | 14/522074 |
| 352 | 9329264 | SAR image formation | SAR imaging method that includes applying PRF decimation to range-compressed IQ data to generate PRF-decimated range-compressed IQ data for each image block of an image and applying motion compensation to the PRF-decimated range-compressed IQ data to generate motion-compensated data for each image block. The method includes computing first stage image values at image grid point intersections of iso-range lines and vertical grid lines for each image bock based on the motion-compensated data for each image block. The method also includes computing second stage image values for the image grid point intersections by interpolation using the first stage image values at the image grid point intersections and correcting image phase of the second stage image values for the image grid point intersections to generate phase-corrected image values for each image block. The method includes generating a full-resolution SAR image by summing the phase-corrected image values for each image block. | Michael Y. Jin (San Gabriel, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2013-02-15 | 2016-05-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/524, G01S13/00, G01S7/288 | 13/768046 |
| 353 | 9329045 | Method for determining a result path of an aircraft, associated device and computer program product | A method for determining a result path of an aircraft, the result path including a set of successive positions of the aircraft between an initial global point and a final global point that are predetermined for a mission of the aircraft is provided. The aircraft includes a plurality of calculating members, each able to guide the aircraft during at least part of the mission and to calculate an elementary path of the aircraft during that part, each elementary path including a set of successive positions of the aircraft between an initial elementary point and a final elementary point. The device includes calculating a portion of the result path from elementary paths coming from at least two distinct calculating members. | Francois Coulmeau (Seilh, FR), Arnaud Bonnafoux (Toulouse, FR), Nicolas Rossi (Toulouse, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2014-11-13 | 2016-05-03 | G01C21/00, G08G5/00, G06F19/00, G05D1/10, G08G5/04, G01S13/95 | 14/540756 |
| 354 | 9329035 | Method to compensate for errors in time-of-flight range cameras caused by multiple reflections | Due to their parallel illumination and acquisition for all the pixels, today's state-of-the-art time-of-flight (TOF) range cameras suffer from erroneous measurements caused by multiple reflections in the scene. The invention proposes to compensate for the multi-path fusing the results obtained by applying two spatially different illumination schemes, typically one to achieve highest possible lateral resolution and for the second one structuring the emitted light and by doing so lowering the lateral resolution but limiting the impact of multiple reflections. | Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH) | Heptagon Micro Optics Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 2012-12-12 | 2016-05-03 | G01C3/08, G01S17/36, G01S17/89, G01S7/491 | 13/712087 |
| 355 | 9325920 | Processing of time-of-flight signals | Described herein is a method and sensor of processing time-of-flight (TOF) signals in a TOF camera system including an illumination unit and an imaging sensor. The method comprises illuminating the scene with light at a first frequency, detecting reflected light from at least one object in the scene at the first frequency, and determining a phase measurement using I and Q values. In addition, the scene is illuminated with light at a second frequency, the second frequency being 2.sup.-n of the first frequency where n=1, 2, . . ., etc., and the signs of I and Q values for both the first and second frequencies is used to determine the presence of aliasing in the phase measurement so that it can be corrected. The phase measurement is then corrected for aliasing and the effective range of the TOF camera system is extended by multiples of 2n. In addition, relative signal strength needs to be considered in accordance with the reflectivity of objects within the scene. for a reflectivity of 4% and no aliasing, the ability to detect an object decreases with distance (30) . for an aliased phase measurement for an object with a reflectivity of 100%, the ability to detect the object is substantially constant (35) . | Daniel Van Nieuwenhove (Brussels, BE), Tomas Van Den Hauwe (Aalst, BE), Reimer Grootjans (Antwerp, BE), Ward Van Der Tempel (Muizen, BE) | Softkinetics Sensors Nv (Brusells, BE) | 2013-01-10 | 2016-04-26 | H04N5/357, G01S17/89, G01S7/486 | 14/347324 |
| 356 | 9310477 | Systems and methods for monitoring airborne objects | Systems and methods for monitoring airborne objects are described herein. An air traffic management (ATM) system is provided that includes a memory device for storing data and a processor coupled to the memory device. The processor is programmed to receive object data associated with each of a plurality of airborne objects transmitted by at least one remote sensor device and generate an air traffic map to display a present location and a flight path for each airborne object based on the received object data. The object data includes situational awareness information for each airborne object and real-time position information for the at least one remote sensor device. | Radhakrishna G. Sampigethaya (Snoqualmie, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2013-01-29 | 2016-04-12 | G01S13/93, G01S13/91 | 13/752705 |
| 357 | 9304514 | Method and device for guiding an aircraft during a low level flight | A calculation unit configured to define a safety corridor, whose width is increased compared with a nominal width, at least by one width of an escape trajectory with a spiral climb of the aircraft, wherein the safety corridor that is thus defined by the calculation unit is used by a construction unit for forming a flight trajectory for a low level flight of an aircraft. | Boris Kozlow (Toulouse, FR), Yohann Roux (Cugnaux, FR), Julien Nico (Tournefeuille, FR) | Airbus Operations Sas (Toulouse, FR) | 2015-01-07 | 2016-04-05 | G01S13/94, G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/02, G05D1/06 | 14/590996 |
| 358 | 9304199 | Obstacle and terrain warning radar system for a rotorcraft | Obstacle and terrain warning radar system (1) for a rotorcraft (2) , the system having at least two assemblies (10) , each having at least one radar unit, said rotorcraft (2) including at least one main rotor (20) having at least two blades (22) and a rotor head (23) . Each radar unit transmits a centrifugal radar beam (17) with angular beam width in azimuth .alpha. of at least 5.degree. and beam width in elevation .epsilon. of at least 5.degree.. Said assemblies (10) of at least one radar unit are positioned directly on said rotor head (23) between said blades (22) , said radar system (1) electronically scanning the surroundings with angular coverage in elevation of at least +/-15.degree. and mechanically scanning the surroundings with angular coverage in azimuth of 360.degree., and then informing the pilot of said rotorcraft (2) . | Wolfgang Kreitmair-Steck (Munich, DE), Richard Scheiblhofer (Munich, DE) | Airbus Helicopters Deutschland Gmbh (Donauworth, DE) | 2013-12-09 | 2016-04-05 | G01S13/93, G01S13/94, G01S13/00, G01S13/90 | 14/100580 |
| 359 | 9304186 | System and method for channel feedback for location time of flight | A method and system for time-of-flight (ToF) positioning in an IEEE 802.11 network comprises a responder station to transmit samples of preambles as the preambles are received. The samples represent channel information. The preambles comprise extension high-throughput long training fields (HT-LTFs) . An initiator station is arranged to perform a time-of-arrival calculation based at least in part on an analysis of the channel information. | Yuval Amizur (Kfar-Saba, IL), Leor Banin (Petach Tikva, IL), Uri Schatzberg (kiryat ono, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2013-09-18 | 2016-04-05 | H04W24/00, H04W4/02, H04L27/26, H04W64/00, H04L25/02, G01S13/76, G01S5/10, H04W4/00, H04W84/12 | 14/127390 |
| 360 | 9299174 | Synthetic aperture beam forming method and apparatus of determining number of synthetic beams according to degree of motion | Provided is an apparatus of determining the number of synthetic beams, comprising: a motion measurement unit which measures the degree of motion in an output beam-forming image, a synthetic beam number determination unit which determines the optimum number of synthetic beams based on the measured degree of motion in case of applying the synthetic aperture beam forming, and a display unit which displays the number of synthetic beams determined by the synthetic beam number determination unit. A system using synthetic aperture beam forming detects motion in an image and displays a degree of the motion in various manners, and thus, a user is allowed to actively cope with the motion by adjusting the number of synthetic beams, or the system is allowed to immediately change the number of synthetic beams with reference to data stored in advance. | Yang Mo Yoo (Goyang-si, KR), Tai-Kyong Song (Seoul, KR), Jin Ho Chang (Seoul, KR), Jeong Cho (Seoul, KR), Jong Ho Park (Incheon, KR) | Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Sogang University (KR) | 2012-01-13 | 2016-03-29 | G06T11/20, G01S15/89, A61B8/00, G01S7/52 | 13/981690 |
| 361 | 9297885 | Method of system compensation to reduce the effects of self interference in frequency modulated continuous wave altimeter systems | An altimeter system is provided. The altimeter system includes a receiver mixer including an antenna-input and a local-oscillator-input, a transceiver circulator communicatively coupled to an antenna via a transmission line having a selected length and communicatively coupled to the antenna-input of the receiver mixer, and a transmitter configured to output a transmitter signal to the antenna via the transceiver circulator. The transmitter signal is frequency modulated with a linear ramp. The transmitter is communicatively coupled to the receiver mixer to input a local oscillator signal at the local-oscillator-input of the receiver mixer. The receiver mixer is communicatively coupled to input a target-reflected signal from the antenna at the antenna-input of the receiver mixer. The selected length of the transmission line is set so that a composite-leakage signal at the antenna-input of the receiver mixer has a linear phase across a sweep bandwidth. | Paul David Ferguson (Redmond, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ) | 2012-07-27 | 2016-03-29 | G01S7/03, G01S13/88, G01S13/32, G01S7/02 | 13/559834 |
| 362 | 9296491 | Aircraft location system for locating aircraft in water environments | A method and apparatus for an aircraft location system comprising an aircraft structure and a number of acoustic reflectors associated with the aircraft structure. The number of acoustic reflectors is configured to generate first sound signals in response to receiving second sound signals. | Christopher Shane Huskamp (St. Louis, MO), Bonnie Louise Gorsic (Fountain Valley, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2014-09-29 | 2016-03-29 | B64D45/00, G01S13/86, G01S19/00, B60Q1/26, G01S15/06, G01S15/88, B64D41/00, B64D47/06, G01D11/28, G01S15/02, G01S13/93 | 14/501023 |
| 363 | 9295245 | Airborne biota monitoring and control system | Apparatus and methods for an airborne biota monitoring and control system are disclosed. Radar and laser/optical sensors are used to detect insects, with detection zones being over water in some embodiments to reduce backscatter clutter. A pest control laser or small autonomous or radio controlled aircraft under automated or human control may be used to disable a targeted flying insect. One embodiment includes use of a head-mounted display for displaying insect targeting information superimposed on a real landscape view. Technologies such as adaptive lens, holographic optical elements, polarized radar and/or laser beams, light amplifiers and light guides, thin disk, spinning disk, or vertical cavity surface emitting lasers enhance performance of the apparatus or reduce cost of the apparatus. Also disclosed are methods of discrimination of insect types using spectral information and dynamic relative variation of spectral intensities at different wavelengths reflected from an insect in flight. | David L. Guice (Brownsboro, AL), Augustus Hammond Green, Jr. (New Market, AL), William V. Dent, Jr. (Huntsville, AL) | --- | 2013-03-19 | 2016-03-29 | G01S13/08, A01M1/22, A01M1/02 | 13/847143 |
| 364 | 9286667 | Method of eliminating spurious echoes in SAR imaging | A method of eliminating spurious echoes in SAR imaging comprises a step Etp1 of defining the SAR imaging parameters, a step Etp2 of calculating the spectrum of the signal received, in each distance bin, of a zone of interest 51, a step Etp3 of filtering the spectra in each distance bin, a step Etp4 of SAR imagette 51 formation and a step Etp5 of concatenating the SAR imagettes 51 to form the final SAR image. | Nicolas Bon (Elancourt, FR), Jean-Michel Quellec (Elancourt, FR), Gabriel Marchalot (Elancourt, FR) | Thales (Courbevoie, FR) | 2014-04-24 | 2016-03-15 | G06K9/00, G01S13/90, G01S7/292, G06T5/50, G01S13/89 | 14/260881 |
| 365 | 9285472 | Multi-link transponder for aircraft and method of providing multi-link transponder capability to an aircraft having an existing transponder | A transponder system that is adapted to be positioned in an aircraft includes a transponder that is adapted to transmit information pertaining to the aircraft in which the transponder is positioned includes at least one receiver that is adapted to receive information including information pertaining to another aircraft. The receiver (s) is adapted to receive different types of data on multiple different frequencies. A display, which may be integral with the system housing or remotely mounted, is adapted to display (i) information received by said receiver and/or (ii) information to guide user input selection of information transmitted by said transponder. The housing houses the transponder, the receiver and, in one embodiment, the display. The existing transponder in the aircraft can be removed thereby leaving an opening in the aircraft and the transponder installed in the opening. | Blake R. Getson (Columbus, OH), Gary S. Watson (Ada, MI), Lee R. Carlson (Grand Rapids, MI) | L-3 Communications Avionics Systems, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2012-11-21 | 2016-03-15 | G01S13/74, G01S13/93, G08G5/00 | 13/683592 |
| 366 | 9274220 | Method for locating aircraft which is independent of any satellite navigation system | The present invention relates to a method for locating an aircraft (A.sub.k) , the said aircraft (A.sub.k) being equipped with at least one device for sending and receiving ADS-B signals, a set of ADS-B communication beacons being deployed on the ground, the position of each of the said ADS-B beacons being known, the said locating method comprising: a step of calibrating the time biases of the ADS-B beacons with a view to correcting the synchronization discrepancies when sending, by means of the calculation of the time discrepancy existing between the ADS-B beacons (B1, B2) upon reception of downgoing ADS-B signals sent by a set of aircraft equipped with at least one device for sending ADS-B signals, a step of calculating the pseudo-distances between the said aircraft (A.sub.k) and the said ADS-B beacons deployed on the ground, on the basis of the upgoing ADS-B signals. | Marc Revol (Upic, FR), Pierre Bouniol (Saint Hilaire du Rosier, FR), Christophe Picco (Toulouse, FR) | Thales (Courbevoie, FR) | 2012-04-11 | 2016-03-01 | G01S13/08, G01S13/91, G01S5/02, G01S13/78 | 13/444181 |
| 367 | 9274202 | Optical time-of-flight system | Time-of-flight technology may be combined with optical detection technology identifying an angle of a light pulse emitted from a transmitter and reflected off an object based on a proportion of the reflected light pulse detected at each of at least two light sensors. The optical detection technology may include a light detector with two or more light sensors arranged at different orientations with respect to an aperture in the detector so that each sensor is able to detect a different subset of the light passing through the aperture. The effective angle of the light passing through aperture may then be calculated from the proportion of light detected at the each of the sensors. The effective angle information may be combined with a calculated time-of-flight of the light pulse to accurately identify a position of the object relative to the detector in two or three dimensions. | Shrenik Deliwala (Andover, MA) | Analog Devices, Inc. (Norwood, MA) | 2013-06-24 | 2016-03-01 | G01S3/783, G01S17/10, G01S17/42, G01S7/481 | 13/924874 |
| 368 | 9268310 | Extended life, timed pinger for aircraft | A system monitors geographical information for location of an aircraft and supplies that information to a sunrise/sunset calculator that feeds location and sunrise/sunset data to a controller. The controller controls operation of a pinger, limiting its hours of operation to save battery power and extend the time period within which the pinger is audible. The hours of operation are pre-programmed to consist of a time range from sunrise to sunset or from a time after sunrise to a time before sunset. | H. Jay Spiegel (Mount Vernon, VA) | --- | 2014-04-18 | 2016-02-23 | G01S15/06, G01S5/18, G01S13/86, G04B47/00, B64D45/00 | 14/256253 |
| 369 | 9261594 | Wavefront compensation in optical synthetic aperture imaging processors | There is provided a System and method of wavefront compensation in a synthetic aperture imaging system. A return signal data representative of a signal reflected by a target area to be imaged is received. A compensation phase figure corresponding to a wavefront compensation to be applied is provided. The compensation phase figure is added or otherwise applied to the phase pattern of the return signal data in order to obtain a compensated phase pattern. An optical beam is spatially modulated according to the compensated phase pattern to produce a modulated optical beam such that the compensation phase figure produces a wavefront compensation on the optical beam. An image of the target area is optically generated using the modulated optical beam. | Alain Bergeron (Quebec, CA), Linda Marchese (Quebec, CA), Michel Doucet (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, Quebec, CA) | 2010-09-29 | 2016-02-16 | G01S13/90, G02B27/00, G01S17/89, G01S15/89, G02B27/58, G02B26/06, G03H1/02 | 13/822335 |
| 370 | 9261593 | Higher order processing for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) | A method for processing received return signals in a visual synthetic aperture radar (ViSAR) system is provided. The method includes receiving a plurality of pulsed radar return signals over a time period corresponding to a plurality of data frames. From this data, processing is performed to generate a SAR image for each single data frame of the plurality of data frames. In parallel, the radar pulses used to form the image frames are buffered into a longer pulse sequence that is used to perform the detection processing, including identifying targets as having characteristics associated with one or more predetermined motion classes according to phase changes sensed between data frames. A visual indication of targets associated with a predetermined motion class is generated, and overlaid onto one of the SAR images. | Paul D. Mountcastle (Moorestown, NJ), Svetlana M. Bachmann (Liverpool, NJ) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2013-03-13 | 2016-02-16 | G01S7/292, G01S7/41, G01S13/90, G01S13/56 | 13/799837 |
| 371 | 9257051 | Aircraft avoidance method and drone provided with a system for implementing said method | A method enabling an aerial drone not having a TCAS system to avoid an intruder aircraft, the method including the steps of acquiring the position of the intruder aircraft in order to determine the distance between the aerial drone and the intruder aircraft, measuring the angular speed of the intruder aircraft in a horizontal plane, and determining whether the intruder aircraft is fitted with a TCAS system, and, if so, receiving a resolution advisory transmitted by the TCAS of the intruder aircraft and following a previously-determined avoidance path. The invention also provides a drone fitted with a system implementing the method. | Julien Farjon (Boulogne Billancourt, FR) | Sagem Defense Securite (Boulogne-Billancourt, FR) | 2013-04-24 | 2016-02-09 | G01C22/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/02, G08G5/00, G01S13/92, G01S13/93, G08G5/04, G01S3/02 | 14/398663 |
| 372 | 9250320 | Harmonizing code from independent airborne aircraft identification systems | An Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system, and method of harmonizing a transponder Squawk code and an ADS-B system, ensures that a Squawk code broadcast by the ADS-B system matches the transponder Squawk code. The transponder Squawk code is transmitted from a transponder positioned onboard an aircraft and the transmitted transponder Squawk code with a device positioned onboard the aircraft. A Squawk code input of an ADS-B Squawk code to be transmitted with the ADS-B system is received. The ADS-B Squawk code is compared with the received transmitter Squawk code using a comparator and the pilot is informed whether the transmitter Squawk code matches the ADS-B Squawk code. A message formatter generates a message that includes the ADS-B Squawk code. A wireless transmitter broadcasts the ADS-B Squawk code generated by the message formatter. | Gary S. Watson (Ada, MI), Lee R. Carlson (Grand Rapids, MI), Blake R. Getson (Columbus, OH), Matthew J. Bundy (Galloway, OH), James R. Troxel (Glendale, AZ) | L-3 Communications Avionics Systems, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2013-05-13 | 2016-02-02 | G01S13/82, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G01S13/78 | 13/892641 |
| 373 | 9244155 | Adaptive electronically steerable array (AESA) system for multi-band and multi-aperture operation and method for maintaining data links with one or more stations in different frequency bands | Embodiments of an adaptive electronically steerable array (AESA) system suitable for use on a vehicle and method for communicating are generally described herein. In some embodiments, the AESA system includes a plurality of arrays of radiating elements and control circuitry to configure the arrays for multi-band and multi-aperture operations to maintain data links with communication stations. | Michael S. Bielas (Tucson, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2012-01-25 | 2016-01-26 | G01S7/00, H01Q3/26, F41G7/30, H01Q1/28, H01Q21/30, H01Q21/00, G01S13/02 | 13/357933 |
| 374 | 9239384 | Terrain detection and classification using single polarization SAR | The various technologies presented herein relate to identifying manmade and/or natural features in a radar image. Two radar images (e.g., single polarization SAR images) can be captured for a common scene. The first image is captured at a first instance and the second image is captured at a second instance, whereby the duration between the captures are of sufficient time such that temporal decorrelation occurs for natural surfaces in the scene, and only manmade surfaces, e.g., a road, produce correlated pixels. A LCCD image comprising the correlated and decorrelated pixels can be generated from the two radar images. A median image can be generated from a plurality of radar images, whereby any features in the median image can be identified. A superpixel operation can be performed on the LCCD image and the median image, thereby enabling a feature (s) in the LCCD image to be classified. | James G. Chow (Sandia Park, NM), Mark W. Koch (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuqerque, NM) | 2014-10-21 | 2016-01-19 | G06K9/00, G01S13/90, G06K9/46 | 14/519278 |
| 375 | 9239383 | Wide beam SAR focusing method using navigation solution derived from autofocus data | An algorithm for deriving improved navigation data from the autofocus results obtained from selected image blocks in a wide-beam synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image. In one embodiment the navigation error may be approximated with a vector of low-order polynomials, and a set of polynomial coefficients found which results in a good phase error match with the autofocus results. In another embodiment, a least squares solution may be found for the system of equations relating the phase errors at a point in time for selected image blocks to the navigation error vector at that point in time. An approach using low sample rate backprojection (150) initially to select suitable image blocks, and full sample rate backprojection (156) for the selected image blocks, followed by full sample rate backprojection (164) for the image, using the improved navigation solution, may be used to reduce the computational load of employing the algorithm. | Michael Yih-Hwa Jin (Arcadia, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2012-06-28 | 2016-01-19 | G01S13/90, G01C21/00, G01S13/00 | 13/536731 |
| 376 | 9239381 | Method of measuring height and detecting obstacles, a radioaltimeter, and an aircraft | A radioaltimeter (5) having a signal generator-receiver (10) and signal transceiver means (20) connected to the generator-receiver (10) , and a display member (30) , said transceiver means (20) comprising a transceiver main member (21) for sending a signal towards a ground (S) in order to determine the height (H) between said main member (21) and said ground (S) , said display member (30) having main display means (31) for displaying said height (H) . Furthermore, the radioaltimeter (5) includes switch means (40) together with a control unit (50) , and secondary display means (32) of said display member (30) . | Herve Dutruc (Ensues la Redonne, FR) | Airbus Helicopters (Marignane, FR) | 2012-03-07 | 2016-01-19 | G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S7/03, G01S13/94, G01S13/93, G01S13/91, G01S13/87 | 13/413700 |
| 377 | 9229096 | Time-of-flight imaging systems | Electronic devices may include time-of-flight image pixels. A time-of-flight image pixel may include first and second charge storage regions coupled to a photosensor and a transfer transistor with a gate terminal coupled to the first storage region. An electronic device may further include a light pulse emitter configured to emit pulses of light to be reflected by objects in a scene. Reflected portions of the emitted pulses of light may be captured along with background light by the time-of-flight image pixels. Time-of-flight image pixels may be configured sense the time-of-flight of the reflected portions of the emitted pulses. The electronic device may include processing circuitry configured to use the sensed time-of-flight of the reflected portions to generate depth images of a scene. Depth images may include depth-image pixel values that contain information corresponding to the distance of the objects in the scene from the electronic device. | Dongsoo Kim (San Jose, CA), Jae Eun Lim (Boise, ID), Kwangbo Cho (San Jose, CA) | Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2011-10-20 | 2016-01-05 | H01L31/16, G01S7/486, H04N5/232, G01S17/89, H04N5/225, H01L27/148, H04N13/02, H04N5/3745, H04N5/359, G01J1/44, G01J1/42 | 13/278019 |
| 378 | 9218741 | System and method for aircraft navigation based on diverse ranging algorithm using ADS-B messages and ground transceiver responses | A method of aircraft navigation via receiving signals emitted by other aircraft and corresponding reply message transmitted by ground transceivers and the using a new diverse-ranging algorithm that solves for the positions of a eavesdropping aircraft and the positions of direct-reply aircraft emitting the signals received by the eavesdropping aircraft. | Ryan Haoyun Wu (Manlius, NY), Elyahu Perl (Dewitt, NY) | Saab-Sensis Corporation (East Syracuse, NY) | 2013-03-15 | 2015-12-22 | G08G5/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/76, G01S13/78 | 13/839303 |
| 379 | 9214089 | Aircraft capable of hovering, aircraft maneuvering assist method, and interface | An aircraft capable of hovering, and characterized by having at least one sensor, which has a plane sweep region and is designed to acquire, when the aircraft is maneuvering, values of respective distances between first points on an obstacle within the plane sweep region, and a second point on the aircraft, and a control unit designed to generate an alarm signal when at least one of the first points lies within a safety region containing the second point on the aircraft. | Massimo Brunetti (Samarate, IT), Simone Gobbi (Samarate, IT), Dario Iannucci (Samarate, IT), Emilio Majori (Samarate, IT) | Agusta S.P.A. (Samarate, IT) | 2011-05-20 | 2015-12-15 | G08G5/00, G05D1/08, G01S13/94, G08G5/04, G05D1/10 | 13/112842 |
| 380 | 9214088 | Obstacle information system of a helicopter | An obstacle information system and method for a helicopter with a warning information processor (3) and a display unit (1) for any obstacle (2) within a predetermined minimum distance d4. Said warning information processor (3) is fed with information related to detected distance d5 and direction of said at least one obstacle (2) detected by an obstacle sensor system (4) to compute and prepare the information for presentation on the display unit (1) . Said display unit (1) comprises at least an indication area with a central circular surface (6) and a concentric ring-shaped area (7) around the circular surface (6) . Said circular surface (6) is used exclusively for alerts. The ring-shaped area (7) is used for both. Warnings and alerts and the repartition in the indication area of circular surface (6) and ring-shaped area (7) are dependent on the detected distance d5 of said at least one obstacle (2) . | Wolfgang Kreitmair-Steck (Munich, DE), Benno Van Noort (Munich, DE) | Airbus Helicopters Deutschland Gmbh (Donauworth, DE) | 2013-06-03 | 2015-12-15 | G08G5/04, G01S17/93, G01S13/93, G01S7/06, G01C23/00 | 13/908270 |
| 381 | 9213097 | Aircraft comprising an onboard weather radar antenna provided with inclined panels | An aircraft comprising a fuselage and a radome fixed to the fuselage. The radome defines a housing and the fuselage comprises a sealed bulkhead closing the housing. A weather radar antenna comprises a main panel. A plurality of peripheral panels are arranged around the main panel, inclined from a planar surface of the main panel and located on the same side of the planar surface. The housing contains the antenna which is mounted on the fuselage through a mechanical support fixed to the fuselage and to the weather radar antenna on the same side of the planar surface as the peripheral panels. A bird strike shield is located between the antenna and the sealed bulkhead. The shield comprises a dome with a top and a base, the base being fixed to the aircraft fuselage. An opening is formed at the top of the dome through which the mechanical support passes. | Christophe Mialhe (Giroussens, FR) | Airbus Operations Sas (Toulouse, FR) | 2013-12-06 | 2015-12-15 | G01S13/95, G01S13/42, H01Q21/20, H01Q1/42, B64C1/36, H01Q1/28 | 14/099531 |
| 382 | 9213096 | Proximity warning system for helicopters | A proximity warning system for a helicopter (22) comprising at least two radar units (1-3) , preferably three radar units (1-3) arranged to transmit microwaves and receive reflections of said microwaves from obstacles (10) . The at least two radar units (1-3) are fixed next to a main rotor head (s) (20) of the helicopter (22) for horizontally scanning an entire environment of 360.degree. around the helicopter (22) , all of said at least two radar units (1-3) operating essentially at the same frequency. | Wolfgang Kreitmair-Steck (Munich, DE), Tim Waanders (Munich, DE) | Airbus Helicopters Deutschland Gmbh (Donauworth, DE) | 2012-12-20 | 2015-12-15 | G01S13/93, G01S13/87 | 13/721145 |
| 383 | 9208687 | System and method for social networking of aircraft for information exchange | A system and method for exchanging information between aircraft (210) . Sensors on a first aircraft (210) provide data about the first aircraft's environment, including hazards such as turbulence, icing, lightning, or birds. The system transmits the data to receiving systems in other aircraft (210) , which display the data, to warn the pilots flying the other aircraft of potential hazards. The pilot of the first aircraft may supplement the information with visual observations, about birds or unmanned aerial vehicles, for example. In one embodiment, the information is transmitted from aircraft to aircraft over a data link using ADS-B. In another embodiment, a first aircraft may transmit data to a second aircraft, which may relay, or re-transmit, the data to a third aircraft. | Jian Wang (Waterloo, CA), Yuchoi F. Lok (Framingham, MA), Anthony M. Ponsford (Ottawa, CA), Oliver H. Hubbard (Waterloo, CA), Eli Brookner (Lexington, MA), Robert W. Bowne (Omaha, NE) | Raytheon Canada Limited (Ottawa, Ontario, CA) | 2013-01-15 | 2015-12-08 | G01S13/76, G08G5/00, G01S7/00 | 13/742249 |
| 384 | 9207323 | Methods and systems for detecting weather conditions including wet surfaces using vehicle onboard sensors | Example methods and systems for detecting weather conditions including wet surfaces using vehicle onboard sensors are provided. An example method includes receiving laser data collected for an environment of a vehicle. The method also includes determining laser data points that are associated with one or more objects in the environment, and based on laser data points being unassociated with the one or more objects in the environment, identifying an indication that a surface on which the vehicle travels is wet. The method may further include receiving radar data collected for the environment of the vehicle that is indicative of a presence of the one or more objects in the environment of the vehicle, and identifying the indication that the surface on which the vehicle travels is wet further based on laser data points being unassociated with the one or more objects in the environment indicated by the radar data. | Jiajun Zhu (Sunnyvale, CA), Dmitri Dolgov (Mountain View, CA), Dave Ferguson (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2013-04-11 | 2015-12-08 | G01C3/08, G01S13/86, G01S17/02, G01S17/66, G01S17/93, G01S17/95, B60W40/064, G01S13/93, G01S13/66 | 13/860664 |
| 385 | 9201146 | Airborne doppler wind lidar post data processing software DAPS-LV | Systems, methods, and devices of the present invention enable post processing of airborne Doppler wind LIDAR data. In an embodiment, airborne Doppler wind LIDAR data software written in LabVIEW may be provided and may run two versions of different airborne wind profiling algorithms. A first algorithm may be the Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind LIDAR (''APOLO'') using airborne wind LIDAR data from two orthogonal directions to estimate wind parameters, and a second algorithm may be a five direction based method using pseudo inverse functions to estimate wind parameters. The various embodiments may enable wind profiles to be compared using different algorithms, may enable wind profile data for long haul color displays to be generated, may display long haul color displays, and/or may enable archiving of data at user-selectable altitudes over a long observation period for data distribution and population. | Jeffrey Y. Beyon (Yorktown, VA), Grady J. Koch (Yorktown, VA), Michael J. Kavaya (Yorktown, VA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Washington, DC) | 2013-11-14 | 2015-12-01 | G01S17/95 | 14/079965 |
| 386 | 9192355 | Multiple aperture ultrasound array alignment fixture | Increasing the effective aperture of an ultrasound imaging probe by including more than one probe head and using the elements of all of the probes to render an image can greatly improve the lateral resolution of the generated image. In order to render an image, the relative positions of all of the elements must be known precisely. A calibration fixture is described in which the probe assembly to be calibrated is placed above a test block and transmits ultrasonic pulses through the test block to an ultrasonic sensor. As the ultrasonic pulses are transmitted though some or all of the elements in the probe to be tested, the differential transit times of arrival of the waveform are measured precisely. From these measurements the relative positions of the probe elements can be computed and the probe can be aligned. | David M. Smith (Lodi, CA), Sharon L. Adam (San Jose, CA), Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA), Kenneth D. Brewer (Santa Clara, CA), John P. Lunsford (San Carlos, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2013-05-14 | 2015-11-24 | A61B8/00, G01S15/89, G01S7/52, A61B8/08 | 13/894192 |
| 387 | 9188700 | System and method to identify regions of airspace having ice crystals using an onboard weather radar system | Systems and methods of detecting type I ice crystals using an aircraft's onboard weather radar system are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment identifies radar returns having a return level signal strength less than a radar return sensitivity threshold level, determines if at least one of a weather condition and a flight condition concurrently exists with the identified radar returns having the return level signal strength less than the radar return sensitivity threshold level, and identifies a region of airspace potentially having type I ice crystals when the at least one of the weather condition and the flight condition concurrently exists with the identified radar returns having the return level signal strength less than the radar return sensitivity threshold level. | Brian P. Bunch (Snohomish, WA), Paul Christianson (Seattle, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2012-06-27 | 2015-11-17 | G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G01S7/06, G01W1/00, B64D15/20, G01W1/08 | 13/535230 |
| 388 | 9188677 | Imaging doppler lidar for wind turbine wake profiling | An imaging Doppler lidar (IDL) enables the measurement of the velocity distribution of a large volume, in parallel, and at high spatial resolution in the wake of a wind turbine. Because the IDL is non-scanning, it can be orders of magnitude faster than conventional coherent lidar approaches. Scattering can be obtained from naturally occurring aerosol particles. Furthermore, the wind velocity can be measured directly from Doppler shifts of the laser light, so the measurement can be accomplished at large standoff and at wide fields-of-view. | David J. Bossert (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2014-04-16 | 2015-11-17 | G01S17/95, G01S17/58, G01S7/481, G01S17/89, G01P5/26, G01S17/10 | 14/254555 |
| 389 | 9188670 | Interferometric inverse synthetic aperture radar and method | An interferometric inverse synthetic aperture radar (IFISAR) is described that can provide a height measurement of moving objects on a surface using a small radar aperture. The IFISAR includes a two-dimensional antenna array including a plurality of elements that are configured to receive a plurality of return signals carrying energy of a transmitted RF signal that are reflected from the target. A first antenna group and a second antenna group of the plurality of elements respectively located at opposite ends of the array are enabled, and a third antenna group of the plurality of elements located between the first antenna group and the second antenna group are disabled. A processor of the IFISAR is operatively coupled to the plurality of elements and configured to determine height characteristics of the target according to interferometric processing of the return signals received by the first antenna group and the second antenna group. | Donald P. Bruyere (Tucson, AZ), Jeffrey Wadsworth (Tucson, AZ), William L. Chapman (Oro Valley, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2012-10-17 | 2015-11-17 | G01S13/00, H01Q21/06, G01S13/90 | 13/654206 |
| 390 | 9188663 | Time-of-flight imager | An improved solution for generating depth maps using time-of-flight measurements is described, more specifically a time-of-flight imager and a time-of-flight imaging method with an improved accuracy. A depth correction profile is applied to the measured depth maps, which takes into account propagation delays within an array of pixels of a sensor of the time-of-flight imager. | Peter Centen (Goirle, NL), Klaas Jan Damstra (Breda, NL), Jeroen Rotte (Breda, NL), Juul Van Den Heijkant (Raamsdonkveer, NL) | Thomson Licensing (Issy Moulineaux, FR) | 2011-05-28 | 2015-11-17 | H04N13/02, G01S7/497, G01S17/89 | 13/134089 |
| 391 | 9182490 | Video and 3D time-of-flight image sensors | Electronic devices may include time-of-flight (ToF) image pixels. Each ToF pixel may include a photodiode, a first capacitor coupled to the photodiode via a first transfer gate, a second capacitor coupled to the photodiode via a second transfer gate, and a third capacitor coupled to the photodiode via a third transfer gate. The first transfer gate may be turned on for a given duration to store a first charge in the first capacitor. The second transfer gate may be turned on for the given duration to store a second charge in the second capacitor. The third transfer gate may be turned on for a duration that is longer than the given duration to store a third charge in the third capacitor. Depth information may be computed based on the first, second, and third stored charges and a corresponding pixel constant. | Sergey Velichko (Boise, ID), Gennadiy Agranov (San Jose, CA) | Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2013-11-27 | 2015-11-10 | G01B11/24, G01S17/08, H01L27/148 | 14/092611 |
| 392 | 9177481 | Semantics based safe landing area detection for an unmanned vehicle | A method for determining a suitable landing area for an aircraft includes receiving signals indicative of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) information for a terrain via a LIDAR perception system, receiving signals indicative of image information for the terrain via a camera perception system, evaluating, with the processor, the LIDAR information and generating information indicative of a LIDAR landing zone candidate region, co-registering in a coordinate system, with the processor, the LIDAR landing zone candidate region and the image information, segmenting, with the processor, the co-registered image and the LIDAR landing zone candidate region to generate segmented regions, classifying, with the processor, the segmented regions into semantic classes, determining, with the processor, contextual information in the semantic classes, and ranking and prioritizing the contextual information. | Hongcheng Wang (Farmington, CT), Ziyou Xiong (Wethersfield, CT), Jason C. Derenick (Hamden, CT), Christopher Stathis (Hamden, CT), Igor Cherepinsky (Sandy Hook, CT) | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Stratford, CT) | 2013-12-13 | 2015-11-03 | G06F19/00, G08G5/02, G01S17/02, G01S17/88, G01S17/89, G01S7/51, G06K9/00, B64C19/00 | 14/105759 |
| 393 | 9176227 | Method and apparatus for compensating for a parameter change in a synthetic aperture imaging system | There is described a method for processing data generated by a synthetic aperture imaging system, comprising: receiving raw data representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by a target area to be imaged, receiving a parameter change for the synthetic aperture imaging system, digitally correcting the raw data in accordance with the parameter change, thereby compensating for the parameter change in order to obtain corrected data, and generating an image of the target area using the corrected data. | Alain Bergeron (Chemin Saint-Louis, CA), Linda Marchese (Cote de Cap-Rouge, CA) | Institute National D'optique (Quebec, CA) | 2010-06-28 | 2015-11-03 | G01S13/90, G01S7/40, G02B27/58, G06T5/50, G01S17/89, G03H1/04 | 12/933005 |
| 394 | 9174744 | Method and system for aiding the navigation of an aircraft | A system including at least one global navigation database including data for aerial navigation and airport navigation of the aircraft and data mentioned on navigation maps, a central unit for carrying out a contextualized filtering of data intended for a display and received, at least in part, from said navigation database, and a display device for carrying out the display on one and the same screen, said display being based on information from said contextualized filtering. | Pierre Depape (Paulhac, FR), Marie-Christine Bressolle (Cugnaux, FR), Clara Frick (Tournefeuille, FR), Elizabeth Clairsinvil (Colomiers, FR) | Airbus Operations S.A.S. (Toulouse, FR) | 2014-05-23 | 2015-11-03 | G01C23/00, G08G5/02, G08G5/06, G08G5/00, G01S13/00, B64D45/00 | 14/286146 |
| 395 | 9171985 | Pixel circuit with controlled capacitor discharge time of flight measurement | A pixel circuit includes a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) and a measurement circuit including a capacitance. The SPAD detects an incident photon and the measurement circuit discharges the capacitance at a known rate during a discharge time period. The length of the discharge time period is determined by the time of detection of the photon, such that the final amount of charge on the capacitance corresponds to the time of flight of the photon. The pixel circuit may be included in a time resolved imaging apparatus. A method of measuring the time of flight of a photon includes responding to an incident photon detection by discharging a capacitance at a known rate and correlating final capacitance charge to time of flight. | Neale Dutton (Edinburgh, GB), Robert K. Henderson (Edinburgh, GB) | Stmicroelectronics (Research & Development), Limited (Marlow, Buckinghamshire, GB) | 2013-10-30 | 2015-10-27 | H01L31/107, G01S7/486, G01S17/89, G01S17/10, H01L27/146, G01J1/44, H04N5/3745 | 14/066771 |
| 396 | 9159241 | Methods, systems, and apparatus for synthetic instrument landing system (SILS) | Methods, systems, and apparatus for Synthetic Instrument Landing System (SILS) are disclosed. By optimally integrating new SILS capabilities on existing aircraft systems and equipment, the systems, methods, and apparatus of this disclosure affect primarily one system, the MMR, and certain aircraft wiring reconfiguration and leave most of the other airplane systems as well as pilot (flight crew) training substantially unaffected. Unlike existing solutions that are based on a classical approach of new capability integration by providing associated new landing modes that are uniquely identified, the disclosure provides only a single mode to the pilot by moving all mode-specific functionality to onboard computers such as MMRs. | Timothy A. Murphy (Everett, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2012-04-13 | 2015-10-13 | G01S1/00, G01S19/03, G01S19/51, G08G5/00, G08G5/02, G01C23/00, G01C21/04, G01C21/00, G05D1/06, G01S1/02, G01S13/91, B64D45/04, G01S19/15 | 13/446853 |
| 397 | 9158306 | Centering above a predetermined area of a landing platform | A system arranged in an aerial vehicle for determining the position of the aerial vehicle relative to a center of a remote predetermined landing area arranged on a surface. A beam emitter is configured to emit beams towards the surface. A detector is configured to detect the beams reflected from the surface. A control is configured to control the beam emitter to emit beams onto the surface to form a plurality of lines thereon. A processor is configured to detect at least one edge providing a difference in height relative to the surface based on the detected reflected line forming beams. The edge substantially surrounds the predetermined landing area. The processor is further configured to determine the position of the aerial vehicle relative to the center of the remote predetermined landing area based on the detected at least one edge. | Johan Ehlin (Linkoping, SE), Tomas Hogstrom (Linkoping, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoping, SE) | 2009-06-12 | 2015-10-13 | G06F19/00, G06G7/70, G05D1/06, G01S17/02, G01S17/88 | 13/377758 |
| 398 | 9151842 | Method and apparatus for time of flight sensor 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional map generation | A method and apparatus for Time of Flight sensor 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional map generation. The method includes retrieving Time of Flight sensor fixed point data to obtain four phases of Time of Flight fixed point raw data, computing Gray scale image array and phase differential signal arrays utilizing four phases of TOF fixed point raw data, computing Gray image array and Amplitude image array for fixed point, converting the phase differential signal array from fixed point to floating point, performing the floating point division for computing Arctan, TOF depthmap, and 3-dimensional point cloud map for Q format fixed point, and generating depthmap, 3-dimensional cloud coefficients and 3-dimensional point cloud for Q format fixed point. | Dong-Ik Ko (McKinney, TX), Nara Won (Irvine, CA), Debasish Nag (Richardson, TX) | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX) | 2011-11-11 | 2015-10-06 | G06K9/00, G01S17/89 | 13/294560 |
| 399 | 9146312 | Pre-processing SAR image stream to facilitate compression for transport on bandwidth-limited-link | Pre-processing is applied to a raw VideoSAR (or similar near-video rate) product to transform the image frame sequence into a product that resembles more closely the type of product for which conventional video codecs are designed, while sufficiently maintaining utility and visual quality of the product delivered by the codec. | Bobby G. Rush (Edgewood, NM), Robert Riley (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2011-05-25 | 2015-09-29 | H04N7/12, H04N11/04, H04N11/02, G01S13/89, G01S13/90 | 13/115654 |
| 400 | 9141113 | Probabilistic surface characterization for safe landing hazard detection and avoidance (HDA) | Apparatuses, systems, computer programs and methods for performing hazard detection and avoidance for landing vehicles are provided. Hazard assessment takes into consideration the geometry of the lander. Safety probabilities are computed for a plurality of pixels in a digital elevation map. The safety probabilities are combined for pixels associated with one or more aim points and orientations. A worst case probability value is assigned to each of the one or more aim points and orientations. | Tonislav I. Ivanov (Los Angeles, CA), Andres Huertas (Woodland Hills, CA), Andrew E. Johnson (Glendale, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Washington, DC) | 2012-04-26 | 2015-09-22 | G05D1/00, G05D1/06, G01S13/94 | 13/456451 |
| 401 | 9140795 | Time of flight sensor with subframe compression and method | A demodulation image sensor, such as used in time of flight (TOF) cameras, extracts all storage- and post-processing-related steps from the pixels to another array of storage and processing elements (proxels) on the chip. The pixel array has the task of photo-detection, first processing and intermediate storage to create subframes, while the array of storage and processing elements provides accumulation into frames. Particularly, sampled values of several subframes are summed in a compressed manner. Possible compression is to use exponential function. | Michael Lehmann (Winterthur, CH), Thierry Oggier (Zurich, CH), Bernhard Buettgen (Adliswil, CH) | Mesa Imaging Ag (Zurich, CH) | 2012-09-20 | 2015-09-22 | H04N5/335, G01S7/491, G01S7/486, G01S17/89 | 13/623631 |
| 402 | 9140785 | Method and system using coordinated airborne and ground platforms for detecting oil covered by ice | A method for detecting an oil mass covered by ice includes collecting alert data at a first probability of detection using an airborne platform moved about a search area above the ice. An alert area having a likelihood of an oil mass covered by the ice is determined based upon the alert data. Confirmation data is collected at a second probability of detection higher than the first probability of detection using a ground platform moved over the alert area. An oil mass covered by the ice is detected based upon the confirmation data. | Gregory Medlin (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL), Stephen T Hogue (Melbourne, FL), Sean Freeman (Indialantic, FL), John Warner Shipley (Sebastian, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2012-12-07 | 2015-09-22 | G01S13/90, G01S13/88, G01S17/88 | 13/708256 |
| 403 | 9135830 | Airport travel surface edge lighting and foreign object detection system and method | An object detection system for use in airports including an airport travel surface light assembly, a rotatable sensor assembly mounted on the airport travel surface light assembly for sensing objects and an omnidirectional illuminator mounted above the rotatable sensor assembly. | Alon Nitzan (Rosh Haayin, IL), Aviv Goner (Kibbutz Naan, IL), Yehiel Nadav (Rishon LeZion, IL), Alex Homsky (Petach Tikva, IL) | Xsight Systems Ltd. (Rosh Haayin, IL) | 2011-02-17 | 2015-09-15 | G01S13/91, B64F1/18, G08G5/00, G08G5/06, G01S13/93 | 13/029343 |
| 404 | 9134414 | Method and apparatus for determining a doppler centroid in a synthetic aperture imaging system | There is described a method for determining a Doppler centroid in a synthetic aperture imaging system, comprising: receiving raw data representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by a target area, selecting, among the raw data, at least two sets of sub-area data each representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by a corresponding sub-area of the target area, the sub-areas being substantially aligned along an azimuth axis of the target area and having a substantially identical surface area, for each one of the sets of sub-area data, generating an image corresponding to the corresponding sub-area, and measuring a mean intensity of the image, and estimating the Doppler centroid from a skew of an intensity function representing the mean intensity as a function of a look number for the corresponding sub-area. | Alain Bergeron (Chemin Saint-Louis, CA), Linda Marchese (Cote de Cap-Rouge, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, CA) | 2010-06-28 | 2015-09-15 | G01S13/90 | 12/933010 |
| 405 | 9134114 | Time of flight sensor binning | A time-of-flight sensor device generates and analyzes a high-resolution depth map frame from a high-resolution image to determine a mode of operation for the time-of-flight sensor and an illuminator and to control the time-of-flight sensor and illuminator according to the mode of operation. A binned depth map frame can be created from a binned image from the time-of-flight sensor and combined with the high-resolution depth map frame to create a compensated depth map frame. | Werner Adam Metz (Chandler, AZ), Dong-IK Ko (Mckinney, TX) | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX) | 2013-03-11 | 2015-09-15 | G01B11/22, G01S7/48, G01B11/24, G01S17/89, G01B11/02, H04N15/00 | 13/792431 |
| 406 | 9128189 | Hybrid pulsed-FMCW multi-mode airborne and rotary wing radar ESA device and related method | A device and method is disclosed for a hybrid multi-mode airborne and rotary wing radar Electronically Scanned Antenna (ESA) . Pulsed Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) Transmit and Receive Modules (TRM) are nested with Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) transmit elements within the aperture of an ESA. FMCW elements only transmit while the pulsed TRM receive both the pulsed return and the FMCW return. During the hybrid configuration, both the pulsed and FMCW performance is limited to less than the full ESA aperture. In an alternate configuration, individual TRM are configured for transmit and receive of both FMCW and pulsed signals are coupled within the aperture of the ESA. The individual elements offer full aperture performance in both pulsed and FMCW operation. A diplexer controls channel deconfliction between the pulsed and the FMCW transmissions/receptions while a switching network directs the individual elements to hop between the pulsed and FMCW modes. | James B. West (Cedar Rapids, IA), Daniel L. Woodell (Cedar Rapids, IA), Lee M. Paulsen (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2012-11-26 | 2015-09-08 | G01S13/32, G01S13/93, G01S13/02, G01S7/32, G01S13/44 | 13/684920 |
| 407 | 9128184 | Radar wind turbine | A blade mounted radar system comprises a wind turbine having a hub and blades extending therefrom, a radar antenna configured to transmit and/or receive a radio frequency (RF) signal, and a processor in electrical communication with the radar antenna and configured to generate the RF signal for transmission and/or to process the received RF signal. The radar antenna is affixed to one of the blades of the wind turbine such that relative motion is defined between the radar antenna and a target within a line of sight of the radar antenna. The problem of the ground based radar line of sight being obscured by the wind turbine is mitigated in this setup, as radar and turbine coexist in the same structure. Improved performance and additional capability are enabled by elevated installation and vertical SAR imaging capability. Doppler capabilities are extended using known motion of the antenna relative to stationary objects. | Svetlana M. Bachmann (Liverpool, NY), Elliott Reitz (Liverpool, NY) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2013-03-14 | 2015-09-08 | F03D7/00, G01S13/62, G01S13/95, F03D9/00, F03D11/00, H01Q1/12, F03D7/02 | 13/803264 |
| 408 | 9125168 | Polled time-of-flight response | Embodiments of a communication station and method for time-of-flight (ToF) location determination in a wireless network are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a responding communication station receives a ToF measurement request. The responding communication station transmits an acknowledgment of the ToF measurement request. The responding communication station also transmits a response to the ToF measurement request that includes an indication of a time period for an initiating communication station to poll the responding communication station for a ToF result. | Shani Ben-Haim (Haifa, IL), Yuval Amizur (Kfar-Saba, IL), Jonathan Segev (Tel Mond, IL) | Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2013-06-27 | 2015-09-01 | H04W64/00, G01S5/14, G01S13/76, H04W24/00 | 13/929139 |
| 409 | 9116240 | System and method for ensuring ADS-B integrity of departing aircraft | A system for ensuring Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Broadcast (ADS-B) integrity of an aircraft includes a designated aircraft interrogation area, an ADS-B receiver, and an alerting mechanism. The ADS-B receiver is configured to receive ADS-B data from the aircraft when the aircraft is located in the designated area and to send a signal to the alerting mechanism indicating that the aircraft is in the designated area. | William D. Hall (Stamford, CT) | Mosaic Atm, Inc. (Leesburg, VA) | 2012-04-04 | 2015-08-25 | G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G01S13/93, G08G5/06 | 13/439523 |
| 410 | 9116239 | Low range altimeter antenna | The present disclosure is directed to low range altimeter (LRA) antenna implementations that are resistant to signal degradation under critical weather conditions. An altimeter may include a first antenna communicatively coupled to a transmitter configured to transmit a ranging signal to a surface. The altimeter may further include a second antenna communicatively coupled to a receiver configured to receive at least a portion of the ranging signal reflected from the surface. Each of the first (transmitting) antenna and the second (receiving) antenna may include a driven element and at least one parasitic director element. In some embodiments, at least a portion of an aircraft surface may function as a parasitic reflector element in accordance with a Yagi-Uda array antenna topology. | Mark A. Billsberry (Indialantic, FL), Howard D. Tetrault (Melbourne, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2013-01-14 | 2015-08-25 | H01Q1/28, G01S13/88, G01S13/91 | 13/740660 |
| 411 | 9116236 | Aircraft distance measuring equipment with directional interrogation | A multi-function avionics system that includes, but is not limited to, a combined traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) and directional measuring equipment (DME) system that utilizes a multi-function directional antenna for both functions. The multi-function system utilizes the same directional antenna for TCAS and DME functions, which typically utilize the same communication frequency band. The multi-function antenna may include four antenna elements that discriminate the direction of the DME ground station squitter. The DME system establishes a bearing to the ground station from the squitter and uses this information to determine which directional beam to use for the DME interrogation. Directional DME interrogation reduces the power requirements relative to that required for omni-directional DME interrogation. The integration of DME and TCAS enables the removal of antennas and feeder cables from the aircraft, saving weight, drag and cost. | Mark A. Billsberry (Indialantic, FL), Shawn M. Mason (Satellite Beach, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2012-09-05 | 2015-08-25 | G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S13/08, G01S13/74, G08G5/00 | 13/604101 |
| 412 | 9110168 | Software-defined multi-mode ultra-wideband radar for autonomous vertical take-off and landing of small unmanned aerial systems | A small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) is used for aerial and on the ground surveillance while an operator of the sUAS, or other personnel, remain at a safe distance. The sUAS system can perform an autonomous landing and can be operated at an extended, e.g., greater than 100 meters, standoff from the detection apparatus and potential harm. The sUAS may be implemented as an easy-to-operate, small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with a set of optical, thermal, and chemical detection modules for performing aerial surveillance and ground surveillance after landing. | Farrokh Mohamadi (Irvine, CA) | Farrokh Mohamadi (Irvine, CA) | 2012-11-16 | 2015-08-18 | G01S15/00, G01S7/28, G01S13/91, G01S7/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S13/88 | 13/678835 |
| 413 | 9109862 | System, device, and method of protecting aircrafts against incoming threats | System, device and method for protecting aircrafts against incoming threats. The system includes: (a) a dual-band Radio Frequency (RF) track-and-confirm module comprising: a dual-band RF receiver to receive high-band RF signals and low-band RF signals, a threat confirmation module to confirm a possible incoming threat based on processing of RF signals received at the dual-band RF receiver, a threat parameters calculator to calculate a fine angular position and a precise angular position of a confirmed incoming threat, based on processing of RF signals received at low-band RF for fine angular position and at high-band RF for precise angular position, (b) a countermeasure directed Laser module to activate a directed Laser countermeasure towards said precise angular position of said confirmed incoming threat. | Ronen Factor (Ramat Gan, IL), David Dragucki (Herzeliya, IL), Ariye Yehuda Caplan (Haifa, IL), Zahi Ben Ari (Haniel, IL), Semion Zelikman (Rishon Lezion, IL), Royee Li-Ran (Herzliya, IL) | Bird Aerosystems Limited (Herzelia, IL) | 2014-01-16 | 2015-08-18 | G06F19/00, G01S7/495, G01S13/86, F41H11/02, G01S7/38, F41H13/00 | 14/156490 |
| 414 | 9091762 | Methods and systems for avoiding a collision between an aircraft on a ground surface and an obstacle | The disclosed embodiments relate to methods and systems for avoiding a collision between an obstacle and a vehicle, such as an aircraft, on a ground surface. A processor receives a detection signal from one of a plurality of proximity sensors. The detection signal indicates that the obstacle has been detected. In response to receiving the detection signal, a video image signal is transmitted from the processor to a display in the cockpit of the aircraft. The video image signal corresponds to a particular video imager that is associated with the particular proximity sensor that detected the obstacle. A video image, of a particular region around the aircraft that includes the obstacle is displayed on a display. In response to receiving the detection signal, the processor can also transmit an alert signal, and a brake activation signal to activate a braking system to prevent the aircraft from colliding with the obstacle. | Michael Knight (Savannah, GA) | Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (Savannah, GA) | 2011-10-27 | 2015-07-28 | G06F17/00, G01S15/93, G05D1/02, G05D1/00, G01S15/08, G01S13/08, G01S17/93, G01S17/08, G01S13/93, G08G5/06, G08G5/00 | 13/283398 |
| 415 | 9081094 | Aircraft radar altimeter structure | Embodiments described herein are directed towards a radar altimeter for mounting onto an aircraft. The radar altimeter includes a base configured to mount to an external surface of an aircraft, the base having an inner portion and a flange disposed around the inner portion, wherein the inner portion has a generally rectangular geometry defining a long dimension and a short dimension. A chassis is mounted to the base and has a planar portion that is disposed perpendicular to a plane formed by the base. A plurality of circuit boards are mounted to the planar portion of the chassis and disposed parallel to the planar portion of the chassis. The base is configured to mount over a second aperture in the external surface of the aircraft such that the chassis and the plurality of circuit boards are placed through the aperture and are disposed inside of the aircraft. | Keone J. Holt (Redmond, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2013-02-06 | 2015-07-14 | G01S13/88, H01Q1/28, H01Q1/27, H01Q1/12, G01C5/00, G01S13/94, H01Q1/22, G01S7/02 | 13/760347 |
| 416 | 9081093 | Processing SAR imagery | A method and apparatus (1) for processing SAR imagery data, comprising: determining variance ratio data from the SAR imagery data, and processing, for use in change detection, the determined variance ratios data by making use of the F-distribution. The method may further comprise selecting a desired false alarm rate, and wherein making use of the F-distribution comprises determining a change detection threshold for the determined variance ratios data that is dependent upon the F-distribution and the desired false alarm rate. Another possibility is that making use of the F-distribution comprises using the F-distribution to determine probabilities for the determined variance ratios data. | Christopher Jon Willis (Chelmsford, GB) | Bae Systems Plc (London, GB) | 2011-09-07 | 2015-07-14 | G01S13/88, G01S13/90 | 13/821774 |
| 417 | 9072495 | Method and apparatus to produce ultrasonic images using multiple apertures | A combination of an ultrasonic scanner and an omnidirectional receive transducer for producing a two-dimensional image from received echoes is described. Two-dimensional images with different noise components can be constructed from the echoes received by additional transducers. These can be combined to produce images with better signal to noise ratios and lateral resolution. Also disclosed is a method based on information content to compensate for the different delays for different paths through intervening tissue is described. The disclosed techniques have broad application in medical imaging but are ideally suited to multi-aperture cardiac imaging using two or more intercostal spaces. Since lateral resolution is determined primarily by the aperture defined by the end elements, it is not necessary to fill the entire aperture with equally spaced elements. Multiple slices using these methods can be combined to form three-dimensional images. | Donald F. Specht (Los Altos, CA) | Maui Imaging, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 2014-01-16 | 2015-07-07 | A61B8/14, A61B5/00, G01S15/89, A61B8/00, A61B8/08, G01S7/52 | 14/157257 |
| 418 | 9062658 | Rotor blade for a wind turbine, and a combination of a radar station and a wind turbine | A rotor blade for a wind turbine includes a casing structure made of flat fiber composite material that forms the rotor blade surface. To reduce interferences to radar systems caused by the use of the rotor blade, at least at the leading edge and the trailing edge of the rotor blade is provided with a fiber composite material is designed for providing a frequency-dependent radar reflection factor for radar radiation that is incident perpendicular to the surface and which has a reflection minimum at a given frequency in the range of 1 GHz to 10 GHz. | Joachim Bettermann (Delmenhorst, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2011-12-02 | 2015-06-23 | F03D1/06, F03D11/00, H01Q15/16, G01S13/52 | 13/310086 |
| 419 | 9057605 | Bistatic synthetic aperture ladar system | In one aspect, ladar system includes a ladar transmitter system and a ladar receiver system configured to receive data from the transmitter. The ladar transmitter system and the ladar receiver system are disposed in a configuration forming a bistatic synthetic aperture ladar system. In one example, the ladar transmitter system is configured to be disposed in a vehicle and the ladar receiver system is configured to be stationary. | Maurice J. Halmos (Encino, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2012-12-06 | 2015-06-16 | G01C3/08, G01C3/02, G01S17/00, G01S17/89, G01S7/481, G01S7/497 | 13/706746 |
| 420 | 9052375 | Method for validating aircraft traffic control data | A method for group travel and group communications, wherein the group travel parameters and group communications are combined for verifying and validating ADS-B data on aircraft. The full connectivity within a navigating group of aircraft allows all the group members to communicate spatial/temporal observations and collaborate in group protocols, e.g., majority voting protocol, which can determine if a received ADS-B message is corrupted or from a false target aircraft. Well-established distributed protocols based on group communications and majority voting exist for (1) detecting compromised members, i.e., false target aircraft, and (2) verifying message integrity, i.e., ADS-B data, given a minority fraction of members are compromised/colluding. Such protocols can be based on IP multicast communications over the IP networking data links available on the aircraft. Also disclosed is a method for verification and validation of position indicator message data on aircraft. | Radhakrishna G. Sampigethaya (Bellevue, WA), Radha Poovendran (Seattle, WA), Linda Bushnell (Seattle, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2010-07-22 | 2015-06-09 | G01S13/00, H04W24/00, H04M11/04, G01S5/02, G01S1/30, G01S11/08, G01S5/00, G01C21/00, G01S5/06, G01S5/22, G08G5/00 | 12/841349 |
| 421 | 9051061 | Systems and methods for safely landing an aircraft | A system for safely landing an aircraft including a low range radio altimeter, a barometric altimeter, and an autothrottle control. The low range radio altimeter calculates a first height of the aircraft above ground-level, the barometric altimeter calculates a second height of the aircraft above ground-level, and the autothrottle control determines if the first height and the second height do not correlate. If the first and second heights are determined to lack correlation, then automatic thrust-control of the aircraft is stopped. In some embodiments, the second height is partially calculated by accessing a ground elevation database to obtain an elevation of the ground above sea level and determining a difference between the elevation of the ground above sea level and an elevation of the aircraft above sea level. | Randall A. Greene (Greenwich, CT) | Safe Flight Instrument Corporation (White Plains, NY) | 2012-12-14 | 2015-06-09 | B64D45/04, B64D31/06, G01S13/88, G01C5/00, G01C5/06 | 13/715866 |
| 422 | 9025019 | Time of flight (TOF) sensors as replacement for standard photoelectric sensors | Systems and methods are provided for utilizing time of flight sensors in an industrial automation environment. The method includes employing a multi pixel camera associated with a time of flight sensor to detect an object located within a defined or bounded target area, comparing pixels with adjacent pixels associated with an image of the object captured by the multi pixel camera, identifying the object as being a colored, texture, or highly reflective object, and controlling industrial machinery based on the identification of the object entering the target area. | Carl Meinherz (Malans, CH), Craig Martin Brockman (Windham, NH), Elik I. Fooks (Lexington, MA), Manfred Norbert Stein (Graubuenden, CH), Martin Hardegger (Sargans, CH), Wei Jie Chen (Westford, MA), Reto Berner (Aarau, CH), Richard Galera (Nashua, NH), Robert M. Black (Bolton, MA), Roger Merz (Richterswil, CH), Suresh Nair (Amherst, NH), Steven A. Eisenbrown (South Russell, OH) | Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. (Mayfield Heights, OH), Cedes Safety & Automation Ag (Landquart CH) | 2010-10-18 | 2015-05-05 | G01S17/89, F16P3/14 | 12/906622 |
| 423 | 9024245 | Image sensor apparatus using shaded photodetector for time of flight determination | A unit pixel for an image sensor includes an accumulation circuit configured to generate an accumulated dark current by accumulating a charge corresponding to a dark current during a time of flight (TOF) , the accumulation circuit being optically shaded to generate the dark current, an output voltage generation circuit configured to generate and output an output voltage corresponding to the TOF based on a charge corresponding to the accumulated dark current, a control circuit configured to control an operation of the output voltage generation circuit based on a light signal that is input to the unit pixel after being reflected by an object, the light signal being emitted by a light source, and an initialization circuit configured to initialize the accumulation circuit at a predetermined cycle. | Min-Seok Oh (Osan-si, KR), Moo-Sup Lim (Yongin-si, KR), Jung-Chak Ahn (Yongin-si, KR), Eun-Sub Shim (Anyang-si, KR) | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KR) | 2012-09-13 | 2015-05-05 | G01S17/89, H04N5/361, H04N5/341, G01S7/486, G01S7/481, H04N5/3745 | 13/612904 |
| 424 | 9019144 | Acquisition of SAR images for computing a height or a digital elevation model by interferometric processing | The present invention relates to a method for acquiring SAR images for interferometric processing. The method comprises acquiring, by one or more airborne SAR sensors, SAR images of one and the same area with an acquisition geometry such that to enable interferometric processing of said SAR images. The method is characterized by an acquisition geometry in which each SAR image of the area is acquired in a respective direction of acquisition that defines a respective squint angle with respect to the direction of flight, and in which the squint angles are such that to determine a mean squint angle different from zero. | Diego Calabrese (Rome, IT) | Thales Alenia Space Italia S.P.A. (Rome, IT) | 2012-06-14 | 2015-04-28 | G01S13/00 | 13/523200 |
| 425 | 9019143 | Spectrometric synthetic aperture radar | This invention relates to improved ultra-wideband synthetic aperture radar and inverse synthetic aperture radar, capable of simultaneously and independently imaging a plurality of spectral and polarimetric channels covering multiple radio frequency octaves. Advances in technologies relating to signal processing, graphical user interfaces, color representations of multi-spectral radar images, low aerodynamic drag polarimetric SAR antenna systems, and synthetic aperture radar aircraft platforms are some of the advancements disclosed herein. | Henry K. Obermeyer (Wellington, CO) | --- | 2007-11-30 | 2015-04-28 | G01S13/90 | 12/079062 |
| 426 | 9007570 | Airborne wind profiling algorithm for Doppler Wind LIDAR | Systems, methods, and devices of the present invention enable airborne Doppler Wind LIDAR system measurements and INS/GPS measurements to be combined to estimate wind parameters and compensate for instrument misalignment. In a further embodiment, the wind speed and wind direction may be computed based on two orthogonal line-of-sight LIDAR returns. | Jeffrey Y. Beyon (Yorktown, VA), Grady J. Koch (Yorktown, VA), Michael J. Kavaya (Yorktown, VA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Washington, DC) | 2013-11-14 | 2015-04-14 | G01S17/95 | 14/079914 |
| 427 | 9007257 | Method for variable control of a zone sensor in a combat aircraft | The invention relates to a method for controlling a sensor in a combat aircraft (1) comprising the steps of: a) determining (3) direction and size of a defence zone around the combat aircraft (1) based on a plurality of characteristic parameters of an enemy combat aircraft (2) , b) determining (4) direction and size of at least one offence zone around the combat aircraft (1) based on the plurality of characteristic parameters of the enemy combat aircraft (2) , and c) controlling (5) the sensor in the combat aircraft (1) according to emission level and detection capacity within at least one of the defence zone and the at least one offence zone. In this way, the sensors are controlled reliably and thus the pilot can act and react mission-oriented. | Anders Lundqvist (Vaxholm, SE), Vibeke Kensing (Vikingstad, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoeping, SE) | 2012-02-08 | 2015-04-14 | G01S13/00 | 14/371955 |
| 428 | 9000972 | System and method for enabling display of vertical weather information on an aircraft horizontal weather display | A system for displaying vertical weather information on an aviation display aboard an aircraft, the aircraft including an aircraft radar system for scanning a target, is provided. The system includes processing electronics configured to receive a target selection from a user input device, to receive an altitude value of an echo top of the target based on radar return data, and to cause the altitude value to be displayed on plan view of weather images on an aviation display in response to the received target selection. | James D. Cahoon (Melbourne, FL), Patricia R. Barbosa (Rockledge, FL), Alexander M. Oranskiy (Melbourne, FL), Mark B. Godfrey (Melbourne, FL), Jeffery A. Finley (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2011-09-27 | 2015-04-07 | G01S13/95 | 13/246785 |
| 429 | 8994577 | Synthetic aperture radar images with composite azimuth resolution | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image is produced by using all phase histories of a set of phase histories to produce a first pixel array having a first azimuth resolution, and using less than all phase histories of the set to produce a second pixel array having a second azimuth resolution that is coarser than the first azimuth resolution. The first and second pixel arrays are combined to produce a third pixel array defining a desired SAR image that shows distinct shadows of moving objects while preserving detail in stationary background clutter. | Timothy P. Bielek (Albuquerque, NM), Douglas L. Bickel (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2012-07-05 | 2015-03-31 | G01S13/08 | 13/542182 |
| 430 | 8976057 | TCAS primary antenna on aircraft underside system and method | A system and method for operational placement of Traffic Collision and Avoidance System (TCAS) antennas on an aerial vehicle. A TCAS primary directional antenna is configured to mount on a lower surface of the aerial vehicle wherein the directional antenna receives and determines a direction of reception of an RF signal. The omnidirectional antenna is mounted on an upper surface of the aerial vehicle for transmission and reception of TCAS signals. A TCAS processor has associated ports to send and receive signals to each antenna for communicating with TCAS target aircraft. The TCAS processor is configured to recognize a mounted location of the antennas via signals received from the inputs. The TCAS processor is further configured to accept a plurality of inputs via the associated ports from the lower mounted directional antenna yet still output accurate TCAS information to the TCAS display. | Randy H. Jacobson (Melbourne, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2012-07-02 | 2015-03-10 | G01S13/93, G01S3/14, G08G5/04 | 13/540419 |
| 431 | 8970423 | Helicopter collision-avoidance system using light fixture mounted radar sensors | A helicopter collision-avoidance system is disclosed. An exemplary system includes at least one lamp, such as a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, an infrared lamp, or the like, a radar emitter configured to emit a radar signal, a radar detector configured to receive a radar return signal associated with reflections of the emitted radar signal that are reflected from an object, and a radio frequency (RF) system configured to wirelessly transmit radar information associated with the received radar return signal to a radar information receiver configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted radar information. The light module is located at one of a plurality of light positions on an external surface of a helicopter. | Tomas Kabrt (Prague, CZ), George Papageorgiou (Toulouse, FR), Jean-Luc Derouineau (Cornebarrieu, FR), Michal Orlita (Brno, CZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2012-12-06 | 2015-03-03 | G01S13/93 | 13/706858 |
| 432 | 8957806 | Radar system with synthetic aperture | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system and method of processing signals in a SAR system. The SAR system includes includes a radar antenna having at least one partial antenna, of which each at least one partial antenna includes a plurality of phase centers with assigned transmit/receive modules and a signal processor for coherent processing of signals of the phase centers. The signal processors include a hybrid beam forming module structured and arranged to digitize and process analog receive signals received by the transmit/receive modules of the phase centers, and to convert the digitally processed receive signals into analog signals. Further, an analog receive network is structured and arranged to combine the analog signals of respective transmit/receive modules with one another to form an output signal. | Christoph Schaefer (Friedrichshafen, DE) | Astrium Gmbh (Taufkirchen, DE) | 2012-07-05 | 2015-02-17 | G01S13/90, G01S7/40, G01S7/285 | 13/542176 |
| 433 | 8947292 | Radar system and method for a synthetic aperture radar | A radar system for a synthetic aperture radar including an arrangement of at least one transmitter, two receivers, two antennas and signal processing means located on a platform. The platform is arranged to move over ground and arranged to transmit a known signal shape and receive signals reflected from the ground. The received signals are used to produce a synthetic aperture radar image of the ground. The synthetic aperture radar image includes a number of resolution cells. The radar system is further arranged to operate in a frequency band with a center frequency and with a wide bandwidth of at least one octave. A first antenna and a second antenna have a length of less than half the wavelength of the center frequency. The radar system is further arranged for: a radar system transfer function to be flat over the frequency band and one-sided beam forming with wideband antenna gain. Also a corresponding method. | Lars-Gunnar Andersson (Lindome, SE), Hans Hellsten (Linkoping, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoping, SE) | 2009-02-06 | 2015-02-03 | G01S13/00 | 13/148328 |
| 434 | 8939081 | Ladar backtracking of wake turbulence trailing an airborne target for point-of-origin estimation and target classification | A weapon-locating ladar system estimates a backward trajectory of an airborne target by using flow field measurements to follow the wake turbulence trailing the airborne target from a position at which the target is detected backwards until the wake is no longer observable. The system may use the backward trajectory to estimate the point-of-origin of the target. The system may also use the flow field measurements along the backward trajectory to classify the target. Target classification may be used to refine the point-of-origin estimate, to influence counter-fire or to adapt the flow field measurements. | Duane Donald Smith (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Robert William Byren (Manhattan Beach, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2013-01-15 | 2015-01-27 | F42C13/02, F42C13/04, G01S13/86, G01S13/38, G01N21/84 | 13/741804 |
| 435 | 8937849 | Auto-focus for circular synthetic aperture sonar | A method of focusing fully-coherent circular synthetic aperture sonar (CSAS) imagery is provided. A k-space representation of the CSAS image is generated using the two dimensional Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) . Sub-aperture images are generated by windowing the k-space representation and applying the two dimensional inverse FFT to the windowed spectrum. All adjacent complex sub-aperture images are correlated, the correlation peaks are detected and the relative shifts in X and Y as a function of look-angle are recorded. The relative shifts between adjacent sub-apertures are integrated and the means are subtracted to find the absolute shift as a function of look-angle. A motion-solution is calculated by exploiting the relationship between apparent scene shift and actual vehicle sway. The motion estimation is used to generate a phase-correction matrix that is multiplied by the k-space representation of the fully-coherent image. | Timothy M. Marston (Panama City Beach, FL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2012-08-07 | 2015-01-20 | G01S15/89 | 13/568677 |
| 436 | 8917200 | Aircraft weather radar with reduced heading, attitude and range artifacts | An avionic weather radar system tracks aircraft orientation with respect to acquired scan radar data to correct the display of the weather radar data for range distortion and orientation changes of the aircraft between radar acquisition and display, reducing image artifacts. | Jeffrey Hering (Oak Creek, WI), Ronald Elliot Zelazo (Franklin Lakes, NJ) | Astronautics Corporation of America (Milwaukee, WI) | 2011-07-05 | 2014-12-23 | G01S13/00 | 13/176494 |
| 437 | 8912943 | Near field subwavelength focusing synthetic aperture radar with chemical detection mode | Detection of objects such as a buried explosive device while operating from a moving platform using a radio frequency emission system having two modes. An electromagnetic wave emission and detection system operates in a first mode to locate objects of interest and in a second mode to determine if an object contains explosive materials. In the first mode, the emission and detection system preferably operates as a subwavelength focusing, wideband, superlens using a near field super gain synthetic aperture continuous wave (CW) swept radar. In the second mode the system preferably enabled after detection of an object in the first mode, uses chemical detection methods such as Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) . | John T. Apostolos (Lyndeborough, NH), Judy Feng (Nashua, NH), William Mouyos (Windham, NH) | Ami Research & Development, Llc (Windham, NH) | 2012-12-05 | 2014-12-16 | G01S13/88, G01S13/89, G01V3/12 | 13/705343 |
| 438 | 8907837 | Device for controlling the display of a weather radar image on board an aircraft | The device for controlling the display of a radar image on board an aircraft, in particular a weather radar image, is suitable for performing at least one predetermined test on a radar echo in order to decide on a representation corresponding to the echo in a radar image display. | Xavier Cros (Daux, FR) | Airbus Operations (Toulouse, FR) | 2011-05-18 | 2014-12-09 | G01S13/95 | 13/110623 |
| 439 | 8879357 | Systems and methods for high coverage rate synthetic aperture sonar | The systems and methods described herein relate to systems and methods for synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) or radar including the use of orthogonal signals with SAS. | Richard J. Rikoski (Alameda, CA) | Hadal, Inc. (Oakland, CA) | 2012-05-07 | 2014-11-04 | G01S15/00 | 13/466063 |
| 440 | 8873337 | Systems and methods for overpinging synthetic aperture sonar transmitters | The systems and methods described herein relate to systems and methods for synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) or radar including overpinging with multiple SAS transmitters. | Richard J. Rikoski (Alameda, CA) | Hadal, Inc. (Oakland, CA) | 2012-05-07 | 2014-10-28 | G01S15/00 | 13/466078 |
| 441 | 8867311 | Systems and methods for low grating sidelobe synthetic aperture sonar | The systems and methods described herein relate to systems and methods for synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) having multiple transmitters and generating orthogonal pinging sequences configured to enhance performance. | Richard J. Rikoski (Alameda, CA) | Hadal, Inc. (Oakland, CA) | 2012-05-07 | 2014-10-21 | G01S15/00 | 13/466062 |
| 442 | 8857368 | Aircraft location system for locating aircraft in water environments | A method and apparatus for an aircraft location system comprising an aircraft structure and a number of acoustic reflectors associated with the aircraft structure. The number of acoustic reflectors is configured to generate first sound signals in response to receiving second sound signals. | Christopher Shane Huskamp (St. Louis, MO), Bonnie Louise Gorsic (Fountain Valley, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2011-09-21 | 2014-10-14 | G01S13/86 | 13/238533 |
| 443 | 8843255 | Methods for displaying aircraft procedure information | Methods are provided for presenting procedure information for an airport on a display device onboard an aircraft. A method comprises displaying a map on a display device and displaying a briefing panel overlying a portion the map. The briefing panel includes a plurality of segments, wherein each segment is associated with a type of procedure information for the airport. | Blake Wilson (Peoria, AZ), Jary Engels (Peoria, AZ), Ivan Sandy Wyatt (Scottsdale, AZ), Roger W. Burgin (Scottsdale, AZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2012-12-21 | 2014-09-23 | G06F19/00, G05D1/12, G01S13/00, G01C21/00 | 13/725739 |
| 444 | 8803732 | Method and apparatus for simultaneous synthetic aperture radar and moving target indication | Method and apparatus for simultaneous synthetic aperture radar and moving target detection. A plurality of independent radio frequency signals are generated and applied to separate radiating, receiving antenna elements. Signals are generated as basis functions, such that moving target detection and synthetic aperture radar signals are constructed from individual waveform components in space, time, frequency, and coding. Waveform components are sorted and combined at reception. Received data is simultaneously processed to extract synthetic aperture radar images and moving target indication detections. | Paul Antonik (Utica, NY), Michael C. Wicks (Utica, NY) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC), N/A (N/A) | 2012-01-11 | 2014-08-12 | G01S13/52 | 13/385468 |
| 445 | 8803727 | Method for producing sensor-supported, synthetic vision for landing support of helicopters under brown-out or white-out conditions | A method for producing a sensor-supported, synthetic view for landing support of helicopters under brown-out or white-out conditions is provided. A virtual 3-D representation of the landing zone is continuously created from 3-D data of the intended landing zone recorded during the landing approach and a monitoring routine is available to ensure that no 3-D data that was produced under brown-out or white-out conditions is considered in the representation. As soon as the monitoring routine detects that 3-D data has been recorded under brown-out or white-out conditions, an additional radar sensor is activated to continuously produce distance and/or Doppler data of potential objects entering the landing zone, the objects being displayed to a pilot of the landing helicopter in the synthetic view. | Thomas Muensterer (Tettnang, DE), Matthias Wegner (Friedrichshafen, DE), Peter Kielhorn (Friedrichshafen, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2010-06-29 | 2014-08-12 | G01S13/00, G01S13/08 | 13/386738 |
| 446 | 8788128 | Precision navigation for landing | In the examples described the forward-looking radar generated real-time terrain model (or in an alternative example in combination with a terrain database) , can allow the use of a radio altimeter to compute aircraft vertical position relative to the runway threshold. Such a system typically provides improved accuracy for precision landings. | Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2008-08-01 | 2014-07-22 | G08G5/04, G01S13/93, G06F19/00, G01S13/08 | 12/221354 |
| 447 | 8775062 | Terminal aircraft sequencing and conflict resolution | Embodiments provide an advanced decision support tool to enable automated aircraft sequencing and conflict detection and resolution. The tool can be used to assist an air traffic controller (ATC) in determining merging, sequencing, and spacing resolutions, communicating the resolutions to the aircraft, and monitoring execution and compliance with the provided resolutions. According to embodiments, the tool can incorporate a broad range of inputs (e.g., surveillance data, weather information, aircraft equipage, etc.) and can be configured according to different aircraft sequencing modes of operation (e.g., one mode of operation is to minimize aircraft deviations necessary to resolve a particular conflict) . In an embodiment, the tool includes a controller interface, which may be integrated within the controller interface of existing ATC systems or implemented separately. Embodiments can be implemented using software, hardware, or a combination thereof. | Thomas Alois Becher (McLean, VA), Eric Joseph Zakrzewski (Sterling, VA), Paul Vincent MacWilliams (Falls Church, VA) | The Mitre Corporation (McLean, VA) | 2011-11-02 | 2014-07-08 | G06F19/00, G01S13/00 | 13/287833 |
| 448 | 8755954 | System and method for generating alert signals in a terrain awareness and warning system of an aircraft using a forward-looking radar system | A system and methods for generating alerts in a terrain awareness and warning system (''TAWS'') in an aircraft, using data acquired from a forward-looking radar The system comprises a forward-looking imaging device, an airport database, a navigation system, a forward-looking terrain alert (''FLTA'') processor, and a crew alerting system. The FLTA processor determines a measured clearance altitude of a highest cell within an area and compares it with a required minimum clearance altitude, if the measured altitude is equal or less than the required altitude, the crew is alerted. Alternatively, a terrain database may be used. with the FLTA processor for determining if the aircraft descends below the minimum operating altitude or is predicted to do so and then generating an alert. A method is disclosed for generating TAWS alerts using elevation angle measured by the forward-looking radar and terrain data retrieved from a terrain database. | Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA), Joel M. Wichgers (Urbana, IA), Richard D. Jinkins (Rewey, WI), Richard M. Rademaker (Rijswijk, NL), Daniel L. Woodell (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2007-09-27 | 2014-06-17 | G01S13/94 | 11/904491 |
| 449 | 8742977 | Wind turbine bird strike prevention system method and apparatus | A bistatic radar receiver is located on a wind turbine and surrounded by multiple bistatic transmitters to detect and precisely track the positions of nearby birds. Bird target reflections from multiple transmitters are received by the radar receiver and their position and track determined from the transmitter locations, receiver location, and measured transmitter-to-target-to-receiver ranges. Target position and altitude accuracy is similar to GPS. When birds are detected to be on a collision course with the wind turbine, a deterrent is activated to scare them away. Deterrents can be flashing strobe lights, intense sound, air cannon, or any other effective bird deterrent. | Gregory Hubert Piesinger (Cave Creek, AZ) | --- | 2012-03-02 | 2014-06-03 | G01S13/00 | 13/385705 |
| 450 | 8736633 | Traffic symbology on airport moving map | A method and system is described for enhancing ground situational awareness to an aircrew via the display of an airport moving map within an own-ship, including determining the position of the own-ship and an aircraft on one of a taxiway, a runway, or an apron, displaying each of the own-ship and the aircraft on an airport moving map by displaying for each a first symbol that indicates the location on the airport moving map, and displaying a second symbol that changes in transparency in proportion to the range of the airport moving map. | Saravanakumar Gurusamy (Tamil Nadu, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2011-11-09 | 2014-05-27 | G09G5/02, B64C13/00, G05D1/00, G09G5/00, G01S13/74, G01S13/00, G01C23/00, G06F19/00, G08G1/095, G08G1/07 | 13/292572 |
| 451 | 8736486 | Synthetic aperture radar system | An imaging system for generating a three dimensional image of tissue of a patient is provided. The imaging system comprises of a transmitter, receiver, antenna system and a display element to form a synthetic aperture radar system that displays a three dimensional view of the tissue. The SAR system has been configured to operate in the near field as opposed to current equipment which can only perform satisfactorily in the far field. A calibration technique has been utilized that allows the system to perform as well as other systems that operate using far field techniques but allows for a much simpler, cost effective system. | James L. Stolpman (Bloomingdale, IL), Hans-Joachim Fabry (Berlin, DE), Todd R. Henry (Arlington Heights, IL) | Interstitial, Llc (Mt. Prospect, IL) | 2008-12-23 | 2014-05-27 | G01S7/40, G01S13/90 | 12/317636 |
| 452 | 8736482 | System and method for aircraft navigation using signals transmitted in the DME transponder frequency range | The present invention provides a system and method for aircraft to determine own position and navigate using a navigation heartbeat signal broadcast on a DME uplink and/or a Mode-S uplink frequency. The present invention enables deep integration between the existing navigation systems (DME interrogation-reply ranges and GPS/WAAS raw TDOA or pseudo range measurements) and the DME heartbeat TDOAs or Mode-S heartbeat TDOAs to provide a highly accurate navigation positioning capability and provide necessary backup capability in lieu of GPS to maintain the necessary RNP/RNAV capability and avoid degrading aircraft operational safety. | Ryan Haoyun Wu (Manlius, NY), Marc J. Viggiano (Manlius, NY) | Saab Sensis Corporation (Wilmington, DE) | 2010-07-19 | 2014-05-27 | G01S13/46 | 13/384442 |
| 453 | 8717226 | Method for processing signals of an airborne radar with correction of the error in the radar beam pointing angle and corresponding device | A method for processing signals of an airborne radar includes a correction of the erroneous angle of pointing of the radar beam, comprising an evaluation of the error in the pointing angle for a constant height of the aerial transporter. for a given angle of scan, the method carries out at least two series of measurements of the power of the echoes returned following the emission of radar signals, each series being associated with a given distance-bin, the measurements being dependent on the angle of pointing of the radar antenna, formulates a vertical profile of the power of the echoes returned for each series of measurements, and then on the basis of each vertical profile, measures the pointing angle corresponding to a power of the echoes returned by the ground alone, and calculates the error in the pointing angle on the basis of the measured pointing angles. | Nicolas Bon (Brest, FR), Jean-Paul Artis (Plouzane, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2009-11-03 | 2014-05-06 | G01S13/50 | 12/611415 |
| 454 | 8711029 | Process for filtering interferograms obtained from SAR images acquired on the same area | A process for filtering interferograms obtained from SAR images, acquired on the same area by synthetic aperture radars, comprising the following steps: a) acquiring a series of N radar images (Al . . . AN) by means of a SAR sensor on a same area with acquisition geometries such as to allow re-sampling of the data on a common grid, b) after re-sampling on a common grid, selecting a pixel from the common grid, c) calculating the coherence matrix of the selected pixel, that is estimating the complex coherence values for each possible pair of available images, d) maximizing, with respect of the source vector .theta., here an unknown element, the functional: (formula) being R the operator which extracts the real part of a complex number, .gamma..sub.nm the modulus of the element (n,m) of the coherence matrix, k a positive real number, .phi..sub.nm the phase of the element (n,m) of the coherence matrix, .theta.n and .theta.m the elements n and m of the unknown vector .theta.. Given that only phase differences appear in the functional T, the values of the unknown factor are estimated less an additive constant, which can be fixed by setting for example .theta..sub.1=0, and the phase values .theta..sub.n thus obtained constitute the vector of the filtered phase values. .times..times..times..gamma..times..times.eI.PHI..times..times..t- imes.eI.function..theta..theta. ##EQU00001## | Alessandro Ferretti (Milan, IT), Alfio Fumagalli (Calco, IT), Fabrizio Novali (Milan, IT), Francesco De Zan (Gilching, DE), Alessio Rucci (Cassina De'Pecchi, IT), Stefano Tebaldini (Milan, IT) | Tele-Rilevamento Europa- T.R.E. S.R.L. (Milan, IT), Politecnico Di Milano (Milan IT) | 2010-07-02 | 2014-04-29 | G01S13/90 | 13/259295 |
| 455 | 8704701 | Automatic monitoring of flight related radio communications | The present disclosure is generally directed to processing air traffic controller (''ATC'') communication directed to aircraft other than the current aircraft. ATC communication is processed using speech recognition and the call sign and augmented flight information for other aircraft is identified. The corresponding aircraft icon on the display representing the aircraft on the display may be augmented by emphasizing the icon and displaying augmented flight information, along with an insignia. This information is displayed for a configurable time duration, after which the display reverts to displaying a conventional aircraft icon and associated flight information on the display. The pilot can subsequently select the aircraft icon and may be presented with a log of past ATC communications for the aircraft. | Karl Christian Pschierer (Ochsenfurt, DE), Marco Gaertner (Sinntal-Sannerz, DE), Joshua Nicholas Smith (Vail, CO) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2011-10-18 | 2014-04-22 | G01S13/93 | 13/275774 |
| 456 | 8698669 | System and method for aircraft altitude measurement using radar and known runway position | Another embodiment of the disclosure relates to an altitude system for an aircraft. The aircraft radar system includes a processor configured to determine an altitude of the aircraft using runway position information, and an angle to the runway associated with a radar beam to the runway. The angle to the runway is being determined using a pointing angle of the antenna adjusted with an angular offset. The angular offset is determined from phase processing. | Daniel L. Woodell (Cedar Rapids, IA), Richard D. Jinkins (Rewey, WI), Richard M. Rademaker (Rijswijk, NL), Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2010-12-22 | 2014-04-15 | G01S13/08, G01S13/00 | 12/976871 |
| 457 | 8698668 | SAR radar system | A method for detecting targets including moving and stationary targets with a radar system equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) onboard a SAR platform including navigation equipment for accurate determination of the position of the SAR platform. The SAR platform is transversing a stationary ground region and targets in the ground region, in which the SAR platform obtains radar data utilizing at least one antenna. A SAR processor records the radar data and the position of the antenna or antennas for each transmitted radar pulse. Radar data within synthetic sub-apertures, are successively merged in N iteration steps into SAR images of increasing resolution of the surveyed region and wherein each iteration step includes forming a new SAR image at a new iteration level by a linear combination of neighboring SAR images in the previous iteration step. A radar system and a SAR processor used for calculating the detection and positioning of targets including moving and stationary targets. | Hans Hellsten (Linkoping, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoping, SE) | 2008-11-11 | 2014-04-15 | G01S13/00 | 13/128642 |
| 458 | 8698667 | Device for countering and tracking a threat in the form of a homing-head missile | The invention concerns a device for countering and tracking a threat in the form of a homing-head missile, comprising a homing head adapted to receive an incident coherent light beam and to deflect same to produce a transmitted beam. The invention is characterized in that the homing head comprises a biprism including two prisms made of different materials and adapted to divide the transmitted beam into two sub-beams, the refractive index difference between the prisms being adapted to introduce an optical path difference between the two sub-beams which is greater than the coherence length of the incident beam. | Julien Aragones (Antony, FR), Francois Dufresne De Virel (Paris, FR), Jacques Robineau (La Ville du Bois, FR) | Sagem Defense Securite (Paris, FR) | 2006-02-22 | 2014-04-15 | H04K3/00, G01S17/74, G01S7/495, G01S17/00, G01S7/00 | 11/885093 |
| 459 | 8698058 | Missile with ranging bistatic RF seeker | A ranging seeker apparatus includes an RF antenna and a bistatic ranging detector operatively connected with the RF antenna. The RF antenna and bistatic ranging detector are operative for detecting one or more guidance objects in a RF band and providing angle and range data to the missile. Also, a missile including a missile body, a missile propulsion system disposed in or on the missile body, and the ranging bistatic RF seeker disposed in or on the missile body. | Ronald H. LaPat (Westford, MA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2010-07-23 | 2014-04-15 | F41G7/22, G01S13/88, F41G7/00, G01S13/00 | 12/842175 |
| 460 | 8681040 | System and method for aiding pilots in resolving flight ID confusion | The present invention is a method for aiding pilots in resolving flight identifier (flight ID) confusion. The method includes receiving a first flight ID in a processing system. The method further includes comparing the first flight ID to a second flight ID. The method further includes providing an alert when the compared first flight ID and second flight ID are at least substantially similar. The first flight ID is associated with a first aircraft, the second flight ID is associated with a second aircraft, the first aircraft and second aircraft being located in substantially proximal airspace. | Sethu R. Rathinam (Cedar Rapids, IA), Timothy W. Rand (Hiawatha, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2007-01-22 | 2014-03-25 | G01S13/74, G01S13/93, G01S13/00 | 11/656092 |
| 461 | 8681037 | Performance model for synthetic aperture radar automatic target recognition and method thereof | A target correlation matrix is generated for multiple two-class combinations of target types each having a target correlation and a synthetic aperture radar observation space. A target probability density of a target radar cross-section signature and a background probability density of a background radar cross-section signature are utilized. The observation space of each of the two-class combinations is partitioned into a target partition and at least one background partition in accordance with the target correlation. A conditional log likelihood is calculated using at least one random number for each of the partitions in accordance with the target probability density and the background probability density, and summed according to the two-class combinations. A maximum log likelihood is calculated from the summed conditional log likelihoods given that one target type of the multiple two-class combinations is assumed to be true. An automatic target recognition performance prediction based on the maximum log likelihood is generated. | David M. Doria (Lakewood, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2011-04-28 | 2014-03-25 | G01S13/00 | 13/096913 |
| 462 | 8665421 | Apparatus for providing laser countermeasures to heat-seeking missiles | A laser-based infrared countermeasure (IRCM) system is disclosed. The IRCM system includes a set of receive optics, a dichroic filter, first and second detectors, a lens module and a laser. Receive optics are configured to receive optical information. The lens module reflects the optical information from the receive optics to the dichroic filter. The dichroic filter selectively splits the optical information to the first and second detectors. The first and second detectors, each of which is formed by a single-pixel detector, detects a potential missile threat from the optical information. Based on information collected by the first and second detectors, the laser sends laser beams to neutralize any missile threat. | Joseph M. Owen, III (Derry, NH), Peter Russo (Nashua, NH), Jeffrey Minch (Nashua, NH), Kevin Larochelle (Goffstown, NH), Kenneth Dinndorf (Bedford, NH) | Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Nashua, NH) | 2010-04-19 | 2014-03-04 | G01S17/10 | 12/762860 |
| 463 | 8665131 | Target detection in a SAR-imaged sea area | Disclosed herein is a method of detecting a target in a sea area based on a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image thereof. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image is made up of pixels, each having a respective magnitude. The method comprises computing a first reference quantity which characterizes a Poisson distribution assumed for the magnitudes that the pixels in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image would have if the sea area were free of targets. The method further comprises selecting pixels in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image, computing a real quantity which characterizes a real statistical distribution of the magnitudes of the selected pixels, and detecting a target in the sea area based on the computed first reference and real quantities. The selected pixels are in a one and the same sub-image of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image, and detecting comprises detecting a target in a sea subarea of the sea area, the sea subarea being represented by the sub-image. | Gian Luca Eusebi Borzelli (Rome, IT), Alissa Ioannone (Chieti, IT), Mario Costantini (Lapedona, IT) | Telespazio S.P.A. (Rome, IT) | 2008-05-29 | 2014-03-04 | G01S13/00 | 12/994538 |
| 464 | 8659471 | Systems and methods for generating aircraft height data and employing such height data to validate altitude data | Present novel and non-trivial systems and methods for generating aircraft height data are disclosed. A processor is configured to receive both first data comprised of radar-based reflection data of a stationary reference point based upon a horizontal distance between the geographic position of an aircraft and the geographic position of the stationary reference point (e.g., landing threshold point) and second data comprised of internally sourced vertical travel data more frequently than the first data. From the first data and second data, an instant vertical distance above the stationary reference point is determined by updating the first data with the second data. Then, instant height data representative of the instant vertical distance above the stationary reference point is generated. Provided with the instant height data, a presentation system comprised of display unit, aural alert unit and/or a tactile alert unit may present the instant vertical distance to the pilot. | Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2011-07-29 | 2014-02-25 | G01S13/08 | 13/193788 |
| 465 | 8645008 | Method for presenting the drift values of an aircraft | A method for presenting the current drift values of an aircraft on a display device in which the drift values are presented in a vector presentation. The length of the drift vector above a predefined threshold value is presented in a manner proportional to the current drift velocity, and the length of the drift vector below the threshold value is presented in a manner disproportionate to the current drift velocity. There is a continuous transition between the two ways of presentation at the threshold value. | Thomas Muensterer (Tettnang, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2011-09-30 | 2014-02-04 | G01S13/92, G01C23/00, G02B27/01 | 13/823839 |
| 466 | 8643534 | System for sensing aircraft and other objects | A system for sensing aircraft and other objects uses bistatic radar with spread-spectrum signals transmitted from remotely located sources such as aircraft flying at very high altitudes or from a satellite constellation. A bistatic spread spectrum radar system using a satellite constellation can be integrated with a communications system and/or with a system using long baseline radar interferometry to validate the digital terrain elevation database. The reliability and safety of TCAS and ADS-B are improved by using the signals transmitted from a TCAS or ADS-B unit as a radar transmitter with a receiver used to receive reflections. Aircraft and other objects using spread spectrum radar are detected by using two separate receiving systems. Cross-Correlation between the outputs of the two receiving systems reveals whether a noise signal is produced by the receiving systems themselves or is coming from the outside. | Jed Margolin (VC Highlands, NV) | --- | 2012-08-25 | 2014-02-04 | G01S13/93, G01S13/75 | 13/594815 |
| 467 | 8643533 | Altitude sensor system | A weather radar system improves electronics for receiving radar returns. The weather radar system determines an altitude above ground level using return data derived from the weather radar returns. The weather radar system can utilize movement data related to movement of the aircraft to calculate the altitude. In addition, the weather radar system can utilize previous calculations of the altitude to determine the current altitude underneath the aircraft. The weather radar system can reduce the need for a radio altimeter. | Daniel L. Woodell (Cedar Rapids, IA), Richard D. Jinkins (Rewey, WI), Richard M. Rademaker (Rijswijk, NL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2010-09-28 | 2014-02-04 | G01S13/95 | 12/892563 |
| 468 | 8604970 | Systems and methods for generating data in a digital radio altimeter and detecting transient radio altitude information | Present novel and non-trivial systems and methods for generating data in a digital radio altimeter system and detecting transient radio altitude (''RA'') information are disclosed. Preliminary RA data is generated by a preliminary spectrum analyzer by analyzing spectrum data (e.g., frequency spectrum data) within a first range, where the spectrum data is representative of RA information. Final RA data is generated by a final spectrum analyzer by analyzing the spectrum data within a second range, where the second range is based upon the preliminary RA data and final RA data previously-generated and fed through a feedback data generator. The final RA data may be provided as source data to one or more user units. One user unit may be a transient RA detector which detects transient RA information based upon the preliminary RA data and the final RA data. | Trevor R. Trinkaus (Melbourne, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2010-06-04 | 2013-12-10 | G01S13/08 | 12/794214 |
| 469 | 8599646 | Method of ultrasound telemetry for drones, with discrimination of spurious echoes emanating from another drone | The method comprises: a) the emission of an ultrasound burst repeated at a predetermined recurrence frequency, and b) after each emission and for the duration of a time frame (n-1, n, n+1, . . . ) separating two consecutive emissions, the reception of a plurality of successive signal spikes appearing in the course of the same frame. These spikes include spurious spikes (E'.sub.n-1, E'.sub.n, E'.sub.n+1, . . . ) originating from the emitter of another drone, and a useful spike (E.sub.n-1, E.sub.n, E.sub.n+1, . . . ) corresponding to the distance to be estimated. To discriminate these spikes, the following steps are executed: c) for two consecutive frames, comparison of the instants of arrival of the p spikes of the current frame with the instants of arrival of the q spikes of the previous frame and determination, for each of the p.q pairs of spikes, of a corresponding relative time gap, d) application to the p.q gaps determined in step c) of a selection criterion making it possible to retain just a single spike of the current frame, and e) estimation of the distance as a function of the instant of arrival of the spike thus retained. | Benoit Pochon (Paris, FR) | Parrot (Paris, FR) | 2010-06-17 | 2013-12-03 | G01S15/08 | 13/381210 |
| 470 | 8576112 | Broadband multifunction airborne radar device with a wide angular coverage for detection and tracking, notably for a sense-and-avoid function | A multifunction airborne radar device includes a plurality of transmit antenna modules and/or receive antenna modules that are fixed relative to the aircraft, placed substantially over the surface of the aircraft so as to form transmit and receive beams, enabling targets to be detected for implementing a sense-and-avoid function. The airborne radar device may also comprise processing means for tracking the detected targets and for generating information sent to an air traffic control center and/or to a control device on board the aircraft. The processing device may also receive data relating to the aircraft, enabling the antenna beams to be adjusted and the tracking calculations to be refined. | Patrick Garrec (Merignac, FR), Pascal Cornic (Guilers, FR), Stephane Kemkemian (Paris, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2010-08-31 | 2013-11-05 | G01S13/00 | 12/872673 |
| 471 | 8576111 | Synthetic aperture radar system and methods | A compact synthetic aperture radar system and associated methods are disclosed. | Ryan L. Smith (Salem, UT), Logan C. Harris (Orem, UT), David G. Long (Provo, UT), Adam E. Robertson (Provo, UT), Adam R. Harper (Provo, UT), Britton T. Quist (Orem, UT), Joshua M. Hintze (Austin, TX) | Imsar Llc (Springville, UT) | 2009-06-22 | 2013-11-05 | G01S13/90 | 12/488668 |
| 472 | 8571728 | Systems and methods for embedding aircraft attitude data and detecting inconsistent aircraft attitude information | Present novel and non-trivial systems and methods for embedding aircraft attitude data within a pixel data set and detecting inconsistent aircraft attitude information are disclosed. A pixel data set representative of the scene outside the aircraft is generated based upon the navigation data and the terrain data, attitude-exclusive data is generated based upon orientation data, and attitude-exclusive data is embedded into the pixel data set to form an embedded pixel data set. Attitude-exclusive data is comprised of attitude-exclusive pixel data having first and second pixel locations or attitude-exclusive ancillary data. Attitude-exclusive data is compared against separately-provided reference attitude data for the purpose of detecting inconsistent attitude information. Inconsistent attitude information is detected when at least one attitude measurement determined from either the attitude-exclusive pixel data or the attitude-exclusive ancillary data does not equal the respective attitude measurement of the reference attitude data. | Jason C. Wenger (Cedar Rapids, IA), Travis S. VanderKamp (Marion, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2010-02-18 | 2013-10-29 | G05D1/00, B64G1/24, G01S13/00, G06K9/46, G08B23/00 | 12/708103 |
| 473 | 8570211 | Aircraft bird strike avoidance method and apparatus | A non-scanning radar system is installed on an aircraft to detect and avoid bird strikes or collisions with other airborne hazards. Target amplitude, range, and Doppler tracking versus time are used to qualify the collision threat. Avoidance is based on a quick minor altitude change by the pilot or autopilot to exit the imminent bird or other airborne hazard altitude window. In one embodiment, a bistatic passive radar receiver antenna is used in conjunction with an existing geostationary satellite signal. Range and Doppler information are obtained via cross correlation processing of the hazard reflection signal with a direct path reference signal from the satellite. | Gregory Hubert Piesinger (Cave Creek, AZ) | --- | 2010-01-19 | 2013-10-29 | G01S13/00 | 12/657318 |
| 474 | 8570210 | Aircraft MIMO radar | Traditional airborne radar antennas are typically limited to placement above or below the aircraft, or in one or both of the wings, or in the nose. In the both-wing case, the fuselage prevents coherent array processing of both wing arrays without the introduction of grating lobes. Both wing arrays are coherently combined without grating lobes through appropriate geometric configurations of the arrays and the use of MIMO processing techniques. A virtual array is formed by convolving the transmit and receive apertures to fill in the gap created by the fuselage, thereby allowing fully coherent array processing and greater angular resolution than previously achievable through a conformal array. The signal-to-noise ratios are potentially improved. | Gregory P. Fonder (Medford, NJ), Arul Manickam (Philadelphia, PA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2011-06-21 | 2013-10-29 | G01S13/90 | 13/165161 |
| 475 | 8569669 | Navigation method for a missile | A SAR image recorded by a reconnaissance system is transferred as a reference edge image together with the data of the trajectory as a reference. The signal of the infrared seeker head of the missile is converted into a virtual SAR edge image and compared to the SAR reference image to calculate the precise position of the missile. | Michael Holicki (Munich, DE), Nikolaus Schweyer (Munich, DE), Juergen Zoz (Friedberg, DE) | Lfk-Lenkflugkoerpersysteme Gmbh (Schrobenhausen, DE) | 2011-03-23 | 2013-10-29 | F42B15/01, F41G7/00, G01S13/89, F42B15/00, G01S13/00 | 13/069814 |
| 476 | 8519882 | Method and system for detecting ground obstacles from an airborne platform | This method for detecting ground obstacles from an airborne platform comprises: a step of illuminating the whole field of view of interest with an electromagnetic wave in the range of 0.1 to 100 GHz, a step of receiving the echoes with multiple antenna elements from the whole field of interest and of transforming said echoes into a digital signal per antenna element, a step of combining said digital signals simultaneously in order to obtain simultaneously multiple beams, a step of Range and Velocity filtering each beam in parallel, a step of applying on each filtered beam a detection process using a threshold on amplitude to detect potential ground obstacles, and a step of discriminating said ground obstacles from said potential ground obstacles due to their specific signature in terms of both relative velocity and distance using velocity of the airborne platform. | Albert Gezinus Huizing (Voorschoten, NL), Maternus Petrus Gerardus Otten (Voorburg, NL), Franciscus Hendrikus Elferink (Noordwijkerhout, NL), Sebastiaan Gerardus Maria Van Dijk (Pijnacker, NL), Eric Itcia (Toulouse, FR), Sebastien Mazuel (Toulouse, FR) | Rockwell Collins France (Blagnac, FR), Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno (Delft NL), , N/A (N/A) | 2010-11-03 | 2013-08-27 | G01S13/00 | 12/939035 |
| 477 | 8493263 | Short baseline helicopter positioning radar for low visibility using combined phased array and phase difference array receivers | A helicopter position location system includes a receiver located substantially in a center of an array of receivers. A first array of receivers is located in a selected pattern separated from the center receiver by a first distance. Selected receivers in the first array are spaced apart from each other by at most one half wavelength of a base frequency of a locator signal transmitted from a helicopter. A second array of receivers is located in a selected pattern by a second distance larger than the first distance. A transmitter on the transmits a signal having a base frequency and a plurality of hop frequencies A processor in signal communication with the receivers is configured to determine phase difference with respect to frequency between any pair of receivers, to determine time delay of arrival based on the phase difference with respect to frequency, to beam steer response of the selected receivers, and to use the beam steered response and time delay of arrival between pairs of receivers to determine a position of the helicopter. | Nicholas G. Pace (Bath, GB), Jacques Y. Guigne (Paradise, CA), Andre A. Pant (Paradise, CA) | Intelligent Sciences, Ltd. (Paradise, NL, CA) | 2011-06-28 | 2013-07-23 | G01S13/00 | 13/170680 |
| 478 | 8493262 | Synthetic aperture radar image formation system and method | A saturated input signal acquired by a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system is processed by estimating a reconstruction that generated the input signal, reproducing an input signal from an estimated reconstruction to generate a reproduced signal, comparing the reproduced signal with the input signal, adjusting an estimated reconstruction based on the comparison, and iterating from the reproducing step until a termination condition is reached. | Petros T. Boufounos (Boston, MA), Dennis Wei (Cambridge, MA) | Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) | 2011-02-11 | 2013-07-23 | G01S13/00 | 13/026085 |
| 479 | 8487808 | High resolution SAR imaging using non-uniform pulse timing | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system includes a non-uniform pulse generator, and an echo receiver. A SAR image is reconstructed from samples of received echoes, wherein transmitted pulses and reflected echoes overlap in time. | Petros Boufounos (Boston, MA), Dehong Liu (Lexington, MA) | Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) | 2011-03-31 | 2013-07-16 | G01S13/00 | 13/077597 |
| 480 | 8487807 | Synthetic aperture imaging interferometer | There is described a method for generating a synthetic aperture image of a target area, comprising: receiving, from a synthetic aperture imaging system, first raw data representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by the target area and detected by the synthetic aperture imaging system according to a first angle of view, digitally combining the first raw data with second raw data, thereby obtaining combined data, the second raw data being representative of the electromagnetic signals reflected by the target area and detected by the synthetic aperture imaging system according to a second angle of view different from the first angle of view, and generating an interference pattern of the target data using the combined data. | Alain Bergeron (Quebec, CA), Linda Marchese (Quebec, CA) | Institut National D'optique (Quebec, CA) | 2010-06-28 | 2013-07-16 | G01S13/00 | 12/933016 |
| 481 | 8483961 | Systems, methods, and computer program products of flight validation | Systems, methods, and computer program products for flight validation (FV) are provided. Embodiments implement the requirements of FAA Notice 8260.67 as they relate to FV. Embodiments enable FV to be performed in its entirety, including flight and/or ground obstacle assessment, and on-course/on-path flight evaluation. Embodiments enable a post-flight validation phase, which provides post flight analysis and archiving capabilities. Using embodiments, a person of minimal skill and training can perform FV as prescribed by FAA requirements. Accordingly, significant costs associated with hiring professional surveyors and air crews to perform obstacle assessment and flight evaluation can be eliminated. Embodiments can be implemented using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and relatively inexpensive hardware, making them suitable for large-scale FV operations. Embodiments may also be integrated with existing instrument flight procedure design tools, including, for example, the TARGETS (Terminal Area Route Generation Evaluation & Traffic Simulation) tool developed by the MITRE Corporation. | Jeremy Patrick Irish (Edmond, OK), Steve Patrick Chase (Ashburn, VA), Adric Eckstein (Oakton, VA), Timothy Lovell (Blanchard, OK) | The Mitre Corporation (McLean, VA) | 2010-08-30 | 2013-07-09 | G01S13/88 | 12/871645 |
| 482 | 8482452 | Synthetic aperture integration (SAI) algorithm for SAR imaging | A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object. | David H. Chambers (Livermore, CA), Jeffrey E. Mast (Loveland, CO), David W. Paglieroni (Pleasanton, CA), N. Reginald Beer (Pleasanton, CA) | Lawrence Livermore National Security, Llc (Livermore, CA) | 2011-08-26 | 2013-07-09 | G01S13/90 | 13/219475 |
| 483 | 8477062 | Radar-based system, module, and method for presenting steering symbology on an aircraft display unit | A novel and non-trivial radar-based system, module, and method for presenting steering symbology on an aircraft display unit are disclosed. Hazard information acquired from a forward-looking aircraft radar system may be presented as hazard data to a symbology generating processor. A plurality of minimum turn angles may be determined based upon the boundary tangents of the hazard data. Data representative of steering symbology corresponding to a one or more minimum turn angles may be generated, where the symbology may take the form of textual symbology and/or non-textual symbology. Then, the steering symbology data may be provided to a presentation system for depiction of steering symbology on a tactical display unit and/or strategic display unit. | George R. Kanellis (Tigard, OR) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2009-09-29 | 2013-07-02 | G01S13/94, G01S13/95 | 12/569758 |
| 484 | 8477061 | Method and system for preventing anti-aircraft warfare engagement with neutral aircraft | A method and system that prevents engagement with neutral aircraft utilizes secondary surveillance radar (SSR) in conjunction with traffic alert collision avoidance systems (TCAS) conventionally found on various commercial aircraft. The system and method provide for detecting interrogating signals sent out by a TCAS system of an interrogating aircraft searching for another aircraft that may pose a threat for collision. The system and method of the invention provide for a base system generating signals responsive to the interrogation signals such that there is a decreasing time difference between the interrogating signals and the responsive signals. The decreasing time difference indicates to the interrogating aircraft that another aircraft is approaching its airspace urging the neutral aircraft to change course and avoid entering a guarded tactical airspace thus avoiding unnecessary engagement of the aircraft. | Richard N. Pedersen (Toms River, NJ) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2010-06-29 | 2013-07-02 | G01S13/74 | 12/825983 |
| 485 | 8477048 | Method and device for preventing an anti-collision system on board an airplane from emitting alarms, during an altitude capture maneuver | According to the invention, the device (1) comprises means (3) for detecting, during an altitude capture maneuver, the emission of a first type alarm by the anti-collision system (2) and means (4) for controlling the vertical speed of said airplane (AC) , after the emission of such an alarm, until the triggering of the capture phase. | Paule Botargues (Toulouse, FR), Xavier Dal Santo (Biagnac, FR), Olivier Sapin (Toulouse, FR), Vincent Bompart (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus Operations (SAS), (Toulouse Cedex, Fr) | 2011-01-28 | 2013-07-02 | G08G5/04, G01C21/00, G05D1/00, G06F17/10, G01S3/02, G01S13/00 | 13/016154 |
| 486 | 8471758 | Virtual aperture radar (VAR) imaging | Virtual Aperture Radar (VAR) imaging provides terminal phase radar imaging for an airborne weapon that can resolve multiple closely-spaced or highly correlated scatterers on a given target with a single pulse to provide an aimpoint update at a useful range to target without training data and without requiring a large aperture antenna. VAR imaging exploits the sparse, dominant-scatterer nature of man-made targets. The array manifold is constructed with a large number of basis functions that are parameterized by range or angle (or both) to target. The number of basis functions extends the capability to resolve scatterers beyond the Rayleigh resolution. However, this also makes the manifold underdetermined. A sparse reconstruction technique that places a sparsity constraint on the number of scatterers is used to solve the manifold to uniquely identify the ranges or angles to the scatterers on the target. These updates are passed to the weapon's guidance system, which in turn generates command signals to actuate aerodynamic surfaces such as fins or canards to steer the weapon to the target. | Alphonso A. Samuel (Tucson, AZ), Robert M. Pawloski (Tucson, AZ), Nathan A. Goodman (Oro Valley, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA), The Arizona Board of Regents On Behalf of The University of Arizona (Tucson AZ) | 2011-02-10 | 2013-06-25 | F41G7/28, G01S13/90 | 13/024957 |
| 487 | 8462041 | Device for receiving secondary radio signals with quasi-dynamic or dynamic sectoring of the space to be monitored and corresponding method | A device and method for secondary radar signal reception with quasi-dynamic or dynamic sectoring of a space to be monitored. The device includes at least one antenna assembly including antenna elements for the reception of transmitted secondary radar signals, a signal processing unit connected via a connection point to the antenna elements for the joint processing of received antenna signals, outputs associated with a couple matrix in the signal processing unit and individual receivers. The couple matrix includes adjustable coefficients for sectoring of the space to be monitored and for performing a superposition of the antenna signals using a multiplicative-additive combination of the received antenna signals. In the case of dynamic sectoring of the space, each receiver receives for each receipt telegram another weighted superposition of the antenna signals with certain couple coefficients, and in the case of quasi-dynamic sectoring the adjustable coefficients are fixed over a longer time period. | Hermann Hampel (Grosshabersdorf, DE), Ulrich Berold (Nuremberg, DE), Gerd Bumiller (Furth/Vach, DE), Christoph Reck (Erlangen, DE) | Iad Gesellschaft Fur Informatik, Automatisierung Und Datenverarbeitung Mbh (Grosshabersdorf, DE) | 2009-11-27 | 2013-06-11 | G01S13/00 | 13/131669 |
| 488 | 8457872 | Method for managing the flight of an aircraft | The invention relates to a method for managing the flight of an aircraft flying along a trajectory and being subject to an absolute time constraint (on a downstream point) or relative time constraint (spacing with respect to a downstream aircraft) , the said aircraft comprising a flight management system calculating a temporal discrepancy to the said time constraint, wherein the said method includes the following steps: the calculation of a distance on the basis of the temporal discrepancy, the modification of the trajectory: if the temporal discrepancy to the time constraint corresponds to an advance, the lengthening of the trajectory by the distance, if the temporal discrepancy to the time constraint corresponds to a delay, the shortening of the trajectory by the distance. | Guy Deker (Cugnaux, FR) | Thales (Neuilly Sur Seine, FR) | 2010-02-23 | 2013-06-04 | G06F19/00, G01S19/03, G06F17/10, G01C23/00, G01C21/00, G05D1/00, G05D1/02, G05D1/08, F42B10/00, B64C3/18, B64C13/18, B64C3/54, G01S13/08, G01S19/01, G01S3/02 | 12/710483 |
| 489 | 8432308 | Method and device for monitoring radioaltimetric heights of an aircraft | A method and device for monitoring radioaltimetric heights of an aircraft, the device including an auxiliary height generation device that generates an auxiliary reliability height of an aircraft. The device also includes a determination device that determines with the aid of this auxiliary height, an error in incoherent data which are received from two radioaltimeters. To this end, the most reliable reading from the radioaltimeters is determined and sent to a user device. | Philippe Delga (Auzeville Tolosane, FR), Nour-Ed-Din Houberdon (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus Operations (SAS), (Toulouse, Fr) | 2011-02-04 | 2013-04-30 | G01S13/08 | 13/020965 |
| 490 | 8427358 | Mitigating illumination gradients in a SAR image based on the image data and antenna beam pattern | Illumination gradients in a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image of a target can be mitigated by determining a correction for pixel values associated with the SAR image. This correction is determined based on information indicative of a beam pattern used by a SAR antenna apparatus to illuminate the target, and also based on the pixel values associated with the SAR image. The correction is applied to the pixel values associated with the SAR image to produce corrected pixel values that define a corrected SAR image. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2006-12-04 | 2013-04-23 | G01S13/00 | 11/566531 |
| 491 | 8421669 | Synthetic aperture processing system and synthetc aperture processing method | A synthetic aperture processing system that includes a signal transmission unit for generating and radiating a plurality of chirp waves to an irradiation region from measuring sites, a signal reception unit for receiving a plurality of reflected waves caused by the plurality of chirp waves, a range compression unit for range-compressing each of the reflected waves and generating reception data consisting of sinc functions, a cross-correlation computation unit for, based on a plurality of model data segments, calculating correlation values representing a degree of correlation between each of the model data segments and the reception data, and image output unit for outputting the correlation values calculated by cross-correlation computation unit. | Takao Sawa (Yokosuka, JP) | Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa, JP) | 2008-03-07 | 2013-04-16 | G01S13/00 | 12/920195 |
| 492 | 8410975 | Systems and methods for generating and verifying altitude data | Present novel and non-trivial systems and methods for altitude data from a radar system and employing such data to verify altitude data from another source. A processor receives reflection point data generated by an aircraft radar system and reference point data from an applicable data source. Based upon the reflection point data and reference point data, first altitude data representative of a first measurement of aircraft altitude is generated. Then, the processor receives second altitude data representative of a second measurement of aircraft altitude from another source. Validity of the second altitude data may be determined by comparing it with the first data, after which validity advisory data may be generated that, is responsive to the validity determination. Then, the processor may provide the validity advisory data to a presentation system, whereby validity information of the second altitude data is presented to the pilot. | Douglas A. Bell (Marion, IA), Richard D. Jinkins (Rewey, WI), Sarah Barber (Cedar Rapids, IA), Felix B. Turcios (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2010-09-28 | 2013-04-02 | G01S13/08 | 12/892546 |
| 493 | 8405539 | Target identification method for a synthetic aperture radar system | In a synthetic aperture radar system monitoring an area containing at least one moving target for identification, the target is equipped with an identification device, which receives the radar signal transmitted by the radar system, and transmits a processed radar signal obtained by modulating the incoming radar signal with a modulating signal containing target information, such as identification and status information, and by amplifying the modulated radar signal, the radar echo signal reflected by the monitored area and containing the processed radar signal is received and processed by a control station of the radar system to locate the target on a map of the monitored area, and to extract the target information to identify the target. | Antonio Saitto (Rome, IT), Franco Mazzenga (Rome, IT), Lorenzo Ronzitti (Guidonia, IT) | Telespazio S.P.A. (Rome, IT) | 2007-06-19 | 2013-03-26 | G01S13/00, G01S13/08, G01S13/74, G01S13/78 | 12/305823 |
| 494 | 8400348 | Airborne biota monitoring and control system | Apparatus and methods for an airborne biota monitoring and control system are disclosed. Radar and laser/optical sensors are used to detect insects, with detection zones being over water in some embodiments to reduce backscatter clutter. A pest control laser or small autonomous or radio controlled aircraft under automated or human control may be used to disable a targeted flying insect. One embodiment includes use of a head-mounted display for displaying insect targeting information superimposed on a real landscape view. Technologies such as adaptive lens, holographic optical elements, polarized radar and/or laser beams, light amplifiers and light guides, thin disk, spinning disk, or vertical cavity surface emitting lasers enhance performance of the apparatus or reduce cost of the apparatus. Also disclosed are methods of discrimination of insect types using spectral information and dynamic relative variation of spectral intensities at different wavelengths reflected from an insect in flight. | David Lehmann Guice (Brownsboro, AL), Augustus Hammond Green, Jr. (New Market, AL), William Vaden Dent, Jr. (Huntsville, AL) | Applied Information Movement and Management, Inc. (Starkville, MS) | 2007-10-29 | 2013-03-19 | G01S13/88, A01M1/22 | 11/978424 |
| 495 | 8400347 | Device and method for monitoring the location of aircraft on the ground | The invention relates to a monitoring device and method allowing surveillance of an aircraft in relation to aircraft and/or craft on an airport displacement zone. The invention is a system comprising a dedicated transmitter and receiver to receive the information regarding the location and displacement of the cooperative aircraft and to monitor the location of the said aircraft in relation to the cooperative aircraft. The monitoring application is based on the detection of conflict zones by inter-correlation of constraint surfaces of the airport zone. The invention applies to aircraft carrying communication moans for ADS-B networks for an airport zone monitoring application. | Bernard Fabre (Fonsorbes, FR), Nicolas Marty (Saint Sauveur, FR), Hugues Meunier (Frouzins, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2009-08-17 | 2013-03-19 | G01S13/93, G01S13/91, G01S13/00 | 12/542535 |
| 496 | 8390505 | Process and a device for detecting aircrafts circulating in an air space surrounding an airplane | A process and a device for detecting aircrafts circulating in an air space surrounding an airplane is disclosed. The device (1A) comprises means (2, 3) for detecting an aircraft circulating in the air space surrounding the airplane and, in case of a detection, for determining a first position and a second position of the aircraft with respect to the airplane, and means (8A) for comparing said first and second positions so as to check whether they match. | Guillaume Fouet (Leguevin, FR), Xavier Grossin (Tournefeuille, FR), Sebastien Robert (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus Operations (SAS), (Toulouse Cedex, Fr) | 2010-06-29 | 2013-03-05 | G01S13/00, G01S13/74 | 12/825575 |
| 497 | 8384587 | Radar for aerial target detection fitted to an aircraft notably for the avoidance of obstacles in flight | A radar being carried by an aircraft includes means for transmitting an RF wave towards a target, said wave having a double form, a first waveform being composed of at least two sinusoids of different frequencies transmitted simultaneously, the radar comprising reception circuits receiving the signals reflected by the target and analysis means performing the detection of the target on the basis of the signals received. The second waveform is of the pulse type. The transmitted waveform is dependent on the relative speed of the target with respect to the carrier and on the absolute speed of the carrier. | Pascal Cornic (Brest, FR), Patrick Garrec (Merignac, FR), Stephane Kemkemian (Paris, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2010-07-29 | 2013-02-26 | G01S13/58 | 12/846522 |
| 498 | 8384583 | Synthetic-aperture radar system and operating method for monitoring ground and structure displacements suitable for emergency conditions | A synthetic-aperture radar system, and related operating method, for the monitoring of ground and structure movements, particularly suitable for emergency conditions, characterized by a ground based platform with polarimetric capabilities, that able to quickly acquire, embeddedly process and post-process data by a novel data acquisition ''On the Fly'' mode of operation, reducing by at least an order of magnitude the data acquisition time. The inventive system characteristics allows to achieve on-field measurement results on three-dimensional maps georeferenced to absolute coordinate systems (WGS84, Gauss-Boaga, and so on) . The operating method includes the step of installing the system, the acquiring of the first measurements, the quick data processing and post-processing to provide sub-millimetric precision georeferenced bi-dimensional and three-dimensional displacement maps for the objects belonging to the monitored scenario, with an improved performance and in a measurement time compatible to that required in an emergency condition, with an higher degree of integration with other sensors and autonomously and embeddendly. | Davide Leva (Varese, IT), Carlo Rivolta (Lissone, IT) | Ellegi S.R.L. (Milan, IT) | 2010-06-07 | 2013-02-26 | G01S13/90 | 12/802400 |
| 499 | 8384582 | Active transponder, particularly for synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, systems | An active transponder for synthetic aperture radar systems includes a receiving antenna for receiving a first radiofrequency signal modulated according to a first train of one or more first pulses, separating means comprising two outputs outputting the first radiofrequency signal, second processing means connected to a first output of the separating means to generate a code synchronized with the first pulses, signal generating means connected to the second output and to the second processing means generate a second radiofrequency signal modulated by the code, and a transmitting antenna means to transmit the second radiofrequency signal to generate, for each one of the first pulses, a sequence of one or more second pulses, the code being synchronized with the second pulses. | Giuseppe Chiassarini (Rome, IT), Giuseppe D'Angelo (Rome, IT) | Space Engineering S.P.A. (Rome, IT) | 2006-10-06 | 2013-02-26 | G01S13/90, G01S13/76 | 12/444489 |
| 500 | 8378881 | Systems and methods for collision avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles | Systems and methods for collision avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles are provided. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a method for collision avoidance system for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , the method including scanning for objects within a preselected range of the UAV using a plurality of phased array radar sensors, receiving scan information from each of the plurality of phased array radar sensors, wherein the scan information includes information indicative of objects detected within the preselected range of the UAV, determining maneuver information including whether to change a flight path of the UAV based on the scan information, and sending the maneuver information to a flight control circuitry of the UAV. | Robert A. LeMire (Frisco, TX), John M. Branning, Jr. (Addison, TX) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2010-10-18 | 2013-02-19 | G01S13/00 | 12/906937 |
| 501 | 8373591 | System for sensing aircraft and other objects | A system for sensing aircraft and other objects uses bistatic radar with spread-spectrum signals transmitted from remotely located sources such as aircraft flying at very high altitudes or from a satellite constellation. A bistatic spread spectrum radar system using a satellite constellation can be integrated with a communications system and/or with a system using long baseline radar interferometry to validate the digital terrain elevation database. The reliability and safety of TCAS and ADS-B are improved by using the signals transmitted from a TCAS or ADS-B unit as a radar transmitter with a receiver used to receive reflections. Aircraft and other objects using spread spectrum radar are detected by using two separate receiving systems. Cross-Correlation between the outputs of the two receiving systems reveals whether a noise signal is produced by the receiving systems themselves or is coming from the outside. | Jed Margolin (VC Highlands, NV) | --- | 2010-10-22 | 2013-02-12 | G01S13/48, G01S13/93 | 12/910779 |
| 502 | 8373590 | Method and a system for processing and displaying images of the surroundings of an aircraft | The invention relates to a method of processing an image sensed by an image sensor on board an aircraft fitted with an obstacle-locator system, in which the position and the extent of a zone in the sensed image, referred to as the zone of interest, is determined as a function of obstacle location data delivered by the obstacle-locator system, after which at least one parameter for modifying the brightness of points/pixels in said zone of interest is determined to enable the contrast to be increased in said zone of interest, and as a function of said modification parameter, the brightness of at least a portion of the image is modified. | Richard Edgard Claude Pire (Istres, FR) | Eurocopter (Marignane Cedex, FR) | 2007-12-21 | 2013-02-12 | G01S13/93, G01S13/94, G01S13/00 | 11/962143 |
| 503 | 8368584 | Airspace risk mitigation system | An airspace risk mitigation system includes a plurality of airspace input sources, an airspace data fusion and sensor coordination system, a communications link, and a risk mitigation support system. The airspace input sources includes a radar for generating radar data for an airspace, and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver for generating additional data for the airspace. The airspace data fusion and sensor coordination system is configured to receive airspace data from the plurality of airspace input sources, correlating airspace data with new or known objects in the airspace, fusing airspace data into a common airspace data set, and generating target and system status information. The risk mitigation support system is configured to calculate a risk associated with aircraft operation in the airspace as a function of the target and system status information. | Mark Anthony Askelson (Thompson, ND), Benjamin M. Trapnell (Grand Forks, ND), Christopher Joseph Theisen (Thompson, ND), Ronald Arthur Marsh (Grand Forks, ND), Timothy Raymond Young (Grand Forks, ND), Hassan Reza (Grand Forks, ND) | The University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) | 2010-06-10 | 2013-02-05 | G01S13/00 | 12/813276 |
| 504 | 8368583 | Aircraft bird strike avoidance method and apparatus using axial beam antennas | An aircraft avian radar is implemented using multiple axial beam antennas mounted on an aircraft. Target range is determined by radar range. Target azimuth and elevation position is determined by triangulation. An end-fire array antenna composed of a series of monopole antenna elements enclosed inside a long thin protective cover fashioned in the form of a stall fence is mounted on the wings, tail, or fuselage to produce a low drag axial beam antenna pattern directed ahead of the aircraft. Other axial beam antenna choices include helical, pyramidal horn, and conical horn antennas mounted on or inside various forward facing surfaces of the aircraft. | Gregory Hubert Piesinger (Cave Creek, AZ) | --- | 2010-06-16 | 2013-02-05 | G01S13/00 | 12/802904 |
| 505 | 8354951 | Short baseline helicopter positioning radar for low visibility | A method for determining position and orientation of a rotating wing aircraft (e.g. helicopter) with respect to a ground station includes transmitting an electromagnetic signal from the aircraft. The signal includes a plurality of electromagnetic signals, each signal having a different selected frequency. The signal is detected at an array of sensors disposed on the ground surface in a selected pattern. The array includes at least one reference sensor and at least three spaced apart time difference determination sensors. A difference in arrival time of the signals between the reference sensor and each of the time difference determination sensors is determined and a spatial position of the aircraft is determined from the time differences. | Jacques Y. Guigne (Paradise, CA), James A. Stacey (Paradise, CA), Nicholas G. Pace (Bath, GB) | Intelligent Sciences, Ltd. (Paradise, NL, CA) | 2010-04-28 | 2013-01-15 | G01S13/00 | 12/768793 |
| 506 | 8351927 | Wireless ground link-based aircraft data communication system with roaming feature | A flight information communication system has a plurality of RF direct sequence spread spectrum ground data links that link respective aircraft-resident subsystems, in each of which a copy of its flight performance data is stored, with airport-located subsystems. The airport-located subsystems are coupled by way communication paths, such as land line telephone links, to a remote flight operations control center. At the flight operations control center, flight performance data downlinked from plural aircraft parked at different airports is analyzed. In addition, the flight control center may be employed to direct the uploading of in-flight data files, such as audio, video and navigation files from the airport-located subsystems to the aircraft. | Thomas H. Wright (Indialantic, FL), James J. Ziarno (Malabar, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2007-06-15 | 2013-01-08 | H04W4/00, G01S13/00, G08B21/00, H04B7/00, G06F7/70 | 11/763674 |
| 507 | 8350748 | Process and a device for automatically determining meteorological conditions in the vicinity of an aircraft | A process and a device for automatically determining meteorological conditions in the vicinity of an aircraft is disclosed. The device (1) comprises a meteorological radar (2) , able to determine the meteorological information associated with a primary geographical area ahead of an aircraft, and means (3, 4A, 4B) for automatically determining the meteorological conditions associated with a geographical area being extended with respect to the primary geographical area. | Guillaume Fouet (Leguevin, FR), Xavier Grossin (Tournefeuille, FR), Sebastien Robert (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus Operations (SAS), (Toulouse Cedex, Fr) | 2010-07-01 | 2013-01-08 | G01S13/00 | 12/828426 |
| 508 | 8344935 | Multi-waveform antenna and remote electronics for avionics | The present invention is directed to an avionics system. The avionics system may include a plurality of multi-function antennas. Each multi-function antenna includes a plurality of antenna elements and an antenna electronics system, the antenna electronics system being communicatively coupled with the plurality of antenna elements. The multi-function antennas are configured for being mounted to an exterior surface of a pressure vessel (ex--an exterior surface of an aircraft) . The avionics system may further include a plurality of LRUs connected to the antennas via fiber optical cables, the LRUs being located in an interior of the aircraft. The LRUs receive communication control inputs from a communication system and establish settings of the LRUs based upon the received communication control inputs. The multi-function antennas are configured for performing operations (exs.--transmit operations, receive operations) based upon the settings established by the LRUs and based upon the communication control inputs. | Ted J. Hoffmann (Hiawatha, IA), Andrew M. Vesel (Indialantic, FL), Roger A. Dana (Marion, IA), Mark A. Mulbrook (Marion, IA), William C. Jennings (Iowa City, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2010-07-22 | 2013-01-01 | G01S13/00 | 12/841642 |
| 509 | 8344934 | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging system | One embodiment of the invention includes a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system including a receiver configured to receive a plurality of reflected radar pulses corresponding to a plurality of radar transmission pulses having been reflected from a target region. A processing controller divides the target region into a plurality of tiles at a highest data layer and each of the plurality of tiles into a plurality of sub-tiles corresponding to one of a plurality of data layers and iteratively processes a portion of pulse data corresponding to a given tile associated with a higher data layer to generate pulse data corresponding to a given sub-tile in a lower data layer. An image processor is configured to generate a radar image of the target region based on the pulse data corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-tiles associated with a lowest data layer of the plurality of data layers. | Robert Ryland (Silver Spring, MD) | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Falls Church, VA) | 2010-10-27 | 2013-01-01 | G01S13/90 | 12/913130 |
| 510 | 8319679 | Systems and methods for predicting locations of weather relative to an aircraft | Systems and methods for predicting when a weather anomaly (e.g., convective cell) will intersect with an aircraft. Direction of movement and velocity information for at least one weather anomaly are received at a processor from a radar system. An intercept point for the at least one weather anomaly is determined based on the received location, direction of movement and velocity information and location and current speed information for the aircraft. Then, a first indicator based on the intercept point is displayed on a display device. | Paul Christianson (Seattle, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2010-12-16 | 2012-11-27 | G01S13/00 | 12/970488 |
| 511 | 8305253 | Forward-looking synthetic aperture radar processing | Processing is described for forming a synthetic aperture radar image of the region toward which a platform moves, and for extracting from this image the physical positions of scatterers in the region, including moving scatterers. The processing entails one-dimensional resampling of the received radar data that can be performed as the data are being collected, facilitating real-time operation. Various embodiments are disclosed. | Stephen J. Hershkowitz (Manhattan Beach, CA) | Mark Resources, Inc. (Torrance, CA) | 2010-10-27 | 2012-11-06 | G01S13/00 | 12/913496 |
| 512 | 8299959 | Apparatus and imaging method with synthetic aperture for determining an incident angle and/or a distance | The invention relates to an imaging method with synthetic aperture for determining an incident angle and/or a distance of a sensor from at least one object in space, wherein at each of a number of aperture points one echo profile is sensed. Advantageously, for several angles assumed as the incident angle, one phase correction value and/or one distance correction value is calculated, adapted profiles are generated based on the echo profiles by adapting the phase with the phase correction value for each assumed angle and/or by shifting the distance with the distance correction value, for the assumed angle, the adapted profiles are summed or integrated, and a probability distribution is derived, and a probability value for the incident angle and/or for the distance is determined therefrom. A determination of the incident angle is also possible independently of the distance, wherein it is possible to only consider velocities or accelerations. | Martin Vossiek (Hildesheim, DE), Stephan Max (Neubokel/Grifhorn, DE) | Symeo Gmbh (Neubiberg, DE) | 2010-06-23 | 2012-10-30 | G01S13/00 | 12/821763 |
| 513 | 8299958 | Airborne radar having a wide angular coverage, notably for the sense-and-avoid function | An airborne radar device having a given angular coverage in elevation and in azimuth includes a transmit system, a receive system and processing means for carrying out target detection and location measurements. The transmit system includes: a transmit antenna made up of at least a first linear array of radiating elements focusing a transmit beam, said arrays being approximately parallel to one another, at least one waveform generator, means for amplifying the transmit signals produced by the waveform generator or generators, and means for controlling the transmit signals produced by the waveform generator or generators, said control means feeding each radiating element with a transmit signal. The radiating elements being controlled for simultaneously carrying out electronic scanning of the transmit beam in elevation and for colored transmission in elevation. | Stepahne Kemkemian (Paris, FR), Pascal Cornic (Guilers, FR), Patrick Le Bihan (Lannilis, FR), Myriam Nouvel-Fiani (Elancourt, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2010-09-14 | 2012-10-30 | G01S13/42 | 12/881230 |
| 514 | 8284097 | Multi-mode ground surveillance airborne radar | Ground surveillance airborne radar device, characterized in that it reproduces a mapping of STRIPMAP type of an area of interest divided into bands (101) , the images of these bands being captured successively, each according to a technique of scan SAR type, the operations for processing the image of a band (101) being produced successively to the capture of the image of this band (101) and in a manner concomitant with the realization of at least one additional radar mode, before the capture of the image of the following band (101) . | Pierre Discamps (Merignac, FR), Eric Normant (Bordeaux, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2010-04-06 | 2012-10-09 | G01S13/00 | 12/754744 |
| 515 | 8279109 | Aircraft bird strike avoidance method and apparatus using transponder | An aircraft avian radar is implemented using an existing aircraft transponder, Mode S, or TCAS installation as the radar transmitter. To eliminate self jamming of low level avian target signals by high level transmitter signals, the ending period of the transmission signal is digitized and cross correlated with the ending period of reflected avian target signals received after the transmission signal has ended. In a first implementation, the current transponder antenna is used for both transmission and reception. In a second implementation, an external receive only antenna is mounted in a position that maximizes the transmit antenna to receive antenna isolation. In a third implementation, a signal canceller and sample of the transmit signal are used to cancel or null out as much transmit signal as possible that couples directly to the receive antenna. | Gregory Hubert Piesinger (Cave Creek, AZ) | --- | 2010-03-29 | 2012-10-02 | G01S13/74 | 12/798154 |
| 516 | 8279108 | Viewing device for an aircraft comprising means for displaying aircraft exhibiting a risk of collision | The general field of the invention is that of viewing systems of the synthetic vision type SVS, for a first aircraft, the said system comprising at least one cartographic database of a terrain, position sensors, for the said aircraft, an air traffic detection system calculating the position and the danger rating of at least one second aircraft exhibiting a risk of collision with the said first aircraft on the basis of data originating from sensors or systems such as TCAS or ADS-B, an electronic computer, a man-machine interface means and a display screen, the computer comprising means for processing the various items of information originating from the database, sensors and interface means, the said processing means arranged so as to provide the display screen with a synthetic image of the terrain comprising a representation of the said second aircraft. The said representation comprises a first symbol representing in a stylized manner the said second aircraft and a second symbol, situated to the right of the first symbol when the second aircraft is facing towards the first aircraft and situated to the left of the first symbol when the second aircraft is facing away from the first aircraft. | Christian Nouvel (Merignac, FR), Corinne Bacabara (Le Haillan, FR), Jean-Noel Perbet (Eysines, FR) | Thales (Neuilly sur Seine, FR) | 2009-08-17 | 2012-10-02 | G01S13/93, G01S7/04, G01S13/00 | 12/542114 |
| 517 | 8264398 | Onboard radar device and program of controlling onboard radar device | An onboard radar apparatus includes a transmission wave generating unit configured to generate a transmission wave, a vertically polarized wave transmitting antenna configured to vertically polarize and transmit the transmission wave, a horizontally polarized wave transmitting antenna configured to horizontally polarize and transmit the transmission wave, a receiving antenna configured to receive a reflection wave, a switch control unit configured to perform a switching between the vertically polarized wave transmitting antenna and the horizontally polarized wave transmitting antenna, and a receiving unit configured to receive one of the reflection waves based on receiving levels of the reflection waves, which have been received by the receiving antenna before and after the switching is performed by the switch control unit. | Hiroyuki Kamo (Yokohama, JP) | Honda Elesys Co., Ltd. (Yokohama, JP) | 2010-05-04 | 2012-09-11 | G01S13/00 | 12/773539 |
| 518 | 8259002 | Radar altimeter antenna performance monitoring via reflected power measurements | Systems and methods for radar altimeter antenna performance monitoring via reflected power measurements are provided. In one embodiment, a single antenna radar altimeter comprises: an antenna, a circulator coupled to the antenna, a transmitter coupled to the circulator, a receiver coupled to the circulator, wherein the circulator provides coupling of the transmitter and the receiver to the antenna while providing isolation between the transmitter and the receiver, a reflected power monitor positioned between the circulator and receiver, and a processor coupled to the reflected power monitor via a first analog-to-digital converter, the processor configured to compute and track reflected power measurement statistics from data generated by the reflected power monitor and provide a performance output indicating when one or more of the reflected power measurement statistics exceed a predetermined deviation threshold. | David C. Vacanti (Renton, WA), Anthony H. Luk (Everett, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2010-12-10 | 2012-09-04 | G01S13/08 | 12/964957 |
| 519 | 8258998 | Device, system and method of protecting aircrafts against incoming threats | Device, system and method of protecting aircrafts against incoming threats. for example, a system for protecting an aircraft against an incoming threat includes: one or more electro-optic sensors to substantially continuously search for the incoming threat, and to generate a signal indicating that a possible incoming threat is detected, one or more radar sensors to be activated in response to the signal, and to search for the incoming threat, and a central computer to determine whether or not the incoming threat exists, based on a sensor fusion algorithm able to fuse data received from the one or more electro-optic sensors and data received from the one or more radar sensors. | Ronen Factor (Ramat Gan, IL), David Dragucki (Herzeliya, IL), Ariye Yehuda Caplan (Haifa, IL), Zahi Ben Ari (Haniel, IL), Semion Zelikman (Rishon Lezion, IL), Colin Henry Hamilton (Blaustein, DE), George Weiss (Kipfenberg, DE), Erwin Franz Keller (Oberhaching, DE), Erhard Seibt (Otterfing, DE) | Bird Aerosystems Limited (Herzelia, IL), Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn DE) | 2010-03-04 | 2012-09-04 | G01S13/86, G01S7/38 | 12/659350 |
| 520 | 8258997 | Radar device for detecting or tracking aerial targets fitted to an aircraft | A radar device includes means for emitting microwave-frequency signals, means for receiving signals reflected by a target, computation means, a plurality of antenna systems disposed around the aircraft, an antenna system comprising a set of emission antennas coupled to the emission means and a set of reception antennas coupled to the reception means, each antenna system being dedicated to the coverage of a given angular sector .OMEGA., for a given antenna system, the antenna beam on reception being formed by CBF by the computation means on the basis of the signals received by the reception antennas and the antenna beam on emission is pointed by an electronic scanning system in a number greater than or equal to two of directions inside the given angular sector .OMEGA.. The invention applies notably in the field of airborne radars, in particular radars with large angular coverage and short range that are necessary for example for carrying out a function of the ''see and avoid'' type on drones, which function is also commonly called ''Sense & Avoid''. | Stephane Kemkemian (Paris, FR), Myriam Nouvel (Elancourt, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2010-02-02 | 2012-09-04 | G01S13/00 | 12/698987 |
| 521 | 8258996 | Synthetic aperture radar hybrid-quadrature-polarity method and architecture for obtaining the stokes parameters of radar backscatter | A synthetic aperture radar hybrid-quadrature-polarity method and architecture comprising transmitting both left and right circular polarizations (by alternately driving, at the minimum (Nyquist) sampling rate, orthogonal linear feeds simultaneously by two identical waveforms, +/-90.degree. out of phase) , and receiving two orthogonal linear polarizations, coherently. Once calibrated, the single-look complex amplitude data are sufficient to form all Stokes parameters, which fully characterize the radar backscatter. | Russell K. Raney (Annapolis, MD) | The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) | 2010-06-24 | 2012-09-04 | G01S13/90 | 12/822408 |
| 522 | 8253620 | Synthesized aperture three-dimensional radar imaging | A synthesized aperture radar imaging system is disclosed. The system includes an antenna reflector and a radar signal transceiver configured to generate a plurality of radar transmission signals and to receive a respective plurality of reflected radar signals. The system also includes a wave reflection device configured to sequentially reflect each of the plurality of radar transmission signals onto separate respective spot-portions of the antenna reflector. The plurality of radar transmission signals can be transmitted from the antenna reflector to a target and reflected from the target as the respective plurality of reflected radar signals. The system further includes a synthesized aperture radar controller configured to integrate the plurality of reflected radar signals and to generate a high-resolution, three-dimensional image of the target from the integrated plurality of reflected radar signals. | Carl D. Wise (Severna Park, MD), Norman F. Powell (Ellicott City, MD) | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Falls Church, VA) | 2009-07-23 | 2012-08-28 | G01S13/90 | 12/508189 |
| 523 | 8242950 | Systems and methods for enhancing situational awareness of an aircraft on the ground | A delineated collision avoidance system may comprise a processor for executing one or more instructions that implement one or more functions of the collision avoidance system, a transceiver for transmitting information from and receiving information for the host aircraft, and memory for storing the one or more instructions for execution by the processor to implement the one or more functions of the collision avoidance system to: receive from the transceiver information from another aircraft, generate from the received information a track for the other aircraft, and determine whether the track will intersect within a predefined period of time a region of interest around the host aircraft. In a variation, the system may include a display and the memory may include instructions to: determine whether a predefined condition is satisfied and change an appearance of a symbol shown on the display to indicate that the predefined condition is satisfied. | Cyro A. Stone (Peoria, AZ), Gregory T. Stayton (Peoria, AZ), Charles C. Manberg (Peoria, AZ) | Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems, Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2006-06-12 | 2012-08-14 | G01S13/00 | 11/451648 |
| 524 | 8242949 | Multipath SAR imaging | Disclosed is a method for removing the distortions produced by multipath Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging. Conventional SAR systems assume that the returned signal consists of only direct scatterings, in practice however, the returned signal consists of multiple scattering events. Multiple or multipath scattering occurs when part of the surface reflects energy to at least one other part of the surface before the signal is scattered back to the receiver. Multipath scattering distorts the SAR image by superimposing blurring artifacts that diminish the resolution of the radar image. We exploit the phase change introduced by the ''half Nyquist'' frequency points of Fourier space to remove the effects of multiple scattering. The reflectivity function of the scene is recovered while retaining the resolving power of single scattering SAR. | John M. DeLaurentis (Albuquerque, NM) | --- | 2010-06-30 | 2012-08-14 | G01S13/00 | 12/803579 |
| 525 | 8242948 | High fidelity simulation of synthetic aperture radar | Methods and systems for generating a raster file in a raster file format for use in a Digital Radar Landmass Simulator (DRLMS) . A file in the raster file format defines synthetic aperture radar (SAR) scenery for use in generating a runtime database. The raster file contains a plurality of texture elements (texels) that define the SAR scenery. Each texel may have a material identifier, which identifies a material composition of a respective surface region of the SAR scenery, a surface height identifier, which identifies a surface height with respect to a bare earth elevation (BEE) value of the respective surface region, and a BEE identifier, which identifies a BEE of the respective surface region. A method for determining surface height identifiers based on digital surface model (DSM) elevation data is also provided. | John Burky (Uniontown, OH), Sharon Shahan (Massillon, OH) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Orlando, FL) | 2010-02-26 | 2012-08-14 | G01S13/90, G09B9/54, G09B9/00, G01S13/00 | 12/713544 |
| 526 | 8232911 | Method and system of reducing friendly fire in anti-aircraft engagements | A method and system provide for confirmation of friendly aircraft as a backup to conventional IFF (identification, friend or foe) telecommunication systems and methods. An IFF secondary radar signal is generated and directed to an aircraft. When no confirming response is received within a pre-determined time period, the invention provides for generating and transmitting a pre-arranged modulated signal to the aircraft. In response to receiving the pre-arranged modulated signal, the aircraft notifies the aircrew to execute a pre-arranged kinematic maneuver that is detected by the systems using radar means to confirm that the aircraft is a friendly aircraft. | Richard N. Pedersen (Toms River, NJ) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2009-09-30 | 2012-07-31 | G01S13/78 | 12/570281 |
| 527 | 8232908 | Inverse synthetic aperture radar image processing | According to one embodiment, inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) image processing includes receiving an ISAR image from an inverse synthetic aperture radar. A standard deviation profile is generated from the ISAR image, where the standard deviation profile represents a standard deviation of the ISAR image. The standard deviation profile is normalized to form a normalized standard deviation profile. A mean value profile is generated from the ISAR image, where the mean value profile represents a mean value deviation of the ISAR image. The mean value profile is normalized to form a normalized mean value profile. The normalized standard deviation profile and the normalized mean value profile are combined to form a sum normalized range profile. The sum normalized range profile may be processed to classify a target in the ISAR image. | Harsha M. Sathyendra (McKinney, TX) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2009-06-23 | 2012-07-31 | G01S13/90 | 12/489909 |
| 528 | 8229662 | Method for predicting collisions with obstacles on the ground and generating warnings, notably on board an aircraft | The invention notably relates to a method of detecting obstacles on the ground receiving an obstacle clearance sensor and a zone for extracting map data. The method comprises the following steps: extraction from an obstacle database of a list of pointlike obstacles, extraction from an obstacle database of a list of linear obstacles, determination, according to the obstacle clearance sensor, of the risks associated with the extracted pointlike obstacles and generation of a warning, determination, according to the obstacle clearance sensor, of the risks associated with the extracted linear obstacles, and generation of a warning. In particular, the invention applies to the calculation of the warnings relating to the risks of collision with pointlike or linear obstacles taking into account the path of the aircraft and the altitude of the obstacles. | Michel Subelet (Cugnaux, FR), Sylvain Fontaine (Villeneuve Tolosane, FR), Carine Moncourt (Pins Justaret, FR), Bernard Fabre (Fonsorbes, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2006-11-06 | 2012-07-24 | G01S13/00, G06F17/10 | 12/092897 |
| 529 | 8223062 | Systems and methods for aircraft to aircraft exchange of radar information over low bandwidth communication channels | Systems and methods communicate weather information between aircraft using low bandwidth communication transceivers. An exemplary embodiment receives weather information from a weather radar system on board a remote aircraft, processes the received weather information into weather radar image information that is displayable on at least a display, processes the weather radar image information into a reduced size dataset, and communicates the reduced size dataset to an installation aircraft over the low bandwidth communication channel, wherein the low bandwidth communication channel is generated by a low bandwidth communication transceiver on board the remote aircraft. | Brian Paul Bunch (Snohomish, WA), Michael M. Grove (Snohomish, WA), Willard R. True (Kirkland, WA), Ken Kuttler (Redmond, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2009-05-27 | 2012-07-17 | G01S13/00 | 12/472644 |
| 530 | 8217828 | Systems and methods for generation of comprehensive airspace weather condition display from shared aircraft sensor data by a transmitting aircraft | Systems and methods communicate sensor data pertaining to detected weather between aircraft. An exemplary system has at least one sensor on a transmitting aircraft that is configured to detect weather and configured to output sensor data, and a transceiver that is configured to receive a query from a requesting aircraft for the sensor data and that is configured to transmit a signal with the sensor data for receipt by the requesting aircraft in response to receiving the query. Upon receipt by the requesting aircraft, the received sensor data of the transmitting aircraft may then be fused with sensor data of the requesting aircraft for a geographic region of interest to extend the effective sensor coverage and to resolve at least one of a location conflict and a severity conflict between the sensor data of the transmitting aircraft and the requesting aircraft. | James C. Kirk (Clarksville, MD) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2008-08-18 | 2012-07-10 | G01S13/00 | 12/193567 |
| 531 | 8212714 | Using doppler radar images to estimate aircraft navigational heading error | A yaw angle error of a motion measurement system carried on an aircraft for navigation is estimated from Doppler radar images captured using the aircraft. At least two radar pulses aimed at respectively different physical locations in a targeted area are transmitted from a radar antenna carried on the aircraft. At least two Doppler radar images that respectively correspond to the at least two transmitted radar pulses are produced. These images are used to produce an estimate of the yaw angle error. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), Jay D. Jordan (Albuquerque, NM), Theodore J. Kim (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2009-08-31 | 2012-07-03 | G01S13/88, G01S13/89, G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S13/90 | 12/550873 |
| 532 | 8212712 | Method of processing a radar image, obtained in particular from an airborne radar, with evaluation of the altitude of the 0.degree. C. isotherm | The invention targets a method of processing a radar image obtained from a radar. It comprises an automatic evaluation of the altitude of the isotherm at zero degrees Celsius, called zero isotherm, using a processing of the reflectivity information (rf (px) ) conveyed by pixels (px) forming all or part of the radar image. | Nicolas Bon (Brest, FR), Jean-Paul Artis (Plouzane, FR), Nicolas Raguenes (Ploudalmezeau, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2009-01-23 | 2012-07-03 | G01S13/95 | 12/358524 |
| 533 | 8212711 | UAV trajectory determination method and system | A method for determining a corrected UAV trajectory for a UAV having an on-board synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and a programmed trajectory includes the SAR obtaining observed radar range profile curves associated with point scatterers, calculating an error objective function based on the observed radar range profile curves to obtain a perturbation path, and applying the perturbation path to the programmed trajectory to obtain the corrected UAV trajectory input back into the SAR. Optimal parameter values applied to the UAV motion model then constitute an improved estimate of the UAV trajectory. A system for computing the corrected UAV trajectory also includes an on-board UAV inertial navigation system and an on-board processor having a machine-readable storage media capable for storing the software instructions for applying the subject algorithm via the processor that then applies the corrected trajectory to the SAR. | Abraham Schultz (Alexandria, VA), Feng-Ling C Lin (Burke, VA) | The United States of America, As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2010-03-23 | 2012-07-03 | G01S13/66 | 12/729330 |
| 534 | 8207887 | Computationally efficent radar processing method and sytem for SAR and GMTI on a slow moving platform | A method and system for processing radar data from a movable platform comprising passing a radar signal through a low noise amplifier, down converting the signal to a lower frequency, filtering out harmonics, sampling using A/D converter at or above Nyquist frequency, determining a scene center, performing a two stage averaging scheme of the received signals with a variable window function based upon the velocity, acceleration of the platform and scene center, coherently averaging N pulses to create an average pulse, performing an inverse Fourier transform, compensating to the scene center by multiplying by a complex exponential based upon GPS and inertial navigational system, summing the average pulses using a low pass filter, repeating the determination of an average pulse for a time period that is less than the Nyquist sample time interval to generate second average pulses, and performing a 2D inverse Fourier transform to obtain SAR image. | Geoffrey Howard Goldman (Ellicott City, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 2009-06-23 | 2012-06-26 | G01S13/00 | 12/490109 |
| 535 | 8188907 | Aircraft collision avoidance alarm | The present invention provides an aircraft collision alarm system and method. The method includes the steps of collecting aircraft position information for aircraft in a given area and digitally encoding this aircraft position information. This aircraft position information is then transmitted on an audio sub-carrier over the voice communications channel of a VOR to the aircraft. The aircraft receives and processes the digitally encoded information and alerts the pilot if a collision alarm situation is present. | Gary E. O'Neil (Raleigh, NC) | International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) | 2009-09-12 | 2012-05-29 | G01S13/93 | 12/558491 |
| 536 | 8184037 | Radar system for aircraft | Radar system for providing an aircraft with a facility for in use at least detecting another aircraft in at least one monitorable zone within a region surrounding of that aircraft, wherein the system comprises for each monitorable zone at least one subsystem comprising one transmitter for sending an electro-magnetic probe signal and at least one receiver for receiving a reflection of that probe signal, wherein the transmitter is arranged to send the probe signal in a direction that is static with respect to that aircraft. | Albert Gezinus Huizing (Voorschoten, NL), Ronald Nikola Huib Willem Van Gent (Soest, NL) | Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno (Delft, NL), N/A (N/A) | 2006-05-31 | 2012-05-22 | G01S13/93 | 11/921051 |
| 537 | 8179301 | Image processor and image processing method for synthetic aperture radar | An image processor and an image processing method for a synthetic aperture radar searching for a target are provided. A high resolution processing unit performs high resolution processing up to an area equivalent to a small target or smaller to thereby acquire information held by the small target. Next, a maximum value filter processing unit develops the information of the small target acquired through the high resolution processing in one pixel of low resolution processing with a maximum value. Then, a display unit displays the minimum area of the low resolution processing as one pixel on a screen. Since the information originally held by the small target can be displayed without damaging it as described above, it is easily distinguishable from the background information, enabling to improve the detection capability as a radar. | Shingo Matsuo (Tokyo, JP), Hitoshi Nohmi (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 2007-04-19 | 2012-05-15 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00 | 11/785662 |
| 538 | 8138961 | Step frequency ISAR | A step frequency inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) includes a transmitter configured to transmit a transmission pulse at a transmission frequency to a near earth object (NEO) , the transmission frequency having a frequency range comprising a starting frequency, an ending frequency, and a step size, a receiver configured to receive a pulse response from the NEO, the pulse response corresponding to the transmission pulse, and a computer configured to determine a 3-dimensional image of the interior of the NEO from the pulse response. | Manohar D. Deshpande (Odenton, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Washington, DC), N/A (N/A) | 2009-09-17 | 2012-03-20 | G01S13/90, G01S7/28, G01S13/00, G01S7/00 | 12/561644 |
| 539 | 8134490 | Synthetic aperture radar process | A continually adapted pulse-to-pulse shift, performed in the azimuth direction, of the phase center which is electrically active on the side of the transmitting antenna (Tx, Tx.sub.1, Tx.sub.2, Tx.sub.3) , in connection with the SAR antenna control of a multi-aperture SAR system is designed such that, in the case of an existing pulse repetition frequency (PRF) due to the likewise shifted position of the effective phase center of the entire antenna (Tx, Tx.sub.1, Tx.sub.2, Tx.sub.3, Rx, Rx.sub.1, Rx.sub.2, Rx.sub.3) , a compensation or complete correction of non-equidistant scanning in the azimuth direction is achieved. The principle of the pulse-to-pulse shift of the position of the effective phase center of the antenna for achieving the best possible equidistant scanning can be expanded to the side of the receiving antenna (Rx, Rx.sub.1, Rx.sub.2, Rx.sub.3) and to multi-aperture antennas. The technological solution proposed by the invention can be advantageously combined with a subsequent digital beam formation on the receiving antenna side. | Nicolas Gebert (Munchen, DE), Gerhard Krieger (Planegg, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.V. (DE) | 2008-08-08 | 2012-03-13 | G01S13/00 | 12/675879 |
| 540 | 8125370 | Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar signature detector | A method is provided for processing an acquired polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image of a region to identify a candidate pixel that correlates to a target representation. The polarimetric SAR image is composed of a plurality of pixels, and the candidate pixel corresponds to a position in the region that contains a candidate object. The process includes deconstructing J parameter components each sample, obtaining acquired values for the image from select parameter components, acquiring reference values that characterize said parameter components for the target representation, determining distance values each reference value and each acquired value, comparing the distance values against a classification criterion to determine whether the candidate pixel conforms to the target representative. The process may further include extracting N sub-apertures from the polarimetric SAR image, and combining the distance values for the sub-apertures together to obtain distance summations for comparison. The process may additionally include multiplying the distance summations with their corresponding weighting factors to obtain weighted results and combining these to produce a weighted log-likelihood function that identifies whether the pixel conforms to the target. Determining a difference may further include subtracting reference values from their respective acquired values to respectively obtain set of differences, assigning normalized defaults to the differences in response to the difference having a specified relation to parameter thresholds, and otherwise normalizing the difference, and determining natural logs of unity minus said each difference to obtain their distance values. | George W. Rogers (Milford, VA), Houra Rais (Adelphi, MD), Kenneth G. Bullard (Charlotte Hall, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2008-03-31 | 2012-02-28 | G01S13/90 | 12/082194 |
| 541 | 8120525 | Systems and methods for obtaining aircraft state data from multiple data links | Systems and methods are delineated that may provide for a system for use in a merging and spacing application for an aircraft. An exemplary system may comprise a TCAS and a processor for executing the merging and spacing application using ADS-B data and data received by the aircraft in response to an interrogation of another aircraft from the TCAS. In a disclosed embodiment, a lead aircraft responds to the TCAS interrogation from a following aircraft to provide EHS heading and/or speed of the lead aircraft to the following aircraft, which uses the received EHS data as well as ADS-B data to determine merging and spacing control parameters for the following aircraft. | Richard D. Ridenour (Glendale, AZ), Charles C. Manberg (Peoria, AZ) | Aviation Communication&Surveillance Systems Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2009-02-02 | 2012-02-21 | G01S13/93 | 12/364312 |
| 542 | 8120522 | System and method for inspecting a wind turbine blade | A wind turbine blade inspection system includes a frequency modulated continuous wave radar system configured to be movable with respect to a wind turbine blade while transmitting reference microwave signals and receiving reflected microwave signals and a processor configured for using a synthetic aperture analysis technique to obtain a focused image of at least a region of the wind turbine blade based on the reflected microwave signals. | Nilesh Tralshawala (Rexford, NY), Waseem Ibrahim Faidi (Schenectady, NY) | General Electric Company (Niskayuna, NY) | 2010-11-30 | 2012-02-21 | G01S13/89, G01S13/32, G01S13/90, G01S13/00 | 12/956212 |
| 543 | 8102299 | Method of strip-map synthetic aperture radar auto-focus processing | A strip-map Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) auto-focus image generation process is provided. Batches of raw radar return data are processed in order to form batch images which each have a valid region between invalid regions. The process determines an estimate of the first derivative of a phase error at an end of the valid region, determines a time-shift corresponding to that estimate and uses that information in determining a starting point for the next batch of raw radar return data. | Stuart Young (Crawley, GB), Malcom Stevens (Crawley, GB) | Thales Holdings Uk Plc (GB) | 2009-10-26 | 2012-01-24 | G01S13/00 | 12/605428 |
| 544 | 8095251 | System for monitoring anemobaroclinometric parameters for aircraft | The disclosed embodiments concerns a system for monitoring anemobaroclinometric parameters in an aircraft, including a primary detection circuit having at least one measurement channel. The measurement channel includes a device for measuring static air pressure, a device for measuring a side-slip angle of the aircraft, a device for measuring a dynamic pressure, a total air temperature and a angle of attack of the aircraft, and a data-processing device capable of determining anemobaroclinometric parameters from the measurements of static pressure, side-slip angle, dynamic pressure, total air temperature and angle of attack, a least one laser anemometer to measure at least one true airspeed parameter of the aircraft. | Guillaume Preaux (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2006-09-21 | 2012-01-10 | G01P5/26, G01S17/58 | 12/067730 |
| 545 | 8094059 | Method for determining the angular aperture corresponding to the extent in a plane of an object seen by a radar antenna | The present invention relates to a method for determining the angular aperture corresponding to the extent in a plane of an object seen by a radar antenna, the object being situated at a given distance from the radar antenna. Echoes are measured in directions .theta..DELTA..theta..times..times..times..times..theta..DELTA..theta. ##EQU00001## of the plane, where .theta..sub.p is a variable angle corresponding to directions of the plane and .DELTA..theta. is a given angular aperture. The pairwise differences are calculated between the echo measurements taken in the directions .theta..DELTA..theta..times..times..times..times..theta..DELTA..theta. ##EQU00002## The slope is determined at a value .theta..sub.p of a function e of .theta..sub.p interpolated between the calculated differences, the angular aperture which corresponds to the extent of the object at the given distance being deduced from the slope. The invention has an application in meteorological radar. | Clementine Costes (Brest, FR), Jean-Paul Artis (Plouzane, FR), Maxence Marcant (Milizac, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2008-05-09 | 2012-01-10 | G01S13/00 | 12/117846 |
| 546 | 8085182 | Systems and methods for collecting weather information using an airborne aircraft | Weather information recording systems and methods are operable to record information detected by airborne aircraft. An exemplary embodiment generates a trigger event corresponding to the presence of weather of interest, stores weather information collected by an aviation electronics system in a memory in response to generating the trigger event, and downloads the stored weather information to a remote memory. | Donald C. Kauffman (Laurel, MD) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2009-03-31 | 2011-12-27 | G01S13/00 | 12/415686 |
| 547 | 8077078 | System and method for aircraft altitude measurement using radar and known runway position | A method of and system for determining the altitude of an aircraft can use a relative altitude estimate using information from an onboard radar. The altitude can be referenced to a runway for landing operations. The radar can produce relative altitude information from the range to the landing point and a precision estimation of the vertical angle to the landing point. The vertical angle estimate can be made with a phase processing antenna/radar system. | Daniel L. Woodell (Cedar Rapids, IA), Richard D. Jinkins (Rewey, WI), Richard M. Rademaker (Rijswijk, NL), Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2008-07-25 | 2011-12-13 | G01S13/08, G01S13/00 | 12/180293 |
| 548 | 8055395 | Methods and devices of an aircraft crosswind component indicating system | A system for providing crosswind component information to a pilot of an aircraft is disclosed. The system is comprised of a navigation system, datalink system, devices for manual input of data, a crosswind component module consisting of, in part, a processor and database, and an indicating system consisting of, in part, a tactical display unit system of an aircraft. A navigation system may provide flight parameters for measured and intended flight data as inputs. Other data may also be provided from manual input devices and a datalink system as inputs. The processor of the crosswind component module receives the data, retrieves runway direction data, and determines the data of the crosswind components. An indicating system receives the data of the crosswind components and displays this information. | Charles B. Dirks (Swisher, IA), Michael J. Krenz (Cedar Rapids, IA), Pamela K. Hahn (Cedar Rapids, IA), David W. Jennings (Cedar Rapids, IA), Tod J. Santel (Robins, IA), Robert F. Dancer (Marion, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2007-06-21 | 2011-11-08 | G06F19/00, G01S13/08, G08G5/00, G05D1/12 | 11/820940 |
| 549 | 8049657 | Method for processing TOPS (terrain observation by progressive scan) -SAR (synthetic aperture radar) -raw data | Sub-aperture processing is carried out. Within each sub-aperture, range compression and a correction for the target range variation are carried out. Baseband azimuth scaling is used for processing the azimuth signal, wherein a long azimuth reference function and thus a wide azimuth dimension are prevented. The scaling range is not constant and depends on the range, which is not equal to the original range vector. It is calculated such that, in combination with a subsequent derotation step, constant azimuth scanning is achieved for all ranges. The selected derotation function, which is applied in the azimuth time domain, makes it possible for all the targets to be in base band, in this way varying the effective chirp rate. Since the phase is purely quadratic because of the azimuth scaling step, it is thus possible to use an optimal filter which takes account of the effective chirp rate. IFFT results in a focused image, and a final phase function in the time domain allows phase maintenance. Application for SAR, SONAR and seismic raw data processing in the TOPS mode, as well as other modes which make use of the antenna polar diagram being scanned in the azimuth and/or elevation direction. | Pau Prats (Gilching, DE), Josef Mittermayer (Munich, DE), Rolf Scheiber (Puchheim, DE), Alberto Moreira (Olching, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fuer Luft - Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Cologne, DE) | 2008-06-26 | 2011-11-01 | G01S13/00 | 12/667238 |
| 550 | 8044842 | High accuracy radar altimeter using automatic calibration | A method of compensating for component errors within a radar altimeter is described. The method includes periodically switching transmit pulses from a transmit antenna to a programmable delay device, calculating an altitude based on a transmit pulse received from the programmable delay device, comparing the calculated altitude to an expected altitude, the expected altitude based on a pre-set delay through the programmable delay device, and compensating an altitude measured by the radar altimeter, based on transmit pulses output through the transmit antenna, by an error correction amount based on a difference between the calculated altitude and expected altitudes. | Steven H. Thomas (Brooklyn Center, MN), Timothy J. Reilly (Plymouth, MN), Glen B. Backes (Maple Grove, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2009-06-23 | 2011-10-25 | G01S13/08, G01S7/40 | 12/489633 |
| 551 | 8035545 | Vehicular surveillance system using a synthetic aperture radar | According to one embodiment, a system for gathering intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information comprises a synthetic aperture radar that is housed within an enclosure coupled to a land vehicle. The synthetic aperture radar includes an antenna array that transmits and receives electro-magnetic radiation for generating images of objects around the land vehicle while the land vehicle is in motion. | James A. Pruett (Allen, TX), Timothy E. Adams (Allen, TX), Christopher T. Moshenrose (Allen, TX), Jerry M. Grimm (Plano, TX) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2009-03-13 | 2011-10-11 | G01S13/00 | 12/404078 |
| 552 | 8032266 | Method for selecting aircraft access point into a lateral free evolution area | This method facilitates the joining, by an aircraft, of a secure zone, without constraint of deployment in the horizontal plane, in particular when the latter is threatened by a risk of collision with the ground or by a risk of penetration into a forbidden zone which cannot be resolved by a purely vertical avoidance maneuver. It consists in selecting a point for joining a zone of free lateral deployment by means of a criterion of minimum cost of the initial maneuver of turning at the start of the trajectory for joining the possible points of access to the zones of free lateral deployment. | Elias Bitar (Toulouse, FR), Nicolas Marty (Saint-Sauveur, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2005-03-22 | 2011-10-04 | G01C21/00, G06F17/00, G05D1/08, G08G5/04, G01S13/94 | 11/547777 |
| 553 | 8013779 | Airborne radar notably for a drone | The present disclosure relates to an airborne radar notably for a drone. In at least one embodiment, the airborne radar has a first structure and a second structure. The first structure is mechanically attached to an aircraft carrying the radar. The first structure has a degree of rotational freedom relative to the aircraft on a first axis. The second structure is attached to the first structure. The second structure has a degree of rotational freedom relative to the first structure on a second axis converging with the first axis. An antenna is attached to the second structure and configured to receive and send electromagnetic waves. An electronic module configured to process the electromagnetic waves sent or received by the antenna is attached to the second structure. | Dominique Maurel (Montrouge, FR), Patrick Lacroix (Boulogne, FR), Rene Ramolet (Elancourt, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2008-02-13 | 2011-09-06 | G01S13/00 | 12/030651 |
| 554 | 8004453 | Elevation null command generator for monopulse radar airborne missile guidance systems | There is disclosed an elevation null command generator (ENCG) for use in airborne monopulse radar, and a novel missile guidance system made possible by use of the ENGC. The ENCG provides an accurate means of directing the elevation monopulse plane of a radar antenna at a patch of ground defined by a range signal generated within the radar or its associated equipment. It is shown that within the system range can define the elevation angle of concern. The ENCG includes a central range gate centered at the command range and a plurality of pairs of range gates, the two gates of each pair being time spaced before and after the central range gate, and has circuit means for normalizing the output of the range gates to eliminate the bias effects of strong targets adjacent to the monopulse null plane and ground surface intersection. | Andrew E. Vall (Torrance, CA), Frederick C. Williams (Topanga, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 1972-10-16 | 2011-08-23 | G01S13/00 | 05/298674 |
| 555 | 8000848 | Integrated system for aircraft vortex safety | The invention relates to systems for preventing off-normal situations when there is a possibility that an aircraft penetrates into a dangerous area of the vortex shedding of a vortex generator. The inventive system consists of information sub-systems for recording and storing information on the expected relative position of the aircraft and trailing vortex areas in line with danger criteria which are specified by a user and concern dangerous aerodynamic forces and torques effecting the aircraft and induced by the trailing vortex of vortex generators, and for conveying said information to said user, who can be the aircraft crew and/or flight attendants, at a preventive distance from the aircraft and at a forecast moment. Said information can be visualised in a human-readable form and in a volume sufficient for forming a directive signal for carrying out a flight manoeuvre by the aircraft in order to move away from the dangerous trailing vortex area. | Nikolai Alekseevich Baranov (Moscow, RU), Andrei Sergeevich Belotserkovski (Moscow, RU), Mikhail Igorevich Kanevski (Moscow, RU), Igor Vladimirovich Pasekunov (Moscow, RU) | Faprid (Moscow, RU), Spetsfekhnika (Moscow RU) | 2003-07-25 | 2011-08-16 | G01S13/93, G01C23/00, G01S17/93 | 10/565529 |
| 556 | 7999724 | Estimation and correction of error in synthetic aperture radar | Methods, systems, and computer-readable media are disclosed for correcting synthetic aperture radar data to correct for gain errors in fast time. According to an embodiment, input data is received from a synthetic radar system representing returned data from an individual pulse. Data entropy optimization is performed to identify a gain correction configured to adjust the input data to minimize image intensity entropy to generate focused output data. The gain correction is applied to the input data to adjust data values in the input data to generate the focused output data. | Kwang M. Cho (Los Angeles, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2008-12-15 | 2011-08-16 | G01S13/90 | 12/335040 |
| 557 | 7994964 | Method for determining the position, notably in terms of elevation, of a target flying at very low altitude | The present invention relates to a method for determining the position notably the elevation of a target flying at very low altitude. An electromagnetic detection system extracts the measurement of the elevation on the basis of the amplitude of the interference signal produced by a signal emitted directly by the target and by a signal emitted by the target towards the ground then reflected by the ground towards the radar. Embodiments of the invention can notably be used within the framework of the guidance of drones in the final landing phase. | Pascal Cornic (Brest, FR), Eric Barraux (Brest, FR), Patrick Garrec (Merignac, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2007-05-09 | 2011-08-09 | G01S13/91 | 12/301215 |
| 558 | 7982658 | Systems and methods for assessing weather in proximity to an airborne aircraft | Dynamic weather model systems and methods are operable to assess weather in proximity to an airborne aircraft. An exemplary embodiment receives a radar return from the weather, determines reflectivity information from the received radar return, retrieves a weather model from a weather model data base, compares the weather with the retrieved weather model and the determined reflectivity information, predicts a characteristic of the weather based upon the comparison of the weather and the weather model, and determines if the predicted characteristic is potentially hazardous to the airborne aircraft. The weather model is defined by at least one weather modeling algorithm, and is defined by at least one of a parameter and a variable parameter range residing in a weather characteristics database. | Donald C. Kauffman (Laurel, MD), Brian P. Bunch (Snohomish, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2009-03-31 | 2011-07-19 | G01S13/95 | 12/415704 |
| 559 | 7978049 | Time-of-flight ranging systems using coarse and fine measurements | A time-of-flight ranging system, such as a keyless access Control system, comprises a first part and a second part, e.g., a portable device such as a key fob. Both parts have a transceiver for effecting communication with each other. At least the first part includes a device, e.g., a processor, for determining the distance between the two parts based on time-off-light. To save power, when the two parts are a relatively great distance apart, a time-of-flight measuring device computes the time based on a relatively coarse algorithm, and when the parts are relatively close, the computation is carried-out using a more precise algorithm. The clock frequency may be reduced when the two parts are a relatively great distance apart, and increased when they are closer. Further the transmitter power may be reduced when the two parts are relatively close together and increased when they are a relatively great distance apart. | Adam S. Leitch (Brighton, GB) | Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Eindhoven, NL) | 2005-07-06 | 2011-07-12 | G01S13/76 | 11/571672 |
| 560 | 7969346 | Transponder-based beacon transmitter for see and avoid of unmanned aerial vehicles | A transponder-based beacon transmitter system in an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided. The transponder-based beacon transmitter system comprises a global positioning system interface communicatively coupled to receive position information indicative of a current location of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a message formatter communicatively coupled to the global positioning system interface, and a transponder-based beacon transmitter. The message formatter formats vehicle identification of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the position information indicative of the current location of the unmanned aerial vehicle into an automatic dependent surveillance broadcast mode-select squitter message. The message formatter operates in one of a military mode, a National Airspace System mode, and a combined military/National Airspace System mode. The transponder-based beacon transmitter transmits the automatic dependent surveillance broadcast mode-select squitter messages from the unmanned aerial vehicle. Receivers in the vicinity of the unmanned aerial vehicle receive unsolicited vehicle identification and location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. | Michael R. Franceschini (Centerport, NY), David W. Meyers (Brooklyn Park, MN), Kelly P. Muldoon (Minneapolis, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2008-10-07 | 2011-06-28 | G08G5/04, G01S13/74, G01S13/00 | 12/246644 |
| 561 | 7965228 | Quasi-compact range | An antenna method and system to implement a quasi-compact range technique/technology in which a reflector antenna is used to produce a test field within a test region at a quasi-compact range, which is within a near-field of the reflector antenna but further from the reflector antenna than a compact range of the reflector antenna. | Robert B. Dybdal (Palos Verdes Estates, CA), David A. Thompson (El Segundo, CA), Frank A. Pisano, III (Manhattan Beach, CA) | The Aerospace Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 2007-11-05 | 2011-06-21 | G01S7/40, G01S13/00 | 11/935235 |
| 562 | 7965223 | Forward-looking radar system, module, and method for generating and/or presenting airport surface traffic information | A present novel and non-trivial system, module, and method for generating and/or presenting airport surface traffic information presenting using a forward-looking aircraft radar system are disclosed. A runway awareness zone is established and traffic data is acquired by a forward-looking aircraft radar system. In one embodiment, a runway awareness zone is own-ship-based. In another embodiment, a runway awareness zone is based upon data received from a navigation reference data source. An advisory data set is generated using track alignment correction information and airport surface traffic located within the runway awareness zone. Navigation data is used to determine the location of airport surface traffic. Track alignment correction information may be calculated using traffic data or navigation data. Advisory data set is provided to one or more avionics systems including a presentation system and an external communication system. Advisory data set could include visual, aural, and/or tactile information. | Patrick D. McCusker (Walker, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2009-02-03 | 2011-06-21 | G01S13/93 | 12/322451 |
| 563 | 7948431 | Radiobased locating system provided with a synthetic aperture | The invention relates to a method for increasing the accuracy of a measurement of a radio-based locating system comprising a mobile station and at least one fixed station, wherein the movement of a mobile station from an initial position is detected by way of measuring data of an absolute sensor system and a relative sensor system, a virtual antenna is embodied in the form of synthetic aperture by way of measuring data and the mobile station is focused on the fixed station and/or vice versa by using the synthetic aperture. | Peter Gulden (Munchen, DE), Stephan Max (Clausthal-Zellerfeld, DE), Martin Vossiek (Hildesheim, DE) | Symeo Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2005-09-07 | 2011-05-24 | G01S13/74 | 11/813369 |
| 564 | 7944390 | High-resolution synthetic aperture side view radar system used by means of digital beamforming | The transmission antenna (10) of the high-resolution synthetic aperture side view radar system comprises a plurality of sub-apertures (7, 8, 9) . In each individual transmission pulse, said sub-apertures are controlled in such a manner that a spatiotemporally non-separable multi-dimensional high-frequency waveform is produced as an transmission signal pulse form, such that the modulation of each transmission pulse has a spatiotemporal diversity which is not described by the product having functions which are independent from each other and which are dependent on, respectively, only one spatial dimension. The thus produced transmission pulse form is combined to a capture-sided spatial filtering by means of digital beamforming adapted to said transmission signal pulse form. | Gerhard Krieger (Gauting, DE), Nicolas Gebert (Munchen, DE), Alberto Moreira (Olching, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 2007-05-04 | 2011-05-17 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00 | 12/226785 |
| 565 | 7940203 | Electromagnetic wave absorption board to be used in wireless LAN | In a double glazing where a pair of transparent glass sheets are arranged at an interval by having a spacer at the circumferential end portion and where a hollow layer sealed between the pair of glass sheets is formed, there is provided an electromagnetic absorption board used for wireless LAN, which is characterized in that the thickness of the glass sheet is in a range of 2.5-20 mm, that the thickness of the hollow layer is in a range of 2.5-15 mm, that at least one glass sheet of the pair of glass sheets is formed with a resistive film having a surface resistance (surface resistivity) in a range of 20.OMEGA./.quadrature. to 2 k.OMEGA./.quadrature., and that the resistive film is formed on a glass sheet side on the hollow layer side. | Masaaki Katano (Matsusaka, JP), Tadashi Onishi (Matsusaka, JP), Yoshinori Shirai (Matsusaka, JP), Tetsuji Hattori (Matsusaka, JP) | Central Glass Company, Limited (Ube-shi, JP) | 2007-04-27 | 2011-05-10 | H01Q17/00, H05K9/00, G01S13/00 | 12/298129 |
| 566 | 7932852 | RFI suppression in SAR | A filter scheme for broadcast interference cancellation that is computationally efficient and numerically robust Airborne Low Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) operating in the VHF and UHF bands has been shown. At least interference Doppler filtering or interference cancellation is utilized. The interference cancellation involves prediction of the interference for each particular reception interval of mixed interference and radar ground response. This prediction is then coherently subtracted from the incoming signal. | Hans Hellsten (Linkoping, SE) | Saab Ab (SE) | 2009-05-20 | 2011-04-26 | G01S13/00 | 12/469028 |
| 567 | 7928896 | Application of time reversal to synthetic aperture imaging | A method and apparatus for target focusing and ghost image removal in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is disclosed. Conventional SAR is not designed for imaging targets in a rich scattering environment. In this case, ghost images due to secondary reflections appear in the SAR images. We demonstrate, how, from a rough estimate of the target location obtained from a conventional SAR image and using time reversal, time reversal techniques can be applied to SAR to focus on the target with improved resolution, and reduce or remove ghost images. | Yuanwei Jin (Salisbury, MD), Jose M. F. Moura (Pittsburgh, PA) | Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) | 2008-07-09 | 2011-04-19 | G01S13/00 | 12/217839 |
| 568 | 7917255 | System and method for on-board adaptive characterization of aircraft turbulence susceptibility as a function of radar observables | A turbulence data circuit for use in an aircraft. The aircraft can include a radar system configured to transmit a first radio frequency wave and receive a second radio frequency wave and a display for receiving a display signal representative of turbulence. The aircraft can further include a flight management system configured to determine a phase of flight, an aircraft inertial/air data system configured to determine an altitude and an airspeed. The turbulence data circuit can include an interface for coupling to the radar system, the display, the flight management system, and the aircraft inertial/air data system. The turbulence data circuit can be configured to determine the display signal representative of turbulence based on at least one of the phase of flight, the altitude, the airspeed and the second radio frequency wave. | Jeffrey A. Finley (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Colllins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2007-09-18 | 2011-03-29 | G01S13/95, G06F19/00 | 11/901632 |
| 569 | 7911375 | Doppler beam-sharpened radar altimeter | Systems and methods for Doppler beam sharpening in a radar altimeter are provided. In one embodiment, a method comprises receiving a return signal at a radar altimeter receiver and applying a first gate to the return signal to select at least a first component of the return signal. Spectral analysis is performed on the first component of the return signal to generate a plurality of frequency bins, wherein each frequency bin is centered around a different frequency across a Doppler shift frequency spectrum for the first component of the return signal. The method further comprises tracking the first component of the return signal, selecting a first frequency bin of the plurality of frequency bins based on the Doppler shift frequency of the first component of the return signal, and outputting a portion of the first component of the return signal falling within the first frequency bin for further processing. | Benjamin J. Winstead (Minneapolis, MN), Thomas W. Heidemann (Anoka, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2009-06-02 | 2011-03-22 | G01S13/08 | 12/476682 |
| 570 | 7899586 | Aircraft guidance system | A guidance system includes a device to generate an alphanumeric identification characteristic, enabling identification of a data item which is used for a selected guidance mode of an aircraft. The system also includes a display unit which automatically shows the alphanumeric identification characteristic on a display screen. | Vincent Markiton (Fontenilles, FR), Eric Peyrucain (Saint Genies Bellevue, FR), Lionel Bertin (Toulouse, FR), Jean-Louis De Menorval (Aussone, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2007-03-26 | 2011-03-01 | G06G7/70, G06G7/76, G01S13/00, H04N7/00, G01C23/00 | 12/280126 |
| 571 | 7898457 | System and method for processing imagery from synthetic aperture systems | A method of processing a temporal sequence of base images from a synthetic aperture system such as a synthetic aperture radar is provided that simplifies the task of identifying moving objects. The method comprises the steps of firstly temporally filtering a plurality of the base images to form a reference image, and secondly normalising the reference image with a base image to form a change detection image. The change detection image has the property that all moving objects are emphasised. Further processing can optionally be performed on the change detection image to remove false targets based on characteristics of the highlighted areas or on a temporal track taken over a plurality of change detection images. The invention allows detection of moving objects without requiring a Doppler return from a target. The invention extends to a system adapted to implement the method, and a computer program. | Mohammed Jahangir (Birmingham, GB) | Qinetiq Limited (London, GB) | 2007-03-19 | 2011-03-01 | G01S13/90 | 12/294811 |
| 572 | 7893863 | Enhanced aircraft transponder reliability | An aircraft system includes a transponder and a processor. The processor is configured to determine if the aircraft is positioned in a predetermined restricted flying zone. If the aircraft is positioned in a predetermined restricted flying zone, the processor determines if the transponder is functioning in a transmit mode. If the transponder is not functioning in a transmit mode, the processor sets the transponder to function in a transmit mode. | Guruprasad Naravanamurthy (Bangalore, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2009-01-07 | 2011-02-22 | G01S13/08 | 12/350107 |
| 573 | 7889119 | Radial gap measurement on turbines | Radial gap measurement on turbines by a microwave measuring method and an evaluation of a Doppler effect which varies according to the size of the radial gap is described. At least one radar sensor embodied as a transmission and reception unit is provided in the wall of a turbine housing which is radially oriented towards the centre of the turbine. The relative speed of an outer end of a turbine blade, dependent on the size of the radial gap, is evaluated many times in relation to the radar sensor during the passage of the blade end past the same, and the course of the relative speed over time on the zero crossing constitutes a measure for the radial gap on the basis of the relation between the absolute value of the relative speed and the incline thereof in the zero crossing. | Daniel Evers (Otterfing, DE), Andreas Ziroff (Munchen, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE) | 2007-07-19 | 2011-02-15 | G01S13/08, G01S13/58 | 12/309328 |
| 574 | 7889115 | System and method for tracking and identifying aircraft and ground equipment | In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods disclosed herein provide for tracking of objects, aircraft, vehicles, and ground equipment in a tracking area, such as an airspace and/or an airport terminal area. One embodiment of a tracking system of the present disclosure comprises a signal monitoring component adapted to communicate with an object, such as an aircraft, when the object enters the tracking area. The signal monitoring component is adapted to transmit a monopulse beacon query signal to the object and receive a monopulse beacon response signal from the object. The tracking system further comprises an interface component adapted to process the received monopulse beacon response signal from the object, initialize a beacon transponder on the object, and assign a network address to the object. | Dan J. Clingman (Milton, WA), Ted D. Whitley (Lopez Island, WA), Jack Thiesen (Plymouth, MI), Edgar Jacobi (Northville, MI), Glenn S. Bushnell (Puyallup, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2009-01-30 | 2011-02-15 | G01S13/74 | 12/363559 |
| 575 | 7876258 | Aircraft collision sense and avoidance system and method | A collision sense and avoidance system and method and an aircraft, such as an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) and/or Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) , including the collision sense and avoidance system. The collision sense and avoidance system includes an image interrogator identifies potential collision threats to the aircraft and provides maneuvers to avoid any identified threat. Motion sensors (e.g., imaging and/or infrared sensors) provide image frames of the surroundings to a clutter suppression and target detection unit that detects local targets moving in the frames. A Line of Sight (LOS) , multi-target tracking unit, tracks detected local targets and maintains a track history in LOS coordinates for each detected local target. A threat assessment unit determines whether any tracked local target poses a collision threat. An avoidance maneuver unit provides flight control and guidance with a maneuver to avoid any identified said collision threat. | Michael R. Abraham (O'Fallon, MO), Christian C. Witt (Albuquerque, NM), Dennis J. Yelton (Albuquerque, NM), John N. Sanders-Reed (Cedar Crest, NM), Christopher J. Musial (Albuquerque, NM) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2006-03-13 | 2011-01-25 | G01S13/00 | 11/374807 |
| 576 | 7876257 | Method and apparatus for compressing SAR signals | A method compresses synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data by sampling the SAR data into blocks and transforming each block to a corresponding block of transform coefficients. Each block of transform coefficient is quantized according to a quantization parameter to obtain a corresponding block of quantized transform coefficients, which are demultiplexed into sets of blocks of quantized transform coefficients. The quantized transform coefficients in the blocks in each set are arithmetically encoding in parallel according to a probability model to produce an intermediate bitstream for each set of blocks. The encoding of the quantized transform coefficients of one block is independent of the quantized transform coefficients of a successive block. The intermediate of bitstreams are then multiplexed to a compressed bitstream, which can be transmitted, or stored, for subsequent decoding to construct an SAR image. | Anthony Vetro (Arlington, MA), Shan Liu (Cambridge, MA), Jian Lou (Seattle, WA), Stephen R. Burgess (Walpole, MA) | Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) | 2008-04-28 | 2011-01-25 | G01S13/90 | 12/110834 |
| 577 | 7855675 | Method and device for detecting an environning aircraft | A radar unit on board an aircraft scans a scan area of surrounding space relative to a runway to detect any nearby aircraft and a unit presents to a pilot an indication of such detection of the presence of at least one nearby aircraft. The technique involves determining: a heading of the aircraft, positions of thresholds of the runway, an orientation of the runway, a maximum relative bearing, a minimum relative bearing, a maximum elevation, a minimum elevation, a slant range for scanning the scan area from the heading, thresholds and orientation, predetermined vertical and horizontal angles of an approach center line of the runway, a predetermined length of edges of the scan area, and the scan commands enabling the radar to scan said scan area using the maximum relative bearing, the minimum relative bearing, the maximum elevation, the minimum elevation and the slant range. The radar unit is an air-air mode radar configured to detect a nearby aircraft that is in flight, and the scan area has at least one vertical area of space which is situated to one side of the runway and defined relative to a center line of the runway. | Guillaume Fouet (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2009-02-23 | 2010-12-21 | G01S13/00 | 12/390939 |
| 578 | 7843375 | Method and apparatus for monitoring the RF environment to prevent airborne radar false alarms that initiate evasive maneuvers, reactionary displays or actions | Rather than costly modifications to existing radars, a small, low cost radar warning receiver is used to monitor the RF environment. This add-on receiver can provide situational awareness including RF signal levels and angle of arrival, and recommend or provide antenna scanning synchronization, blanking inputs or gated reactionary outputs to or for the airborne radar. Utilization of this information can be used to reduce false alarms and improve system performance. | Richard W. Rennie (Hudson, NH), John P. Truver (Bedford, NH) | Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Nashua, MI) | 2007-01-16 | 2010-11-30 | G01S13/87, G01S7/36 | 11/653522 |
| 579 | 7825851 | History or image based methods for altitude determination in a radar altimeter | Methods and apparatus for determining an altitude with an altimeter is provided. One method includes transmitting a signal having a fixed modulation period towards a ground target and then detecting reflected signals off the ground target. The method then implements a single Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the detected signals for each modulation period that computes all possible altitudes in real time. A short history of the real time altitude calculations is collected and then the altitude based on the short history of the real time altitude calculations is determined. | David C. Vacanti (Renton, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2008-04-02 | 2010-11-02 | G01S13/08, G01S13/00 | 12/061478 |
| 580 | 7825847 | Synthetic aperture radar, compact polarimetric SAR processing method and program | To provide a synthetic aperture radar for achieving a compact polarimetric SAR easily by using a general-purpose phased array antenna for vertical and horizontal polarizations. An antenna section is a phased array antenna for vertical and horizontal polarizations capable of switching to the vertical or horizontal polarizations in transmission at every transmission/reception module, and receiving two of the horizontal and vertical polarizations simultaneously. The control system divides electrically the phased array antenna in the elevation direction in transmission to set one of them for horizontal polarization transmission and the other for vertical polarization transmission, and sets the antenna for dual polarization simultaneous reception to receive the horizontal and vertical polarizations. The SAR processor takes complex data of horizontal and vertical polarization receiving data as a target vector, and obtains a calculation result corresponding to a covariance matrix of a target vector in full polarimetry so as to perform polarimetric SAR processing. | Takashi Fujimura (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 2008-09-19 | 2010-11-02 | G01S13/00 | 12/234391 |
| 581 | 7812758 | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging system | One embodiment of the invention includes a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system. The system comprises a radar transmitter configured to transmit a combined signal, the combined signal comprising a first signal that is a modulated SAR radar signal and a second signal that is a modulated signal. The system also comprises at least one radar receiver configured to receive a reflected combined signal that comprises a reflected first signal and a reflected second signal, and to demodulate the reflected first and second signals. The reflected first and second signals can correspond to the first and second signals having been reflected from a target. The system further comprises a radar image processor configured to generate a radar image of the target based on signal parameters associated with the reflected first signal and based on information comprised within the reflected second signal. | James Richard Morris (Reston, VA) | Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 2007-11-27 | 2010-10-12 | G01S13/90 | 11/945952 |
| 582 | 7791529 | System for estimating the speed of an aircraft, and an application thereof to detecting obstacles | The invention relates to a method of determining an estimated speed of an aircraft relative to ground being overflown by the aircraft, in which use is made of the sum of an acceleration measurement of the aircraft plus a difference value, the difference value being obtained from observation data or signals relating to a region of the ground. | Francois Xavier Filias (Lambesc, FR), Jean-Paul Petillon (Miramas, FR), Richard Pire (Istres, FR) | Eurocopter (Marignane, FR) | 2006-05-18 | 2010-09-07 | G01S13/58, G01S15/93, G01S15/58, G01S13/93, G01S17/93, G01S17/58, G01S17/00, G01S15/00, G01S13/00 | 11/435775 |
| 583 | 7777668 | Radar altimeter with forward looking radar and data transfer capabilities | A navigation system having a radar altimeter is disclosed. The navigation system comprises a signal processing unit and one or more antennas in operative communication with the radar altimeter and the signal processing unit. The system further comprises a forward looking radar communicatively coupled to the radar altimeter. The forward looking radar and the signal processing unit are configured to provide forward looking radar measurements, radar altitude measurements from the radar altimeter, and datalink communications within a single forward looking radar scanning sequence. | Robert C. Becker (Eden Prairie, MN), Alan G. Cornett (Andover, MN), David W. Meyers (Brooklyn Park, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2008-04-08 | 2010-08-17 | G01S13/00 | 12/099297 |
| 584 | 7777665 | Comparing range data across the slow-time dimension to correct motion measurement errors beyond the range resolution of a synthetic aperture radar | Motion measurement errors that extend beyond the range resolution of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be corrected by effectively decreasing the range resolution of the SAR in order to permit measurement of the error. Range profiles can be compared across the slow-time dimension of the input data in order to estimate the error. Once the error has been determined, appropriate frequency and phase correction can be applied to the uncompressed input data, after which range and azimuth compression can be performed to produce a desired SAR image. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), Freddie E. Heard (Albuquerque, NM), J. Thomas Cordaro (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2008-05-14 | 2010-08-17 | G01S13/90 | 12/120270 |
| 585 | 7769376 | Wireless, ground link-based aircraft data communication system with roaming feature | A flight information communication system has a plurality of RF direct sequence spread spectrum ground data links that link respective aircraft-resident subsystems, in each of which a copy of its flight performance data is stored, with airport-located subsystems. The airport-located subsystems are coupled by way communication paths, such as land line telephone links, to a remote flight operations control center. At the flight operations control center, flight performance data downlinked from plural aircraft parked at different airports is analyzed. In addition, the flight control center may be employed to direct the uploading of in-flight data files, such as audio, video and navigation files from the airport-located subsystems to the aircraft. | Thomas H. Wright (Indialantic, FL), James J. Ziarno (Malabar, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2009-05-05 | 2010-08-03 | H04W4/00, G01S13/00, G08B21/00, G06F7/70, H04B7/00 | 12/435453 |
| 586 | 7768441 | Geodesy via GPS and INSAR integration | A method for representing surface deformation measurements, including providing InSAR data, wherein the InSAR data is line of sight InSAR data, providing Global Positioning System (GPS) data, filtering the InSAR data, assembling the GPS data over a time span, resolving the GPS data into a line of sight direction, determining a correction, generating a corrected line of sight image, generating a plurality of XY motion maps, wherein generating includes: correlating a plurality of XY motions from a plurality of GPS sites with a gradient of the corrected line of site image, determining a correlation coefficient, and building a plane of XY motion using at least one of the plurality of XY motions, using the correlation coefficient to produce a linear combination of the plurality of XY motion maps, and using the linear combination to convert the InSAR data to vertical motion. | Eric Davis (El Cerrito, CA), Scott Marsic (San Francisco, CA) | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (Duncan, OK) | 2009-06-09 | 2010-08-03 | G01S13/90 | 12/481241 |
| 587 | 7764220 | Synthetic aperture radar incorporating height filtering for use with land-based vehicles | According to one embodiment, a synthetic aperture radar includes an image former coupled to a pair of antennas that are oriented at differing elevational angles relative to one another. The antennas are configured in a land-based vehicle that moves horizontally relative to a target having one or more internal features. The image former receives signals from the antennas that are indicative of electro-magnetic radiation reflected from a target and generates images according to the signals. The image former then generates a final image by filtering the amplitude component of the imagery from a first antenna against the amplitude component of the imagery from a second antenna. | Raymond Samaniego (Prosper, TX) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2009-04-22 | 2010-07-27 | G01S13/90 | 12/428280 |
| 588 | 7760128 | Decreasing range resolution of a SAR image to permit correction of motion measurement errors beyond the SAR range resolution | Motion measurement errors that extend beyond the range resolution of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be corrected by effectively decreasing the range resolution of the SAR in order to permit measurement of the error. Range profiles can be compared across the slow-time dimension of the input data in order to estimate the error. Once the error has been determined, appropriate frequency and phase correction can be applied to the uncompressed input data, after which range and azimuth compression can be performed to produce a desired SAR image. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), Freddie E. Heard (Albuquerque, NM), J. Thomas Cordaro (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2008-05-14 | 2010-07-20 | G01S13/90 | 12/120265 |
| 589 | 7755532 | Methods and apparatus for assignment and maintenance of unique aircraft addresses for TIS-B services | Methods and apparatus for assigning a pseudo address to an aircraft not equipped with an ADS-B transponder and maintaining the assigned pseudo address over a number of regions each supported by different TIS-B systems. In an exemplary embodiment, each TIS-B system is assigned a range of addresses particular to the region in which the TIS-B system is located. | Graham C. Dooley (Snow Hill, MD) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2008-05-30 | 2010-07-13 | G01S13/00 | 12/129926 |
| 590 | 7750839 | Method for detecting atmospheric turbulence by an embedded electromagnetic sensor, notably on board an aircraft | An aim of the invention is to allow the detection of turbulence in the absence of tracers. A radar is embedded aboard an aircraft (21) and implements the following steps: searching for the upper part of a convective system (1) situated outside the given zone, reflecting the electromagnetic waves, searching for divergence zone (7) inside the convective system by searching for a divergence profile, reckoning the appearance of turbulence in the given zone as a function of observable meteorological phenomena in the divergence zone (7) by applying fluid mechanics properties. | Stephane Kemkemian (Paris, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2008-04-25 | 2010-07-06 | G01S13/00 | 12/109839 |
| 591 | 7747360 | Aircraft cockpit display device for information concerning surrounding traffic | An aircraft cockpit display device for information concerning surrounding traffic includes devices to receive information coming from outside the aircraft, to know the flight parameters of the aircraft, to calculate projected trajectories of the aircraft and of a detected aircraft in the immediate vicinity, and to display a representation of the surrounding traffic through symbols and potential messages based on instructions received. A display command device is connected to an on-board calculator to know the flight phase of the aircraft. The display command device has a filtering device to define for each flight phase and/or crew task the nature and the level of information to be displayed. | Simona Canu-Chiesa (Lavaur, FR), Guillaume Fouet (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2004-04-28 | 2010-06-29 | G01S13/93 | 10/833069 |
| 592 | 7746267 | Synthetic aperture radar hybrid-polarity method and architecture for obtaining the stokes parameters of a backscattered field | A synthetic aperture radar hybrid-polarity method and architecture comprising transmitting circular polarization (by driving the orthogonal linear feeds simultaneously by two identical waveforms, 90.degree. out of phase) , and receiving horizontal (H) and vertical (V) linear polarizations, coherently. Once calibrated, the H and V single-look complex amplitude data are sufficient to form all four Stokes parameters, which fully characterize the observed backscattered field. | Russell K. Raney (Annapolis, MD) | The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) | 2008-05-07 | 2010-06-29 | G01S13/90 | 12/116357 |
| 593 | 7741990 | Method and apparatus for detection of moving objects by SAR images | A method for the detection of moving objects by SAR images envisages the steps of: generating a pulse-repetition frequency signal starting from a radar signal, and generating a sequence of SAR images starting from the pulse-repetition frequency signal. In particular, SAR images with low azimuth resolution are generated by of coherent integration of the pulse-repetition frequency signal for a sub-aperture time shorter than an aperture time. In addition, the method envisages generating difference images through point-to-point difference between subsequent low azimuth resolution SAR images, and recognizing patterns associated to moving objects in the difference images. | Angelo Aprile (Giussago, IT) | Selex Galileo S.P.A. (IT) | 2007-07-06 | 2010-06-22 | G01S13/90 | 11/774435 |
| 594 | 7737879 | Split aperture array for increased short range target coverage | A phased array radar system comprising a plurality of radiating elements configured in a common array aperture for detecting and tracking targets, and a transmit and receive arrangement responsive to a first control signal for configuring the plurality of radiating elements to define a plurality of sub-apertures from the common array aperture for detecting and tracking short range targets, wherein the plurality of sub-apertures are independently steerable array apertures and include an amplitude taper applied across each of the plurality of sub-apertures to reduce a peak sidelobe level. | Byron W. Tietjen (Baldwinsville, NY), Krishnan J. Shanmuganandham (Liverpool, NY), Neemah Delfanian (Baldwinsville, NY), Matthew T. Nickels (Baldwinsville, NY) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2008-05-23 | 2010-06-15 | G01S13/00 | 12/126400 |
| 595 | 7737878 | Collision and conflict avoidance system for autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) | A collision and conflict avoidance system for autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) uses accessible on-board sensors to generate an image of the surrounding airspace. The situation thus established is analyzed for imminent conflicts (collisions, TCAS violations, airspace violations) , and, if a probable conflict or collision is detected, a search for avoidance options is started, wherein the avoidance routes as far as possible comply with statutory air traffic regulations. By virtue of the on-board algorithm the system functions independently of a data link. By taking into account the TCAS zones, the remaining air traffic is not disturbed unnecessarily. The system makes it possible both to cover aspects critical for safety and to use more highly developed algorithms in order to take complicated boundary conditions into account when determining the avoidance course. | Joost van Tooren (Munich, DE), Martin Heni (Munich, DE), Alexander Knoll (Munich, DE), Johannes Beck (Ingolstadt, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2008-07-08 | 2010-06-15 | G01S13/93, G08G5/04, G01S13/00, G08G5/00 | 12/169205 |
| 596 | 7737877 | Method and apparatus for processing SAR images based on a complex anisotropic diffusion filtering algorithm | A computer system for processing complex synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images includes a database for storing complex SAR images to be processed, and a processor for processing a complex SAR image from the database. The processing includes receiving a complex SAR data set for a SAR image comprising a plurality of pixels, and applying a complex anisotropic diffusion algorithm to the complex SAR data set. The complex SAR data set includes a real and an imaginary part for each pixel. | Kenneth Sartor (Melbourne, FL), Josef Allen (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2007-03-22 | 2010-06-15 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/89 | 11/689616 |
| 597 | 7728756 | Wide area high resolution SAR from a moving and hovering helicopter | A hovering helicopter has a radar transmitter/receiver for transmitting radar pulses for illuminating a target for SAR imaging, and rotor blades for generating lift. Radar reflectors are on the rotor blades. The radar reflectors are oriented to reflect the radar pulses from the transmitter to the target as the rotor blades rotate. The radar pulses reflected by the moving reflector from the transmitter are timed to generate the synthetic aperture image using radar returns from the target. The receiver also receives blade returns directly reflected from the moving reflectors attached to the lift rotor blades. The receiver analyzes the blade returns to extract motion details of the reflectors and uses the motion details for motion compensation of target returns for SAR imaging. | Kapriel V. Krikorian (Calabasas, CA), Robert A. Rosen (Agora Hills, CA), Michael Gubala (Laguna Niguel, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2007-08-20 | 2010-06-01 | G01S13/90, H01Q15/14 | 11/894069 |
| 598 | 7719462 | Time-of-flight radar calibration system | A time-of-flight calibration system for a radar-based measurement device is provided. The time-of-flight calibration system includes a target antenna and a waveguide, e.g. a coaxial cable. The waveguide is coupled at one end to the target antenna and terminated at its other end by a wave-reflecting impedance. | Shaun Philip Harwood (Peterborough, CA), George Quinton Lyon (Peterborough, CA) | Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments, Inc. (Peterborough, CA) | 2008-08-07 | 2010-05-18 | G01S7/40, G01S13/00 | 12/221943 |
| 599 | 7714774 | False lock filter for pulsed radar altimeters | A false lock filter circuit for a pulsed altimeter is provided. The circuit includes a low pass filter having a relatively low bandwidth (LBW LPF) , a low pass filter having a relatively high bandwidth (HBW LPF) and a false lock controller. The LBW LPF has an input that is coupled to receive a detector output. The HBW LPF has an input that is coupled to receive the detector output. The false lock controller is coupled to receive outputs from the LBW LPF and HBW LPF. Moreover, the false lock controller is configured to sample an output of the HBW LPF and apply a statistical analysis on the samples to determine if a valid target has been detected. | Benjamin J. Winstead (Roseville, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2007-09-06 | 2010-05-11 | G01S13/00 | 11/851038 |
| 600 | 7714768 | Non-statistical method for compressing and decompressing complex SAR data | Provided is a non-statistical method for compressing and decompressing complex SAR data derived from reflected energy. The method includes selecting a first FFT to provide a target ratio of pixel spacing to resolution. A second FFT is then selected which is smaller than the first FFT. The data is zero-padded to fill the second FFT and transformed to provide at least one transfer frequency. This transfer frequency is then transferred to the at least one remote site. At the remote site the second FFT is inverted to restore the data from the received transfer frequency. The restored data is then zero-padded again to fill the first FFT. The first FFT is then used to transform the zero-padded restored data to provide a data set of points with the target ratio of pixel spacing to resolution. | Jon H. Sherman (Los Angeles, CA), John P. Kilkelly (San Pedro, CA), Helen L. Sun (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Ralph E. Hudson (Los Angeles, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2007-09-28 | 2010-05-11 | G01S13/90 | 11/904715 |
| 601 | 7705767 | Synthetic aperture radar and processing method of reproducing synthetic aperture radar image | A synthetic aperture radar to provide high resolution in the azimuth direction under the predetermined conditions of wide observation swathwidth in the range direction, stripmap observation and free PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency) comprises a transmission antenna 102 for a single system and receiving antennae 104a, 104b for two systems. The beam width in the azimuth direction of a transmission beam 103 from the transmission antenna 102 is set equal to twice as wide as the beam width of each of the receiving antennae 104a, 104b. Moreover, a receiving antenna beam 105a is directed to the moving direction, while the other receiving antenna beam 105b is directed to opposite to the moving direction. The transmission antenna 102 and the receiving antennae 104a, 104b for two systems are used in common by dividing a single array antenna in the elevation direction to configure the receiving antennae 104a, 104b. The antenna size of the transmission antenna 102 in the azimuth direction is set to one half of the antenna size of the receiving antennae 104a, 104b by phase setting of each element of the array antenna or by electrical means when transmitting. | Takashi Fujimura (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 2008-02-19 | 2010-04-27 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00 | 12/033485 |
| 602 | 7705766 | Synthetic aperture radar | A method of operating synthetic aperture radar in a low PRF mode, comprising generating a stream of radar pulses, imposing onto said stream a predetermined modulation of the Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) , directing said stream to a target area, and processing received pulses, comprising separating the received pulses as a sequence of sets, and superposing received radar pulses of said sets, whereby to enhance the central received lobe and to attenuate side lobes. | David Charles Lancashire (Havant, GB), Charles David Hall (Emsworth, GB) | Astrium Limited (Hertfordshire, GB) | 2006-11-15 | 2010-04-27 | G01S13/00, G01S13/08 | 11/662520 |
| 603 | 7701380 | Beam phase modulation for improved synthetic aperture detection and estimation | Phase modulated beam patterns are substituted for the constant-phase versions that have been used in prior synthetic aperture systems. Relative movement between a radar/sonar/ultrasound platform and a point target causes a sequence of echoes from the point target to be phase and amplitude modulated by the beam pattern, as well as by the usual quadratic phase variation caused by range changes. Azimuth, range rate, and azimuth rate estimation, as well as detection in clutter, are substantially improved by appropriate beam pattern phase modulation, which is applied to the transmitter and/or receiver beam patterns. Phase modulated beam patterns are synthesized with array element weighting functions that are designed for high ambiguity function peak-to-sidelobe level, reduction of unwanted ambiguity ridge lines, and adequate spatial sampling. Two dimensional beam pattern phase modulation is useful when the relative motion between a transmit-receive array and multiple targets has both azimuth and elevation components. | Richard Alan Altes (La Jolla, CA) | Chirp Corporation (La Jolla, CA) | 2007-03-07 | 2010-04-20 | G01S13/90 | 11/714797 |
| 604 | 7688254 | Display of high-cruise-altitude weather | A method implementable in a weather-radar system of an aircraft, the weather-radar system configured to generate to a display device, in response to radar return information indicating reflectivity levels below a predetermined reflectivity threshold, an image in a first presentation format. The method includes determining if the altitude of the aircraft is above a predetermined threshold altitude, and, if the altitude of the aircraft is above the threshold altitude, displaying, in response to radar return information indicating reflectivity levels below the predetermined reflectivity threshold, the image in a second presentation format different from the first presentation format. | Ratan Khatwa (Sammamish, WA) | Honeywell International, Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2008-06-27 | 2010-03-30 | G01S13/08 | 12/147878 |
| 605 | 7668374 | Method for supporting low-level flights | A method for supporting low-level aircraft flights in which a warning is provided for the pilot upon a reliable recognition of wire-like obstacles, even during extreme environmental influences, such as clutter, or even when such obstacles are seen against the sky. The method is performed upon the collection of information on the topography of the surrounding terrain by at least one sensor located on the aircraft, such information representing raw data, based upon which an image-like representation is calculated, such representation including a pixel quantity with pixels P (i, j) in columns j and lines i, which image-like representation is evaluated by calculating altitude values in a geodetic coordinate system using the flight condition from the aircraft, evaluating pixel quantity by comparing each pixel P (l, j) to threshold values or ranges of values, evaluating the image-like representation and highlighting each pixel as a picture element if any of various cases is present. | Harald Harder (Salem-Buggensegal, DE), Matthias Wegner (Friedrichschafen, DE), Michael Hoyer (Heiligenberg, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2006-09-29 | 2010-02-23 | G06K9/00, G01C5/00, G08B23/00, G01S13/00 | 11/537336 |
| 606 | 7667635 | System and method using airborne radar occultation for measuring atmospheric properties | A method for estimating an atmospheric condition existing between a portion of the Earth's surface and an airborne mobile platform travelling over the portion of the Earth's surface. The method may involve emitting a radar signal beam toward the Earth's surface from the mobile platform and receiving back at least a portion of the radar signal beam reflected from the Earth's surface. The time of flight information of the radar signal beam is analyzed as a function of elevation angle to determine a specific time of flight value associated with a specific elevation angle of the radar signal beam. The specific time of flight value is used to determine a refractivity of the atmosphere through which the radar signal beam and the reflected radar signal has passed. The refractivity is used to determine the atmospheric condition. | Brian J. Tillotson (Kent, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2008-05-05 | 2010-02-23 | G01S13/95 | 12/115243 |
| 607 | 7656343 | System and method for providing enhanced weather hazard alerting for aircraft | The present invention is a method for providing hazard alerting for an aircraft via an airborne weather radar system. The method includes performing multiple weather radar scans at various tilt angles via the system and receiving radar returns via a receiver. The returns are stored in a memory of the system and merged with ground clutter suppression algorithms for eliminating ground returns from the stored returns and for creating a weather image based on remaining returns included in the stored returns. The image is provided via a weather radar display of the system, and includes an alert icon and an alert message when a hazard is present within an area proximal to the aircraft and is at or above a severity level threshold. The alert icon and alert message collectively indicate a type, severity level and location of the hazard in azimuth relative to a heading of the aircraft. | Bo S. Hagen (Marion, IA), Terrence P. Wey (Cedar Rapids, IA), Charles J. Dickerson (Alburnett, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2007-09-10 | 2010-02-02 | G01S13/95 | 11/900076 |
| 608 | 7646328 | Versatile constant altitude plan position indicator for radars | A method and a system to process radar volume scan data along an azimuth angle of a radar, to interpolate the radar volume scan data taken from adjacent elevation angles along the azimuth angle of the radar to obtain radar data corresponding to a predetermined altitude along the azimuth angle, and to display the radar volume scan data obtained corresponding to the predetermined altitude on a PPI display. | Vishnu V. Makkapati (Ongole, IN), Pravas R. Mahapatra (Bangalore, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2005-09-26 | 2010-01-12 | G01S13/95 | 11/235047 |
| 609 | 7646326 | Method and apparatus for simultaneous synthetic aperture radar and moving target indication | Method and apparatus for simultaneous synthetic aperture radar and moving target detection. A plurality of independent radio frequency signals are generated and applied to separate radiating/receiving antenna elements. Signals are generated as basis functions, such that moving target detection and synthetic aperture radar signals are constructed from individual waveform components in space, time, frequency, and coding. Waveform components are sorted and combined at reception. Received data is simultaneously processed to extract synthetic aperture radar images and moving target indication detections. | Paul Antonik (Utica, NY), Michael C. Wicks (Utica, NY) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC), N/A (N/A) | 2007-04-25 | 2010-01-12 | G01S13/90 | 11/725939 |
| 610 | 7633428 | Weather data aggregation and display system for airborne network of member aircraft | A weather data aggregation and display system for displaying weather radar information to a pilot of a member aircraft of an airborne network of member aircraft. The weather data aggregation and display system includes an airborne network system (ANS) positioned on the member aircraft adapted to receive incoming geo-referenced weather data regarding Significant Meteorological Systems (SMS) from associated airborne network systems positioned on other member aircraft. A data processing system (DPS) is coupled to the airborne network system for generating the member aircraft's perspective of the SMS, based on the incoming weather data and the member aircraft's navigation and attitude information. The DPS provides DPS output weather data. An airborne display system (ADS) is positioned on the member aircraft and coupled to the data processing system. The airborne display system is adapted to receive the DPS output weather data and in response thereto display desired weather imagery of the Significant Meteorological Systems. The ANS is adapted to re-transmit the incoming geo-referenced weather data to associated airborne network systems positioned on other member aircraft. | Patrick D. McCusker (Center Point, IA), Eric N. Anderson (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2004-12-15 | 2009-12-15 | G01S13/95 | 11/014118 |
| 611 | 7623059 | Disruptive media dispersal system for aircraft | A disruptive media dispersal system for aircraft which absorbs and scatters directed energy weapon beams such as tracking lasers and high energy lasers (HELs) is disclosed. The system may include laser detectors, laser beam propagation disruptive media and a dispersal system. When attacked by a directed energy weapon such as a laser, the laser detector system or vehicle operator deploys the disruptive media. The disruptive media is released by a feeder and dispersal system into the air in the path of the tracking and/or HEL weapon. for example, the dispersal system may be located onboard the aircraft near the front of the fuselage. | John Frederick Klein (Port Washington, NY) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 2006-10-05 | 2009-11-24 | H01Q15/00, F42B12/70, G01S13/00 | 11/543645 |
| 612 | 7619555 | Methods and apparatus to contact aircraft | Methods and apparatus to alert a pilot in an aircraft of certain conditions, such as airspace violations. In one embodiments a system uniquely identifies aircraft and send a message to alert the pilot to contact air traffic control on a selected frequency. | Eric G. Rolfe (Sudbury, MA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2007-11-15 | 2009-11-17 | G01S13/00 | 11/940427 |
| 613 | 7598900 | Multi-spot inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging | Providing multi-spot inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imagery is disclosed. Embodiments of techniques in accordance with the present disclosure may advantageously improve multiple target discrimination, detection, identification, and tracking using ISAR imaging. In an embodiment, an inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) method for producing multiple ISAR images from a single waveform includes transmitting a chirp signal into a dwell surveyed by the antenna beamwidth. Multiple dechirp reference signals may be generated to demodulate return signals from the dwell at multiple selected intervals within a pulse repetition interval (PRI) to create demodulated signals. | Derek E. Iverson (Kent, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2007-11-09 | 2009-10-06 | G01S13/90, G01S7/483 | 11/937545 |
| 614 | 7598899 | Method and apparatus for compression of SAR images | A computer system for compressing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images includes a database for storing SAR images to be compressed, and a processor for compressing a SAR image from the database. The compressing includes applying an anisotropic diffusion algorithm to the SAR image, and compressing the SAR image after applying the anisotropic diffusion algorithm thereto. Applying the anisotropic diffusion algorithm includes determining noise in the SAR, selecting a noise threshold for the SAR image based on the determined noise, and mathematically adjusting the anisotropic diffusion algorithm based on the selected noise threshold. | Josef Allen (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL), Mark Rahmes (Melbourne, FL), Matthew Winter (West Melbourne, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2007-03-22 | 2009-10-06 | G01S13/90 | 11/689706 |
| 615 | 7598888 | Rotary wing aircraft proximity warning system with a geographically based avoidance system | A safety enhancement warning system includes an avoidance system which communicates with a multiple of geographical positional systems. A geographic algorithm of the avoidance system utilizes a recursive algorithmic to determine if the aircraft will enter a sensitive area. If the aircraft distance to a sensitive area decreases below a predefined minimum threshold, then an audible and/or visual warning is issued. for certain sensitive areas, aircraft RF emissions are silenced or reduced in power when the predetermined minimum threshold breaches the sensitive area. The use of the avoidance system enables usage of relatively inexpensive UWB radar for the proximity sensor suite to assure avoidance of interference with particular delicate instruments and thereby meet regulations such as those propagated by the FCC. | David G. Matuska (Huntington, CT), Donald S. Anttila (Southbury, CT) | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Stratford, CT) | 2006-12-08 | 2009-10-06 | G08B21/00, G01S13/00, G08G5/04 | 11/608267 |
| 616 | 7567198 | Subaperture 3D imaging | Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, and articles for receiving phase history data collected from synthetic aperture radar imaging of a terrain, dividing the received phase history data into a plurality of subsets corresponding to a plurality of subaperture intervals, computing for each of a plurality of points of the terrain, a contribution of each of the plurality of subaperture intervals, each contribution including a magnitude and a phase calculated by interpolating the subaperture interval, using the corresponding subset of phase history interval data, and based at least in part on an arbitrary reference surface's elevation at the point, summing for each of the plurality of points of the terrain, the contributions of the plurality of subaperture intervals, and forming an image of the terrain based at least in part on the summed contributions of the plurality of subaperture intervals to the plurality of points of the terrain, are described herein. | Brian H. Smith (Woodinville, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2006-04-25 | 2009-07-28 | G01S13/90, G06T15/20 | 11/410401 |
| 617 | 7561098 | System and method for estimating airborne radar antenna pointing errors | Methods and systems for estimating and correcting airborne radar antenna pointing errors. The methods and systems include predicting expected received power from at least one scattering source using terrain elevation information, transmitting a radar signal to the at least one scattering source, measuring received power from the at least one scattering source, determining an antenna pointing error based on the predicted and measured received power, and adjusting an antenna angle, an input value, or other components based on the determined antenna pointing error. The methods and systems also include a radar processing and control unit for predicting expected received power from at least one scattering source using a model of the radar power measurement process that includes terrain elevation information, for measuring received power from the at least one scattering source, and for determining antenna pointing error based on the predicted and measured received power. | Paul E. Christianson (Seattle, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2006-07-20 | 2009-07-14 | G01S13/00 | 11/458925 |
| 618 | 7554483 | Method and device for determining a decision height during an autonomous approach of an aircraft | The subject of the invention is a method of aiding the piloting of an aircraft (3) , which is intended to aid the piloting of the aircraft during an autonomous approach to a landing runway (P) for the purpose of landing, said aircraft comprising at least one locating means (10, 12) , wherein: a) an estimated instant of arrival of the aircraft on the runway is determined, b) a prediction of the performance of said locating means of the aircraft at least at this instant of arrival is determined, and c) on the basis of said performance of the locating means and of characteristics of said approach, at least one minimum decision height (Hmin) corresponding to this instant of arrival is determined, above which the aircraft is protected from the risks of collision with the environment when it is guided automatically onto an approach axis (A) corresponding to said approach. The invention also relates to a device for implementing this method. | Vincent Markiton (Fontenilles, FR), Stephane Dattler (Montlaur, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2007-07-31 | 2009-06-30 | G01S13/93 | 11/831671 |
| 619 | 7551119 | Flight path-driven mitigation of wavefront curvature effects in SAR images | A wavefront curvature effect associated with a complex image produced by a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be mitigated based on which of a plurality of possible flight paths is taken by the SAR when capturing the image. The mitigation can be performed differently for different ones of the flight paths. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2008-01-08 | 2009-06-23 | G01S13/90 | 11/970631 |
| 620 | 7551118 | RFI suppression in SAR | A filter scheme for broadcast interference cancellation that is computationally efficient and numerically robust Airborne Low Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) operating in the VHF and UHF bands has been shown. At least interference Doppler filtering or interference cancellation is utilised. The interference cancellation involves prediction of the interference for each particular reception interval of mixed interference and radar ground response. This prediction is then coherently subtracted from the incoming signal. | Hans Hellsten (Linkoping, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoping, SE) | 2004-04-26 | 2009-06-23 | G01S13/00 | 10/551088 |
| 621 | 7545311 | Method and system for predicting air-to-surface target missile | A method and system for predicting a trajectory of an air-to-surface target missile is provided, including detecting a plurality of echo wave signals from the target missile through a plurality of sensors deployed at various locations relative to the target missile, extracting at least one range distance and at least one radial velocity, respectively, from the detected echo wave signals from the sensors by using a hybrid FSK/LFM unit, using a two-stage Kalman filter to filter the computed range distance and radial velocity to obtain a relative distance, a relative velocity and a relative acceleration, respectively, of the target missile, and finally applying trilateration on the relative distance, relative velocity and relative acceleration of the target missile from each two-stage Kalman filter to obtain a location, velocity and acceleration along the x, y, z directions. | Po-Jen Tu (Taipei, TW), Jean-Fu Kiang (Taipei, TW) | National Taiwan University (Taipei, TW) | 2007-12-20 | 2009-06-09 | G01S13/66 | 12/003090 |
| 622 | 7542377 | Increased aperture homing cavitator | Various exemplary embodiments of an increased aperture homing cavitator are disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, a supercavitating body may include, e.g., but may not be limited to, a cavitator assembly having a front end and a back end, and having a shape operative to generate a concave cavity, an acoustical homing array coupled to the cavitator assembly, an afterbody coupled to the back end, a thruster coupled to the afterbody, and a ventilation system disposed within the afterbody, operative to supply gas to, and to maintain pressure within the cavity. In an exemplary embodiment, the size of the cavitator may be increased without a significant attendant increase in drag, thereby enabling a homing array of increased size and aperture. | Ivan N. Kirschner (Portsmouth, RI), Greg Buley (Bethesda, MD) | General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. (Fairfax, VA) | 2006-02-10 | 2009-06-02 | G01S15/00 | 11/351265 |
| 623 | 7538712 | Method and apparatus for decompression of SAR images | A computer system for decompressing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images includes a database for storing SAR images to be decompressed, and a processor for decompressing a SAR image from the database. The decompressing includes receiving the SAR image, performing a dynamic range compression on the SAR image, and quantizing the compressed SAR image. The quantized compressed SAR image is then decompressed by applying an anistropic diffusion algorithm thereto. | Josef Allen (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL), Mark Rahmes (Melbourne, FL), Matthew Winter (West Melbourne, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2007-03-22 | 2009-05-26 | G01S13/90 | 11/689763 |
| 624 | 7535404 | Airport safety system | An airport safety system is disclosed, comprising surface movement radar for monitoring the movement of aircraft and land vehicles on an airport, said surface movement radar providing a signal input to a computer arranged to identify from the relative motions of aircraft and vehicles detected by the radar in accordance with a pre-programmed set of rules an aircraft at risk of collision. The computer is also programmed to cause transmission by radio of an audible alert signal when a risk is predicted, said radio transmission being at a standard aircraft communication frequency, such as the standard ground communication VHF radio channel. The alert signal can alternatively be transmitted by one of a plurality of message transmitting devices arranged at different locations adjacent to airport runways and taxiways, each message transmitting device comprising a radio transmitter connected to antenna means arranged to radiate a signal within a predetermined area at the location. The radio transmitters operate at standard Marker beacon frequency amplitude modulated by said alert signal. The computer is programmed to identify the transmitting device adjacent to said aircraft at risk of collision and to direct said alert signal to the transmitting device so identified for transmission thereby. In this way, the alert signal could be directed to only the aircraft involved. | Nigel Corrigan (Orton Wiston, Peterborough PE2 6YW, GB) | --- | 2005-09-06 | 2009-05-19 | G01S13/93 | 11/220252 |
| 625 | 7532150 | Restoration of signal to noise and spatial aperture in squint angles range migration algorithm for SAR | A moving radar generates a search mode synthetic aperture image of a patch having a principal scatterer. The boundaries of the patch are from R.sub.0 to R.sub.1 slant range and .theta..sub.0 to .theta..sub.1 azimuth angle. A computer motion compensates digital samples to obtain a motion compensated digital array. The motion compensated digital array is converted to a frequency array in the frequency domain K.sub.x, K.sub.y The frequency array has a rectangular aperture extending .DELTA.K.sub.x and .DELTA.K.sub.y. Available samples from the frequency array are computed using a Range Migration Algorithm including a Stolt interpolation. Usable samples are identified from the available samples using one or more criteria. Usable samples are removed from available samples to obtain incomplete samples. Features related to the patch having a principal scatterer are extracted from the usable samples. The features are used to extrapolate extrapolated samples from the usable samples. The extrapolated samples, the usable samples and the incomplete samples are combined to compute the image of the patch and principal scatterer. Incomplete samples are substituted where they overlap interpolated samples. | Theagenis J. Abatzoglou (Huntington Beach, CA), Leo H. Hui (Alhambra, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2008-03-20 | 2009-05-12 | G01S13/90 | 12/077669 |
| 626 | 7522088 | System and method for monitoring airspace | A method for receiving data corresponding to an aircraft in a monitored airspace, comparing the data to rules, each rule corresponding to a threat posed by the aircraft and generating a threat indication based on at least one of the rules triggered by the data. A system having a rule set including a plurality of rules corresponding to potential threats in a monitored airspace and an airspace monitor receiving data corresponding to aircraft in the monitored airspace and comparing the data to the plurality of rules, the airspace monitor generating a threat indication when the data triggers at least one of the rules. | James Barry (Madison, CT), Timothy Cinello (Tampa, FL), Matthew Marcella (West Hempstead, NY), Ron Dunsky (Brooklyn, NY) | Passur Aerospace, Inc. (Bohemia, NY) | 2006-10-31 | 2009-04-21 | G01S13/00, G08G1/16 | 11/590418 |
| 627 | 7518547 | Method and system of interference detection for radar altimeters | A method of detecting interference noise at a radar altimeter. The method comprises periodically emitting a pulse from the pulsed radar altimeter, periodically detecting a noise level in a noise gate, and determining if the noise level detected during each noise-level-detection period exceeds a noise threshold. The period of emitting the pulse is a pulse repetition interval and the noise gate is offset from other gates in the altimeter. If the noise level detected during a noise-level-detection period is greater than the noise threshold, a counter value is incremented by a selected incremental value for that noise-level-detection period and it is determined if the counter value is greater than a count threshold. | Benjamin J. Winstead (Roseville, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2007-07-16 | 2009-04-14 | G01S13/08 | 11/778442 |
| 628 | 7511655 | Method and apparatus for 3-D sub-voxel position imaging with synthetic aperture radar | A method and apparatus for determining three dimensional sub-voxel positions using synthetic aperture radar. The apparatus includes at least four non-coplanar, phase-coherent synthetic aperture radar (SAR) platforms comprising a plurality of phase-synchronized local oscillators cohered to a common reference clock, a first SAR platform of the SAR platforms operable to transmit a radar waveform, and the SAR platforms operable to receive scattered energy waveforms resulting from the radar waveform and operable to generate two-dimensional (2-D) SAR images based on the received scattered energy waveforms. The apparatus also includes a synchronizing processor operable to communicate with the SAR platforms and operable to synchronize a plurality of SAR transmission and receiving intervals for the SAR platforms. Optionally, the apparatus also includes an image-coregistration processor operable to receive at least four 2-D SAR images from the SAR platforms, and operable to generate a 3-D SAR image having 3-D voxel positions by coregistering the 2-D SAR images. Optionally, the apparatus also includes a sub-voxel position processor operable to calculate sub-voxel positions of single point scatterers from differential phase measurements on a given voxel across all of the SAR platforms. | Jefferson M. Willey (Columbia, MD), William A. Barnwell (Rockville, MD), James R. Buss (Woodville, VA), Harold H. Szu (Potomac, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2006-09-25 | 2009-03-31 | G01S13/90, G01S7/20 | 11/534732 |
| 629 | 7508334 | Method and apparatus for processing SAR images based on an anisotropic diffusion filtering algorithm | A computer system for processing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images includes a database for storing SAR images to be processed, and a processor for processing a SAR image from the database. The processing includes determining noise in a SAR image to be processed, selecting a noise threshold for the SAR image based on the determined noise, and mathematically adjusting an anisotropic diffusion algorithm based on the selected noise threshold. The adjusted anisotropic diffusion algorithm is applied to the SAR image. | Josef Allen (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL), Mark Rahmes (Melbourne, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2007-03-22 | 2009-03-24 | G01S13/90 | 11/689591 |
| 630 | 7501979 | Airborne biota monitoring and control system | A method and system, which may be implemented in some embodiments as a video game, for identifying harmful airborne biota, particularly flying insects, and either killing or disabling the harmful airborne biota is disclosed. Lasers, radar, and other types of radiation may be used to illuminate objects in a detection region, with radiation returns detected and applied to a pattern classifier to determine whether the detected airborne biota are harmful, benign or beneficial. Tracking and classification information may be provided to a remotely located game participant who may be permitted to control measures taken to eliminate the harmful airborne biota, these measures including firing pulses of beamed energy or radiation of a sufficient intensity to at least incapacitate them, or mechanical measures such as flying a remotely-controlled miniature unmanned aircraft to engage and kill the pests. | David L. Guice (Brownsboro, AL), William V. Dent (Huntsville, AL), Augustus Hammond Green, Jr. (New Market, AL) | --- | 2005-02-08 | 2009-03-10 | G01S13/88, A01M1/22 | 11/054685 |
| 631 | 7498976 | System and method for passively estimating angle and range of a source using signal samples collected simultaneously from a multi-aperture antenna | A system and method for passively estimating range and angle of a source are disclosed. The source may be any wave source including radio-frequency (RF) , optical, acoustic or seismic sources. In some RF embodiments, the system includes a single aperture antenna to simultaneously receive RF signals from the RF source through a plurality of sub-apertures, and a signal processor to perform a proximity test using samples simultaneously collected from the sub-apertures to determine whether or not to calculate angle and range estimates to the source based on either a curved wavefront assumption or a planar wavefront assumption. | Michael B. Schober (Oro Valley, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2007-10-11 | 2009-03-03 | G01S13/42, G01S7/48, G01S7/52 | 11/871047 |
| 632 | 7498968 | Synthetic aperture design for increased SAR image rate | High resolution SAR images of a target scene at near video rates can be produced by using overlapped, but nevertheless, full-size synthetic apertures. The SAR images, which respectively correspond to the apertures, can be analyzed in sequence to permit detection of movement in the target scene. | Timothy P. Bielek (Albuquerque, NM), Douglas G. Thompson (Albuqerque, NM), Bruce C. Walker (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2007-02-13 | 2009-03-03 | G01S13/00, G01S13/52 | 11/674264 |
| 633 | 7492307 | Collision risk prevention equipment for aircraft | This equipment is of the TCAS type. In order to improve its integrity and the reliability of its measurements, its computing unit is provided with a cross-checking function carrying out the comparison between two values of a same parameter, for example a relative distance with respect to an intruder, one of them generated by its own estimating means and the other communicated by another TCAS equipment installed on the intruding aircraft and generating a discordance alarm in the case of the observed difference exceeding a tolerance threshold. The computing unit is provided with fault locating means locating the aircraft whose TCAS is faulty when in the presence of several intruding aircraft, by examining the observed differences in pairs of values of a same parameter established for each intruding aircraft. | Francois Coulmeau (Toulouse, FR) | Thales (FR) | 2007-03-14 | 2009-02-17 | G01S13/74, G01S13/87, G01S13/91, G01S7/40 | 11/686345 |
| 634 | 7486228 | Methods and systems for piecewise curve fitting or radar altimeter range gate data | A method for compensating for range gate slide with respect to received returns within a radar altimeter is described. The method includes adjusting the amount of overlap between a range gate pulse and a radar return signal until an altitude output by the radar altimeter is within a desired tolerance, and incrementally increasing an amount of attenuation within the receiver circuit of the radar altimeter until the radar altimeter breaks track with the radar return signal. the method also includes recording a signal strength and altitude output at each increment of attenuation, determining an altitude error for each altitude output, and fitting the signal strength data against the altitude error using a plurality of variable length line segments. | Michael W. Greenwood (Maple Grove, MN), Michael R. Elgersma (Plymouth, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2006-03-02 | 2009-02-03 | G01S13/08 | 11/366132 |
| 635 | 7482971 | Time-of-flight-ranging system and method for calibrating such a system | An embedded calibration mechanism and method for a time-of-flight ranging system. The calibration mechanism (200) comprises a channel (202) having known characteristics. Periodically or as part of a calibration function, a pulse is transmitted through the calibration channel (202) and parameters such transmit pulse delay time and apparent velocity are determined. The calibration parameters or measurements are used to calibrate or compensate operation or measurements from the measurement channel. | George Quinton Lyon (Peterborough, CA) | Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments, Inc. (Peterborough, ON, CA) | 2006-09-28 | 2009-01-27 | G01S7/40, G01S13/10, G01S13/88 | 11/529454 |
| 636 | 7471237 | Built-in missile RADAR calibration verification | Array antenna calibration verification coupling interrogator and responder with mode-related interrogation signal having a previous calibration phase angle, producing in responder a characteristic interrogation response. Conjugate signal is generated by reversing phase of interrogation signal, producing in responder a characteristic conjugate response. Interrogation and conjugate responses sensed and combined to determine difference characteristic for responder array element. Responder difference characteristic iteratively determined for elements in antenna array representative of present calibration verification state. Present and previous calibration verification states compared, with significant variation adapting array to desired calibration verification state. Verification processor controls interrogator, responders, and signals providing built-in missile RADAR calibration verification. | John J. Wooldridge (Manhattan Beach, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2006-03-22 | 2008-12-30 | G01S7/40, G01S13/00 | 11/386909 |
| 637 | 7463187 | Method and system of improving altimeter accuracy by use of a separate peak return signal tracking | A method to control a track gate and a level gate in an altimeter tracking an altitude of an airborne vehicle comprising emitting signals, directed toward a terrain, from the airborne vehicle, receiving terrain echo signals, positioning the track gate to a selected reference amplitude on the rising edge of the terrain echo signals, positioning the level gate to within a selected range of the peak amplitude level of the terrain echo signals, measuring a change in a location of the peak amplitude between sequentially received terrain echo signals, and varying a separation between the track gate and the level gate based on the measured change in the location of the peak amplitude. The terrain echo signals comprise reflections of the emitted signals from the terrain, and each terrain echo signal has a rising edge and a peak amplitude. | Robert C. Becker (Eden Prairie, MN), Steven K. Stegemeyer (Fridley, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2006-09-27 | 2008-12-09 | G01S13/08, G01S7/28, G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S13/18 | 11/535543 |
| 638 | 7463183 | Panoramic warning system for helicopters | A panoramic warning system for helicopters, for the purpose of detecting obstacles and the proximity of the ground by using a plurality of radar sensors connected to the fuselage structure of the helicopter and which operate on varying wavelengths, the signals of which, representing range information, which are provided with an individual identifier, are compared in a central identification-and-evaluation unit with predetermined warning thresholds and after the assignment to corresponding scan sectors are caused to be displayed on at least one cockpit display. | Alexander Reich (Muenchen, DE) | Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh (Donauworth, DE) | 2007-11-13 | 2008-12-09 | G01S13/93 | 11/938937 |
| 639 | 7460059 | Removing interfering clutter associated with radar pulses that an airborne radar receives from a radar transponder | Interfering clutter in radar pulses received by an airborne radar system from a radar transponder can be suppressed by developing a representation of the incoming echo-voltage time-series that permits the clutter associated with predetermined parts of the time-series to be estimated. These estimates can be used to estimate and suppress the clutter associated with other parts of the time-series. | Richard C. Ormesher (Albuquerque, NM), Robert M. Axline (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2006-10-25 | 2008-12-02 | G01S7/292, G01S13/74, G01S7/285, G01S13/00 | 11/586465 |
| 640 | 7450054 | Method and apparatus for processing complex interferometric SAR data | A computer system for processing interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images includes a database for storing SAR images to be processed, and a processor for processing interferometric SAR images from the database. The processing includes receiving first and second complex SAR data sets of a same scene, with the second complex SAR data set being offset in phase with respect to the first complex SAR data set. Each complex SAR data set includes a plurality of pixels. An interferogram is formed based on the first and second complex SAR data sets for providing a phase difference therebetween. A complex anisotropic diffusion algorithm is applied to the interferogram. The interferogram includes a real and an imaginary part for each pixel. A shock filter is applied to the interferogram. The processing further includes performing a two-dimensional variational phase unwrapping on the interferogram after application of the shock filter. | Kenneth Sartor (Melbourne, FL), Josef Allen (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL), Bernard S. Gilbert (Palm Bay, FL), Gnana Bhaskar Tenali (Melbourne, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2007-03-22 | 2008-11-11 | G01S13/90 | 11/689743 |
| 641 | 7450004 | Systems and methods for handling information from wireless nodes, including nodes for communication with aircraft | Systems and methods for handling information from wireless nodes, including nodes for communication with aircraft, are disclosed. A system in accordance with one aspect of the invention includes a sensor configured to sense information corresponding to a characteristic of a wireless node. The wireless node can be one of a plurality of wireless nodes configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The wireless nodes can also be linked to a non-wireless network portion. The system can further include a transmitter configured to transmit the information via the network, and a receiver operatively coupled to the transmitter to receive the information via the network. Accordingly, the system can be used to automatically identify and track diagnostic information corresponding to the state of one or more wireless nodes. | David L. Allen (Seattle, WA), Timothy M. Mitchell (Seattle, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2004-10-29 | 2008-11-11 | G08B1/08, G01S13/00, G06F19/00 | 10/976662 |
| 642 | 7446697 | Method and system for calibrating radar altimeters | A method for calibrating an altimeter is disclosed. The method comprises monitoring signal strength of one or more altitude measurements. Based on the signal strength, the method applies piecewise linear altitude correction to the one or more altitude measurements to generate altitude correction data. The method further determines a goodness-of-fit for the altitude correction data. The altitude correction data maintains a correct altitude measurement in the presence of variable signal strength. | Todd R. Burlet (Maple Grove, MN), Mark S. Shoemaker (Minneapolis, MN), Tom A. Petricka (Northfield, MN), Clayton A. Yares (Circle Pines, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2007-01-16 | 2008-11-04 | G01S7/40, G01S13/08 | 11/623422 |
| 643 | 7439901 | Active phased array antenna for aircraft surveillance systems | An active antenna is provided that includes an antenna element for transmitting RF transmit signals at a predetermined effective radiated power (ERP) . An antenna module is configured to be mounted to an aircraft, with the antenna element being mounted to the antenna module. A connector module is provided at the antenna module and is configured to be coupled to a communications link and receive electrical transmit signals from the communications link. A transmit path is provided within the antenna module and extends between the antenna element and the connector module. A power amplifier is provided on the antenna module along the transmit path. The power amplifier increases a power level of the electrical transmit signals, received from the communications link, by a predetermined amount sufficient to drive the antenna element to transmit the RF transmit signals at the predetermined ERP. | Edward W. Needham (Wellsville, KS), David T. Mindrup (Olathe, KS), John C. Blessing (Spring Hill, KS) | Garmin International, Inc. (Olathe, KS) | 2006-08-08 | 2008-10-21 | G01S13/74, G01S7/40 | 11/463259 |
| 644 | 7436350 | Combined aircraft TCAS/transponder with common antenna system | The present invention is a combined aircraft TCAS/Transponder with common antenna system and transmitter. Common TCAS/Transponder multi-monopole top and bottom antennas may be connected to a top and bottom antenna modules, the top and bottom antenna modules being electrically coupled to the combined TCAS/Transponder transmitter/receiver block through connection lines. | Leo G. Maloratsky (Indialantic, FL), Andrew M. Vesel (Indialantic, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2004-09-30 | 2008-10-14 | G01S13/74, G01S13/08, G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S13/93 | 10/954974 |
| 645 | 7436349 | Controlling data collection to support SAR image rotation | A desired rotation of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image can be facilitated by adjusting a SAR data collection operation based on the desired rotation. The SAR data collected by the adjusted SAR data collection operation can be efficiently exploited to form therefrom a SAR image having the desired rotational orientation. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), J. Thomas Cordaro (Albuquerque, NM), Bryan L. Burns (Tijeras, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2006-06-26 | 2008-10-14 | G01S13/90 | 11/474768 |
| 646 | 7429948 | Device and method for calibrating and improving the accuracy of barometric altimeters with GPS-derived altitudes | In a combined GPS/altimeter device, the calibration and hence the accuracy of barometric altimeter measurements are enhanced with the aid of derived altitudes from a GPS. The device determines the need for calibration and perform the subsequent computations necessary to facilitate the calibration. Furthermore, the device determines a correction quantity that should be applied to barometric altitude readings, thereby allowing the device to be calibrated while in motion. Both of these features ultimately result in a more accurate determination of altitude. | Scott Burgett (Overland Park, KS), Tracy Oliver (Olathe, KS) | Garmin Ltd. (KY) | 2006-10-19 | 2008-09-30 | G01S13/08, G01C5/06, G01S7/40, G01S13/00 | 11/551180 |
| 647 | 7423578 | Split aperture array for increased short range target coverage | A phased array radar system comprising a plurality of radiating elements configured in a common array aperture for detecting and tracking targets, and a transmit and receive arrangement responsive to a first control signal for configuring the plurality of radiating elements to define a plurality of sub-apertures from the common array aperture for detecting and tracking short range targets, wherein the plurality of sub-apertures are independently steerable array apertures. | Byron W. Tietjen (Baldwinsville, NY) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2006-06-09 | 2008-09-09 | G01S13/00 | 11/450498 |
| 648 | 7417583 | Methods and apparatus for providing target altitude estimation in a two dimensional radar system | Method and apparatus to track a contact using a sensor in a two-dimensional radar system, determine a closest point of approach (CPA) for the contact, determine a time to closest point of approach (TCPA) for the contact, and estimate an altitude for the contact from the closest point of approach (CPA) and a cross line of sight distance during the time to closest point of approach (TCPA) . | Thomas E. Wood (Portsmouth, RI), Robert S. Ager (Tiverton, RI), Richard B. Fleury (Bristol, RI), Gregory D. Heuer (Middletown, RI) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2006-10-30 | 2008-08-26 | G01S13/42, G01S13/72 | 11/554064 |
| 649 | 7417578 | Removal of spurious aircraft detections on weather radar | A weather radar detects and removes spurious aircraft from a weather radar display by using one of the methods of differentiating radar return length, estimating a vertical gradient of reflectivity, tracking radar returns into regions that are eliminated from the weather display to provide differentiation, tracking areas of radar returns that allow detection and removal of the spurious aircraft in relative geometries, differentiating Doppler velocity, and differentiating spectral width. The methods may be used individually or in combination to improve performance. | Daniel L. Woodell (Cedar Rapids, IA), Roy E. Robertson (Marion, IA), Charles J. Dickerson (Alburnett, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2005-03-08 | 2008-08-26 | G01S13/95 | 11/074531 |
| 650 | 7414566 | System for monitoring airport area | A system is for recognizing obstructions and monitoring movements on or above an airport area (1) with sensors (2, 3, 4) . A sensor (2) is a radar device having a plurality of antenna elements (12, 14) , which are affixed to a curved surface (15) of an antenna carrier (2a) and are turned on, one after the other, in terms of time. Thus a first part of the antenna elements (14) is disposed on a first circular line (13) on the surface of the antenna carrier (2a) , and a second part of the antenna elements (12) is disposed on a circular line (15) perpendicular to the first circular line (13) . Therefore the data of the radar device (2) are evaluated in a first ROSAR process, to image the situation on the ground, and in a second ROSAR process, to image the heights of the flying objects to be observed. | Horst Kaltschmidt (Neubiberg, DE), Helmut Klausing (Hochstadt, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2004-02-12 | 2008-08-19 | G01S13/90, G01S13/93 | 10/542567 |
| 651 | 7411540 | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data compression | A method of compressing phase history (PH) data includes (a) dividing PH data into multiple sub-apertures, (b) transforming the sub-apertures into multiple coarse resolution images, and (c) compressing each of the coarse resolution images. Compressing each of the coarse resolution images may include (i) selecting at least one image from the coarse resolution images to form a base image, (ii) differencing each of the coarse resolution images from the base image to form residual images, and (iii) quantizing the residual images. | Norman A. Lopez (Rochester, NY), Michael T. Mulford (Rochester, NY) | Itt Manufacturing Enterprises Inc. (Wilmington, DE) | 2005-03-10 | 2008-08-12 | G01S13/90 | 11/077053 |
| 652 | 7400289 | Plume-to-hardbody offset compensation in boosting missiles | A methodology determines the offset distance between a threat missile plume and its hardbody during boost phase to aid in guiding a kinetic weapon (KW) or interceptor missile to the threat missile hardbody using the KW infrared sensor of the interceptor missile in conjunction with a radar sensor. | David E. Wolf (Holland, PA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2006-09-27 | 2008-07-15 | G01S13/88, F41G7/30, F41G9/00, F41G7/00, G01S13/00 | 11/527976 |
| 653 | 7397418 | SAR image formation with azimuth interpolation after azimuth transform | Two-dimensional SAR data can be processed into a rectangular grid format by subjecting the SAR data to a Fourier transform operation, and thereafter to a corresponding interpolation operation. Because the interpolation operation follows the Fourier transform operation, the interpolation operation can be simplified, and the effect of interpolation errors can be diminished. This provides for the possibility of both reducing the re-grid processing time, and improving the image quality. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), Grant D. Martin (Marlborough, MA), Michael W. Holzrichter (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2006-06-05 | 2008-07-08 | G01S13/90 | 11/446892 |
| 654 | 7391357 | Correction of motion measurement errors beyond the range resolution of a synthetic aperture radar | Motion measurement errors that extend beyond the range resolution of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be corrected by effectively decreasing the range resolution of the SAR in order to permit measurement of the error. Range profiles can be compared across the slow-time dimension of the input data in order to estimate the error. Once the error has been determined, appropriate frequency and phase correction can be applied to the uncompressed input data, after which range and azimuth compression can be performed to produce a desired SAR image. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), Freddie E. Heard (Albuquerque, NM), J. Thomas Cordaro (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2005-10-05 | 2008-06-24 | G01S13/90 | 11/243826 |
| 655 | 7372399 | Network system for onboard equipment | An onboard equipment network system comprises a radar core device, a GPS core device, an echo sounder core device and a sonar core device and display devices which are connected to a network through a hub. Each core device includes a detecting section or a positioning section, as well as a control section, a power supply section and a data transmitter for transmitting detecting signals or positioning signals, while each display device includes a command section for transmitting command data to the individual core devices for setting their operating conditions and a display section for displaying image data received from the individual core devices. The command data is transmitted using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) while the image data is transmitted using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) . | Takumi Fujikawa (Nishinomiya, JP), Yoshinari Yoshida (Nishinomiya, JP), Eiji Matsui (Nishinomiya, JP), Motoji Kondo (Nishinomiya, JP), Takumi Kawamoto (Nishinomiya, JP), Ryoichi Nakai (Nishinomiya, JP), Takeshi Yamaguchi (Nishinomiya, JP), Hiroshi Nagano (Nishinomiya, JP), Hidetoshi Kaida (Nishinomiya, JP), Masaru Nishida (Nishinomiya, JP) | Furuno Electric Company, Limited (Hyogo-Ken, JP) | 2006-07-17 | 2008-05-13 | G01S13/00, G01C21/26, G01S1/00 | 11/487363 |
| 656 | 7365675 | Measuring wind vectors remotely using airborne radar | Airborne meteorological radars and related networks and models. In one embodiment a network for creating a meteorological model includes a mobile sensing node and a modeling node. The sensing node includes a meteorological RADAR that senses the wind velocity. Data from the meteorological RADAR regarding the wind velocity is received by a processor of the modeling node which determines a model of the wind from the wind velocity. The modeling node combines data from a second sampling node with the data from the first sampling node to create a resultant wind velocity vector. Preferably, the modeling node and the sampling node (s) communicate over an airborne WAN. Another embodiment provides a method of measuring the wind velocity. The method includes steering an RADAR signal out of the plane of travel of the mobile platform. The wind velocity is measured using a return of the RADAR signal. | Jay S. Pearlman (Port Angeles, WA), Brian J. Tillotson (Kent, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2005-09-26 | 2008-04-29 | G01S13/95 | 11/235487 |
| 657 | 7349774 | Aircraft traffic warning system using an ad-hoc radio network | Methods and apparatus are provided for a traffic warning system (TWS) for light aircraft. The TWS comprises a processor coupled to a transceiver, adapted to measure signal strength and send/receive messages containing station ID and preferably altitude and position data. Memory, display and various flight data instruments, such as GPS, altimeter, etc., are also coupled to the processor. The transceiver-processor automatically identifies TWS equipped aircraft within range using an ad-hoc network and exchanges ID and position information. The processor determines range from signal strength and/or received position information and, given enough data, determines direction, altitude, speed, etc., of the other aircraft, which it presents to the pilot. These values and their rate of change are compared to stored alarm thresholds, and the pilot is warned when another aircraft triggers the threshold. Evasive action is recommended where possible. | Andrew R. Werback (San Jose, CA) | Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Holtsville, NY) | 2007-03-26 | 2008-03-25 | G01C23/00, G01S13/04 | 11/691342 |
| 658 | 7348918 | Mobile ballistic missile detection and defense system | The present invention is directed towards a ballistic missile detection and defense system. The system of the present invention comprises a ship based interceptor or antiballistic missile, a missile launch detection and tracking system, and a signal processing system capable of receiving said tracking signal calculating an intercept trajectory for an antiballistic missile to intercept a ballistic missile, and further capable of outputting an intercept trajectory program to an antiballistic missile. | Richard T. Redano (Bellaire, TX) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2004-05-24 | 2008-03-25 | F41G7/30, F41G7/00, G01S13/00 | 10/852045 |
| 659 | 7348917 | Synthetic multi-aperture radar technology | Systems and methods of improving synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system are disclosed. In particular, an example system includes a radar signal radiator configured to transmit radar signal pulses that have a partial bandwidth at a regular interval. The partial bandwidth is a portion of a full bandwidth that said radar signal radiator is designed to generate. The example system also includes a receiver configured to receive radar signals returned in response to said transmitted radar signal pulses, and a processor configured to extrapolate said received signals to said full bandwidth, to thereby create high resolution SAR images. | Herbert C. Stankwitz (Clifton, VA), Stephen P. Taylor (Ann Arbor, MI) | Integrity Applications Incorporated (Chantilly, VA) | 2006-01-26 | 2008-03-25 | G01S13/90 | 11/339532 |
| 660 | 7327305 | Process for the evaluation of signals in an SAR/MTI pulsed radar system | The invention relates to a process for the evaluating a received signal of an SAR/MTI pulsed radar system that transmits SAR and MTI pulses with respective definable pulse repetition frequency PRF_SAR and PRF_MTI, such that the received signal is a superimposition consisting of echo pulse sequences of SAR and MTI echo pulse signals. According to the invention, in the received echo pulse sequence of the received signal, each SAR echo from an area of interest is evaluated SAR process. The remaining pulses of the received echo pulse sequence of the received signal are evaluated in using an MTI process. | Andreas Loehner (Neu-Ulm, DE), Roland Drescher (Voehringen, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2004-06-17 | 2008-02-05 | G01S13/524, G01S13/534, G01S13/90 | 10/562061 |
| 661 | 7312744 | System for administering a restricted flight zone using radar and lasers | A system is disclosed for administering a restricted flight zone using radar and lasers for detecting, tracking, warning and destroying airborne craft that enter restricted flight zones without authorization or that approach dangerously close to protected areas on the ground. The system comprises a support for positioning adjacent the surface of the Earth at a bottom of the zone, detecting and defending apparatus mounted on the support for detecting airborne objects in the zone and defending against the airborne objects in the zone, and controlling apparatus for controlling the detecting and defending means. | Tom Ramstack (Silver Spring, MD) | --- | 2005-05-06 | 2007-12-25 | G01S13/86, G01S13/88, G01S13/00 | 11/123142 |
| 662 | 7307580 | Non-statistical method for compressing and decompressing complex SAR data | Provided is a non-statistical method for compressing and decompressing complex SAR data derived from reflected energy. The method includes selecting a first FFT to provide a target ratio of pixel spacing to resolution. A second FFT is then selected which is smaller than the first FFT. The data is zero-padded to fill the second FFT and transformed to provide at least one transfer frequency. This transfer frequency is then transferred to the at least one remote site. At the remote site the second FFT is inverted to restore the data from the received transfer frequency. The restored data is then zero-padded again to fill the first FFT. The first FFT is then used to transform the zero-padded restored data to provide a data set of points with the target ratio of pixel spacing to resolution. | Jon H. Sherman (Los Angeles, CA), John P. Kilkelly (San Pedro, CA), Helen L. Sun (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Ralph E. Hudson (Los Angeles, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2006-01-17 | 2007-12-11 | G01S13/90 | 11/333497 |
| 663 | 7299113 | System and method for determining aircraft tapeline altitude | A method, apparatus, and computer program product for accurately determining aircraft altitude, impact pressure, and calibrated air speed are provided. The determined results may be used for analysis in certification processes, used for building flight testing or simulation models that also may used in certification processes, or used for other purposes such as data to be used in a flight simulator. Altitude information of an aircraft is determined based on recorded altitude information generated by an inertial navigation system (INS) of the aircraft and altitude information generated by a global positioning system (GPS) of the aircraft. A static pressure value is generated based on the determined altitude information. | Flash Parlini (Issaquah, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2004-01-15 | 2007-11-20 | G01S13/66 | 10/758405 |
| 664 | 7295151 | Systems and methods for self-test of a radar altimeter | Systems and methods for testing a signal generated by a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) in a radar altimeter. In an embodiment of the method, a voltage signal derived by comparing a fixed reference frequency to a ramped frequency signal generated by the DDS based on a clock-based reference signal is generated. The generated voltage signal is integrated over a predefined range of clock signals. The integration is sampled at a previously defined clock tick. The sample is compared to a desired value and an indication that the radar altimeter is malfunctioning is provided if the comparison exceeds a predefined threshold value. The radar altimeter system is deactivated if an indication that the radar altimeter is malfunctioning has been provided. | David C. Vacanti (Renton, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2005-12-19 | 2007-11-13 | G01S7/40, G01S13/32 | 11/306185 |
| 665 | 7295149 | Method for determining missile information from radar returns | A target missile identifier compares radar cross-section (RCS) information about the missile with a set including at least one template of RCS to make determination (s) of at least one of (a) the missile type (solid/liquid propellant) , (b) missile main engine cutoff, andor (c) staging state of a multistage missile. | David E. Wolf (Holland, PA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2005-10-19 | 2007-11-13 | G01S13/04 | 11/253309 |
| 666 | 7292180 | System and method for passively estimating angle and range of a source using signal samples collected simultaneously from a multi-aperture antenna | A system and method for passively estimating range and angle of a source are disclosed. The source may be any wave source including radio-frequency (RF) , optical, acoustic or seismic sources. In some RF embodiments, the system includes a single aperture antenna to simultaneously receive RF signals from the RF source through a plurality of sub-apertures, and a signal processor to perform a proximity test using samples simultaneously collected from the sub-apertures to determine whether or not to calculate angle and range estimates to the source based on either a curved wavefront assumption or a planar wavefront assumption. | Michael B. Schober (Oro Valley, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2005-06-13 | 2007-11-06 | G01S13/42 | 11/152291 |
| 667 | 7292178 | Aircraft hazard detection and alerting in terminal areas | A weather radar system or method can be utilized to determine potential weather hazard for an aircraft in a terminal area. The weather radar system can utilize processing electronics coupled to an antenna. The processing electronics can determine presence of the potential in response to data related to returns received by the weather radar antenna. The data can include a mean velocity parameter or a spectral width parameter or reflectivity. | Daniel L. Woodell (Robins, IA), Roy E. Robertson (Marion, IA), Jeffery A. Finley (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2005-07-28 | 2007-11-06 | G01S13/95, G01S13/04, G01S13/58 | 11/191883 |
| 668 | 7283087 | Radar having a transmission oscillator which can be excited quasi-phase coherently by an evaluation oscillator | A radar is provided with transmitting means for transmitting a signal and with receiving means for receiving a reflection of the transmitted signal. The inventive radar is characterized in that the transmitting means is provided with a transmitting oscillator and the receiving means is provided with an evaluation oscillator. The transmitting oscillator is excited by the evaluation oscillator and/or the evaluation oscillator is excited by the transmitting oscillator in a quasi-phase coherent manner. | Martin Nalezinski (Munchen, DE), Martin Vossiek (Hildesheim, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE) | 2004-02-16 | 2007-10-16 | G01S13/08, G01S13/00 | 10/551748 |
| 669 | 7277043 | Tactical aircraft check algorithm, system and method | A method of generating aircraft tactical alerts includes receiving track positions for two aircraft, receiving trajectories and static conformance bounds for the two aircraft, receiving current position for the two aircraft, generating tactical check segments and variable conformance bounds for the two aircraft based on the current position, the static conformance bounds, trajectory, adapted data, and the track positions, and generating a tactical alert if the variable conformance bounds overlap within a specified lookahead time. The variable conformance bounds can be either symmetric or asymmetric about projected tracks. The variable conformance bounds can use step functions, or continuously widening bounds up to the static conformance bounds. The variable conformance bounds can be based on modifying the static conformance bounds in two or three spatial dimensions. | William C. Arthur (Arlington, VA), Daniel B. Kirk (Vienna, VA) | The Mitre Corporation (McLean, VA) | 2004-11-24 | 2007-10-02 | G01S13/00, B64C11/00 | 10/995173 |
| 670 | 7277042 | Compensation of flight path deviation for spotlight SAR | A radar acquires a formed SAR image of radar scatterers in an area around a central reference point (CRP) . Target (s) are within the area illuminated by the radar. The area covers terrain having a plurality of elevations. The radar is on a moving platform, where the moving platform is moving along an actual path. The actual path is displaced from an ideal SAR image acquisition path. The radar has a computer that divides the digital returns descriptive of the formed SAR image into multiple blocks, such as a first strip and an adjacent strip. The first strip is conveniently chosen, likely to generally align with a part of the area, at a first elevation. An adjacent strip covers a second part of the area at a second elevation. The first strip is overlapping the adjacent strip over an overlap portion. The first and second elevation are extracted from a terrain elevation database (DTED) . Horizontal displacement of returns (range deviation) is computed for each strip using the elevation information from the terrain elevation database. Taylor series coefficients are computed for the horizontal displacement due to terrain elevation using the ideal path, the actual path and central reference point. Actual flight path deviation is available at each pulse position while azimuth frequency is given in azimuth angle off mid angle point. Remapping between indices in two arrays is also computed. Phase error compensation and compensation in azimuth (spacial frequency) is computed using the Taylor series coefficients, a Fast Fourier Transform and an inverse Fast Fourier Transform for each strip. Phase error compensation is applied to the digital returns from each strip to obtain the SAR image. The SAR image is further improved by having the first strip corrected data and the second strip corrected data merged over the overlap portion to generate a relatively seamless SAR image. | Kwang M. Cho (Los Angeles, CA), Leo H. Hui (Alhambra, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2006-05-12 | 2007-10-02 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00 | 11/433707 |
| 671 | 7274324 | Apparatus and method of tracking objects in flight | A path in three-dimensions for an object in flight is determined according to a radar signal reflected by the object. The radar signal is transmitted at an offset angle from horizontal sufficient to capture the object within the transmitted radar signal. The transmitted radar signal is reflected by the object to form a reflected radar signal containing an indication of a position of the object. The reflected radar signal is received and used to determine two-dimensional position information for the object by detection of the indication of the position of the object in the received radar signal. Position information is derived in three-dimensions from the position information in two-dimensions. The path information representative of the path for the object is obtained from the position information in three-dimensions based on an optimization of a curvature of said path information. | Rhonda L. Millikin (Nepean, CA), Joseph R. Buckley (Kingston, CA) | Her Majesty The Queen In Right of Canada As Represented By The Minister of National Defense (Ottawa, Ontario, CA), N/A (N/A) | 2002-07-08 | 2007-09-25 | G01S13/42, G01S13/06, G01S13/00 | 10/483974 |
| 672 | 7262730 | Method and a station for assisting the control of an aircraft | A station for assisting the control of an aircraft includes warning means (5) adapted to deliver an alert for avoiding a later collision when there is a risk that the predicted flight trajectory of the aircraft crosses any predicted flight path of another aircraft. An arrangement (4) is adapted to determine whether the aircraft carrying said station is within an airspace volume with defined geometrical dimensions and time of appearance and disappearance or not and make the function of the warning means dependent upon this comparison by, when located in said airspace volume, deactivating said warning means with respect to other aircraft of a predefined identity, and when not located in said airspace volume, activate or keep the function of said warning means activated with respect to aircraft of said predefined identity. (FIG. 1) . | Stefan Larsson (Linkoping, SE), Fredrik Oehmichen (Linkoping, SE), Carleric Weiland (Linkoping, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoping, SE) | 2005-08-30 | 2007-08-28 | G01S13/93 | 11/162121 |
| 673 | 7256728 | Aircraft avoidance system for prohibiting an aircraft from entering an exclusion zone | The present invention relates to an avoidance system and method for directing an aircraft away from an exclusion zone. The exclusion zone may be any three dimensional space for example about a building or city. The avoidance system uses a constant signal from a ground based transmitter and an aircraft's receiver which receives and processes the signal and activates the avoidance system by engaging the flight director system or autopilot to steer away from the exclusion zone. | Craig Anthony Kenny (Newstead, QLD 4006, AU), Gary John Rushton (Newstead, QLD 4006, AU), Gregory John Litster (Newstead, QLD 4006, AU) | --- | 2004-03-17 | 2007-08-14 | G01S13/91, G01S13/88, G08B23/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/93 | 10/801953 |
| 674 | 7249730 | System and method for in-flight trajectory path synthesis using the time sampled output of onboard sensors | Disclosed are a system, method, and program storage device implementing the method, of data fusion, wherein the method comprises determining pre-launch data affecting a flight of a self-sensing air-bursting ballistic projectile, the projectile comprising a plurality of independent data sensors, predicting a trajectory path of the projectile based on a target location of the projectile, calculating trajectory path errors based on the predicted trajectory path, generating in-flight data from each of the data sensors, combining the in-flight data into a single time-series output using a fusion filter, tracking a trajectory position of the projectile based on the single time-series output, pre-launch data, and the trajectory path errors, comparing the tracked trajectory path with the predicted trajectory path, analyzing the in-flight data to gauge successful navigation of the projectile to the target location, and self-guiding the projectile to the target location based on the trajectory position. | Luther D. Flippen, Jr. (Waldorf, MD) | United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 2004-09-23 | 2007-07-31 | F41G7/00, F42B15/01, G01S13/00 | 10/947128 |
| 675 | 7245250 | Synthetic aperture radar image compression | A method is disclosed of generating multi-resolution images using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) phase history data. A high resolution SAR image may be formed from the phase history data, or a lower resolution SAR image may be formed from a sub-aperture of the phase history data. The multi-resolution images may also be compressed. Compressed multi-resolution images are progressively transmitted to a client until the client receives an image with adequate image quality and/or resolution. Compressed multi-resolution images may also be used for iterative target detection, where images are analyzed by a target detection processor, starting with a lowest resolution image, going to a highest resolution image, until an adequate image of the target or scene is obtained. If a target is not found in the multi-resolution images, a new sub-aperture is chosen on the phase history data, and the target detection process repeats for the new sub-aperture. | Hooshmand M. Kalayeh (Pittsford, NY) | Itt Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (Wilmington, DE) | 2005-08-16 | 2007-07-17 | G01S13/90 | 11/204892 |
| 676 | 7242638 | Method and system for synthetic aperture sonar | A method and system for synthetic aperture sonar provide improved position estimates of a receive array as in moves through a body of water. | Ian B. Kerfoot (Middletown, RI), James G. Kosalos (Kirkland, WA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2004-11-24 | 2007-07-10 | G01S15/89 | 10/997281 |
| 677 | 7239266 | Radar altimeter | The present invention provides a radar altimeter system with a closed loop modulation for generating more accurate radar altimeter values. The system includes an antenna, a circulator, a receiver, and a transmitter. The circulator receives or sends a radar signal from/to the antenna. The receiver receives the received radar signal via the circulator. The transmitter generates a radar signal and includes a phase-locked loop circuit for generating the radar signal based on a pre-defined phase signal. The transmitter includes a direct digital synthesizer that generates the phase signal based on a pre-defined clock signal and a control signal. The system includes a digital signal processor and a tail strike warning processor that determine position of a tail of the aircraft relative to ground and present an alert if a warning condition exists based on the determined position of the tail of the aircraft and a predefined threshold. | David C. Vacanti (Renton, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2004-08-26 | 2007-07-03 | G01S13/08 | 10/926676 |
| 678 | 7239263 | Platform shake compensation method in synthetic aperture processing system | The present information comprises the stages of: applying frequency analysis to positional information on a platform, generating virtual positional information on the platform based on a frequency analysis result, extracting a signal based on the generated virtual positional information, and performing a synthetic aperture processing based on the extracted signal, and in this manner, even if the positional information lacking in precision and inaccurate is used, the shake compensation of the platform in the synthetic aperture processing system can be effectively performed. | Takao Sawa (Yokosuka, JP) | Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Kanagawa, JP) | 2006-08-10 | 2007-07-03 | G01S13/90, G01S15/89, G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S15/00 | 11/501754 |
| 679 | 7239262 | Delivery of quasi-periodic pulses of EM energy utilizing the principle of beating-wave amplification | The present invention is related a method and system for irradiating a target location or material with high-amplitude narrow pulses of electromagnetic (EM) energy at a periodic or quasi-periodic rate. The method and system comprises generating at least three electromagnetic signals simultaneously in space from at least three sources, each signal having the same repetition rate and a different frequency, and directing each signal to at least one predetermined target, and adjusting the phase of each signal, so that its peak field occurs at the same instant as the occurrence of the peak fields of all the signals at the target. | John M. Osepchuk (Concord, MA) | --- | 2006-03-27 | 2007-07-03 | G01S13/89 | 11/390500 |
| 680 | 7218268 | Self-calibrating interferometric synthetic aperture radar altimeter | A synthetic aperture radar system uses RF bandwidth and Doppler beam sharpening principles to develop fine altitude and along-track resolutions. To achieve accurate cross-track position measurements the system and method exploit a combination of modes based on a novel antenna pattern combination. The unique arrangement of the antenna patterns allows the radar to process terrain elevation measurements in three independent modes, namely, time-delay response (TDR) , amplitude monopulse (AM) and phase monopulse (PM) . The additional modes address the interfering scatter problem and the calibration issues required for practical and cost effective operation. The approach also maximizes the number of terrain measurements made per look, thereby reducing the impact of errors and noise through averaging and ''voting'' (i.e., the comparison of measurements and discarding of ''outliers'') . | Norman VandenBerg (Linden, MI) | Veridian Systems (Ann Arbor, MI) | 2003-05-14 | 2007-05-15 | G01S13/08 | 10/437836 |
| 681 | 7215277 | Sub-aperture sidelobe and alias mitigation techniques | Methods for mitigating sidelobes and aliases, providing levels of suppression in excess of 20 dB. The methods may include 1) a version of the CLEAN algorithm developed in radio astronomy, modified to work on sub-aperture images, 2) weighting functions based on the phase and amplitude statistics of the sub-aperture image pixels to select points in the CLEAN algorithm, and 3) weighting functions based on the phase and amplitude statistics of the sub-aperture image pixels to mitigate sidelobes and aliases, in conjunction with CLEAN or separately. The methods may be used with all synthetic aperture techniques and are not limited to SAR. | Paul W. Woodford (Laurel, MD), Gerald Davieau (Eldersburg, MD), James L. Lafuse (Columbia, MD) | Essex Corp. (Columbia, MD) | 2005-12-06 | 2007-05-08 | G01S13/90 | 11/294379 |
| 682 | 7183967 | System and method for communicating with airborne weapons platforms | An airborne network configured to simultaneously transmit video imagery for battle damage indication from multiple airborne missiles to multiple tactical airborne non-launch aircraft. | Richard S. Haendel (Iowa City, IA), Gary C. Waller (Marion, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2003-12-15 | 2007-02-27 | G01S13/00, G01S7/40 | 10/736472 |
| 683 | 7154434 | Anti-personnel airborne radar application | An anti-personnel airborne radar application for ultra slow target tracking is provided. The anti-personnel airborne radar application includes a rotorcraft and a signal processing system. The signal processing system includes a radar antenna supported by said rotorcraft, a plurality of phase centers, a conditioning circuit for each phase center, an adaptive signal processor, and an ultra slow target indicator. Each phase center is for receiving reflected radar signals received by the radar antenna. The adaptive signal processor processes the received condition signal from each of the phase centers, allowing the ultra slow target indicator to render tracking reports. A method of detecting human motion over a ground swath is also provided. | Daniel J. Sego (Seattle, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2005-09-12 | 2006-12-26 | G01S13/52, G01S13/56 | 11/162474 |
| 684 | 7145498 | Efficient autofocus method for swath SAR | A moving radar generates a search mode synthetic aperture image of a patch from periodic pulse returns reflected from the patch. The patch is imaged from radar returns derived from two or more overlapping arrays. A strong scatterer is located within each array, then the data from each array is motion compensated with respect to the motion of the radar and the strong scatterer. The motion compensated results for each array are autofocused to derive a phase error for each array. Using the phase error for each array, a connected phase error estimate is computed, added to the phase error of each array to minimize the differences between phases in the overlap between arrays insuring that there is no or minimal phase discontinuity in the overlap region between arrays. Avoiding phase discontinuity yields a clear SAR image of the combination of arrays rendering the patch. | Kwang M. Cho (Los Angeles, CA), Leo H. Hui (Alhambra, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2005-08-10 | 2006-12-05 | G01S13/90 | 11/200836 |
| 685 | 7142152 | Device and method for calibrating and improving the accuracy of barometric altimeters with GPS-derived altitudes | A portable, handheld electronic navigation device includes an altimeter and a GPS unit. An internal memory stores cartographic data, for displaying the cartographic data on a display of the navigation device. Accordingly, the device is capable of displaying cartographic data surrounding a location of the unit as determined by GPS and altitude information as determined by the barometric altimeter and GPS. The device provides an enhancement of the calibration and hence the accuracy of barometric altimeter measurements with the aid of derived altitudes from a GPS. The device is able to determine the need for calibration and perform the subsequent computations necessary to facilitate the calibration. Furthermore, the device is able to determine a correction quantity that should be applied to barometric altitude readings, thereby allowing the device to be calibrated while in motion. Both of these features ultimately result in a more accurate determination of altitude. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the altimeter of the navigation device may be calibrated with altitude information entered by a user, with altitude information obtained from the cartographic, with altitude information derived from GPS or with any combinations thereof. | Scott Burgett (Overland Park, KS), Tracy Olivier (Olathe, KS) | Garmin Ltd. (KY) | 2004-04-16 | 2006-11-28 | G01S13/08, G01C5/06, G01S7/40, G01S13/00 | 10/826754 |
| 686 | 7136011 | System for avoidance of collision between an aircraft and an obstacle | A field unit for warning of a danger of collision between an aircraft and an obstacle, in particular a topographical ground obstacle or an obstacle formed by a mast, building or aerial cable structure, comprises a multi-part tubular mast having devices for fixing a solar panel and a radar antenna, an elongate radar antenna in an environment-protective casing, which, with an electronics unit, forms a radar system for synthesized radar detection of an aircraft in a radar coverage area, a central processing unit for identifying on the basis of information from the radar system an aircraft which is in a zone of the radar coverage area and which on the basis of radar information such as direction, distance and/or speed computes a collision danger area, and a high-intensity light system and radio transmitter system that can be activated by the central processing unit upon detection of an aircraft in a collision danger area. The radio transmitter system may be a VHF or UHF radio transmitter system for providing a radio signal modulated by an audible warning signal, preferably a voice warning signal, whilst the light system preferably comprises a stroboscope light system. The field unit is arranged for communication with other similar field units for remote activation of light or audio warnings in a neighbouring field unit. | Morten Mork (Oslo, NO), Rolf Bakken (Gressvik, NO) | Ocas As (Oslo, NO) | 2004-06-04 | 2006-11-14 | G01S13/93, B64D47/00, G01S13/94, G08G5/04, G01S13/00 | 10/861853 |
| 687 | 7133326 | Method and system for synthetic aperture sonar | A method and system for synthetic aperture sonar provide improved position estimates of a receive array as in moves through a body of water. | Ian B. Kerfoot (Middletown, RI), James G. Kosalos (Kirkland, WA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2004-11-24 | 2006-11-07 | G01S15/89 | 10/997156 |
| 688 | 7127334 | System and methods for preventing the unauthorized use of aircraft | An aircraft having a memory loaded with geolocation data corresponding to restricted airspace boundaries and an autonomous system for rerouting the aircraft outside of the restricted airspace boundaries as the aircraft approaches to within a predetermined distance of the restricted airspace. | Bentley D. Frink (Wilmington, NC) | --- | 2003-12-03 | 2006-10-24 | G01C23/00, G01S13/04 | 10/727447 |
| 689 | 7126534 | Minimum safe altitude warning | A ground-based CFIT warning system provides pilots with CFIT alerts. The system is based upon a ground-based tracking system, which provides surveillance of aircraft, such as the AirScene.TM. multilateration system manufactured by Rannoch Corporation of Alexandria, Va. The system monitors both horizontal and vertical positions of aircraft. When an aircraft has been determined to be operating below safe altitudes, or too close to obstructions, the pilot is provided with a warning. The warning may be delivered via the pilot's voice communications and/or a data link or the like. | Alexander E. Smith (McLean, VA), Jonathan C. Baldwin (Alexandria, VA) | Rannoch Corporation (Alexandria, VA) | 2004-01-14 | 2006-10-24 | G01S13/93 | 10/756799 |
| 690 | 7109914 | Switching method and device on an aircraft radiofrequency landing system | A method and device for carrying out switchover on a radio frequency landing system of an aircraft between a first input of a radio frequency receiver, which input is connected to a first antenna disposed on a lower part of the aircraft and receives a first signal, and a second input of the radio frequency receiver, which input is connected to a second antenna disposed on an upper part of the aircraft and receives a second signal. On initialization, switchover occurs to the input whose signal exhibits the highest level. After the initialization phase, a first value of a parameter, in relation to the aircraft, and a second value of this same parameter, in relation to the runway, are determined. The difference between these first and second values is computed, and switchover occurs to one of the first and second inputs as a function of this difference. | Michel Falcati (Monferran Saves, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2004-03-17 | 2006-09-19 | G01S13/91 | 10/801578 |
| 691 | 7109913 | Airborne weather radar system and radar display | An airborne weather radar system that detects potentially hazardous weather conditions associated with storms and includes a radar display featuring visual indications of these conditions. The radar display includes a vertical situation display having iconal representations and symbolic icons indicative hazardous weather conditions and aviation hazards along the aircraft's flight path not otherwise immediately apparent or shown on standard weather radar displays. The system includes processes for detecting and predicting hazardous weather conditions such as overshooting thunderstorm tops and vaulted thunderstorm energy and serious hazards such as turbulence and hail. | Steve Paramore (Cedar Rapids, IA), Daniel L. Woodell (Robins, IA), Sarah Barber (Robins, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2004-05-04 | 2006-09-19 | G01S13/95 | 10/838291 |
| 692 | 7109911 | Dual synthetic aperture radar system | The dual synthetic aperture array system processes returns from the receiving arrays. The two identical receiving arrays employing displaced phase center antenna techniques subtract the corresponding spectrally processed data to cancel clutter. It is further processed that a moving target is detected and its velocity, angular position and range is measured, in or out of the presence of clutter. There are many techniques presented in the disclosure. These techniques are basically independent but are related based on common set of fundamental set of mathematical equations, understanding of radar principles and the implementations involved. These many techniques may be employed singly and/or in combination depending on the application and accuracy required. They are supported by a system that includes, optimization of the number of apertures, pulse repetition frequencies, DPCA techniques to cancel clutter, adaptive techniques to cancel clutter, motion compensation, weighting function for clutter and target, and controlling the system in most optimum fashion to attain the objective of the disclosure. | Thomas J. Cataldo (Commack, NY) | --- | 2003-08-11 | 2006-09-19 | G01S13/90 | 10/637294 |
| 693 | 7095367 | Network system for onboard equipment | An onboard equipment network system comprises a radar core device, a GPS core device, an echo sounder core device and a sonar core device and display devices which are connected to a network through a hub. Each core device includes a detecting section or a positioning section, as well as a control section, a power supply section and a data transmitter for transmitting detecting signals or positioning signals, while each display device includes a command section for transmitting command data to the individual core devices for setting their operating conditions and a display section for displaying image data received from the individual core devices. The command data is transmitted using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) while the image data is transmitted using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) . | Takumi Fujikawa (Nishinomiya, JP), Yoshinari Yoshida (Nishinomiya, JP), Eiji Matsui (Nishinomiya, JP), Motoji Kondo (Nishinomiya, JP), Takumi Kawamoto (Nishinomiya, JP), Ryoichi Nakai (Nishinomiya, JP), Takeshi Yamaguchi (Nishinomiya, JP), Hiroshi Nagano (Nishinomiya, JP), Hidetoshi Kaida (Nishinomiya, JP), Masaru Nishida (Nishinomiya, JP) | Furuno Electric Company Limited (Nishinomiya, JP) | 2002-04-24 | 2006-08-22 | G01S13/00, G01C21/26, G01S1/00 | 10/128235 |
| 694 | 7095364 | Altitude measurement system and associated methods | An altitude measuring system and method for aircraft is provided. The altitude measuring system includes altitude sensors for providing data to an altitude processing unit. The altitude processing unit spatially averages each output to determine a mean altitude. Pitch and roll are accounted for by correction. A method of determining aircraft altitude from a plurality of altitude sensors includes receiving altitude sensor data from each sensor and spatially averaging the altitude sensor outputs to determine aircraft altitude. A method of estimating the maximum height of an ocean surface includes receiving a plurality of altitude sensor data and determining a mathematical description of the ocean surface from the sensor data. The maximum probable wave height of the ocean surface is estimated from the mathematical description. From the maximum wave height, a cruise altitude may be determined. | Blaine K. Rawdon (San Pedro, CA), Zachary C. Hoisington (Long Beach, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2005-08-04 | 2006-08-22 | G01S13/08, G01S13/88, G01S13/95, G01S15/08, G01S15/88 | 11/197405 |
| 695 | 7095221 | Doppler radar sensing system for monitoring turbine generator components | The invention provides a sensing system and a method for monitoring the damage to turbine components in a turbine generator. The sensing system comprises an electromagnetic wave generator that generates an electromagnetic wave, a transmitter that transmits the generated electromagnetic wave from a first turbine component, a second turbine component that receives the transmitted electromagnetic wave and reflects the electromagnetic wave, a receiver that receives the reflected electromagnetic wave, and a processor that interprets the received electromagnetic wave. | Thomas Bosselmann (Marloffstein, DE), Michael Willsch (Furth, DE), Francisco Javier Sevilla Perez (Erlangen, DE), Zal Sanjana (Pittsburgh, PA) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE) | 2004-05-27 | 2006-08-22 | G01N27/00, G01S13/08 | 10/855021 |
| 696 | 7075478 | Radar altimeter having an automatically calibrated sensitivity range control function | A radar altimeter for an air vehicle is described. The radar altimeter includes a transmit antenna configured to transmit radar signals toward the ground, a receive antenna configured to receive radar signals reflected from the ground, the receive antenna also receiving signals propagated along a leakage path from the transmit antenna, and a receiver configured to receive signals from the receive antenna. The radar altimeter also includes at least one altitude processing channel configured to receive signals from the receiver to determine an altitude, and an automatic sensitivity-range-control (SRC) channel configured to receive signals from the receiver. The SRC channel is configured to determine an amplitude of the received leakage path signals when an altitude of the radar altimeter is sufficient to separate received signals reflected from the ground from signals received from the leakage path. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Mark S. Shoemaker (Plymouth, MN), Thomas J. Jorgensen (Bloomington, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2004-06-07 | 2006-07-11 | G01S13/08 | 10/862511 |
| 697 | 7068210 | Low-cost position-adaptive UAV radar design with state-of-the-art cots technology | A position-adaptive radar method and device for small UAV platforms capable of detecting ''leakage signals'' that, for example, propagate between two buildings or ''leak through'' penetrable surfaces such as walls or layers of the ground. The position-adaptive radar comprises a monostatic radar receiver that measures and processes leakage signals and then ''self adapts'' in position to establish line-of-sight between a mini-UAV platform and an obscuration channel that propagates the leakage signal. This allows a mini-UAV platform to process signals in real-time while gathering intelligence information and locating objects-of-interest that may be embedded within an obscuration channel. | Atindra K. Mitra (Beavercreek, OH), Krishna Pasala (Centerville, OH) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC), N/A (N/A) | 2005-02-25 | 2006-06-27 | G01S13/88, G05D1/00, B64C27/04 | 11/070403 |
| 698 | 7064703 | Methods and apparatus for randomly modulating radar altimeters | A method for randomly phase modulating a radar altimeter is described. The method includes momentarily applying a signal from a random noise source to an amplifier, applying an output of the amplifier to a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) , applying an output of the VCO to a transmitter and mixer of the radar altimeter to modulate transmissions of the radar altimeter and to demodulate reflected radar transmissions received by the radar altimeter and holding the output of the amplifier constant from before a radar altimeter transmission until after reception of the reflected radar signals from that transmission by the radar altimeter. The method further includes repeating the applying steps and the holding step. | Lavell Jordan (San Marcos, TX), James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2004-02-17 | 2006-06-20 | G01S13/08 | 10/780411 |
| 699 | 7064702 | System, method and computer program product for reducing quadratic phase errors in synthetic aperture radar signals | A method is provided for reducing quadratic phase errors in synthetic aperture radar signals from a plurality of range lines where each range line includes a plurality of azimuth positions. The method includes receiving a plurality of slow-time samples representing radar signals for a plurality of azimuth positions for a plurality of range lines. A plurality of corrected samples and an initial quadratic phase error coefficient are identified based upon the slow-time samples. The corrected samples are processed according to a superresolution signal processing technique to thereby obtain a plurality of estimated Doppler frequencies for a plurality of point scatterers at each range line, after which a true signal for each range line is reconstructed based upon the plurality of estimated Doppler frequencies. A correction to the initial quadratic phase error coefficient is then obtained based upon the corrected samples, the true signals and the initial quadratic phase error coefficient. | Theagenis J. Abatzoglou (Huntington Beach, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2005-03-01 | 2006-06-20 | G01S13/90 | 11/069259 |
| 700 | 7054227 | Method for recursive echo processing in time-of-flight or level measurement systems | A method for processing echoes in a time-of-flight ranging system or level measurement system. The method comprises a recursive descent parser which is applied to an echo profile to process and identify potential echoes. In another aspect, the method provides for processing the ring down portion of the echo profile. | Frank Daigle (Stouffville, CA) | Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments, Inc. (Peterborough, CA) | 2003-09-25 | 2006-05-30 | G01N9/24, G01S15/08 | 10/672582 |
| 701 | 7046582 | Method and system for synthetic aperture sonar | A method and system for synthetic aperture sonar provide improved position estimates of a receive array as in moves through a body of water. | James G. Kosalos (Kirkland, WA), Ian B. Kerfoot (Middletown, RI) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2004-11-24 | 2006-05-16 | G01S15/89 | 10/997551 |
| 702 | 7046192 | Radar process for classifying or identifying helicopters | A radar method of classifying generating or identifying helicopters, by generating a one-dimensional distance profile of the helicopter to be classified or to be identified by measuring the radar each of the helicopter fuselage, the radar echo of the rotor head of the main rotor and/or the radar echo of the main axis, and the radar echo of the rear rotor axis, determines the aspect angles in the azimuth and elevation directions relative to the axis of the radar antenna and the method also determines helicopter parameters from the measured radar echoes. The determined helicopter parameters are compared with stored helicopter parameters for different helicopter types. | Dieter Nagel (Erbach, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2004-03-16 | 2006-05-16 | G01S7/41, G01S13/00 | 10/800692 |
| 703 | 7042386 | Sub-aperture sidelobe and alias mitigation techniques | Methods for mitigating sidelobes and aliases, providing levels of suppression in excess of 20 dB. The methods may include 1) a version of the CLEAN algorithm developed in radio astronomy, modified to work on sub-aperture images, 2) weighting functions based on the phase and amplitude statistics of the sub-aperture image pixels to select points in the CLEAN algorithm, and 3) weighting functions based on the phase and amplitude statistics of the sub-aperture image pixels to mitigate sidelobes and aliases, in conjunction with CLEAN or separately. The methods may be used with all synthetic aperture techniques and are not limited to SAR. | Paul W. Woodford (Laurel, MD), Gerald Davieau (Eldersburg, MD), James L. Lafuse (Columbia, MD) | Essex Corporation (Columbia, MD) | 2004-04-28 | 2006-05-09 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90 | 10/833342 |
| 704 | 7038613 | Method and device for determining at least one cue of vertical position of an aircraft | A method and device for determining a vertical position cue of an aircraft while landing in the presence of a lateral alignment beam, which is emitted from the ground and provides an indication of the aircraft's lateral alignment with respect to a landing strip, may include detecting the lateral alignment beam with aircraft equipment. On the basis of cues relating to the detected lateral alignment beam and of predetermined cues, an axis of approach of the aircraft is determined. Additionally, the actual position and a preset position of the aircraft, which corresponds to the position the aircraft would have if it were on the approach axis, are determined. On the basis of the actual and preset positions of the aircraft, the vertical deviation of the aircraft, representing the vertical position cue, is computed. | Patrice Rouquette (La Loubiere, FR), Eric Peyrucain (Saint Genies Bellevue, FR), Jacques Rosay (Toulouse, FR) | Airbus France (Toulouse, FR) | 2004-03-18 | 2006-05-02 | G01S13/91 | 10/803091 |
| 705 | 7038612 | Method for SAR processing without INS data | A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) avoids the need for an INS/GPS by focusing a SAR image having discernible features and a center. The image is formed from digitized returns, each of the digitized returns having a phase and an amplitude. The focusing steps of an algorithm processing the digitized returns include: computing a coarse range and coarse range rate of the center of the image, motion compensating the digitized returns, converting the digitized returns in polar format into an orthogonal Cartesian coordinate system, autofocusing the image data to obtain a focused image, performing a Fourier transform to obtain a focused image described by the returns, computing an estimated fine range and fine range rate from features contained within the focused image, and converging the fine range and fine range rate within the orthogonal Cartesian coordinate system for use within the azimuth and range coordinate system and motion compensating the digitized returns. | James G. Chow (Tucson, AZ), Robert A. Rosen (Simi Valley, CA), Kapriel V. Krikorian (Calabasas, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2003-08-05 | 2006-05-02 | G01S13/90 | 10/634303 |
| 706 | 7034739 | Delivery of quasi-periodic pulses of EM energy utilizing the principle of beating-wave amplification | The present invention is related a method and system for irradiating a target location or material with high-amplitude narrow pulses of electromagnetic (EM) energy at a periodic or quasi-periodic rate. The method and system comprises generating at least three electromagnetic signals simultaneously in space from at least three sources, each signal having the same repetition rate and a different frequency, and directing each signal to at least one predetermined target, and adjusting the phase of each signal, so that its peak field occurs at the same instant as the occurrence of the peak fields of all the signals at the target. | John M. Osepchuk (Concord, MA) | --- | 2003-04-07 | 2006-04-25 | G01S13/89 | 10/409029 |
| 707 | 7026980 | Missile identification and tracking system and method | Sensors determine the kinematic measurements of a boosting missile, and the information is applied to a plurality of pairs or sets of filters, one of which is matched to the characteristics of a particular target type, and the other of which is general, and not matched to a particular target, for producing from each filter of the set missile position, velocity, acceleration, and specific mass flow rate states, and covariances of those states. From the filtered information, the estimates are made of at least missile mass flow rate, thrust, velocity at stage burnout, and remaining burn time. The likelihood is computed that the states and covariances from the filter sets represent the same target. The largest likelihood is selected as representing the target. In one mode, the estimated parameters are weighted and summed for a composite likelihood. | Peter J. Mavroudakis (Hightstown, NJ), Jeffrey B. Boka (Lumberton, NJ), Naresh R. Patel (Bellmawr, NJ) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2005-03-04 | 2006-04-11 | G01S13/72 | 11/072902 |
| 708 | 7024309 | Autonomous station keeping system for formation flight | A system for autonomously keeping an aircraft's station in a formation flight of a plurality of aircraft includes a navigation system configured to determine a position of an aircraft. A data link is configured to allow the aircraft to communicate data with at least one other aircraft in the formation flight of the plurality of aircraft. A sensor is configured to detect a presence of another aircraft within a predetermined distance of the aircraft. A processor is configured to provide control signals to the aircraft's autoflight system to keep the aircraft at a predetermined station relative to the other of the plurality of aircraft in the formation flight. | Paul M. Doane (Manchester, MO) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC), N/A (N/A) | 2003-08-28 | 2006-04-04 | G01S13/93 | 10/650606 |
| 709 | 7019681 | System and method for verifying the radar signature of an aircraft | The invention is a system and method for verifying the radar signature of a pair of aircraft. The system includes a radar transmitter and receivers located in the leading and trailing edge of the wing at the wing tip of the aircraft such that when flying the aircraft in formation with one aircraft behind the other aircraft, each aircraft can illuminate the other and verify the radar signature of the other. | Larry F. Pellett (Valencia, CA), Scott Kennedy (Valencia, CA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Palmdale, CA) | 2001-08-01 | 2006-03-28 | G01S13/00, G01S13/88 | 09/919127 |
| 710 | 7009553 | Device and method for alert and density altitude features in a transponder | A transponder having a subsystem for providing an altitude alert function signifying a deviation from a set altitude is described. The subsystem includes an input for receiving an altitude deviation limit associated with the set altitude, a CPU receiving updated altitude and determining a difference between the updated altitude and the set altitude associated with the altitude deviation limit, and a transponder subsystem output device for providing the difference between the updated altitude and the set altitude to a user. | Robert W. Billings (Shawnee, KS) | Garmin Ltd. (KY) | 2005-02-07 | 2006-03-07 | G01S13/08 | 11/052330 |
| 711 | 7006031 | Interrupt SAR image restoration using linear prediction and Range Migration Algorithm (RMA) processing | SAR images are improved by a method for acquiring a synthetic aperture image from a sequence of periodic pulse returns where the sequence of periodic pulse returns is interspersed with interrupts, i.e. missing pulses. The interrupts mark the start and end of one or more segments, where the segments contain the periodic pulse returns form the SAR image. The method comprises the steps of: converting said pulse returns into a digital stream, performing an azimuth deskew on said digital stream to obtain a deskewed digital stream, forming a forward-backward data matrix from the deskewed digital stream for one or more segments, forming an average segment covariance from the forward-backward data matrix, computing a model order for the average segment covariance, computing one or more linear prediction coefficients using data contained in the forward backward data matrix, and model order, using the linear prediction coefficients to compute missing pulse returns belonging within the interrupts. The computation for extrapolating the missing pulse returns is introduced after the Stolt interpolator in RMA processing. In computing the model order, eigenvalues are found and compared to a threshold. Roots of a linear prediction polynomial are computed, then stabilized to obtain stabilized roots. Linear prediction coefficients are reconstituted using the stabilized roots. Sub-bands are used to decrease computing time for the missing pulse returns. | Theagenis J. Abatzoglou (Huntington Beach, CA), Leo H. Hui (Alhambra, CA), Kwang M. Cho (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2004-10-19 | 2006-02-28 | G01S13/90 | 10/968780 |
| 712 | 6992614 | Radar altimeter | A radar altimeter is provided that includes a transmitter operable to generate a radio signal at a modulation frequency, and transmit the radio signal toward a ground surface for reflection therefrom to thereby propagate a reflected radio signal. The radar altimeter also includes a receiver operable to receive the reflected radio signal, and determine the altitude of the aircraft based on the modulation frequency of the radio signal and a difference frequency derived from the radio signal and the reflected radio signal. The receiver is also operable to control the transmitter so as to vary the modulation frequency of the radio signal based on the altitude of the aircraft. Preferably, the modulation frequency of the radio signal is greater at lower altitudes than at higher altitudes. | James W. Joyce (Olathe, KS) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2004-04-22 | 2006-01-31 | G01S13/32 | 10/829849 |
| 713 | 6985103 | Passive airborne collision warning device and method | A passive airborne mounted collision warning system suitable for light aircraft that enables an observer aircraft to determine the position of a nearby transponder-equipped target aircraft. The transponder-equipped target aircraft transmits replies responsive to interrogation signals from rotating secondary surveillance radars (SSR) . In an embodiment of the invention, position of the target aircraft is determined based on the known position of the observer aircraft obtained e.g. via satellite navigation means such as GPS, the position of the SSR, and the bearing of the target aircraft measured by a direction finding antenna. The direction-finding antenna elements and the GPS receiver components are included in a device that is externally mounted on the observer aircraft. The data from the device is connected to a portable computer for processing and presentation to the pilot to alert him of the position of the target aircraft for avoiding collisions. | Stefan Ridderheim (Sundsvall, SE), Bjorn Lindmark (Stockholm, SE), Hans Nystrom (Ekero, SE) | Navaero Ab (Sundsvall, SE) | 2003-07-29 | 2006-01-10 | G01S13/93, G01S13/74 | 10/604535 |
| 714 | 6970128 | Motion compensated synthetic aperture imaging system and methods for imaging | A see-through-the-wall (STTW) imaging system uses a plurality of geographically separated positioning transmitters to transmit non-interfering positioning signals. An imaging unit generates a synthetic aperture image of a target by compensating for complex movement of the imaging unit using the positioning signals. The imaging unit includes forward and aft positioning antennas to receive at least three of the positioning signals, an imaging antenna to receive radar return signals from the target, and a signal processor to compensate the return signals for position and orientation of the imaging antenna using the positioning signals. The signal processor may construct the synthetic aperture image of a target from the compensated return signals as the imaging unit is moved with respect to the target. The signal processor may determine the position and the orientation of the imaging unit by measuring a relative phase of the positioning signals. | Wesley H. Dwelly (Sahuarita, AZ), Vinh N. Adams (Tucson, AZ), Michael R. Beylor (Tucson, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2004-10-06 | 2005-11-29 | G01S13/90, G01S013/90 | 10/959794 |
| 715 | 6965341 | High resolution SAR processing using stepped-frequency chirp waveform | A stepped-frequency chirped waveform improves SAR groundmapping for the following reasons. Range resolution in SAR image is inversely proportional to the transmitted signal bandwidth in nominal SAR systems. Since there is a limit in the transmitted bandwidth that can be supported by the radar hardware, there is a limit in range resolution that can be achieved by processing SAR data in conventional manner. However, if the frequency band of the transmitted signal is skipped within a group of sub-pulses and received signal is properly combined, the composite signal has effectively increased bandwidth and hence improvement in range resolution can be achieved. The proposed new and practical approach can effectively extend the limit in range resolution beyond the level that is set by the radar hardware units when conventional method is used. | Kwang Myung Cho (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Leo H. Hui (Alhambra, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC) | 2003-12-15 | 2005-11-15 | G01S13/38, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90, G01S013/38 | 10/734956 |
| 716 | 6956523 | Method and apparatus for remotely deriving the velocity vector of an in-flight ballistic projectile | A system and method for rapidly determining the source of an incoming projectile applies controlled, active RF energy source (s) to illuminate a target area/projectile, and exploits Doppler induced frequency shifts from multiple receivers to develop a vector solution. The preferred solution applies continuous wave (CW) RF illuminators to flood a local region with a controlled source of radio frequency energy and one or more displaced receiver elements. The system operates multi-statically and as an incoming projectile enters the illuminated region, reflected energy from one or more illuminators is detected by one or more displaced RF receivers. Doppler shifts imparted on the reflected signals are detected by the receivers as the projectile moves through the region. Appropriate processing of the receiver outputs generates Doppler time-frequency profiles that are used to derive an estimate of the projectile flight vector in 3-space (x,y,z) . The vector parameters can, among other things, feed a laser designator that projects a beam along the derived flight path to support identification of the source, or be relayed to remote personnel by a data link where the projectile vector can be displayed on a map. | Paul Mohan (Novi, MI) | Veridian Systems (Ann Arbor, MI) | 2003-06-16 | 2005-10-18 | G01S13/00, G01S13/58, G01S7/02, G01S013/06, G01S013/32, G01S013/66 | 10/462525 |
| 717 | 6952178 | Method of detecting moving objects and estimating their velocity and position in SAR images | A method of detecting moving objects and of estimating their velocity and position in SAR images includes the steps of generating a sequence of single-look SAR images which have the same polarization, are successive in time, and have a look center frequency which varies from one image to the next, detecting candidates for moving objects in the single-look SAR images of the sequence by searching for regions with a course of intensity that deviates from the environment, estimating the velocity of the detected candidates, and verifying the detected candidates as moving objects. The estimation of one or more velocity components of a detected candidate takes place jointly with the estimation of one or more position components of the candidate. A cost function is established as a function of the components to be estimated, taking into account the positions of the candidate in the individual single-look SAR images of the sequence, which cost function is minimized by means of an optimization method for the parameter or parameters to be estimated. | Martin Kirscht (Immenstaad, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2003-06-13 | 2005-10-04 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 | 10/460647 |
| 718 | 6950037 | Smart airport automation system | A smart airport automation system includes a subsystem that inputs weather and airport configuration data to determine an active runway in use and an airport state. Another subsystem inputs aircraft position and velocity data from available surveillance sources, known flight-intent information, and past aircraft trajectories to project future aircraft unconstrained trajectories. A third subsystem uses the projected trajectories and aircraft intent to determine desired landing and takeoff sequences, and desired adjacent aircraft spacing. A fourth subsystem uses such information to predict potential aircraft conflicts, such as a loss of acceptable separation between adjacent aircraft. A fifth subsystem packages the weather, airport configuration, aircraft state, desired landing/takeoff sequence, and potential conflict detection into a verbal advisory message that is broadcast on a local common radio frequency. A sixth subsystem uses the projected trajectory information to control the runway and taxiway lighting system. | Odile H. Clavier (Los Altos, CA), David R. Schleicher (San Jose, CA), Sharon W. Houck (Portola Valley, CA), John A. Sorensen (Cupertino, CA), Paul C. Davis (Chiloquin, OR), Cornelius G. Hunter (Cameron Park, CA) | Sensis Corporation (Dewitt, NY) | 2003-05-06 | 2005-09-27 | G01S13/00, G08B21/00, G08B021/00, G01S013/00 | 10/431163 |
| 719 | 6943724 | Identification and tracking of moving objects in detected synthetic aperture imagery | A method of tracking a moving object in an image created by use of a synthetic aperture includes identifying a plurality of receive phase centers for an image collector, obtaining a synthetic aperture image using the plurality of receive phase centers, and reading a signature of the moving object based on the synthetic aperture image, where the reading of the signature includes identifying, in the synthetic aperture image, as a function of image collection time, a presence of the moving object. The reading of the signature may also include identifying a changing position of the moving object, and may include associating a plurality of range difference values with respective ones of the plurality of phase centers. A signature of a scatterer may be formed using only its associated .DELTA.R-versus-time profile. The presence of a mover in the image may be determined by filtering the image to detect all or part of a signature, or by using one or more signatures to train a neural network to observe the mover directly. | Fred C. Brace (Littleton, CO), Joe V. Petty (Highlands Ranch, CO) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2003-08-21 | 2005-09-13 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 | 10/645365 |
| 720 | 6919839 | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) compensating for ionospheric distortion based upon measurement of the group delay, and associated methods | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) compensates for ionospheric distortions based upon measurement of the group delay, particularly when operating in the VHF/UHF band. The SAR is based upon a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) technique for estimating the effective ionospheric conditions, which is referred to as the group delay approach. The group delay approach is divided into a 1-dimensional (range) approach and a 2-dimensional (range and cross-range) approach. The group delay measures the effective or observed TEC, which is used to reduce the ionospheric distortion. | Edward R. Beadle (Melbourne, FL), Paul D. Anderson (Melbourne, FL), Steve Richter (Melbourne Beach, FL), John F. Dishman (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2004-11-09 | 2005-07-19 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S7/40, G01S013/90, G01S007/40 | 10/984474 |
| 721 | 6914553 | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) compensating for ionospheric distortion based upon measurement of the Faraday rotation, and associated methods | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for a moveable platform includes an antenna, a radar transmitter and radar receiver cooperating with the antenna. A radar processor is connected to the radar transmitter and radar receiver to account for the Faraday rotation introduced by propagation through the ionosphere by estimating an individual ionospheric distortion for each received echo pulse based upon a measured Faraday rotation, and reducing the ionospheric distortion for each received echo pulse based upon the estimated individual ionospheric distortion associated therewith for providing a compensated echo pulse. | Edward R. Beadle (Melbourne, FL), Paul D. Anderson (Melbourne, FL), Steve Richter (Melbourne Beach, FL), John F. Dishman (Melbourne, FL), Emile Ganthier (Palm Bay, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 2004-11-09 | 2005-07-05 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S7/40, G01S013/90, G01S007/40 | 10/984638 |
| 722 | 6911933 | Dynamic logic algorithm used for detecting slow-moving or concealed targets in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images | The present invention includes an application of a dynamic logic algorithm to detect slow moving targets. Show moving targets are going to be moving in the range from 0-5 mph. This could encompass troop movements and vehicles or convoys under rough terrain. The method can be defined as a seven step process of detecting slow moving targets using a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) , said slow moving targets being objects of interest that are moving in the range from 0-5 mph, wherein this method is composed of the steps of receiving SAR signal history data having an SAR image, assuming a presence of slow moving target in a SAR image based-on range, cross-range position, and velocity, assuming a presence of clutter, assigning target and clutter models that are probability distribution functions (pdf) that are defined to account for every pixel in the SAR image, wherein the target is modeled using a sum of Gaussians fitted along the target shape model, while the clutter is modeled with a uniform distribution, computing a ''target present'' predetermined threshold value, converging the target model to a minimum variance value, and comparing the target model minimum variance value to the predetermined threshold to determine if a target is present or absent. | Christopher W. Mutz (Cambridge, MA), Leonid I. Perlovsky (Brookline, MA), Robert J. Linnehan (Brighton, MA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC) | 2004-05-14 | 2005-06-28 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S013/00 | 10/847023 |
| 723 | 6911931 | Using dynamic interferometric synthetic aperature radar (InSAR) to image fast-moving surface waves | A new differential technique and system for imaging dynamic (fast moving) surface waves using Dynamic Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is introduced. This differential technique and system can sample the fast-moving surface displacement waves from a plurality of moving platform positions in either a repeat-pass single-antenna or a single-pass mode having a single-antenna dual-phase receiver or having dual physically separate antennas, and reconstruct a plurality of phase differentials from a plurality of platform positions to produce a series of desired interferometric images of the fast moving waves. | Paul Vincent (Livermore, CA) | The Regents of The University of California (Oakland, CA) | 2003-10-20 | 2005-06-28 | G01S13/90, G01V3/17, G01V3/15, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/690355 |
| 724 | 6906659 | System for administering a restricted flight zone using radar and lasers | A system is disclosed for administering a restricted flight zone using radar and lasers for detecting, tracking, warning and destroying airborne craft that enter restricted flight zones without authorization or that approach dangerously close to protected areas on the ground. The system comprises a support for positioning adjacent the surface of the Earth at a bottom of the zone, detecting and defending apparatus mounted on the support for detecting airborne objects in the zone and defending against the airborne objects in the zone, and controlling apparatus for controlling the detecting and defending means. | Tom Ramstack (Silver Spring, MD) | --- | 2003-12-19 | 2005-06-14 | G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S13/86, G01S013/86, G01S013/88 | 10/741373 |
| 725 | 6897803 | Radar altimeter with forward ranging capabilities | A method for incorporating a forward ranging feature into a radar altimeter is described. The method comprises positioning an antenna of the altimeter such that a side lobe of a radar signal radiates from the antenna in a forward direction and processing a radar return from the side lobe to determine a range to a forward object. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Larry D. Almsted (Bloomington, MN), John H. Keuper (Anoka, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2003-06-11 | 2005-05-24 | G01S13/00, G01S7/292, G01S13/94, G01S13/524, G01S13/87, G01S13/18, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 10/459139 |
| 726 | 6895327 | Telematics process for helicopters | The invention relates to a telematics method for helicopters. According to the inventive method, the use spectrum of helicopters which are provided with all-weather flight guidance and obstacle warning systems is enlarged and flight security is further improved by transmitting data and/or speech by means of terrestrial and/or satellite-supported mobile radio telecommunications networks and by connecting to a locating system. Logistics processes of the helicopter operation and of the institutions benefiting from a helicopter use are optimized. | Guenter Braun (Deisenhofen, DE), Helmut Klausing (Wessling-Hochstadt, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2002-12-02 | 2001-02-28 | 2005-05-17 | G01S13/00, G01S5/00, G01S5/14, G01S7/00, G01S13/94, G08G5/00, G01S13/93, G06F019/00 |
| 727 | 6894637 | Airborne or spaceborne tomographic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) method | By means of tomograhic radar technique consisting of a coherent combination of large numbers of synthetic aperture radar images acquired by several air or space SAR systems having different look angles, a real three-dimensional imaging of volume scatterers is achieved. This allows the separation of the backscattered signal of volume scatterers in the height direction which can be further evaluated independently. The invention can be put to use in the three-dimensional analysis of vegetation layers and ground strata, but also for imaging and mapping of buildings, urban areas and mountainous terrain. | Alberto Moreira (Olching, DE), Andreas Reigber (Seefeld, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 2002-12-09 | 2005-05-17 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/00 | 10/314629 |
| 728 | 6879279 | Differential optical synthetic aperture radar | A new differential technique for forming optical images using a synthetic aperture is introduced. This differential technique utilizes a single aperture to obtain unique (N) phases that can be processed to produce a synthetic aperture image at points along a trajectory. This is accomplished by dividing the aperture into two equal ''subapertures'', each having a width that is less than the actual aperture, along the direction of flight. As the platform flies along a given trajectory, a source illuminates objects and the two subapertures are configured to collect return signals. The techniques of the invention is designed to cancel common-mode errors, trajectory deviations from a straight line, and laser phase noise to provide the set of resultant (N) phases that can produce an image having a spatial resolution corresponding to a synthetic aperture. | Eddy A. Stappaerts (San Ramon, CA) | The Regents of The University of California (Oakland, CA) | 2003-03-27 | 2005-04-12 | G01S17/89, G01S17/00, G01S7/48, G01S7/486, G01S013/90 | 10/402053 |
| 729 | 6875976 | Aperture monitoring system and method | System and method for detecting the presence of an object in an aperture in which for modulated electromagnetic waves are directed from an edge of a frame defining the aperture and electromagnetic waves reflected from an opposite edge of the frame are received at substantially the same location. The phase change between the modulated electromagnetic waves and the reflected electromagnetic waves is measured wherein the presence of an obstacle in the aperture causes a variation in the phase change from a situation where an obstacle is not present. The system and method can be used in vehicles to determine the presence of obstacles in the path of a closing window, door, trunk lid, convertible top, or sunroof. | David S. Breed (Boonton Township, Morris County, NJ), Wilbur E. DuVall (Kimberling City, MO), Wendell C. Johnson (Signal Hill, CA) | Automotive Technologies International, Inc. (Denville, NJ) | 2002-07-09 | 2005-04-05 | B60J7/04, B60J7/057, G01S17/02, G01S17/00, G01S15/04, G01S15/00, G06M007/00, H01J040/14 | 10/191692 |
| 730 | 6873285 | Method and system for providing along-track alignment and formatting of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, and SAR image formation algorithms using such method and system | An along-track alignment and formatting system (ATAFS) formats synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to align and format signals from scatterers in a scene to achieve an ideal data format in the along-track dimension in which such ideal data format leads to improved image quality of an image based on the SAR data and/or reduced computational burden for generating an image based on the SAR data. Two aspects of the ATAFS include: 1) the division of data stabilization into two distinct steps, and 2) the along-track (or slow-time) migration of signal support of scatterers as a function of their along-track location. A suite of SAR image formation algorithms use the ATAFS in conjunction with conventional signal processing stages to transform input coherent signal data into a complex image with image quality and geometric accuracy commensurate with the inherent information content of the input data. | Walter G. Carrara (Ann Arbor, MI), Rondal S. Goodman (Novi, MI), Mark A. Ricoy (Ann Arbor, MI) | General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc. (Arlington, VA) | 2003-07-09 | 2005-03-29 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/615687 |
| 731 | 6870500 | Side looking SAR system | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processes radar has a transmit aperture and a receive aperture that is of a different size from the transmit aperture. The receive aperture is separated from the transmit aperture and is divided into a number of receive sub-apertures arranged in the elevation and azimuth directions. Circuitry is used to process the received radar signal coherently by phase shifting each receive sub-aperture signal by a time and/or frequency variant phase value and by summing the resulting signals from receive sub-apertures arrayed along the elevation direction, whereby the time and/or frequency variant phase value is generated in such a way that the radar echo signal is maximized in the summed signal as the radar transmit signal runs over the earth's surface. | Martin Suess (Leiden, NL), Werner Wiesbeck (Keltern-Ellmendingen, DE) | Eads Astrium Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2004-03-30 | 2002-02-07 | 2005-03-22 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 |
| 732 | 6870499 | System and method for increasing resistance to target vibrations in synthetic aperture radar signals | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system includes a transmitter capable of transmitting a pair of signals that each have a predetermined frequency in the optical band of the electromagnetic spectrum. The predetermined frequency can be selected, for example, to provide a level of resistance to at least one of movement of the target, target vibration and optical path length variations, and can further be selected based upon a predefined range and azimuth resolution. The SAR system also includes a receiver capable of receiving at least a portion of the pair of signals that has been reflected off of a target. In this regard, the receiver is capable of processing the reflected portion of the pair of signals based upon a difference frequency between the transmitted pair of signals. | Richard H. Burns (Toluca Lake, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2003-05-30 | 2005-03-22 | G01S17/89, G01S17/00, G01S17/50, G01S013/00, G01C003/08 | 10/448875 |
| 733 | 6866632 | Adaptive receive aperture for ultrasound image reconstruction | A method for adaptively determining reconstruction signals in an ultrasound system comprises determining a size of a receive aperture, comparing the size of receive aperture at each imaging point with a predetermined number of reconstruction channels, if the size of the receive aperture is not greater than the number of reconstruction channels, processing received echo signals for the receive aperture to produce an ultrasonic image, and if the size of the receive aperture is greater than the number of reconstruction channels, preprocessing the received echo signals to produce reconstruction signals, the number of reconstruction signals being equal to the number of reconstruction channels. The reconstruction signals are further processed to produce an ultrasonic image. In one embodiment, the receive aperture is a function of location of an imaging point in a medium under investigation. | Ching-Hua Chou (Fremont, CA), Glen W. McLanghlin (Saratoga, CA), Larry Y. L. Mo (San Ramon, CA), Ting-Lan Ji (San Jose, CA) | Zonare Medical Systems, Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2002-09-18 | 2005-03-15 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, A61B008/00 | 10/246854 |
| 734 | 6864965 | Dual-mode focal plane array for missile seekers | A single dual mode monolithic focal plane array having an active sensor and a passive sensing capability is switched from one mode to the other by switching the bias across the cells of the array from a passive IR mode to an active LADAR mode, with the monolithic dual mode focal plane array having applications in missile target seekers and laser target designators. The switching is accomplished by increasing the gain of the array by as much as 30 times that associated with IR detection when laser return pulses are expected. Thus, there need be no mechanical changes to the array to afford both passive IR sensing and an active LADAR pulse detector. Nor need there be two different focal plane arrays, one for IR and one for laser radiation, which leads to boresighted alignment problems. | Michael E. DeFlumere (Winchester, MA) | Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Nashua, NH) | 2002-12-31 | 2005-03-08 | G01S17/89, G01S17/02, G01S17/00, G01S7/481, F41G7/20, F41G3/06, F41G7/22, F41G3/00, G01J5/02, G01C003/08, G01B011/26 | 10/334826 |
| 735 | 6864830 | Device and method for alert and density altitude features in a transponder | A transponder having a subsystem for providing an altitude alert function signifying a deviation from a set altitude is described. The subsystem includes an input for receiving an altitude deviation limit associated with the set altitude, a CPU receiving updated altitude and determining a difference between the updated altitude and the set altitude associated with the altitude deviation limit, and a transponder subsystem output device for providing the difference between the updated altitude and the set altitude to a user. | Robert W. Billings (Shawnee, KS) | Garmin Ltd. (KY) | 2003-03-03 | 2005-03-08 | G01S13/00, G01S13/76, G01S013/94, G01S013/74 | 10/378466 |
| 736 | 6864828 | Method and apparatus for collection and processing of interferometric synthetic aperture radar data | A system and method provide for the collection of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) data. In the system, a first space vehicle configured for emitting electro-magnetic energy and collecting the reflection from a region of interest (ROI) , may be directed along a first orbital track. The collected image data may be stored and later provided to a ground station for image and interferometric processing. A second space vehicle may also be configured for emission and collection of electro-magnetic energy reflected from the plurality of ROI's. The second space vehicle is positioned in an aligned orbit with respect to the first space vehicle where the separation between the vehicles is known. In order to minimize decorrelation of the ROI during image processing, the lead and trail satellite are configured to substantially simultaneously emit electromagnetic pulses image data collection. In order to avoid interference in the collection of this image data, each system is configured to control the emission of pulses such that the receipt of direct and bistatic pulses by the other vehicles does not interfere with data collection. | Arthur C. Golubiewski (Littleton, CO), Randall Schnathorst (Littleton, CO) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2003-11-07 | 2005-03-08 | G01S13/87, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/704293 |
| 737 | 6864827 | Digital intermediate frequency receiver module for use in airborne SAR applications | A digital IF receiver (DRX) module directly compatible with advanced radar systems such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems. The DRX can combine a 1 G-Sample/sec 8-bit ADC with high-speed digital signal processor, such as high gate-count FPGA technology or ASICs to realize a wideband IF receiver. DSP operations implemented in the DRX can include quadrature demodulation and multi-rate, variable-bandwidth IF filtering. Pulse-to-pulse (Doppler domain) filtering can also be implemented in the form of a presummer (accumulator) and an azimuth prefilter. An out of band noise source can be employed to provide a dither signal to the ADC, and later be removed by digital signal processing. Both the range and Doppler domain filtering operations can be implemented using a unique pane architecture which allows on-the-fly selection of the filter decimation factor, and hence, the filter bandwidth. The DRX module can include a standard VME-64 interface for control, status, and programming. An interface can provide phase history data to the real-time image formation processors. A third front-panel data port (FPDP) interface can send wide bandwidth, raw phase histories to a real-time phase history recorder for ground processing. | Bertice L. Tise (Albuquerque, NM), Dale F. Dubbert (Cedar Crest, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2003-10-15 | 2005-03-08 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/686379 |
| 738 | 6861978 | Method and system for mutual coherent synthetic aperture radiometry | Method and system for synthetic aperture radiometry not limited by the Van Cittert-Zernike theorem and the quasi-monochromatic assumption. A radiometer system (300) for imaging the emissions from a distribution of incoherent emission sources located within a target area comprising a first antenna (322) configured to receive a first signal (326) emitted primarily from a target area, and a second antenna (324) configured to receive a second signal (327) emitted primarily from the target area. The first and second antennas may be located at approximately the same distance from the target area (310) or at substantially different distances from the target area (310) . The radiometer system (300) is configured to allow the second antenna (324) to move faster than the first antenna (322) with respect to the target area (310) , with the second antenna (324) moving along a pre-determined trajectory corresponding to a synthetic aperture (430) . A cross correlation receiver (330) computes a plurality of cross correlation functions as based on all relevant relative time delays between the first signal (326) and the second signal (327) . The image processor (340) converts computed correlation data (332) into a plurality of complex valued radial down range profiles of the target area and further computes an image of the target area based on synthetic aperture image processing principle. | Larry K. Lam (San Jose, CA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2003-02-14 | 2005-03-01 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S003/02, G01S013/00 | 10/367621 |
| 739 | 6861971 | Transponder having high phase stability, particularly for synthetic aperture radar, or sar, systems | A transceiver or transponder particularly for synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, systems, operating in a frequency band having a central frequency, the transponder comprising a receiver (1) and a transmitter (2) both thermally stable and made by microstrip technology, the receiver (1) and the transmitter (2) being adapted to receive and to transmit, respectively, an electromagnetic wave provided with at least one linear polarisation, the receiver (1) being connected to the transmitter (2) by amplifier means comprising an amplifier unit (5) for each linear polarisation of the wave received by the receiver (1) , each amplifier unit (5) including at least two amplifier stages (7, 9, 11) cascade arranged along a single microstrip and interconnected to one another and to an input and to an output of the corresponding amplifier unit (5) by means of coupling or matching stages (6, 8, 10, 12) , the output signal of each amplifier unit (5) having substantially the same frequency as the input signal thereto, the amplifier units (5) having substantially the same gain, the gain being no lower than 25 dB, the transponder being phase stable so that each linear polarisation of the transmitted electromagnetic wave has phase variations in time no higher than 20.degree., the transponder further comprising electromagnetic decoupling means (4, 14) between the transmitter (2) and the receiver (1) . | Pasquale Russo (Rome, IT), Alessandro Rosa (Rome, IT), Annamria D'Ippolito (Rome, IT) | Tes Teleinformatica E Sistemi S.R.L. (IT) | 2003-12-08 | 2002-06-07 | 2005-03-01 | G01S13/90, G01S13/76, G01S13/00, G01S7/03, H01Q1/22, H01Q1/52, H01Q1/00, G01S013/90, G01S013/74 |
| 740 | 6856576 | Method for determining echo distance using autocorrelation in time of flight ranging systems | A method and system for echo processing a receive signal using autocorrelation. A receive signal is sampled, digitized and high-pass filtered. A correlation signal is created by adding the filtered signal to a copy of the filtered signal shifted by a time unit. A set of correlation signals is created by repeating the process for a range of time units corresponding to a set of sequential sample points. Each correlation signal has a correlation indicator evidencing the strength of the correlation. The correlation signal having the highest correlation strength is identified, and the time shift used to create it is identified as the time of flight of the echo pulse. The echo distance is then calculated based upon the time of flight and the speed of propagation of the echo in the environment. The correlation indicator may the maximum peak value of the correlation signal. | Nigel Ashley Preston (Peterborough, CA) | Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments Inc. (Peterborough, CA) | 2003-09-29 | 2005-02-15 | G01F23/296, G01S15/00, G01S15/10, G01S7/527, G01S7/523, G01S015/08, G01F023/00 | 10/674868 |
| 741 | 6856380 | Aerial vehicle speed error correlation method for two-dimensional visual reproduction of laser radar imaging | An aerial vehicle speed correlation method for two-dimensional visual reproduction of laser radar images of the present invention is capable of altering and controlling the output timing of the invention's laser radar system rated output lines based on the moving distance and the speed of an aerial vehicle. The speed error correlation method of the present invention is not limited to outputting one output line for every scanned line (N) for reducing the accumulation of geometric distortion error along the in-track direction of the scan frame. The speed correlation method of the present invention uses a set of generated fire table of equation to correct tangential error along the cross-track direction and to improve the reproduction quality of the laser radar images. | Kwo-Jyr Wong (Taipei, TW), Kuo-Shu Chang (Taipei, TW), Re-Fun Chen (Taoyuan Hsein, TW) | Chun-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (Taoyuan, TW) | 2003-01-06 | 2005-02-15 | G01S17/89, G01S17/00, G01S7/48, G01S7/497, G01C003/08, H04N007/18, G06K009/00 | 10/336846 |
| 742 | 6856273 | Miniature radio-acoustic sounding system for low altitude wind and precipitation measurements | The present invention is directed to a radio-acoustic sounding system for providing wind measurements at altitudes of 100 meters or less. Wind measurements are obtained by transmitting a pulse of audio frequency energy through one or more volumes corresponding to the coverage area of one or more radio frequency transceivers. The frequency of the audio pulse is selected to have a wavelength that is one-half the wavelength of the electromagnetic energy transmitted by the antenna or antennas. By monitoring a return radio frequency signal at selected times following the transmission of the audio pulse, wind data is obtained at selected altitudes. Wind speed and direction can be obtained by observing the Doppler frequency shift of return radio frequency signals, or by observing the amplitude of the return radio frequency signals. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, precipitation measurements may be made by transmitting a radio frequency signal at the same radio frequency as is used in connection with wind measurements, and observing return radio frequency signals. | John A. Bognar (Westminster, CO) | --- | 2003-01-24 | 2005-02-15 | G01S13/95, G01S13/86, G01F1/66, G01S13/00, G01S013/00, G01F013/00, G01P005/00 | 10/350771 |
| 743 | 6853328 | Airborne biota monitoring and control system | A method and system for identifying harmful airborne biota, particularly insects, and including plant material, such as mold spores and pollen, and flying insects and birds and either killing ordisabling the harmful airborne biota is disclosed. Lasers, radar, and other types of radiation may be used to illuminate at least a perimeter around assets to be protected, with radiation returns detected and applied to a pattern classifier to determine whether the detected insects of interests are harmful, benign or beneficial. In the event the insects are determined to be harmful, a variety of measures responsive to the radiation returns may be taken to eliminate the harmful insects, these measures including firing pulses of beamed energy or radiation of a sufficient intensity to at least incapacitate them, or mechanical measures such as controlled drone aircraft to track and kill the pests. | David L Guice (Brownsboro, AL), Augustus H. Green (New Market, AL), William V. Dent (Huntsville, AL) | --- | 2003-11-25 | 2005-02-08 | A01M1/02, A01M31/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S013/88, A01M001/22 | 10/721112 |
| 744 | 6825792 | Missile detection and neutralization system | The present invention is intended to provide a system for determining the precise launch point of ballistic missiles, and may additionally provide the capability of neutralizing said threats. The invention provides a mobile object information means configured to classify electromagnetic frequency activity within satellite and land based commercial and private broadcast and telecommunications spectra in a given geographical area, said means also configured to classify associated area weather normality and anomalies. The system includes a software algorithm configured to extract from said database, a missile launch in a given geographical zone by ''tagging'' an electromagnetic wave disturbance caused by the high intensity initial fuel burn of said missile launch. Additionally, the system is intended to affect the electrical functioning of a missile guidance system or warhead detonator by transmitting a precisely tuned frequency wave combination from a defensive missile borne frequency generator, or from a network of satellite or land based transmitters. | Howard Letovsky (Willits, CA) | --- | 2003-10-06 | 2004-11-30 | G01S13/88, G01S13/66, G01S13/00, H05H3/00, G01S013/88, G01S013/66, H05H003/00 | 10/680779 |
| 745 | 6819265 | Advanced warning ice detection system for aircraft | An ice detection warning system mountable on board an aircraft for inflight monitoring of the airspace ahead of the aircraft comprises: a first plurality of optical elements configured to direct a pulsed laser beam at a first wavelength from a laser source into the airspace ahead of the aircraft, a second plurality of optical elements configured to separate received backscattering of light from the laser beam into a plurality of predetermined wavelengths, a plurality of light detectors for detecting the light of the separated plurality of wavelengths, respectively, and generating respectively corresponding plurality of electrical signals representative of the light detected thereby, and a processor for processing the plurality of electrical signals to determine if airspace conditions ahead of the aircraft are likely to cause ice accretion on the surface of the aircraft, and for generating a warning indicative thereof. In one embodiment, the warning system includes an optical scanner operative to scan the pulsed laser beam into the airspace ahead of the aircraft with a predetermined scan pattern, the scanner also being operative to receive the backscattering of light from the pulsed laser beam and direct it to the second plurality of optical elements which is configured to separate the received backscattering of light into the plurality of predetermined wavelengths. | James R. Jamieson (Savage, MN), Mark D. Ray (Burnsville, MN) | Rosemount Aerospace Inc. (Burnsville, MN) | 2002-08-22 | 2004-11-16 | B64D15/00, B64D15/20, G01S17/95, G01S17/00, G01N21/21, G08B19/02, G08B19/00, G01S17/87, G01S17/42, G01S7/48, G01S7/499, G08B021/00 | 10/225610 |
| 746 | 6816436 | Method for echo processing in time-of-flight or level measurement systems | A method for processing echoes in a time-of-flight ranging system or level measurement system. The method comprises an initial noise floor level and identifying potential echoes in an echo signal above the initial noise floor level and a noise signal below the initial noise floor level. One or more portions of the initial noise floor level are modified and an adjusted noise floor level is generated by applying a cubic spline algorithm to the modified portions and the initial noise floor level. The adjusted noise floor level is then used to identify valid echoes in the echo signal and generate an echo signal profile. | Darcy Bachert (Ajax, CA) | Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments Inc. (Peterborough, Ontario, CA) | 2003-05-21 | 2004-11-09 | G01S7/527, G01S7/523, G01S15/00, G01S15/10, G01S015/08 | 10/444055 |
| 747 | 6812890 | Voice recognition landing fee billing system | An apparatus and method are described for generating landing fee and other airport service bills automatically. The system automatically detects aircraft N-number from air traffic control voice data using a voice recognition system and determines aircraft landing and departure events from one or more remote sensor units which determine aircraft vicinity or actual aircraft track. From the landing and departure data and the voice-recognized registration number, the system automatically bills aircraft owners for landing fees based upon this voice recognition as well as upon aircraft position detection. | Alexander E. Smith (McLean, VA), Robert Bradley (Clifton, VA) | Rannoch Corporation (Alexandria, VA) | 2002-12-16 | 2004-11-02 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G08G5/04, G08G5/06, G08G5/00, G01S003/02 | 10/319725 |
| 748 | 6812885 | Radio altimeter test method and apparatus | A method, apparatus and circuit for testing a radio altimeter is disclosed. During the test-mode operation of the altimeter, a signal processor controls a transmitter to generate a radio frequency signal at a first period of time, which is transmitted through an attenuator, transmitted then through a receiver and received by the signal processor at a second period of time for processing of altimeter operational information. | William Howard Brettner, III (Goodyear, AZ), Robert Stebbins Doyle (Peoria, AZ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2002-05-24 | 2004-11-02 | G01S7/40, G01S13/88, G01S13/00, G01S013/08, G01S007/40 | 10/155587 |
| 749 | 6804608 | Method and system for conducting airborne gravity surveys | This invention concerns an aircraft equipped for conducting airborne gravity surveys. In another aspect it concerns a process for creating airborne gravity surveys. The aircraft is equipped to perform the method using measured attitude data, laser range data and scan angle data, and aircraft position data. | James Beresford Lee (New Lambton Heights, AU), Timothy John Monks (late of Brighton, AU), Peter Mitchell Stone (Ripponlea, AU), Robert John Turner (Shortland, AU) | Bhp Billiton Innovation Pty. Ltd. (Melbourne, AU) | 2002-05-24 | 2004-10-12 | G01S17/89, G01C11/02, G01S17/00, G01C11/00, G01V7/00, G01V7/16, G01V007/16 | 10/155933 |
| 750 | 6789016 | Integrated airborne transponder and collision avoidance system | An airborne collision avoidance system includes a receiver stage constructed and arranged to detect (a) at a first radio frequency, first interrogation signals, and first collision resolution advisory (RA) signals transmitted from other nearby aircraft, and (b) at a second radio frequency, first acquisition signals including position information with respect to the nearby aircraft, and first reply signals from the nearby aircraft. A transmitter stage is constructed to produce (a) at the first radio frequency, second interrogation signals and second collision RA signals, and (b) at the second radio frequency, second acquisition signals including position information with respect to the given aircraft, and second reply signals from the given aircraft in response to the first interrogation signals. Tracking and collision avoidance information derived by a system processor from the detected first acquisition and first RA signals is shown on a cockpit display. The receiver and the transmitter stages are coupled to a single pair of upper and lower fuselage antennas through a T/R switch module. | Carl Raymond Bayh (Ronkonkoma, NY), Paul F. Drobnicki (Holbrook, NY), Scott Esbin (Massapequa, NY), Michael Murphy (Centerport, NY), Randolph Purdy (Sayville, NY), David Wolff (Hauppauge, NY) | Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Greenlawn, NY) | 2002-06-12 | 2004-09-07 | G01S13/00, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G06F019/00, G06F007/00 | 10/167905 |
| 751 | 6783497 | Two-dimensional ultrasonic array with asymmetric apertures | A sparse array that uses a small fraction of a fully populated array but yields a radiation pattern that is suitable for high quality medical imaging. The sparse array consists of two or more separate zones for transmitting and receiving as opposed to the overlapping arrays of the prior art. More specifically, a preferred embodiment sets forth an inner array of transmit elements with a narrow effective aperture and a separate non-overlapping outer array of receive elements with a wide effective aperture. The combination of asymmetric apertures is particularly useful for parallel processing applications. This abstract is provided as a tool for those searching for patents, and not as a limitation on the scope of the claims. | Stephen Michael Grenon (Hillsborough, NC), Ronald E. Hileman (Durham, NC) | Volumetrics Medical Imaging, Inc. (Hillsborough, NC) | 2002-05-23 | 2004-08-31 | A61B8/12, G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G10K11/34, G10K11/00, A61B008/14 | 10/154149 |
| 752 | 6775520 | Synthetic-aperture communications receivers | The relative movement of a receiver and transmitter in a communications system is used to advantage by electronically synthesizing a larger apparent antenna aperture, thereby increasing signal-to-noise ratio. The approach may be used regardless of whether the transmitter is fixed and the user or vehicle is moving, or the user or vehicle is fixed and the transmitter is moving. According to the method, the apparent angle between the receiver and transmitter is determined relative to the direction of movement and used to produce time-delayed replicas of the received signaling stream which are coherently added to synthesize the increased apparent receiver antenna aperture. Since only the receiver is modified according to the invention, existing transmitters and infrastructures can be used without modification. Although some data buffering is required, only a few number of beams need to be synthesized, in contrast to more complex military SAR configurations. | Nikola Subotic (Ann Arbor, MI), Christopher Roussi (Kalamazoo, MI), Joseph Burns (Ann Arbor, MI) | Altarum Institute (Ann Arbor, MI) | 2003-01-22 | 2004-08-10 | H04B1/707, H04B7/01, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, H04B015/00, G01S013/90 | 10/348736 |
| 753 | 6769349 | Multi-fiber cylinder position sensor using time-of-flight technique | A hydraulic actuator is disclosed having a cylinder with a piston that is moved by hydraulic fluid. A light guide in one end of the cylinder directs a laser beam into the cylinder, and off the piston where the beam is reflected. The beam then exits the cylinder through at least two light guides connected to two corresponding optical fibers. Each of the optical fibers are joined together into one fiber that carries the reflected beam of light to a photo-diode located remote from the cylinder. A control circuit measures the time of flight of the laser beam. | Mohammad Javaid Arshad (Naperville, IL), Alan D. Berger (Winfield, IL), Daniel L. Maierhafer (Seneca, SC), Danley C. Chan (Chicago, IL) | Case Corporation (Racine, WI) | 2001-06-04 | 2004-08-03 | G01S17/10, G01S17/00, G01S7/481, G01S17/88, F01B031/12 | 09/872874 |
| 754 | 6750807 | Radar altimeter with forward obstacle avoidance capabilities | A radar altimeter is described which includes a transmitter for transmitting a radar signal, a receiver for receiving the reflected radar signal, and at least one antenna coupled to one or both of the transmitter and receiver. The altimeter also includes a forward facing millimeter wave (MMW) antenna configured to move in a scanning motion and a frequency up/down converter coupled to the MMW antenna, the transmitter, and the receiver, and a radar signal processor. The converter up converts a frequency received from the transmitter to a MMW frequency for transmission through the MMW antenna, and down converts frequencies received to a radar frequency which are output to the receiver. The radar signal processor controls scanning motion of the MMW antenna, processes signals received at the antenna for a portion of the scanning motion, and processes signals received at the MMW antenna for other portions of the scanning motion. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Larry D. Almsted (Bloomington, MN), Larry D. Yaeger (Medina, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2003-06-11 | 2004-06-15 | G01S13/00, G01S13/10, G01S7/03, H01Q3/00, H01Q3/20, H01Q1/28, H01Q1/27, G01S13/87, G01S13/94, G01S13/93, H01Q3/08, H01Q3/10, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 10/459142 |
| 755 | 6747576 | Wire detection procedure for low-flying aircraft | In an obstacle device, a front end range imaging sensor is used to scan the viewing field relative to the aircraft, while a navigation system provides information concerning the postion and altitude of the aircraft. A data processor uses these data to generate 3-d scene vectors, such that every range image is converted into a measurement point set, from which the presence of cables or wires is detected using a wire detection procedure based on the Hough Transform. for this purpose, an HT acceleration board is provided, which needs not perform complex floating point operations. The processed results are then input to an evaluation module, which determines whether any detected wires are proximate to the position of the aircraft. | Christoph Schaefer (Friedrichshafen, DE) | Astrium Gmbh (Friedrichshafen, DE) | 2001-11-09 | 2004-06-08 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G06K9/46, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G08B021/00 | 09/986763 |
| 756 | 6741202 | Techniques for 3-dimensional synthetic aperture radar | The height of a radar target above a horizontal plane at a location within the horizontal plane is measured using a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) . The synthetic aperture radar is mounted on a moving platform. The moving platform moves along a continuous climbing path with respect to the horizontal plane acquiring a plurality of SAR arrays of radar return information. Monopulse, Interferometric SAR (IF-SAR) , and shadow length height measurements are fused to refine the target height measurement. Monopulse and IFSAR are combined to resolve target height ambiguities. The SAR arrays are separated vertically, at separate heights with respect to the target, and acquired sequentially in time, as a single pass. | Kapriel V. Krikorian (Oak Park, CA), James G. Chow (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Robert A. Rosen (Simi Valley, CA) | --- | 2003-04-29 | 2004-05-25 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/425217 |
| 757 | 6738009 | System and method for synthetic aperture radar mapping a ground strip having extended range swath | A system and method for mapping a ground strip having an extended range swath includes a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mounted on a moving platform. The ground strip is divided into columns that extend from the near-range edge of the ground strip. Each column contains two or more portions and has an azimuthal length equal to the radar's near-range beamwidth, W. Each column is sequentially illuminated while the platform moves through a distance, L.sub.illum, (equal to the near range beamwidth) . During column illumination, portions within the column are sequentially mapped by altering the depression angle, .phi., of the radar beam. Each portion is SAR mapped using a respective SAR aperture length with the sum of aperture lengths for the column being less than or equal to the distance the platform moves during illumination. The resultant maps are mosaicked together to produce one contiguous SAR map of the ground strip. | Stanley I. Tsunoda (Encinitas, CA) | General Atomics (San Diego, CA) | 2002-12-27 | 2004-05-18 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90, G01S013/89 | 10/330603 |
| 758 | 6736780 | Synthetic aperture focusing method for ultrasound imaging based on planar waves | Planar waves are transmitted to a target object with an angle of wave propagation corresponding to a center position of a receive subaperture. The echo signals reflected from the target object are received by the receive subaperture, stored in a receive pattern memory and dynamic-focused. The dynamic-focused signals are then combined to form at least one beam pattern to produce an ultrasound image. | Tai Kyong Song (Seoul, KR), Jin Ho Chang (Bucheon-si, KR) | Medison Co., Ltd. (Kangwon-do, KR) | 2002-06-25 | 2004-05-18 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, A61B008/00 | 10/180614 |
| 759 | 6731236 | Methods and apparatus for optimizing interferometric radar altimeter cross track accuracy | An apparatus for calibrating a radar altimeter is described. The altimeter provides an angle to a target based on radar energy received at right, left, and ambiguous antennas. The apparatus comprises a turntable on which the radar is mounted, a turntable controller which controls positioning of the radar altimeter, a radar energy source receiving transmit signals from the radar altimeter, a reflector, and a calibration unit. The reflector reflects and collimates radar energy from the radar source towards the radar altimeter. The calibration unit receives an angle from the controller indicative of a position of the radar altimeter with respect to the collimated radar energy and a measured angle from the radar altimeter. The calibration unit calculates a correction based on differences between the angle received from the turntable and the measured angle received from the altimeter and provides the calibration correction to the altimeter. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Larry D. Almsted (Bloomington, MN), Lavell Jordan (Bloomington, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2003-06-11 | 2004-05-04 | G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S7/40, G01S13/88, G01S007/40 | 10/459137 |
| 760 | 6720906 | Constant altitude weather and all weather display | A system, method, and computer program product for allowing a pilot to view weather hazards at a selected altitude or within a range of altitudes. The weather display system includes a memory, a processor, and a display device. The memory stores radar return data in a three-dimensional buffer. The processor is coupled to the memory and retrieves radar return data stored in the three-dimensional buffer that corresponds to an altitude. The processor generates an image of the retrieved radar return data. The display device displays the generated image. | Roland Y. Szeto (Seattle, WA), Bill G. Cornell (Bellevue, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2002-02-19 | 2004-04-13 | G01S13/95, G01S7/10, G01S7/04, G01S13/00, G01S013/95, G01S007/04, G01S007/20 | 10/079477 |
| 761 | 6704098 | Method and arrangement for the contactless measuring of distance and position in respect of aircraft docking procedures | A method and apparatus for the contactless measuring of distances to aircraft when positioning the aircraft, such as when docking or parking. A scanning laser is arranged in front of the aircraft to be positioned and is directed toward a centerline along which an aircraft is to be moved in the course of positioning the aircraft. The laser emits measuring pulses stepwise or incrementally at different angles to detect a predetermined measurement volume. The laser is calibrated with the distance from the laser to the ground for at least some of the angles, and the distances at those angles is measured during positioning of an aircraft. The measured distances are compared with the calibrated distances, and the laser is considered to have measured the correct distance when there is a predetermined agreement between the measured distance and a calibrated distance corresponding with the same angle. | Nils-Erik Anderberg (Trelleborg, SE) | Fmt International Trade Ab (Trelleborg, SE) | 2002-06-29 | 2004-03-09 | B64F1/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/88, G01S17/42, G01S7/497, G01S7/48, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01C003/08, G01C001/00, G01B011/26 | 10/185421 |
| 762 | 6697012 | Altitude estimation system and method | A system and method for detecting and tracking a target object, including the calculation of the target object's altitude, is disclosed. During the processing of signals received by a receiver, the system selectively calculates the altitude of the target object from signals modified by an interference effect pattern formed by the signals broadcast by a transmitter, or from the calculation of geometric shapes associated with three or more transmitters and determining the intersection point of those shapes. | Richard A. Lodwig (Gaithersburg, MD), Bonnie L. Adams (Gaithersburg, MD), Gregory A. Baker (Colorado Springs, CO) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Gaithersburg, MD) | 2002-05-06 | 2004-02-24 | G01S13/72, G01S13/08, G01S13/00, G01S013/08 | 10/138376 |
| 763 | 6686874 | Process for calibrating radar signals at subapertures of an antenna of two-channel SAR/MTI radar system | In a process for computing the radar signals present at the output of two subapertures of an antenna of a two-channel radar system, the two subaperture channels are combined by means of a wave guide part to a sum and difference channel, and the signals of the sum and difference channel are used to compute the radar signals at the subaperture channels. The signals of the two subaperture channels are computed from the amplitude- and phase-shifted sum and difference channel signal by being placed in the following equations: ##EQU1## wherein X.sub.1 (r,f) , X.sub.2 (r,f) : Frequency spectrum of the two subaperture channels, X.sub.S (r,f) ,X.sub.D (r,f) : Frequency spectrum of the sum and difference channel, r: distance cell, f: Doppler frequency, .PHI..sub.0 : phase correction factor, and a.sub.0 : amplitude correction factor. | Bernhard Bickert (Ulm-Einsingen, DE), Jochen Meyer-Hilberg (Elchingen, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2002-09-23 | 2004-02-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/524, G01S007/40 | 10/252005 |
| 764 | 6677886 | Weather and airborne clutter suppression using a cluster shape classifier | A method of determining the presence of a weather or other airborne (non-aircraft) clutter in a radar detection system is disclosed. The method includes feature calculations of a cluster of detections, and characterizing the cluster. Confidence factors are determined from the characterization of a cluster and a determination is made from the confidence factors whether the cluster represents a real aircraft or a false target. | Yuchoi Francis Lok (Framingham, MA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 2002-10-28 | 2004-01-13 | G01S13/95, G01S7/41, G01S13/91, G01S7/02, G01S13/00, G01S013/95 | 10/281573 |
| 765 | 6677885 | Method for mitigating atmospheric propagation error in multiple pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar | Signal processing methods useful in single-antenna multiple-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radars. The signal processing methods compute an initial elevation estimate from the phase difference between a pair of images (A.sub.0, A.sub.1) with a relatively small elevation angle difference (i.e., a short interferometric baseline) and uses it to initialize the elevation estimation process for pairs of images (A.sub.0, A.sub.2) with longer interferometric baselines. The method may be used to process images that are coherent, or not necessarily mutually coherent. The outputs of the methods comprise a terrain elevation map that mitigates for atmospheric error and a turbulence map. | Robert T. Frankot (Tucson, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2003-01-02 | 2004-01-13 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/335682 |
| 766 | 6677884 | Satellite configuration for interferometric and/or tomographic remote sensing by means of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) | For interferometric and/or tomographic remote sensing by means of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) one to N receiver satellites and/or transmitter satellites and/or transceiver satellites with a horizontal across-track shift the same or differing in amplitude form a configuration of satellites orbiting at the same altitude and same velocity. Furthermore, a horizontal along-track separation, constant irrespective of the orbital position, is adjustable between the individual receiver satellites. In this arrangement one or more receiver satellites orbiting at the same altitude and with the same velocity are provided with a horizontal across-track shift varying over the orbit such that the maximum of the horizontal across-track shift occurs over a different orbital position for each satellite, the maxima of the horizontal across-track shifts are positioned so that the baselines are optimized for across-track interferometry. A transmitter or transceiver satellite is positioned either separate from the configuration without across-track shift or as part of the configuration with horizontal across-track shift. | Alberto Moreira (Garching, DE), Gerhard Krieger (Planegg, DE), Josef Mittermayer (Munchen, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 2002-07-01 | 2004-01-13 | B64G1/10, B64G1/00, B64G1/24, G01S13/87, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, B64G1/66, G01S013/90 | 10/186829 |
| 767 | 6677683 | System for supplying power to ROSAR transponders, including transmitting and receiving antennas for ROSAR devices | In a system for supplying power to ROSAR transmitting and receiving antennas that are integrated into the tip of a helicopter rotor blade, wind energy is converted directly into electrical energy locally at the rotor blade tip. | Helmut Klausing (Hochstadt, DE), Horst Kaltschmidt (Neubiberg, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2002-01-18 | 2004-01-13 | G01S13/86, H01L41/113, H02K44/00, G01S7/02, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, H01L041/00 | 10/050894 |
| 768 | 6670920 | System and method for single platform, synthetic aperture geo-location of emitters | The determination of the geographical location of a signal emitter by the coherent, time integrated measurement of received signal wavefront phase differences through a synthetic aperture and the reconstruction of the wavefront of the received signal. The location of an emitter is determined by coherently measuring the phase gradient of an emitted signal at measurement points across a measurement aperture. Each measured phase gradient is integrated to determine a vector having a direction from the measurement point to the signal emitter and an amplitude proportional to the received signal. A figure of merit is determined for each possible location of the signal emitter by integrating each vector with respect to a propagation path between the measurement point of the vector and the possible location of the signal emitter, and the location of the signal emitter is determined as the possible location of the signal emitter having the highest figure of merit. The measurement aperture is generated by motion of a receiving aperture along the path and the receiving aperture is generated as by synthetic aperture methods. The receiving aperture may be mounted on an airborne platform and a positional towed body. | David L. Herrick (Mont Vernon, NH) | Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Nashua, NH) | 2002-08-15 | 2003-12-30 | G01S5/06, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S5/04, G01S3/14, G01S3/48, G01S003/16, G01S005/04 | 10/219103 |
| 769 | 6661369 | Focusing SAR images formed by RMA with arbitrary orientation | A system and method (44) for focusing an image oriented in an arbitrary direction when the collected synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is processed using range migration algorithm (RMA) . In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, first (60) the data is skewed so that the direction of smearing in the image is aligned with one of the spatial frequency axes of the image. In the illustrative embodiment, the smearing is aligned in the vertical direction. This is done through a phase adjustment that was derived from the requirements for proper shift in the spatial frequency domain. Next (62) , the signal support areas from all targets are aligned by proper phase adjustment in the spatial (or image) domain. Finally (64) , the common phase error can be corrected using autofocus algorithms. | Kwang M. Cho (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-09 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/89 | 10/159444 |
| 770 | 6661368 | Control of reflected electromagnetic fields at an IFSAR antenna | A system for reducing multi-path reflections from adjacent metal objects which cause distortion in an IFSAR includes a reflective cone extending between the top of the IFSAR and the skin of its aircraft, and a reflective shroud surrounding the IFSAR. Each of these components may be coated with radar absorbing material. | Steven E. Allen (Albuquerque, NM), Billy C. Brock (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2001-10-29 | 2003-12-09 | G01S7/02, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, H01Q1/28, H01Q1/27, H01Q1/52, H01Q1/00, G01S013/90 | 10/052928 |
| 771 | 6653971 | Airborne biota monitoring and control system | A method and system for detecting airborne plant material, such as mold spores and pollen, and flying insects and birds, and classifying them as to whether they are harmful to field crops, production animals or other assets within a protected volume or area. Lasers, radar, and other types of radiation may be used to illuminate at least a perimeter around such assets to be protected, with radiation returns detected and applied to a pattern classifier to determine whether the detected objects of interest are harmful, benign or beneficial. In the event the objects are determined to be harmful (pests) , a variety of measures controllable via the radiation returns may be taken to eliminate the harmful objects, these measures including firing pulses of laser, microwave or other radiation of a sufficient intensity to at least incapacitate them, or mechanical measures such as controlled drone aircraft to macerate the pests with propellers or spray limited amounts of pesticide in the area of the pests. | David L. Guice (Brownsboro, AL), Augustus H. Green (New Market, AL), William V. Dent, Jr. (Huntsville, AL) | --- | 2000-05-14 | 2003-11-25 | A01M1/02, A01M31/00, G01S13/88, G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S013/88, A01M001/22 | 09/571295 |
| 772 | 6650273 | Change subtraction of synthetic aperture radar data | A method (100) for coherent change subtraction of mission and reference synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data (20',20'') is provided. The method (100) forms (102) mission and reference images (22',22'') from the mission and reference SAR data (20',20'') , registers (122) the mission and reference images (22',22'') on a common plane to form registered mission and reference images (24',24'') , and forms (124) the registered mission and reference images (24',24'') into at least one patch (26) containing mission and reference data (28',28'') . The method (100) then processes (126) each patch (26) by removing (130) linear phase terms (34) from the mission data (28') , trimming (142) non-overlapping spectra of the mission and reference data (28',28'') , and balancing (144) phases and amplitudes of the mission data (28') . The method (100) then concatenates (160) the patches (26) to produce processed mission and reference images (52',52'') , and subtracts (162) the processed mission and reference images (52',52'') to form a delta image (54) . The method (100) then postprocesses (164,170) the delta image (54) for specific applications. | Kenneth Fell Obenshain (Manassas, VA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Goodyear, AZ) | 2002-05-06 | 2003-11-18 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/139953 |
| 773 | 6633253 | Dual synthetic aperture radar system | The dual synthetic aperture array system processes returns from the receiving arrays. The two identical receiving arrays employing displaced phase center antenna techniques subtract the corresponding spectrally processed data to cancel clutter. It is further processed that a moving target is detected and its velocity, angular position and range is measured, in or out of the presence of clutter. There are many techniques presented in the disclosure. These techniques are basically independent but are related based on common set of fundamental set of mathematical equations, understanding of radar principles and the implementations involved. These many techniques may be employed singly and/or in combination depending on the application and accuracy required. They are supported by a system that includes, optimization of the number of apertures, pulse repetition frequencies, DPCA techniques to cancel clutter, adaptive techniques to cancel clutter, motion compensation, weighting function for clutter and target, and controlling the system in most optimum fashion to attain the objective of the disclosure. | Thomas J. Cataldo (Commack, NY) | --- | 2002-04-01 | 2003-10-14 | G01S13/524, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S013/90 | 10/114156 |
| 774 | 6617997 | Method of determining radio frequency link reliability in an aircraft tracking system | An aircraft system and method for determining when to attempt acquisition of an intruder for active tracking. A link reliability score associated with the intruder is adjusted based upon the signal strength of transmissions, the frequency of the transmissions, and the number of previous attempts to acquire the intruder for active tracking. | Kathryn W. Ybarra (Surprise, AZ), David J. Johnson (Glendale, AZ) | Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems, Llc (Phoenix, AZ) | 2002-01-03 | 2003-09-09 | G08G5/00, G01S13/78, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G08G5/04, G01S13/00, G01S013/93 | 10/038134 |
| 775 | 6611234 | System and method for position determination by impulse radio using round trip time-of-flight | A system and a method for position determination by impulse radio using a first transceiver having a first clock providing a first reference signal and a second transceiver placed spaced from the first transceiver. The system determines the position of the second transceiver. The second transceiver has a second clock that provides a second reference signal. A first sequence of pulses are transmitted from the first transceiver. The first sequence of pulses are then received at the second transceiver and the second transceiver is then synchronized with the first sequence of pulses. A second sequence of pulses are transmitted from the second transceiver. The first transceiver receives the second sequence of pulses and the first transceiver is synchronized with the second sequence of pulses. A delayed first reference signal is generated in response to the synchronization with the second sequence of pulses. A time difference between the delayed first reference signal and the first reference signal is then measured. The time difference indicates a total time of flight of the first and second sequence of pulses. The distance between the first and the second transceiver is determined from the time difference. The direction of the second transceiver from the first transceiver is determined using a directional antenna. Finally, the position of the second transceiver is determined using the distance and the direction. | Larry W. Fullerton (Huntsville, AL), James L. Richards (Fayetteville, TN), Ivan A. Cowie (Madison, AL) | Time Domain Corporation (Huntsville, AL) | 2001-09-18 | 2003-08-26 | G01S13/76, G01S13/00, G01S13/42, G01S003/02 | 09/954204 |
| 776 | 6608586 | Method for removing RFI from SAR images | A method of removing RFI from a SAR by comparing two SAR images on a pixel by pixel basis and selecting the pixel with the lower magnitude to form a composite image. One SAR image is the conventional image produced by the SAR. The other image is created from phase-history data which has been filtered to have the frequency bands containing the RFI removed. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2002-07-25 | 2003-08-19 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S7/288, G01S7/285, G01S7/292, G01S013/90 | 10/205658 |
| 777 | 6608584 | System and method for bistatic SAR image generation with phase compensation | A method and bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging system generate an image of a target area without knowledge of the position or velocity of the illuminator. The system includes an illuminator to illuminate a target area with a null-monopulse radiation pattern interleaved with a sum radiation pattern. The illuminator adjusts the phase terms of the sum radiation pattern to maintain a static electromagnetic field pattern at the target area. A receiver receives the radiation patterns reflected from the target area and generates phase compensation terms by correlating a measured electromagnetic vector field with the known static electromagnetic vector field. The phase compensation terms are used to generate an image of the target area. | David A. Faulkner (Tucson, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 2002-02-12 | 2003-08-19 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/00 | 10/075491 |
| 778 | 6603424 | System, method and computer program product for reducing errors in synthetic aperture radar signals | A system is provided for reducing errors in synthetic aperture radar signals from a plurality of range lines where each range line includes a plurality of azimuth positions. The system comprises an autofocus processor for receiving a plurality of slow-time samples. The autofocus processor can estimate a phase error for each slow-time sample by a maximum likelihood technique and thereafter compensate the plurality of slow-time samples by the estimated phase errors to obtain a plurality of range-line samples. The implementation of the maximum likelihood technique is done by a superresolution technique along slow-time samples which also estimates a plurality of Doppler frequencies and amplitudes for a plurality of point scatterers at each range line. Further, the autofocus processor can also predict the performance of the autofocus technique by computing a resulting root mean square error of the estimated phase error which is derived form the corresponding Cramer Rao bound. | Theagenis J. Abatzoglou (Huntington Beach, CA) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 2002-07-31 | 2003-08-05 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/00 | 10/209093 |
| 779 | 6603423 | Method for detecting wires using the ROSAR system | A ROSAR wire detection method is based upon ROSAR focusing of entire segments of wire. By generating a wire reference signal comprised of a sum of coherent reference signals, the basis for reliable wire detectability is provided. | Helmut Klausing (Hochstadt, DE), Horst Kaltschmidt (Neubiberg, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2002-01-18 | 2003-08-05 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/00 | 10/050895 |
| 780 | 6594200 | Synthetic aperture sonar and synthetic aperture processing method | The present invention provides a method of being able to perform fluctuation correction processing, and to accelerate a traveling speed, without reducing a range and spatial resolution. An actual aperture array is divided into two verniers, and respective verniers simultaneously transmit transmission signals having waveforms different from each other. A waveform separable by reception processing is selected and used as a transmission waveform. It is possible to increase space-sampling points obtained by one ping by separating an acoustic signal received in each vernier. With using this method, overlap points that are phase-equivalent even if a sonar travels at an usual speed are generated, and fluctuations between pings are detected and corrected by an overlap method. Consequently, it is possible to realize a synthetic aperture sonar with high resolution that can perform fluctuation correction by the overlap method with traveling at the usual speed. | Yoshiyuki Nakamura (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 2002-01-16 | 2003-07-15 | G01S7/52, G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G01S15/10, G01S015/89 | 10/046266 |
| 781 | 6592465 | Method and apparatus for monitoring objects in flight | The present invention relates to a methods and apparatus for monitoring objects, such as golf balls, in flight. The methods include providing a plurality of cameras with different orientations with respect to the object's flight path. for example, two cameras can be located downstream of the object's initial position on either side of the flight path and a plurality of other cameras can be located upstream of the object's initial position on one side of the flight path. With such an arrangement, data in three-dimensions can be obtained on the object. Furthermore, the methods can include providing an object with a material for emitting light when excited. for example, a phosphorescent material can be used to provide an object with high contrast as compared to a background that the object is imaged against. With such materials, the methods can include filtering so that the cameras use only light emitted by the object to form images of the object that will be analyzed. The present invention also relates to apparatus incorporating the components used in these methods. | Mitchell E. Lutz (Fairhaven, MA), William Gobush (Dartmouth, MA) | Acushnet Company (Fairhaven, MA) | 2001-08-02 | 2003-07-15 | A63B43/00, A63B43/06, A63B69/36, A63B71/06, G01S17/00, G01S17/58, G01S17/88, H04N005/228, G06F151/00 | 09/921857 |
| 782 | 6577264 | Helicopter-borne radar system | A helicopter-borne radar system has a synthetic aperture with rotating antennae (ROSAR) . The antennae for transmitting and receiving radar pulses are arranged at the end of each arm rotating with the rotor, and are connected with the radar system which has at least one transmitting module, one electronic module with a central control device and an image processor as well as a display. In order to align the imaging on the display of the radar system with an inertial axis of the helicopter, and to limit the influence of a change of the rotational rotor on the imaging, a signal generator arranged at the rotor of the helicopter generates signals indicative of rotating positions of the rotor. The latter signals are transmitted to an electronic module of the radar system, which marks the flank of an individual signal from the signal sequence for a rotation of the rotor. This flank of a signal is defined as a ''basic position'' and is counted. The invention permits azimuthally phase-accurate synchronization between the viewing angle of a helicopter-borne radar system and an inertial axis of the helicopter, as well as a defined alignment of the image on the video screen with respect to an inertial axis of the helicopter (and thus with respect to the flight direction of the helicopter) . The viewing direction of the radar system (ROSAR) can be adjusted by means of an electric regulator wheel, so that the pilot can set a desired defined viewing direction of the radar image on the video screen. | Aribert Wolframm (Landsberg, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Ottobrunn, DE) | 2002-03-25 | 2000-09-02 | 2003-06-10 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 |
| 783 | 6564149 | Method for determining conflicting paths between mobile airborne vehicles and associated system and computer software program product | A method of determining conflicting flight paths between a first and a second airborne vehicle is provided, wherein each vehicle comprises an aircraft-to-aircraft navigational communication system having a navigational device. First, a position and a velocity vector are determined for each of the airborne vehicles. A cylindrical volume is then defined about the first airborne vehicle. A separation distance is then determined between the vehicles at a selected time and using a great circle earth model. An accuracy factor is thereafter determined for the position of each vehicle. The separation distance is then modified by the accuracy factor. A determination is then made as to whether the modified separation distance is within the cylindrical volume about the first airborne vehicle during a time range to thereby determine whether conflicting flight paths exist between the vehicles. An associated system and computer software program product are also provided. | Chih Lai (Woodbury, MN) | United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) | 2001-07-09 | 2003-05-13 | G01S7/06, G01S7/04, G08G5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G08G5/04, G01S5/00, G01S7/00, G01S13/72, G06G007/78, G06F017/10 | 09/901415 |
| 784 | 6563432 | Aircraft docking system and method with automatic checking of apron and detection of fog or snow | A system for detecting, identifying and docking aircraft using laser pulses to obtain a profile of an object in the distance initially scans the area in front of the gate until it locates and identifies an object. Once the identity of the object is known, the system tracks the object. The system also monitors an area of the apron near the object to detect obstacles such as ground service vehicles. The system also analyzes the laser pulses to determine whether they are reflected from a solid object or from fog or other condensation or precipitation to avoid misidentifying condensation or precipitation as a solid object. | Lars Millg.ang.rd (Ostersund, SE) | Safegate International Ab (Malmo, CH) | 2001-01-12 | 2003-05-13 | G01S17/66, G01S17/93, G01S17/00, B64F1/00, G01S7/48, G08G5/00, G08G5/06, G01S17/95, G01S17/02, G08G005/04 | 09/758416 |
| 785 | 6559933 | Method and apparatus for detecting a terrain-masked helicopter | A robot sentry with a scanning laser observes the sky just above the geographic skyline looking for a vertical airflow pattern characteristic of the rotor inflow to a helicopter rotor. The presence of this vertical airflow pattern indicates the probable presence of a reconnaissance helicopter that is using terrain masking. | Philip L. Kirkpatrick (Dumont, NJ), Richard P. Krulis (Morristown, NJ) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2001-12-06 | 2003-05-06 | G01S17/00, G01S17/95, G01S17/50, G01S7/48, G01P5/26, G01P5/00, F41H13/00, G01S7/481, G01P003/36 | 10/010268 |
| 786 | 6559932 | Synthetic aperture ladar system using incoherent laser pulses | An incoherent ladar transmitter (12) adapted for use with synthetic aperture processing. The system (12) includes a first mechanism (44, 48, 50) for generating a laser beam (18) . A second mechanism (44, 68) records phase information pertaining to the laser beam (18) and subsequently transmits the laser beam (18) from the system in response thereto. A third mechanism (40) receives a reflected version (20) of the laser beam and provides a received signal in response thereto. A fourth mechanism (72) corrects the received signal based on the phase information recorded by the second mechanism (44, 68) . In a more specific embodiment, the ladar system (12) includes a synthetic aperture processor (46) for correcting the received signal based on the phase information and providing a corrected laser signal in response thereto. The synthetic aperture processor (46) includes a mechanism (76) for applying, a Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to the corrected laser signal to obtain high frequency resolution and cross-range resolution. A fifth mechanism (48) constructs a range-Doppler image based on the corrected laser signal and the movement of the ladar system (12) . | Maurice J. Halmos (Encino, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 2001-10-30 | 2003-05-06 | G01S17/10, G01S17/00, G01S17/50, G01S17/89, G01C003/08, G01P003/36 | 10/020730 |
| 787 | 6549161 | Multiple altitude radar system | A multiple altitude radar system for an aircraft performs a main radar sweep at an altitude of the aircraft and at least one secondary radar sweep at an angle from the altitude of the aircraft to a ground altitude. | Daniel L. Woodell (Robins, IA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2001-06-21 | 2003-04-15 | G01S13/95, G01S13/00, G01S13/42, G01S7/04, G01S7/22, G01S013/95 | 09/886932 |
| 788 | 6549160 | Method of correcting azimuthal position of moving targets in SAR-images | The positions of moving targets in the azimuthal direction which result from the SAR processing are falsified by components of the vehicle movement in the Doppler spectrum of the received signal, so that without the implementation of additional signal processing, moving targets are imaged in the SAR image at a false azimuth position. A method of repositioning moving targets in SAR images which consist of multi-channel range/Doppler measurement data X with N.sub.ND Doppler resolution cells, defines on the basis of the filtering coefficients of the STAP transformed into the frequency domain, a family of N.sub.DZ pattern functions M, and determines testing functions T assigned to the measurement data. The true azimuth position of a moving target is then computed on the basis of the position of the maximum of the correlation between the testing functions and the pattern functions. | Jochen Meyer-Hilberg (Elchingen, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2001-08-07 | 2003-04-15 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/00 | 09/922912 |
| 789 | 6549159 | Arrangement for the interferometric radar measurement according to the rosar principle | In conjunction with an arrangement for the interferometric radar measurement in connection with a radar system operating according to the ROSAR principle, comprising one coherent transmitting antenna and two coherent receiving antennas and their receiving channels, in connection with which the difference in the path between the two distances of the antennas and the measured points of impact is calculated by the wavelength .lambda. of the emitted radar signal and the measured phase difference of the receiving echo of the two coherent receiving channels, it is proposed that the interferometric ROSAR system is integrated in or on a rotating device and positioned in such a way that each relevant area of the field to be measured can be detected. | Aribert P. Wolframm (Landsberg, DE), Helmut Klausing (Wessling-Hochstadt, DE) | Astrium Gmbh (Munchen, DE) | 1999-12-22 | 2001-07-20 | 2003-04-15 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/00, G01S013/08 |
| 790 | 6546338 | Method for working out an avoidance path in the horizontal plane for an aircraft to resolve a traffic conflict | The preparation of an avoidance path in the horizontal plane so that an aircraft can resolve a conflict of routes with another aircraft that entails a risk of collision within 5 to 10 minutes. This avoidance path minimizes the negative effects of the resultant route diversion on the flight plan of the aircraft. A method prepares an avoidance path with two parts. The first part is an evasive part with an initial heading such that the threatening aircraft takes a path, in relation to the threatened aircraft, that is tangential, on one side or the other, to the edges of the angle at which the threatening aircraft perceives a circle of protection plotted around the threatened aircraft. The radius of this circle of protection is equal to a minimum permissible separation distance. The second part of the evasive path is that of homing in on the initial route. This method of preparing an avoidance path can be implemented by a flight management computer. Once the avoidance path has been accepted by the aircraft crew, the flight management computer ensures that the avoidance path is followed by the automatic pilot. | Gerard Sainthuile (Orsay, FR), Christophe Solans (Toulouse, FR) | Thales (Paris, FR) | 2002-02-11 | 2001-06-01 | 2003-04-08 | G08G5/00, G08G5/04, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G06F017/00 |
| 791 | 6529820 | System and method for determining the 3D position of aircraft, independently onboard and on the ground, for any operation within a ''gate-to-gate'' concept | A system and method for determining simultaneously and independently onboard of each aircraft and on the ground at ATC centers utilizing substantially identical surveillance modules for determining the 3D position of all aircraft in an ATC area utilizing a UTC clock to further synchronize all of the surveillance modules on the aircraft and at ground stations. Five ground stations including a master and four slaves communicate with each other and all aircraft in the ATC areas. The same precise 3D position of all aircraft operating in that ATC airspace is simultaneously computed by all the aircraft in that ATC area utilizing the measured distance between the aircraft and ground stations in that area providing full automated support for landing, take-off and taxi operation of the aircraft to a Gate or from a Gate, by using a ground infrastructure of radio communication stations which are operating worldwide within a 16 MHZ frequency spectrum from the existing DME 962-1213 MHZ spectrum. During functioning of the system, any mobile equipped with a dedicated receiver could determine its 2D position on the ground within an airport area or within any ATC area, such mobile being a truck, a car, a boat, a train, a mobile phone, or any other mobile operating in that ATC area and tuned on the frequency of operation of that ATC area. | Ion Tomescu (Bucharest, Sector 1, Code 71562, RO) | --- | 2001-04-10 | 2003-03-04 | G01S5/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/00, G01S5/14, G06F019/00, G01S003/02, G01S005/14 | 09/832234 |
| 792 | 6518914 | Synthetic aperture radar system capable of detecting moving targets | A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system and method capable of detecting moving targets which includes a platform that moves over a number of objects, such as a ground surface, and supports radar equipment which reproduces the objects by means of a fast backprojection synthetic aperture technique via at least two antennas without requirement as to directivity or fractional bandwidth. The imaging process is divided into three steps which are carried out in a determined order, the steps and the order being formation of sub-aperture beams at one speed, performing clutter suppression, and detection of moving targets. | Mats Peterson (Linkoping, SE), Hans Hellsten (Linkoping, SE), Lars Ulander (Linkoping, SE) | Totalforsvarets Forskningsinstitut (Stockholm, SE) | 2000-11-02 | 2003-02-11 | G01S13/524, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 09/703621 |
| 793 | 6515613 | Rosar method for landing helicopters under adverse weather conditions and for recognizing and detecting concealed targets | In a method for operating a rotating synthetic aperture radar system that works with pulse frequency or in FM-CW operation in order to detect, penetrate and evaluate objects that are located vertically below the helicopter carrying the ROSAR device, pixels are determined using their own specific doppler histories. | Helmut Klausing (Hochstadt, DE), Horst Kaltschmidt (Neubiberg, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2002-01-18 | 2003-02-04 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S13/91, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 10/050602 |
| 794 | 6512975 | Traffic information service (TIS) uplink own aircraft heading correction | An apparatus, method and computer program product for correcting own aircraft heading and displaying proximate aircraft traffic data on a Traffic Information Service display. The apparatus, method and computer program minimize slewing of the other aircraft data across the display during aircraft maneuvers and provides a more reliable and consistent depiction of traffic relative to own aircraft position. | Jerry L. Watson (Mission, KS) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2001-04-06 | 2003-01-28 | G08G5/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G08G5/04, G01S13/00, G01S5/14, G01S005/02, G08G005/04 | 09/828537 |
| 795 | 6509862 | Method of signal treatment and processing using the ROSAR system | A method of signal conditioning and processing uses a ROSAR system for obtaining high-resolution elevation data using a fixed transmitting antenna, without requiring a turnstile. A telescope-like extensible transmitting antenna having large vertical dimensions illuminates an area to be imaged in a fanned pattern, creating overlapping elevation sectors. Reflected signals are relayed to a fixed receiving antenna via rotating transponders. | Helmut Klausing (Hochstadt, DE), Horst Kaltschmidt (Neubiberg, DE) | Eads Deutschland Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 2002-01-18 | 2003-01-21 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S13/42, G01S013/90 | 10/050893 |
| 796 | 6508770 | Aperture compounding for medical imaging | Speckle is reduced by compounding data associated with different aperture positions. The data is responsive to transmission and reception along the same scan lines. The data is detected and then combined. | Anming He Cai (San Jose, CA) | Acuson Corporation (Mountain View, CA) | 2001-03-08 | 2003-01-21 | G01S15/00, G01S15/89, A61B008/00 | 09/801952 |
| 797 | 6507289 | Apparatus and method of checking radio altitude reasonableness | In a ground proximity warning system for an aircraft, a signal representing clearance of the aircraft from the underlying terrain is produced from a sea level related altitude signal and a terrain database in addition to the radio altitude signal of the aircraft's radio altimeter. An indication of reasonableness of the aircraft radio altitude signal is formed jointly responsive to the aircraft radio altitude signal and the terrain clearance signal. | Steven C. Johnson (Issaquah, WA), Glen A. Burlingame (Redmond, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2000-10-05 | 2003-01-14 | G01S13/86, G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S5/14, G01S13/88, G08B023/00 | 09/680557 |
| 798 | 6501392 | Aircraft weather information system | A system and method that downlinks weather data, generated by existing weather and data sensors, to a groundstation. The groundstation utilizes data from multiple aircraft to form refined weather information, and uplinks the refined weather information to the aircraft. The refined weather information is stored at the aircraft and picture generating equipment, such as an existing on-board ground proximity terrain picture and symbol generator, generates pictorial information depicting the weather information. The pictorial information is displayed, for example by an existing EFIS or weather radar display, in the form of polygons. | Scott Gremmert (Redmond, WA), Kevin J Conner (Kent, WA), C. Don Bateman (Bellevue, WA), John Hruby (Monroe, WA) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2001-07-17 | 2002-12-31 | G01W1/10, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G01C021/00, G01C023/00 | 09/907730 |
| 799 | 6500073 | Method and apparatus to determine golf ball trajectory and flight | A launch monitor system including a support structure, a first light-reflecting element disposed on this support structure, a lighting unit and an camera unit. A computer receives signals generated by light patterns received by the camera unit and computes a variety of flight characteristics for the object. The system may be moved back and forth to vary the field-of-view of the camera unit. The system also computes and displays object trajectories from the computed flight characteristics which account for the characteristics of the object and the atmospheric conditions. | William Gobush (North Dartmouth, MA), Diane Pelletier (Fairhaven, MA), Douglas C. Winfield (Mattapoisett, MA), Charles Days (South Datmouth, MA), Steven Aoyama (Marion, MA), Edmund A. Hebert (Fairhaven, MA), James Alan Silveira (Bristol, RI) | Acushnet Company (Fairhaven, MA) | 1999-12-21 | 2002-12-31 | A63B69/36, G01S17/00, G01S17/10, G01S17/50, G01S17/89, G01S11/12, G01S11/00, A63B43/00, A63B43/06, A63B69/00, G01S17/66, A63B069/36 | 09/468351 |
| 800 | 6498580 | Missile launch point estimation system | In a system for estimating the launch point of a missile, Doppler shifted signals reflected from the missile as it travels from its launch point are used in a Kalman filter to estimate the missile position, velocity and acceleration, in earth centered fixed coordinates. The coordinate system is rotated to a rotated earth fixed (REF) coordinate system in which the X-axis passes through the estimated missile launch point and the Z-axis is made parallel to the missile azimuth as represented by the missile velocity determined by the Kalman filter. The error in the downrange component of the missile launch point is then reduced to a minimum in the REF coordinate system using a square root information filter. The coordinate system is then rotated to a second rotated earth fixed coordinate system in which the X-axis passes through the updated launch point position and the Z-axis is positioned at 45 degrees from the missile azimuth. The Z-axis component and the Y-axis component of the error in the launch point is then reduced to a minimum in the new REF coordinate system using a square root information filter. | Bert L. Bradford (Damascus, MD) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 1997-08-26 | 2002-12-24 | G01S13/00, F41G3/14, F41G3/00, G01S13/58, G01S13/72, G01S013/72 | 08/917704 |
| 801 | 6492932 | System and method for processing squint mapped synthetic aperture radar data | A method for processing squint-mapped synthetic aperture radar data of the present invention. The inventive method includes the steps of effecting range compression of the data, deskewing the data, performing a Fourier transform with respect to the deskewed data, providing a range migration interpolation of the transformed data, effecting a frequency remapping of the range interpolated data, and performing an inverse Fourier transform with respect to the deskewed data. | Michael Y. Jin (Pasadena, CA), Michael E. Lawrence (San Pedro, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 2001-06-13 | 2002-12-10 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G10S013/90 | 09/880244 |
| 802 | 6483454 | Close formation aircraft collision avoidance | Collision avoidance systems are provided for groups of aircraft operating in close proximity, as during formation flights or cooperative missions. Fixed and rotary airfoil aircraft with separations of 30 feet to 5 miles, for example, participate in a local radio sub-net. An aircraft receiving CAS sub-net signals derives signal transit time values representing differences between send and receive times and which are used to derive data on inter-aircraft range and closing rate. With synchronized clocks, highly-accurate one-way ranging uses assigned time slots with predetermined sub-net time-of-day timing of transmissions. Round-trip ranging operates with less accurate time synchronization, and systems may operatively select between one-way and round-trip ranging. By exchange of range and closing rate data among aircraft, 3-D data for current three-dimensional location of aircraft enables evasive action determination. Data is thus made available for provision of audio and visual flight crew communications indicating alerts and warnings of impending collision danger and appropriate evasive action. | Frank M. Torre (Huntington, NY), Randolph A. Purdy (Sayville, NY) | Bae Systems Aerospace Inc. (Greenlawn, NY) | 2000-11-28 | 2002-11-19 | G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G01S5/02, G01S013/00 | 09/724354 |
| 803 | 6476759 | Method for the calibration of an FM/CW type radio altimeter, and radio altimeter designed for the implementation of this method | A radio altimeter using a linear oscillator to transmit a saw-toothed signal comprises, in addition to this first oscillator, a second linear oscillator to transmit, in synchronism with the first linear oscillator, another saw-toothed signal with a given saw-tooth duration Td. The plateau of the sawteeth of the two saw-toothed signals are at a distance from each other equal to a value f. The test consists in obtaining a height h' by beats between the two saw-toothed signals and computing a standard height he=f.c.Td/dF.2 where c is the speed of light and dF the duration of each saw-tooth of the other signal. Application to all FM/CW radio altimeters. | Fabrice Orlandi (Massy, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 2000-12-29 | 2002-11-05 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S7/40, G01S13/88, G01S007/40 | 09/750170 |
| 804 | 6469655 | Surveillance system for terrestrial navigational and airport landing systems | The invention deals with a surveillance system for terrestrial navigational and landing systems, in which the navigational signals being transmitted for aeroplanes or other airborne objects by the navigational and airport landing systems are received and evaluated by a ground-based receiving and control facility. In this system: the receiving and control facility is equipped with a plurality of additional receiving stations, these additional receiving stations operate in the frequency range of the navigational signals, the additional receiving stations are arranged geographically distributed within the transmitting range of the navigational or airport landing system, the signals recorded by the additional receiving stations are forwarded to a central evaluating unit. | Erich Franke (Konigsbach-Stein, DE), Herbert Kleiber (Ludwigsburg, DE) | Airsys Navigation Systems Gmbh (Stuttgart, DE) | 2001-08-08 | 2000-02-08 | 2002-10-22 | G01S13/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G01S013/00 |
| 805 | 6469654 | Transponder landing system | A ground-based, precision aircraft landing system provides CAT I precision approach and landing guidance. The aircraft elevation position is determined by measuring differential carrier phase and time-of-arrival of the aircraft ATCRBS transponder reply. The transponder reply is received at a plurality of sensor antenna locations where it is then conveyed to a sensor, demodulated and digitized. The data is transmitted to a central processor where calibration and multipath corrections are applied. Aircraft transponder diversity antenna switching is isolated from the jitter and colored noise of transponder reply multipath by correlating differential phase jumps measured between separate sensor antennas. An estimate of the diversity antenna separation is maintained by Kalman filter processing, the estimated separation is used to correct the differential phase measurement data of aircraft elevation. The corrected phase measurement and time-of-arrival measurement is processed using another Kalman filter to achieve the desired aircraft elevation positioning accuracy. A similar differential carrier phase and time-of-arrival subsystem is applied to achieve an azimuth measurement of the aircraft position. The combined azimuth and elevation of the aircraft is then compared to the desired approach path, and the aircraft position error relative to the desired approach is communicated to the aircraft. | Karl Winner (Home Valley, WA), Benjamin R. Kuehn (Hood River, OR) | Advanced Navigation & Positioning Corp. (Hood River, OR) | 2000-10-24 | 2002-10-22 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/76, G01S3/14, G01S3/46, G01S013/00, G01S003/02 | 09/695359 |
| 806 | 6466168 | Differential time of flight measurement system | A bi-static radar configuration measures the time-of-flight of an RF burst using differentially-configured sampling receivers. A precise differential measurement is made by simultaneously sampling a reference signal line and a free-space time-of-flight RF burst signal using separate sampling receivers having common sample timing. Two alternative sample timing systems may be used with the sampling receivers: (1) a swept delay using a delay locked loop (DLL) , or (2) two precision oscillators slightly offset in frequency from each other. The receiver outputs are processed into a PWM signal to indicate antenna-to-antenna time-of-flight range or to indicate material properties. Applications include robotics, safety, material thickness measurement, material dielectric constant measurement, such as for fuel or grain moisture measurement, and through-tank fill-level measurement. | Thomas E. McEwan (Carmel Highlands, CA) | Mcewen Technologies, Llc (Monterey, CA) | 2000-08-17 | 2002-10-15 | G01F23/284, G01S11/02, G01S11/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S13/18, G01S003/02 | 09/641063 |
| 807 | 6466156 | Method of detecting objects that change with time by means of a SAR radar | A method of detecting, by means of a SAR radar, objects that change with time within a ground area. The SAR radar is supported by a platform in essentially rectilinear motion during a synthetic aperture and the ground area is reproduced at least twice in succession from different synthetic apertures. A two-dimensional SAR image is generated from each synthetic aperture. The SAR images are matched with each other by a method in which each image position in one image is associated with the same ground area in the other image, the images being filtered, knowing location data for the antennae and based on the fact that the cylinder geometry of the SAR images is projected onto the ground surface, so that only common spectral components of the reflectivity of the ground are extracted and used in the matching. | Lars Ulander (Linkoping, SE) | Totalforsvarets Forskningsinstitut (Stockholm, SE) | 2001-08-24 | 2000-02-07 | 2002-10-15 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 |
| 808 | 6462703 | Method and system for high precision altitude measurement over hostile terrain | A system and method for providing highly accurate measurements of the altitude above ground level (AGL) of an aircraft flying over local terrain. A current AGL altitude of the aircraft over local terrain is obtained by activating a radar altimeter on the aircraft for a single short duration or pulse. A mean sea level (MSL) elevation of the local terrain is determined by identifying the terrain from the then-current aircraft geographical position coordinates and utilizing known terrain topography data. The actual MSL altitude of the aircraft can then be determined. An uncorrected MSL altitude of the aircraft is then determined from conventional static air pressure measurements and the difference between the actual MSL altitude and the uncorrected MSL altitude of the aircraft yields a local barometric correction factor for use in determining MSL altitude measurements of the aircraft as the aircraft flies over and continues its flight away from the local terrain. | Geoffrey S. M. Hedrick (Malvern, PA) | Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. (Exton, PA) | 2001-07-27 | 2002-10-08 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 09/916897 |
| 809 | 6456226 | Nowcast of conviction-induced turbulence using information from airborne radar | A convection induced turbulence (CIT) detection system performs a nowcast algorithm to detect CIT along the flight path of an aircraft using power returns from an airborne whether radar. Additional meteorological data is optionally provided by onboard sensors and/or data link from ground sources. A nowcast predicting turbulence along the flight path in the near future alerts the pilot to the likelihood of encountering clear air turbulence. | L. Lucy Zheng (Ashburn, VA), Richard Burne (Ellicott City, MD), Dan T. Horak (Ellicott City, MD) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2000-07-21 | 2002-09-24 | G01S13/95, G01W1/10, G01S7/00, G01S7/06, G01S7/04, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01W1/00, G01S13/86, G01S17/95, G01S17/00, G01S013/95, G08B023/00 | 09/620952 |
| 810 | 6448929 | Method and apparatus for correlating flight identification data with secondary surveillance radar data | A system for correlating secondary surveillance radar (SSR) data and ACARS data which results in a real time correlation of data which are unique to the separate existing systems. More specifically, a method is provided to attach flight identification data from ACARS signals to real time SSR data from Mode S transponders. Aircraft Mode S addresses are decoded and then converted to aircraft registration numbers using an algorithm or lookup table. Registration numbers are then correlated with registration numbers from decoded ACARS signals. The result is a real-time system which may provide an aircraft's registration information, including registration number, owner, make, and model, as well as its current flight identification number, and ACARS messages. As part of an aircraft multilateration system, the system provides an independent air traffic control picture complete with aircraft position and identification by flight number without the use of active radar equipment. | Alexander E. Smith (McLean, VA), Bennett Cohen (Alexandria, VA), Carl Evers (Rockville, MD) | Rannoch Corporation (Alexandria, VA) | 2001-09-17 | 2002-09-10 | G01S5/00, G01S5/10, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S013/00 | 09/953560 |
| 811 | 6441773 | Weather radar system integrating ground-based weather radar with on-board aircraft weather radar | A radar displaying system and method for use in displaying weather radar information on a cockpit display of an aircraft receives on-board weather radar information from an on-board weather radar system and ground-based weather radar information up-linked to the aircraft from a ground-based weather radar system. The information from the on-board weather radar system and the information from the ground-based weather radar system are combined to generate composite weather radar information. In response to the composite information, the cockpit display simultaneously displays both on-board weather radar imagery and ground-based weather radar imagery. | Wallace E. Kelly (Cedar Rapids, IA), Timothy W. Rand (Cedar Rapids, IA), Serdar Uckun (Palo Alto, CA), Corinne C. Ruokangas (Woodside, CA) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2000-08-24 | 2002-08-27 | G01S13/95, G01S7/00, G01S7/04, G01S7/22, G01S13/00, G01S013/95, G01S007/06 | 09/645085 |
| 812 | 6441772 | SAR radar system | The present invention relates to a radar system which comprises a platform which moves over a number of objects. The number of objects can be very large and the objects can appear in the form of, for example, a ground surface. The platform supports radar equipment which reproduces the objects by means of synthetic aperture technique (SAR) via at least one antenna without requirements as to directivity or fractional bandwidth. Moreover, the movement of the platform is, during the recording of data for a SAR image, essentially rectilinear and uniform. The invention is characterized mainly in that it comprises a signal-processing device which records received radar echoes from each transmitted radar pulse and records or calculates the position of the used antenna or antennae, and which calculates a one-parameter quantity of two-dimensional SAR images as a function of two image co-ordinates where the parameter is the relative speed. Here use is made of the fact that each object, i.e. a radar echo with certain image co-ordinates, is reproduced at a maximum ratio of desired to undesired signal for a predetermined value of the relative speed parameter, which value is established to be the magnitude of the relative velocity vector between the object and the platform. In the calculation, the signal-processing device backprojects radar raw data in a hierarchical scheme, where each level is based only on the immediately preceding one, and where the summation of radar raw data occurs in the form of subapertures having a gradually increasing length. | Hans Hellsten (Linkoping, SE), Lars Ulander (Linkoping, SE) | Totalforsvarets Forskningsinstitut (Stockholm, SE) | 1999-12-17 | 2001-06-18 | 2002-08-27 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 |
| 813 | 6437730 | Method for checking an fm/cw type radio altimeter, and radio altimeter designed for the implementation of this method | A radio altimeter using a linear oscillator to send out a continuous wave that is frequency modulated linearly between two boundary values sends the antenna installation an incident signal, collects the signal reflected by the installation and examines it. This incident signal may be that of the linear oscillator. for the reception antenna installation, this means providing for a rerouting in order to direct a small part of the signal of the oscillator to this installation. In the case of the transmission antenna installation it is enough to provide for a rerouting that injects the signal reflected by this installation into the reception channel. Application to all the FM/CW radio altimeters. | Fabrice Orlandi (Massy, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 2000-11-07 | 2002-08-20 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S7/40, G01S13/88, G01S013/32 | 09/706761 |
| 814 | 6434085 | Distance measuring systems altimeters and aircraft | A distance measuring system is described which may be used as an altimeter for a helicopter or for a load carried by its winch. The system comprises: a transmitting transducer for converting a first modulated electrical signal into a corresponding acoustic signal to be directed towards and reflected by a surface, a receiving transducer for converting the received reflected acoustic signal into a corresponding second electrical signal, and a correlation processor for receiving the second electrical signal, or the first and second electrical signals, and correlating the modulations thereof to produce an indication of a time delay thereof from which the distance travelled by the acoustic signal can be determined. The frequency of the acoustic signal is preferably chosen so that it is not at or near the fundamental resonant frequency of either transducer and so that it satisfies at least one of the following conditions: at or near a higher-order resonant frequency of one or both of the transducers, at a frequency at which a frequency-dependent directivity index of the transducers is relatively high, at a frequency at which the ambient acoustic noise level is relatively low, and at a frequency at which the acoustic reflection loss at the surface is relatively low. | Jeremy Ross Nedwell (Soberton Heath, GB) | Subacoustech Limited (Hampshire, GB) | 1999-06-25 | 2002-08-13 | G01S15/06, G01S15/10, G01S15/00, G01S015/08 | 09/343123 |
| 815 | 6426718 | Subaperture processing for clutter reduction in synthetic aperture radar images of ground moving targets | A radar tracking system extracts moving target content from a single radar pulse stream. The radar tracking system has a single phase center antenna for receiving the radar pulse stream. The tracking system further includes a signal processing system for converting the radar pulse stream into a plurality of SAR images. Each image has a corresponding moving target content and a corresponding clutter content. The tracking system also includes a targeting system for canceling identical clutter content between the images. The signal processing system includes a synthetic subaperture system for generating a plurality of synthetic subapertures and defining a common reference point. The common reference point has known slant ranges with respect to the plurality of synthetic subapertures. A deramping module uses a unique deramping function to compute a deramped signal for each synthetic subaperture based on the known slant ranges. The signal processing system further includes an imaging system for generating SAR images for the deramped signals. The processing of a radar pulse stream from a single antenna allows antenna size to be reduced by a factor of two or more, and allows tracking of slowly moving targets. | Robert I. Ridgway (San Jose, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2000-03-14 | 2002-07-30 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S13/534, G01S013/534 | 09/525642 |
| 816 | 6426717 | Single antenna FM radio altimeter operating in a continuous wave mode and an interrupted continuous wave mode | A single antenna FM radio altimeter operates in continuous wave (CW) and interrupted continuous wave (ICW) modes to provide an altitude indication. An altimeter transmitter generates a constant FM period CW signal below a critical altitude and a variable FM period ICW signal above the critical altitude. The single antenna, connected to the transmitter and receiver, radiates and receives the CW and the ICW signals. The receiver provides a beat frequency signal. A processor compares the beat frequency signal and the variable FM period signal to critical altitude reference signals and switches the altimeter between the modes accordingly. The processing function provides the transmitter a constant period modulation signal below the critical altitude and a variable FM period signal above the critical altitude. The processing function provides the altitude indication from the beat frequency signal below the critical altitude and from the variable FM period signal above the critical altitude. | Leo G. Maloratsky (Indialantic, FL) | Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 2001-05-11 | 2002-07-30 | G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/34, G01S13/08, G01S13/88, G01S013/32 | 09/853509 |
| 817 | 6424287 | Error correction for IFSAR | IFSAR images of a target scene are generated by compensating for variations in vertical separation between collection surfaces defined for each IFSAR antenna by adjusting the baseline projection during image generation. In addition, height information from all antennas is processed before processing range and azimuth information in a normal fashion to create the IFSAR image. | Armin W. Doerry (Albuquerque, NM), Douglas L. Bickel (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 2001-04-24 | 2002-07-23 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/00 | 09/841852 |
| 818 | 6407697 | Low probability of intercept coherent radar altimeter | A radar altimeter for determining altitude of an air vehicle with respect to ground comprises a digital sequencer for digitally modulating a first signal. A transmitter coupled to the digital sequencer transmits a radar signal including the modulated first signal toward the ground. A receiver receives a reflected radar signal from the ground. The received radar signal includes the modulated first signal. A digitizer coupled to the receiver generates digital samples of the modulated first signal. A digital signal processor coupled to the digitizer receives digital samples of the modulated first signal from the digitizer, demodulates the received digital samples, processes the demodulated digital samples and outputs altitude data based on the demodulated digital samples. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Curtis J. Petrich (Minneapolis, MN), John H. Keuper (Ramsey, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2000-06-15 | 2002-06-18 | G01S13/00, G01S13/26, G01S7/03, G01S7/40, G01S13/02, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 09/594653 |
| 819 | 6388606 | Aircraft or spacecraft based synthetic aperture radar | In the inventive aircraft based or spacecraft based radar system with synthetic antenna aperture (SAR=Synthetic Aperture Radar) a transmit antenna and a receive antenna are provided according to a bistatic radar, which are arranged above the earth's surface, physically separate and on different platforms of which at least one is moving, so that a relative movement results between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna. Either the transmit antenna, the receive antenna, or both antennas are designed for ambiguity suppression. The radar system according to the invention is useful particularly for the systematic imaging of the earth's surface. | Wolfgang Keydel (Hechendorf, DE), Helmut Suss (Gilching, DE), Karl-Heinz Zeller (Furstenfeldbruck, DE), Reinhard Schroder (Oilching, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Bonn, DE) | 2000-08-16 | 2002-05-14 | G01S7/03, H01Q1/28, G01S13/00, H01Q1/27, G01S13/90, G01S13/02, G01S013/90 | 09/639329 |
| 820 | 6388603 | System and method for bistatically determining altitude and slant range to a selected target | A bistatic passive radar system is used in conjunction with a host transmitter that is a determinable distance D from the radar system for determining the distance D and for displaying video images of a selected target, the position of the radar system and the position of the transmitter on a display. The invention is characterized by a system and method of using the display to determine the slant range S and the altitude H of the selected target relative to the position of the radar system. Three alternative embodiments of the invention are disclosed. | Lawrence M. Frazier (West Covina, CA), Benjamin G. Lewis (Corona, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1982-02-01 | 2002-05-14 | G01S13/00, G01S7/04, G01S7/22, G01S13/44, G01S7/12, G01S007/36, G01S007/42, H04K003/00 | 06/344455 |
| 821 | 6384783 | Method and apparatus for correlating flight identification data with secondary surveillance | A system for correlating secondary surveillance radar (SSR) data and ACARS data which results in a real time correlation of data which are unique to the separate existing systems. More specifically, a method is provided to attach flight identification data from ACARS signals to real time SSR data from Mode S transponders. Aircraft Mode S addresses are decoded and then converted to aircraft registration numbers using an algorithm or lookup table. Registration numbers are then correlated with registration numbers from decoded ACARS signals. The result is a real-time system which may provide an aircraft's registration information, including registration number, owner, make, and model, as well as its current flight identification number, and ACARS messages. As part of an aircraft multilateration system, the system provides an independent air traffic control picture complete with aircraft position and identification by flight number without the use of active radar equipment. | Alexander E. Smith (McLean, VA), Bennett Cohen (Alexandria, VA), Carl Evers (Rockville, MD) | Rannoch Corporation (Alexandria, VA) | 1999-12-21 | 2002-05-07 | G01S5/00, G01S5/10, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S001/24 | 09/466127 |
| 822 | 6384770 | Linearizing device for a frequency-modulation ramp and its application to a radio altimeter | The invention relates to a device for the linearization of a frequency modulation ramp comprising a voltage controlled oscillator associated with a phase locked-loop. The device comprises a digitally controlled oscillator of which only the most heavily weighted bit is used, and a digital phase comparator receiving, on the one hand, said most heavily weighted bit and, on the other hand, a signal supplied by the voltage controlled oscillator. Application to very high linearity and very high accuracy radio altimeters. | Jean-Luc de Gouy (Briis S/Forges, FR), Marc Chelouche (Sannois, FR), Lionel Fousset (Athis-Mons, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1995-06-21 | 2002-05-07 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S7/40, G01S13/88, G01S7/02, G01S7/35, G01S013/08 | 08/467786 |
| 823 | 6384766 | Method to generate a three-dimensional image of a ground area using a SAR radar | The present invention relates to a method for generating a three-dimensional image of a ground area by means of a radar with a synthetic aperture, a SAR radar, which is supported by a platform moving in an essentially rectilinear manner. The method is characterized by the following steps. Advancing the platform such that at least two images of the ground are created with great difference in the angle of illumination. Transmitting radar pulses with a fractional bandwidth which is larger than or equal to 0.1, and using in the computations an aperture angle which is larger than or equal to 0.1 radians. Detecting the reflected radar pulses with amplitude and phase. for each pulse, measuring and storing the position of the antenna that transmits and the antenna that receives the pulse. Computing a two-dimensional SAR signal per synthetic aperture. Starting from the amplitude and phase of the two SAR signals as well as position data for the antennae, reconstructing a three-dimensional position description of the area relative to antenna position data. | Lars Ulander (Linkoping, SE) | Totalforsvarets Forskningsinstitut (Stockholm, SE) | 1999-12-20 | 1998-06-15 | 2002-05-07 | G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S013/90 |
| 824 | 6380886 | Consistent combination of altimeter data from multiple satellites | A method and apparatus are provided to allow altimeter data sets from multiple altimeter satellites to be used together. The measurable portion of geographically correlated orbit error (GCOE) is removed from the altimeter data sets, thereby allowing the data sets to be combined consistently. The GCOE structure for a reference data set is estimated through crossover difference analysis. The unmeasurable portion of the GCOE is not removed, although the spatial structure of this portion is determined. A reference mean sea level (SL) is corrected for the measurable GCOE and is then used as a reference surface for estimating the GCOE structure for an independent altimeter data set. This is performed by examining crossover differences between the altimeter mean SL and the reference mean SL at the multimission crossover points. The change in sea surface height (SSH) between the input data set and the reference data set is determined. The SSH change allows data sets from different altimeter satellites to be used together. | Gregg A. Jacobs (Slidell, LA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1999-10-14 | 2002-04-30 | G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S7/40, G01S013/08, G06F019/00 | 09/418356 |
| 825 | 6380849 | Aerial work platform with pothole and/or obstacle detection and avoidance system | The aerial work platform including a pothole and/or obstacle avoidance system according to the present invention includes a non-contact distance measuring device mounted to an end of the aerial work platform chassis. The non-contact distance measuring device measures a distance to the ground along a predetermined angle, and generates a first signal based on the measured distance. In response to the output of the non-contact distance measuring device, a motor controller and/or brake controller of the aerial work platform control operation of a motor and/or brakes, respectively, to assist an operator of the aerial work platform in avoiding potholes and/or obstacles. | Dennis W. Eckstine (Waynesboro, PA), William W. Banks (New Market, MD) | Grove U.S. L.L.C. (Shady Grove, PA) | 1998-12-04 | 2002-04-30 | B66F17/00, B66F11/04, B66C13/46, B66C13/50, B66C13/18, G01S15/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/93, G01S17/88, G01B11/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S15/88, G01S15/93, G01S13/88, B60Q001/00 | 09/205296 |
| 826 | 6366240 | Location of aircraft with time difference of arrival | A system and method for determining the position of an aircraft. An aircraft signal is received by a first antenna and a second antenna, the first antenna being at a known baseline distance from the second antenna. A processor is used to calculate the time difference of arrival range between the second antenna and the aircraft using a common time reference signal. The position of the aircraft is determined by a position determinator based upon the baseline distance between the first and second antennas, the range between the first antenna and the aircraft, and the time difference of arrival range between the second antenna and the aircraft. | Lamar K. Timothy (Kaysville, UT), Keith R. Branning (Howell, NJ), Michael L. Ownby (Sandy, UT) | L-3 Communications Corporation (New York, NY) | 2000-06-14 | 2002-04-02 | G01S13/00, G01S5/12, G01S13/68, G01S5/06, G01S005/02 | 09/593900 |
| 827 | 6362872 | Single aperture thermal image/laser | Method and device for thermal imaging and rangefinding. In one form the device comprises an optical system including a first aperture and first, second and third optical paths each passing through the first aperture. A polarizer positioned to segregate the first and second optical paths is capable of receiving polarized radiation reflected from the target and transmitted through all portions of the first aperture stop. A polarization modifier is positioned between the first aperture and said polarizer, and a beam splitter, sensitive to spectral differences between the polarized radiation and the thermal radiation, is positioned along the first optical path between the first aperture and said polarizer. According to the method thermal imaging and rangefinding functions are performed with a single aperture system by forming first, second and third optical paths each having a common portion passing through an aperture with a stop of predetermined size, at least one of the optical paths capable of traversing the entire aperture stop. Linearly polarized radiation of predetermined orientation is injected into the first path and transmitted through the aperture toward a target. Polarized radiation reflected from the target is received through the aperture into the second path. Thermal radiation which can be processed to form an image is received through the aperture into the third path. | Barry N. Berdanier (Dallas, TX) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1989-07-25 | 2002-03-26 | G01C3/08, F41G3/06, F41G3/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/10, G01S7/481, G01C003/08, H01L025/00, G02B026/10, F41G001/32 | 07/386792 |
| 828 | 6362776 | Precision radar altimeter with terrain feature coordinate location capability | A radar altimeter for determining altitude of an air vehicle comprises a transmitter for transmitting radar signals toward the ground. A first and a second antenna receive reflected radar signals from the ground. A signal processor is coupled to the first and the second antennas. The signal processor includes filter means for rejecting signals other than signals reflected from a selected ground swath. The signal processor determines the above ground level altitude of the air vehicle based on the radar signals output from the filter means. A phase ambiguity resolution means resolves phase ambiguities that arise due to multiple wavelength separation of the first and the second antenna. The signal processor also determines the horizontal position of the highest point in the selected ground swath. In a preferred embodiment, the phase ambiguity resolution means comprises a third antenna spaced closely to the first antenna such that there are no phase ambiguities between the reflected radar signals received by the third antenna and the first antenna. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Curtis J. Petrich (Minneapolis, MN), Larry D. Almsted (Minneapolis, MN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2000-02-04 | 2002-03-26 | G01S7/292, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/524, G01S13/46, G01S13/88, G01S13/18, G01S013/08 | 09/498930 |
| 829 | 6356228 | Automatic airport information transmitting apparatus | There is provided an automatic airport information transmitting apparatus comprising: airport-inside-target detecting means for detecting a target inside an airport, target judging means for judging a target moved in a place within the airport, which is required to surveille an aircraft based upon target position information derived from the airport-inside-target detecting means, and transmitting means for transmitting information of the target inside the airport judged by the target judging means to an aircraft which is flying around the airport in a wireless manner. In a relatively small-scaled airport where no controller is present, the automatic airport information transmitting apparatus improves a flight security of aircraft which are flying around the airport and are landing at this airport. | Atsushi Tomita (Tokyo, JP) | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP) | 2000-11-17 | 2002-03-12 | G01S7/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/00, G08G5/02, G01S13/91, G01S013/88 | 09/714179 |
| 830 | 6343245 | Microaltimeter | A microaltimeter measures altitude or range highly accurately from an orbiting vehicle. The microaltimeter has a low power solid state laser that is pulsed at a rate above 1 kilohertz. The pulses are delivered to a small telescope which sends them to a planetary surface and receives return reflections. A high efficiency photon detector measures received photons and supplies received photon signals to a process or which makes a time-based bin-wise comparison to find the time of flight and hence the range. | John J Degnan (Annapolis, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Washington, DC) | 2000-04-06 | 2002-01-29 | G01S17/00, G01S17/10, G01S17/88, G01C5/00, H01J040/14 | 09/544169 |
| 831 | 6337652 | SSR station and aircraft secondary surveillance network | An SSR reply, which is sent out from an aircraft, is received and separated into one SSR reply to one SSR station and the other SSR reply to the other SSR station, thereby generating aircraft information of the aircraft based on one of the one SSR reply and the other SSR reply. | Kakuichi Shiomi (Kokubunji, JP), Masami Ino (Tama, JP), Kiyomi Imamiya (Kawasaki, JP) | Electronic Navigation Research Institute (Chofu, JP), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Kawasaki JP) | 2000-06-30 | 2002-01-08 | G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S013/87, G01S007/292 | 09/609174 |
| 832 | 6323949 | Optical measurement method and apparatus which determine a condition based on quasi-elastic-interaction | A method and an apparatus are provided for the determination of a condition or state of an object based on quasi-elastic interaction between the object and light transmitted to the object. This light is transmitted from a light source through a diffractive optical element. The light that has interacted with the object is collected and detected. The diffractive optical element is designed in such a way that the determination of the condition or state of the object is substantially exclusively defined by the diffractive optical element and substantially independent of properties of the light source. Several diffraction patterns may be integrated in one diffractive optical element, thereby integrating several optical functions, such as lenses, beam splitters, etc. in one optical component. Use: Transit-time-velocity measurement, Doppler velocity measurement, viscoelastic measurement, differential speckle determination, differential vibrometer, distance determination apparatus, etc. | Lars Lading (Roskilde, DK), Steen Gruner Hanson (Faxe, DK), Lars Lindvold (Kokkedal, DK) | Forskningscenter Riso (Roskilde, DK) | 1997-03-18 | 1995-07-07 | 2001-11-27 | G01P3/36, G01S17/00, G01S17/58, G01S7/497, G01S7/48, G01S7/481, G01B009/02 |
| 833 | 6307502 | Radiometry system with an aperture synthesis type antenna and its application to hyper-frequency imaging | A radiometry system including an aperture synthesis antenna array type, including plural antenna elements, distributed in an antenna plane relative to at least one axis, according to a determined law. Each antenna element includes first and second coupling probes sensitive to hyper-frequency electromagnetic signals with dual linear polarization in quadrature (arbitrarily referred to as horizontal and vertical polarizations) . The probes are connected two by two with electric receiving circuits to create a synthetic aperture. The horizontal (f.sub.H1 -f.sub.H4) and vertical (f.sub.V1 -f.sub.V4) coupling probes of successive antenna elements (e.sub.A1 -e.sub.A4) are oriented in the antenna plane (At') , along each of the axes (.DELTA.) , such that at least one of the horizontal or vertical probes (f.sub.H1 -f.sub.H4, f.sub.V1 -f.sub.4) presents a 180.degree. phase shift from one antenna element to the other (e.sub.A1 -e.sub.A4) , with the phase shift obtained by a sequential 90.degree. rotation of those probes (f.sub.H1 -f.sub.H4, f.sub.V1 -f.sub.V4) . Further, 180.degree. phase shifts (.PHI..sub.H2, .PHI..sub.V3, .PHI..sub.H4, .PHI..sub.V4) are applied onto the outputs of the horizontal (f.sub.H1 -f.sub.H4) and vertical (f.sub.V1 -f.sub.V4) coupling probes, when one of the orientations of an antenna element (e.sub.A1) is taken as the phase origin reference, in order to compensate for the 180.degree. phase shifts with respect to the corresponding coupling probes (f.sub.H1 -f.sub.V1) of the reference antenna element (e.sub.A1) . | Javier Marti-Canales (Leiden, NL), Manuel Martin-Neira (Oegstgeest, NL), Per Olav Iversen (Garches, FR) | Agence Spatiale Europeene (Paris, FR) | 1999-12-29 | 2001-10-23 | H01Q1/28, H01Q21/06, H01Q1/27, G01K11/00, H01Q3/08, H01Q3/10, H01Q9/04, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S003/02 | 09/473948 |
| 834 | 6281832 | Method and apparatus for using statistical data processing in altimeter and terrain awareness integrity monitoring systems | A baro altitude and terrain warning system with an integrity monitoring function which uses a radar altimeter to generate instantaneous altitude signals used to confirm the validity of a baro altitude signal, generated by a baro altimeter and an expected terrain clearance signal, provided by the terrain warning system, and for generating an alert when insufficient correlation exists between such signals. | Kenneth W. McElreath (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, IA) | 1999-08-31 | 2001-08-28 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S013/94 | 09/386828 |
| 835 | 6265704 | Tracking means for distant ballistic missile targets | A laser tracking system steers a beam of laser energy which is dithered in two directions to scan the surface of a moving object. A laser energy detector detects laser energy reflected from the target. Reflected energy is filtered to distinguish dither frequencies for signals in both directions, which signals are independently analyzed to determine the location of the target in relation to the laser beam. A bias signal is generated which causes the beam of laser energy to be steered toward a surface radius to be steered toward a surface with the largest compound curvature within the trackers, field-of-regard, to the target, to the tracked location on-target, or modified signals steer a portion of the beam to an optimum track location on target while offsetting most of the beam's energy to a second engagement location on target. Also, a track testing system is capable of monitoring a laser beam focused on a missile and determining the effective laser engagement on a spinning target. | Peter M. Livingston (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) | Trw Inc. (Redondo Beach, CA) | 1999-03-29 | 2001-07-24 | G01S17/66, G01S17/00, G01S17/46, G01S7/497, G01S7/48, G01S7/481, G01S017/66 | 09/280737 |
| 836 | 6259380 | Method and apparatus of automatically monitoring aircraft altitude | An apparatus and method for automatically and independently determining aircraft altitude and alerting the pilot to deviations from a target altitude exceeding a specified tolerance. The alerter comprises an altitude sensing means for sensing the present altitude of the aircraft. The invention discloses three sources for altitude information namely, a self-contined sensor such as a pressure transducer, a Global Positioning System receive, or an altitude encoder. A target entry means is used for entering the target altitude. An indicating means signals an altitude alerting condition upon the detection of a condition wherein the absolute difference is larger than the tolerance value. The altitude alerting apparatus may also comprise a display means for display of the present aircraft altitude information. | David D. Jensen (Omaha, NE) | --- | 2000-01-10 | 2001-07-10 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S5/14, G08B023/00 | 09/480568 |
| 837 | 6256559 | Passive altimeter employing GPS signals | A passive radio frequency signal-enabled aircraft altimeter employing signals of one or more global position system satellites as a source of terrain illumination. The altimeter determines altitude of the host aircraft with respect to specific terrain features beneath the aircraft rather than an altitude above a mean or nominal level of the earth's surface--as is already provided in a global position system signal. The altimeter employs two signal paths between the global position system satellite and the host aircraft, one direct signal path and one earth-reflected signal path, together with elementary geometric/trigonometric relationships, involving length difference in these paths and signal angle of arrival, in determining aircraft altitude. Equal angles of satellite signal incidence and reflection at the point of satellite signal reflection from the earth is an enabling principle in the altimeter. | James B. Y. Tsui (Dayton, OH) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air Force (Washington, DC) | 2000-03-13 | 2001-07-03 | G01S5/14, G01S3/14, G01S3/16, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G08B023/00 | 09/524372 |
| 838 | 6255982 | Method of characterization of an overflown ground from a FM/CW radio altimeter signal | The invention proposes a novel method for using the signals provided by an airborne FM/CW radio altimeter, allowing to perform an analysis of the ground overflown by an aircraft for the purpose of, for example, identifying it, or alternatively of recognizing it. The method of the invention consists in analyzing, in the frequency domain, the shape of the spectrum of the beat signal generated by said radio altimeter to characterize said ground so as to extract from it information relating to the reflectivity of said ground. | Serge Hethuin (St. Remy les Chevreuses, FR) | Thomson Trt Defense (Guyancourt, FR) | 1991-10-28 | 2001-07-03 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/34, G01S013/32 | 07/789371 |
| 839 | 6255981 | Method for range alignment and rotation correction of a high resolution image in an inverse synthetic aperture radar system | A method for range alignment and rotation correction of a high resolution image in an inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) system is provided that includes an ISAR image generator (14) . The ISAR image generator (14) receives a full aperture (24) of data samples (20) that is then subdivided into a plurality of subapertures (26) . A coarse image generator (40) generates a coarse image (70) for each subaperture (26) . A composite image generator (42) generates a composite magnitude image (72) and a composite power image (74) from the coarse images (70) . A point select module (44) uses the composite magnitude image (72) and the composite power image (74) to select a set of prominent points (76) . A range alignment module (46) uses the coarse images (70) and the prominent points (76) to determine a range alignment correction for each coarse image (70) . A rotation correction module (48) uses the composite power image (74) and the prominent points (76) to determine a point of rotation and rotational correction for each coarse image. A coarse image correction module (50) applies the range alignment correction and the rotational correction to each coarse image (70) . An autofocus module (52) uses a phase gradient autofocus algorithm to correct phase errors occurring across coarse images (70) . Coarse image combiner (54) combines the set of coarse images (70) into a single higher resolution image (75) . Image formatter (56) generates ISAR image (58) for display on a display device (15) from high resolution image (75) . | Raymond Samaniego (Plano, TX) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1999-08-04 | 2001-07-03 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 | 09/368867 |
| 840 | 6243482 | Obstacle detection system for low-flying airborne craft | Obstacle warning system for low-flying airborne craft in which case the edge contours of the obstacles are visualized for the pilot in a display. | Max Eibert (Friedrichshafen, DE), Christoph Schaefer (Meersburg, DE) | Dornier Gmbh (Friedrichshafen, DE) | 1997-02-13 | 2001-06-05 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01S7/487, G01S7/48, G08G5/00, G01S7/51, G08G5/04, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G06K009/00 | 08/799860 |
| 841 | 6236351 | Method and apparatus for implementing automatic tilt control of a radar antenna on an aircraft | A method and apparatus for automatically controlling the tilt of a radar antenna to avoid ground clutter returns while scanning the weather formations of most interest. In one embodiment a terrain database is utilized to determine tilt angles for different terrain cells. The tilt angle is determined starting at the aircraft position and working out to the radar range. If a tilt angle for a more distant cell is less than for a nearer cell it is ignored taking shadowing into account. In another embodiment the weighted tilt angle frequencies are entered into a histogram and the histogram is scanned to obtain a tilt angle resulting in an acceptable amount of ground clutter. | Kevin J Conner (Kent, WA), Daryal Kuntman (Bellevue, WA), Martin M. Morici (Timonium, MD), Stephen D. Hammack (Redmond, WA), Jim Joyce (Olthe, KS) | Alliedsignal Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 1999-07-06 | 2001-05-22 | G01S13/95, G01S7/28, H01Q1/28, G01S13/00, H01Q3/26, H01Q1/27, G01S13/93, G01S013/95 | 09/348648 |
| 842 | 6233522 | Aircraft position validation using radar and digital terrain elevation database | A radar gathers terrain data which is compared to a stored terrain data base using a test statistic. The test statistic can be used to validate the terrain data base information and/or the aircraft position data. | Martin M. Morici (Timonium, MD) | Alliedsignal Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 1999-07-06 | 2001-05-15 | G01C21/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/86, G05D1/06, G05D1/00, G01S5/14, G01C021/30 | 09/348722 |
| 843 | 6222933 | Method of processing spotlight SAR raw data | For two-dimensional processing of spotlight SAR data into exact image data, the spotlight SAR raw data are divided into azimuth sub-apertures and transformed into the range-time/azimuth-frequency domain through short azimuth FFTs. The obtained data are multiplied by a frequency-scaling function H.sub.f (f.sub.a, t.sub.r , r.sub.0) and transformed into the two-dimensional frequency domain through short range FFTs, multiplied by an RV-phase-correction function H.sub.RVP (f.sub.r) and subsequently transformed back into the range time/azimuth-frequency domain through short range IFFTs. The data formed in this manner are multiplied by the inverse frequency-scaling function H.sub.g (f.sub.a, f.sub.r) , then transformed back into the two-dimensional frequency domain, multiplied by the phase-correction function H.sub.korr (f.sub.a, f.sub.r) and the azimuth-scaling function H.sub.a (f.sub.a, f.sub.r) , and transformed back into the range-frequency/azimuth-time domain through short azimuth FFTS. Then the azimuth sub-apertures are re-assembled, multiplied by a de-ramping function H.sub.der (t.sub.a) and transformed into the two-dimensional frequency domain through long azimuth FFTs. | Josef Mittermayer (Munchen, DE), Alberto Moreira (Garching, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Bonn, DE) | 1998-12-21 | 2001-04-24 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S7/288, G01S7/285, G01S013/90 | 09/217571 |
| 844 | 6219594 | Landing area obstacle detection radar system | An aircraft including an approach and landing system, including a navigation unit for providing navigation information, a weather radar unit for providing radar information, a processor which receives navigation information from the navigation unit and information from the weather radar unit, the processor unit providing an output representing information concerning the aircraft in accordance with the provided navigation information and radar information, a memory for storing information representing a scene, the processor unit correlating the stored scene information with the output representing information concerning the aircraft to provide a mapped scene, a display unit for displaying the output of said processor and the mapped scene, and a steppable frequency oscillator for providing a signal which is stepped in frequency to the weather radar unit, thereby providing an increased range resolution. | Joseph M. Nicosia (Carlsbad, CA), Keith R. Loss (Escondido, CA), Gordon A. Taylor (Escondido, CA) | Winged Systems Corporation (Caldwell, TX) | 1999-10-18 | 2001-04-17 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01C21/10, G01C23/00, G01C21/16, G08G5/00, G05D1/06, G05D1/00, G01S13/00, G08G5/02, G01S13/95, G01S13/91, G01S13/90, G01S13/28, G01S13/86, G01S5/14, G06F017/00 | 09/419767 |
| 845 | 6211809 | Surface-based passive millimeter-wave landing aid | A passive millimeter-wave imaging system (10) that includes a millimeter-wave camera (12) positioned at the end of an aircraft landing strip (14) to provide an image (20) of the aircraft (16) approaching the landing strip (14) along a landing glidepath (18) . The camera (12) broadcasts the image (20) of the aircraft (16) approaching the landing strip (14) to the aircraft (16) and to a control tower (24) . With this information, the pilot of the aircraft (16) sees his aircraft's position relative to the glidepath (18) , and can make landing adjustments accordingly. Likewise, the tower personnel can monitor the aircraft landing glidepath (18) to insure that the aircraft (16) maintain a safe distance relative to the ground. In one embodiment, a closed-loop communication is provided between the aircraft (16) and the camera (12) , where the aircraft (16) transmits a signal to the camera (12) that is combined with the image (20) to give the pilot an indication of which aircraft (16) in the image (20) is his aircraft (16) . The coded signal transmitted by the aircraft (16) can also be used to give a range of the aircraft (16) from the landing strip (14) . | Gerald J. Stiles (El Segundo, CA) | Trw Inc. (Redondo Beach, CA) | 1998-09-01 | 2001-04-03 | G01S13/00, G01S11/12, G01S11/00, G01S13/88, G01S13/89, G01S7/02, G01S013/88 | 09/145359 |
| 846 | 6211808 | Collision avoidance system for use in aircraft | A collision avoidance system mountable on an aircraft for providing to the pilot of that aircraft an early warning of the presence of another nearby threat aircraft within the surrounding air space. The system operates autonomously from that aircraft and does not require the presence of any matched system on board the threat aircraft. The system includes an omni-directional L-band microwave antenna formed by a dielectric sphere cut into eight equal ''orange wedge'' sectors covering eight distinct beam patterns. Eight L-band microwave signals are transmitted simultaneously from all eight dielectric sectors to provide a sphere of detection around the aircraft. The sectors also act as receivers for detecting a microwave signal reflected back from the threat aircraft, and indicating means provides information to the pilot regarding the direction, closeness and rate of closure of the threat aircraft. | Frank L. Rees (Baltimore, MD) | Flight Safety Technologies Inc. (New London, CT) | 1999-02-23 | 2001-04-03 | G01S7/04, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/93, G01S7/02, G01S13/76, G01S13/18, G01S013/93 | 09/255269 |
| 847 | 6208283 | Synthetic aperture radar system and platform position measuring apparatus used in the same | A synthetic aperture radar system fluctuation compensating apparatus includes a synthetic aperture radar mounted on a flying unit, a data acquiring unit, a position measuring unit and a position determining unit. The data acquiring unit receives a reception data by the synthetic aperture radar. The position measuring unit measures a position of the flying unit to generate a position data. The position determining unit determines a correct position of the flying unit based on the reception data and the position data to generate a compensated position data. | Minoru Murata (Tokyo, JP), Masanori Miyawaki (Kanagawa, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 1999-06-28 | 2001-03-27 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S5/14, G01S013/90 | 09/340425 |
| 848 | 6208270 | Device and method for detection of aircraft wire hazard | An optical hazard detection system for aircraft based on a dynamic parallax mechanism to alert the pilot of an object in the flight path by a selected amount of time in advance. | Murray Dunn (Encinitas, CA) | Thermotrex Corporation (San Diego, CA) | 1998-11-16 | 2001-03-27 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01S7/481, G08G005/04 | 09/192963 |
| 849 | 6204805 | Dual target tracking altimeter | The apparatus has the capability to detect the distance between an aircraft and the ground and at the same time to the nearest point to the aircraft such as buildings or trees. The apparatus includes an altimeter, determining the nearest point, as well as a device for determining the distance to the second target. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 1998-02-06 | 2001-03-20 | G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/87, G01S13/88, G01S013/10 | 09/020287 |
| 850 | 6204801 | System and method for obtaining precise missile range information for semiactive missile systems | A system (10) for determining the range between a missile (14) and a target (18) adapted for use with a semi-active missile system. The system (10) includes a first circuit (12) for generating a periodic signal (24) that is periodically frequency modulated. A second circuit (16) determines a closing rate at which the missile 14 is approaching the target 18 via the periodic signal 24. A third circuit (16) determines a value containing information corresponding to the range and the closing rate via the periodic signal. A fourth circuit (16) determines the range from the closing rate and the value. In a specific embodiment, the first circuit (12) includes an illumination system (12) . The illumination system (12) includes a periodically modulated carrier signal generator (32) that generates the periodic signal (24) . The periodically modulated carrier signal generator (32) includes a frequency source, a frequency modulator, and an illumination system computer. The illumination system computer runs software for adjusting the modulation parameters of the frequency modulator. The second, third and fourth circuits (16) are included in a receiver system (16) onboard the missile (14) . The receiver system (16) includes a front receiver located near the front of the missile and a rear receiver located near the rear of the missile (14) . A receiver system computer runs software that implements the fourth circuit (16) . The receiver system (16) includes a local oscillator for providing a reference frequency for the receiver system. The local oscillator derives the reference frequency from the periodic signal provided by the first circuit. In illustrative embodiment, the fourth circuit (16) runs computer software that subtracts the closing rate from the combination of closing rate and range and provides the range in response thereto. | David Sharka (Tucson, AZ), Harvey J. Meltzer (Pomona, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1998-08-14 | 2001-03-20 | F42C13/00, F42C13/04, G01S13/00, F41G7/22, F41G7/20, G01S013/72 | 09/134024 |
| 851 | 6192322 | Moving object and transient event detection using rotation strip aperture image measurements | A spinning strip aperture imaging radiometer sensor system and data processing methods for detecting moving objects derived from a plurality of image frames acquired by a strip aperture imaging sensor. A moving object in any individual image frame results in a motion smear signature in the total synthesized image. The motion smear signature is processed to detect the moving objects. One embodiment of the system comprises a rotating strip aperture telescope, a two dimensional detector array that detects images in the telescope's focal plane, a rotation compensation device that prevents rotational smear during integration time of detectors of the array, a signal processor that records a plurality of image frames of a scene imaged by the telescope as it rotates around its optical axis, and that implements method (s) for detecting the moving objects present in the recorded images. A hierarchy of moving object detection processors and methods 20 is disclosed that includes spatial, temporal, spatial frequency, and temporal frequency domain detection processors, and is compatible with multi-spectral background rejection techniques. Selection of the appropriate processing procedure and method depends upon the scenario, and the effective signal to noise ratio characteristics of the moving object. | Gerard L. Rafanelli (Fountain Valley, CA), Susan B. Mount (Torrance, CA), Stephen K. Johnson (Herndon, VA), Marilyn A. Sperka (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Eric B. Jensen (Hermosa Beach, CA), Mark J. Rehfield (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1996-04-19 | 2001-02-20 | B64G3/00, G06T7/20, G01S17/50, G01S17/89, G01S17/00, G01S017/50 | 08/633980 |
| 852 | 6181270 | Reference-based autofocusing method for IFSAR and other applications | A reference-based autofocusing procedure is particularly suited to existing and future interferometric SAR systems, though the principles are generally applicable to signal processing systems for which there are two partially correlated data sets having relative spectral errors. In an airborne or spaceborne system, the technique only requires some additional steps in the ground processor functions. The invention takes advantage of the fact that in a bistatic system, one antenna phase center both transmits and receives with the usual common-mode cancellation, and can thus be expected to form a reasonably well-focused image. In the second system, with the degraded phase error response, the image provided by the first system is used as a coherent reference to aid the estimation and removal of the relative phase errors between the two. Thus, the methodology uses the initially degraded image pair correlation data to help estimate and remove errors in a way which naturally maximizes the final correlation level obtained. The data may represent an entire image, or a selected subregion or subregions of the whole image to be operated upon. | J. Craig Dwyer (Ann Arbor, MI) | Veridian Erim International, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI) | 2000-02-22 | 2001-01-30 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 | 09/510561 |
| 853 | 6181261 | Airfield hazard automated detection system | An airfield hazard automated detection device having a radar for scanning the airfield for obstacles and an automated target recognition system, operably connected to the radar, for comparing the images of the scans of the obstacles to images of known potential hazards and for instructing a directed imaging system to verify the potential hazard by scanning the potential hazard and indicating the result. | James R. Miles, Jr. (Alexandria, VA), Robert L. Monroe (Daleville, AL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1999-06-24 | 2001-01-30 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/87, G01S7/02, G01S3/786, G01S3/78, G01S7/41, G06K9/32, G01C021/00, G01C023/00 | 09/339291 |
| 854 | 6175326 | Moving receive beam method and apparatus for synthetic aperture radar | A method and apparatus for improving the performance of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems by reducing the effect of ''edge losses'' associated with nonuniform receiver antenna gain. By moving the receiver antenna pattern in synchrony with the apparent motion of the transmitted pulse along the ground, the maximum available receiver antenna gain can be used at all times. Also, the receiver antenna gain for range-ambiguous return signals may be reduced, in some cases, by a large factor. The beam motion can be implemented by real-time adjustment of phase shifters in an electronically-steered phased-array antenna or by electronic switching of feed horns in a reflector antenna system. | Jordin T. Kare (San Ramon, CA) | The Regents of The University of California (Oakland, CA) | 1998-06-29 | 2001-01-16 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, H01Q3/26, G01S013/90 | 09/106406 |
| 855 | 6166677 | Image synthesizing method using a plurality of reflection radar waves and aircraft image radar apparatus using the method | The present invention provides a small-size image radar apparatus to be mounted on an aircraft, having a high resolution not only the flying direction but also in the direction vertical to the flying direction. The image radar apparatus comprises a transmission antenna 2, a plurality of independent reception antennas 5.sub.1, 5.sub.2, and a computer 10 for simultaneously executing a two-dimensional phase synthesis. The synthesis result is obtained as a two-dimensional image. | Takeshi Kikuchi (Tokyo, JP), Hitoshi Nohmi (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 1999-07-29 | 2000-12-26 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/89, G01S013/90 | 09/363705 |
| 856 | 6155704 | Super-resolved full aperture scene synthesis using rotating strip aperture image measurements | A spinning strip aperture imaging radiometer sensor system and data processing method for synthesizing a super-resolved scene estimate (super-resolved scene) from a plurality of image frames acquired by the strip aperture imaging sensor system. One embodiment of the imaging system comprises a rotating strip aperture wide field of view telescope, a two dimensional detector array for detecting images in the focal plane of the telescope, rotation compensation apparatus for preventing rotational smear during the integration time of the detectors, a signal processor for recording a plurality of image frames of a scene that is imaged by the telescope as it rotates around its optical axis, and an estimation processor employing the present method for synthesizing the super-resolved scene estimate from the recorded images. The super-resolved image synthesis method uses a plurality of rotating strip aperture measurements within the strip aperture passband and within the passband of an equivalent bandlimited synthesized full circular aperture to estimate the spatial frequency information outside the total measurement passband, and/or outside the passband of the equivalent bandlimited synthesized full circular aperture, as well as within the equivalent bandlimited passband. Knowledge of the spatial response function of the strip aperture, the spatial response function of the detector array, noise statistics, and the temporal registrations of each of the recorded strip aperture images permits synthesis of the super-resolved full aperture image by the sensor system and image synthesis method. The super-resolved image synthesis method may be employed in the spatial domain, the spatial frequency domain, or both. | Bobby R. Hunt (Tucson, AZ), Gerard L. Rafanelli (Fountain Valley, CA), Philip J. Sementilli (Tucson, AZ), Susan B. Mount (Torrance, CA), Albert M. Bisbee (Tucson, AZ), James F. Montgomery (Hermosa Beach, CA), Stephen K. Johnson (Herndon, VA) | Hughes Electronics (El Segundo, CA) | 1996-04-19 | 2000-12-05 | G01S13/90, G01R29/08, G01S3/786, G01S3/78, G01S013/89, G01S013/90 | 08/635073 |
| 857 | 6154169 | Scan management and automatic tilt control for airborne radars | A method for automatically managing the scan and tilt of an airborne radar. | Daryal Kuntman (Bellevue, WA) | Allied Signal (Morristown, NJ) | 1999-07-06 | 2000-11-28 | G01S7/28, G01S13/00, H01Q1/27, G01S13/95, H01Q3/26, G01S13/93, H01Q1/28, G01S013/95 | 09/348649 |
| 858 | 6150972 | Process for combining multiple passes of interferometric SAR data | Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) is a promising technology for a wide variety of military and civilian elevation modeling requirements. IFSAR extends traditional two dimensional SAR processing to three dimensions by utilizing the phase difference between two SAR images taken from different elevation positions to determine an angle of arrival for each pixel in the scene. This angle, together with the two-dimensional location information in the traditional SAR image, can be transformed into geographic coordinates if the position and motion parameters of the antennas are known accurately. | Douglas L. Bickel (Albuquerque, NM), David A. Yocky (Albuquerque, NM), William H. Hensley, Jr. (Albuquerque, NM) | Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM) | 1998-08-03 | 2000-11-21 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 09/128371 |
| 859 | 6147636 | Synthetic aperture processing for diffusion-equation-based target detection | A method and system for target detection processing transmits energetic pes into a media in which the energetic pulses propagate diffusively. Diffusively propagating reflections of the energetic pulses from a target are transformed into corresponding wave propagating reflections satisfying a conventional wave equation. The wave propagating reflections are then processed in accordance with a synthetic aperture processing technique. | Meir Gershenson (Panama City, FL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1999-08-16 | 2000-11-14 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01V3/12, G01S013/90, G01V003/12 | 09/374014 |
| 860 | 6137435 | Onboard radar apparatus | The present invention relates to an onboard radar apparatus having a receiving and transmitting device for transmitting electromagnetic waves to objects and receiving the electromagnetic waves reflected by the objects repeatedly, and a signal processing device for repeatedly calculating relative ranges and relative velocities of the objects based on the transmitting electromagnetic waves and the receiving electromagnetic waves, wherein false images are judged by comparing their relative velocities, calculated from differences between the relative ranges of the objects in previous measurement and the relative ranges of the objects in current measurement, with said relative velocities of the objects, calculated based on the transmitting electromagnetic waves and the receiving electromagnetic waves in the current measurement, and thus judged false images are deleted from outputs of the apparatus, whereby the false images are not recognized as target objects and probability of occurrence of false images can be reduced. | Koichi Kai (Tokyo, JP) | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP) | 1999-08-10 | 2000-10-24 | G01S7/02, G01S7/35, G01S13/00, G06K9/32, G01S13/34, G01S13/93, G01S013/93 | 09/370925 |
| 861 | 6125327 | System for identifying and generating geographic map display of aircraft icing conditions | A satellite data processing aircraft icing detection and display mechanism comprises a communication link coupled with an earth-imaging satellite containing a terrestrial-directed imagery sensing system, which conveys data associated with multiple images representative of characteristics of the earth's atmosphere in a viewed terrestrial area. A digital imagery data processor is coupled to the communication link, and is operative to process the data to provide an indication of intensity and height of potential areas of aircraft icing. An icing display subsystem is coupled with the digital imagery data processor and is operative to generate a multi-pixel map image showing the geographical location, intensity and height of an identified aircraft icing layer. | James A. Kalenian (Melbourne, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 1997-01-15 | 2000-09-26 | G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G06F169/00 | 08/783277 |
| 862 | 6118401 | Aircraft ground collision avoidance system and method | A system and method for avoiding collision between objects and wingtips of an aircraft when the aircraft is on the ground includes mounting detecting devices such as a low cost radar unit and a video camera in the wingtip. These detection devices are coupled with one or more indicators to provide an operator of the aircraft such as a pilot that an imminent collision with an object is about the occur. The indication can be an audio or visual signal, either within or outside of the aircraft. | Bruce Tognazzini (Woodside, CA) | Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) | 1996-07-01 | 2000-09-12 | G01S13/00, G01S13/04, G01S13/93, G01S7/04, G01S013/93, G01S013/86 | 08/671299 |
| 863 | 6111535 | Method of minimizing leakage energy in a synthetic aperture radar process | A method of minimizing leakage energy in a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system is based a Lagrangian function constructed from image-domain magnitude, and a ''penalty function'' based upon the choice of aperture. Broadly, the choice of penalty function is related to an estimate of undesirable energy lying outside of the main lobe of the impulse response introduced by the given aperture. Since there are no non-analytic constraints, the output image is purely an analytic function of the input, resulting in a more straightforward analysis and implementation while lessening the likelihood of pseudo-random phenomena. A tunable relative coefficient betveen the sidelobe energy estimate and the output magnitude allows control over a physically well-understood tradeoff between clutter contrast and point resolution. The generality of the technique may be extended to a multi-parameter minimization with possible applications in super-resolution, gap-filling, interferometry, and ultrasonic imaging, and ATR. | Brian H. Smith (Ann Arbor, MI) | Veridian Erim International, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1998-08-24 | 2000-08-29 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/28, G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S013/90, G01S013/00 | 09/138783 |
| 864 | 6088295 | Feature imaging and adaptive focusing for synthetic aperture processor | A feature imaging and adaptive focusing synthetic aperture processing met provides improved sharpness and easier classification of images derived from radar and sonar echo data by applying adaptive focusing and feature imaging to a sequence of echo data. | Richard A. Altes (La Jolla, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1998-12-29 | 2000-07-11 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S015/89, G01S013/89 | 09/222635 |
| 865 | 6072419 | Method for the processing of the reception signal of a deramp type synthetic aperture radar | A Deramp type radar used in synthetic aperture radar for radar imaging transmits coherently repeated linear frequency-modulated pulses and carries out a sort of pulse compression in reception by demodulation of the echo signals received by means of a frequency ramp that reproduces all or part of a transmitted pulse, and by a Fourier transform performed in range. The application to a Deramp type radar signal of a standard SAR processing is disturbed by the fact that, in this signal, the effectively demodulated part of an echo signal due to a target has a position with respect to this echo signal and a duration that are variable as a function of the distance from the target to the radar. The proposed method makes it possible to eliminate this disturbance by means of a particular choice of a common temporal support used for the demodulation of the signals of all the targets of the useful swath and a phase correction applied to the level of the pulse response of the image focusing filter of the SAR processing. Secondarily, a second phase correction can be applied to the complex reflection coefficients obtained for the dots of the image at the end of the SAR processing. | Eric Normant (Montigny le Bretonneux, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1998-05-13 | 2000-06-06 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/28, G01S013/90 | 09/076491 |
| 866 | 6069842 | Method and device for helicopter-borne mine countermeasures | The invention relates to underwater mines countermeasures methods and devices that can be employed from a helicopter. It consists in using the body (101) of a known passive heli-winched sonar, fitting to it emitting antennas (105, 106) arranged in this body parallel to its axis and a receiving antenna perpendicular to this axis and formed of two articulated arms (107, 108) that can be retracted inside the body. Two other arms (114, 113) that can be retracted into the body have propulsion means (111, 112) at their free ends, to allow the body to be stabilized about its axis. The invention makes it possible to employ lightweight helicopters for underwater mines countermeasures, allowing the mines to be relocated and, if appropriate, destroyed without having to backtrack. | Fran.cedilla.ois Peynaud (Brest, FR), Jean Verveur (La Crau, FR), Henri Lagain (Plouzane, FR), Pascal Abomnes (Brest, FR) | Thomson Marconi Sonar S.A.S. (Sophia Antipolis, FR) | 1999-01-19 | 1997-07-18 | 2000-05-30 | G01S15/42, G01S15/00, G01S015/00 |
| 867 | 6064924 | Method and system for predicting ship motion or the like to assist in helicopter landing | A method for a short-term prediction of future ship motion in open water to furnish visual cueing information that can be remotely presented to a pilot during an aircraft landing is described. Two sets of samples of the sea surface geometry along a radial azimuth line from a ship as a function of elevation of a sensor are first acquired. These are compensated to remove the components due to the ship's motion. Two wave traces are then separately derived in Cartesian format from the two sets of acquired samples. These wave traces are subjected to a Fast Fourier Transform to detect the amplitudes and phases of the individual wavelength components. The direction of the wavelength components is determined using a measure of their phase change in the scan direction during the time interval between the two scans together with their measured wavelength. The amplitude, direction and phase of each component is utilized together with the known motion characteristics of the moving ship in order to derive a short-term prediction of future ship motion in the time domain. A quiescent period of the ship motion is located by comparing the short-term prediction with the pre-defined operating limit criteria. Finally, a message signal is transmitted to the pilot of the aircraft indicating Time-to-Land and the duration of the quiescent period. | Dominique S. Fleischmann (London, GB) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 1997-12-03 | 2000-05-16 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G08G3/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/95, G01S7/00, G06F007/70, G08B021/00 | 08/984231 |
| 868 | 6054947 | Helicopter rotorblade radar system | A radar system for a helicopter having a mast and a plurality of blades coupled to the mast by shaft portions of the blades includes a transmitter and a receiver respectively transmitting and receiving a pulsed radar beam through a feed horn, a generator for generating the radar beam energy for transmission by the transmitter, a processor, a display, and a passive reflectarray deposited on the underside of at least one blade of the helicopter. The reflectarray is a preferably flat array of passive microstrip elements which can impart a phase to the radar beam. A typical microstrip element is a patch whose dimensions may be controlled, and the size of which determines the phase for the location within the array of that element. The reflectarray is provided with a pattern which is designed to scatter the radar beam in a desired shape and direction to produce uniform mapping of the terrain over which the helicopter travels. According to another embodiment, a passive reflectarray is provided to the underside of at least one blade, while another passive reflect is provided to the topside of at least one blade, thereby permit both terrain and sky mapping. The radar system of the invention provides a radar system utilizing a lightweight and inexpensive passive radar reflector for use on helicopters of all sizes, and achieves 360.degree. coverage. | Lester H. Kosowsky (Stamford, CT) | --- | 1998-08-28 | 2000-04-25 | G01S13/00, H01Q3/46, H01Q1/27, G01S13/90, H01Q1/28, H01Q3/00, G01S13/89, G01S7/03, G01S013/89 | 09/141985 |
| 869 | 6048315 | Method and apparatus for ultrasonic synthetic transmit aperture imaging using orthogonal complementary codes | Signal-to-noise ratio in synthetic transmit aperture imaging is significantly increased by encoding the transmit signals in orthogonal complementary codes for multiple point sources to be transmitted simultaneously. A number N of elements of a transducer array are simultaneously activated to transmit unfocused ultrasound waves during each one of N transmit events. for each transmit event, a different set of N code sequences is applied by a controller to N pulsers for the transducers to drive the transducers. The imaging depth is divided into several zones and code lengths are employed which increase with depth. A Hadamard construct of the orthogonal complementary sets, which requires only 2N correlations for decoding, is used. | Richard Yung Chiao (Clifton Park, NY), Lewis Jones Thomas, III (Tokyo, JP) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1998-09-28 | 2000-04-11 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, A61B008/00 | 09/161362 |
| 870 | 6046695 | Phase gradient auto-focus for SAR images | A SAR image auto-focus method uses statistics extracted from the image data to develop a phase pure hyperbolic correction function. The method processes an uncorrected azimuth line vector selected from an unfocused array into a corrected azimuth line vector. The method includes forming a bright spot list based on the selected uncorrected azimuth line vector where the bright spot list has at least one bright spot entry. Then, the uncorrected azimuth line vector is unpacked into an uncorrected segment set that has a first uncorrected segment corresponding to a first bright spot entry in the bright spot list. Then, the first uncorrected segment is processed into a first corrected segment based on an average phase slope corresponding to the first bright spot entry, the first corrected segment is packed into the corrected azimuth line vector, and the process repeated for all bright spots. The step of processing the first uncorrected segment into a first corrected segment includes processing the first uncorrected segment through a Fourier transform into an uncorrected spectrum vector, correcting the uncorrected spectrum vector to form a corrected spectrum vector, processing the corrected spectrum vector through an inverse Fourier transform into the first corrected segment. The step of correcting the uncorrected spectrum vector includes computing phase gradient .phi..sub.dot (f) at each frequency f in the uncorrected spectrum vector based on: then computing the average phase slope by averaging the phase gradient determined at each frequency in the uncorrected spectrum vector. Then a correction function vector corresponding to the average phase slope is generated, and the uncorrected spectrum vector is multiplied by the correction function vector, element by element, to form the corrected spectrum vector. | Paul L. Poehler (Melbourne, FL), Arthur W. Mansfield (Rockville, MD) | Science Application International Corporation (San Diego, CA) | 1997-07-09 | 2000-04-04 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/890598 |
| 871 | 6043757 | Dynamic, multi-attribute hazard prioritization system for aircraft | Signals from warning systems are passed to a hazard prioritization computer. The prioritization computer also receives inputs from the aircraft's air data and inertial reference system. The alert prioritization computer includes three functional modules: (1) hazard detection, identification and monitoring, (2) threat assessment and (3) display and alert prioritization logic. The hazard prioritization computer processes the warning system signals, along with stored data from a hazard database to compute a severity component of threat and a proximity component of threat. These two components are processed to produce an overall threat value for each hazard. This overall threat value is then processed to provide alert and display generation and prioritization for the flight crew and/or the aircraft's auto-flight system. | Nicholas J. M. Patrick (Seattle, WA) | The Boeing Company (N/A) | 1998-06-12 | 2000-03-28 | G08G5/00, G08G5/04, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/95, G08B023/00 | 09/096543 |
| 872 | 6043756 | Aircraft weather information system | A system and method for downlinking weather data, generated by existing weather and data sensors, to a ground station. The ground station utilizes data from multiple aircraft to form refined weather information, and uplinks the refined weather information to the aircraft. The refined weather information is stored at the aircraft and picture generating equipment, such as an existing onboard ground proximity terrain picture and symbol generator, generates pictorial information depicting weather. The pictorial information is displayed, for example by an existing EFIS or weather radar display, in the form of polygons. | Charles D. Bateman (Bellevue, WA), John Hruby (Monroe, WA), Kevin J. Conner (Kent, WA) | Alliedsignal Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 1999-02-08 | 2000-03-28 | G01W1/10, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G08B023/00 | 09/248367 |
| 873 | 6037893 | Enhanced motion compensation technique in synthetic aperture radar systems | Compensating for motion of the host vehicle in a synthetic aperture radar system includes collecting inertial data with an inertial navigation system during an imaging period in which a synthetic aperture radar pulse is directed to a target. During the imaging period global positioning system corrections to the inertial data are collected. A smooth representation of the global positioning system corrections is formed and then the smooth representation of the global positioning system corrections is applied to the inertial data after completion of the imaging period. | Jerome S. Lipman (Sherman Oaks, CA) | Litton Systems, Inc. (Woodland Hills, CA) | 1998-07-31 | 2000-03-14 | G01S13/90, G01S13/86, G01C21/10, G01C21/16, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S013/86 | 09/127011 |
| 874 | 6025795 | Missile shield | A covert and secure communication system which employs a very narrow bandwidth to permit receivers to be very sensitive to low power signals while maintaining acceptable signal-to-noise ratios. In the preferred embodiment, the system operates at the millimeter wavelength which, because of very high attenuation in atmosphere, will be undetectable beyond a very limited range. In another embodiment of the invention, the covert communication system is applied to an IFF system in conjunction with a homing missile. The IFF system of the present invention may be used as a back-up to confirm that a target is a foe by transmitting to and receiving a confirming signal from the target at the terminal portion of the engagement. for example, transmission between the target and missile may occur when the target and missile are less than 2,000 feet apart. The system is even less detectable and more secure because transmission only occurs during the very last portion of missile engagement which avoids the long range transmission of conventional IFF systems. | Garry N. Hulderman (Riverside, CA), Bernard W. Drewes (Upland, CA), Allen C. Hagelberg (Upland, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1996-12-18 | 2000-02-15 | G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S13/76, G01S013/78 | 08/768719 |
| 875 | 6023235 | Method for generating microwave-resolution images of moving objects by inverse synthetic aperture radar | A method of radar imaging moving objects, especially ground traffic at airports, uses inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) . The two-dimensional location distribution of backscatter centers of the object is detected. A plurality of range bins are provided for suppressing of interference, created because of Doppler shifts, in microwave images represented in the form of pixels. Only those pixels are considered to be active which exceed a defined intensity threshold value, which had previously been determined as a fixed fraction of the maximally present pixel intensity. A range area with interference is determined with the aid of a method wherein the threshold is exceeded and wherein the number of active pixels in the individual successive range bins is counted, and wherein image opening is performed in the detected interfered range area, which consists of a succession of a single or several repeated ''erosions'' and ''dilatations''. An erosion cancels all those active pixels, in whose defined vicinity an inactive pixel occurs, and a dilatation activates all pixels in the defined vicinity of an active pixel. | Thomas Sauer (Wessling, DE) | Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Benn, DE) | 1998-06-05 | 2000-02-08 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S13/91, G01S13/52, G01S013/90 | 09/090940 |
| 876 | 6020832 | Method and apparatus of automatically monitoring aircraft altitude | An apparatus and method for automatically and independently determining aircraft altitude and alerting the pilot to deviations from a target altitude exceeding a specified tolerance. The alerter comprises an altitude sensing means for sensing the present altitude of the aircraft. The invention discloses three sources for altitude information namely, a self-contined sensor such as a pressure transducer, a Global Positioning System receive, or an altitude encoder. A target entry means is used for entering the target altitude. An indicating means signals an altitude alerting condition upon the detection of a condition wherein the absolute difference is larger than the tolerance value. The altitude alerting apparatus may also comprise a display means for display of the present aircraft altitude information. | David D. Jensen (Omaha, NE) | --- | 1996-08-05 | 2000-02-01 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S5/14, G08B023/00 | 08/693893 |
| 877 | 6020831 | Flight control system user interface apparatus and control data display method thereof | A flight control system user interface apparatus and a control data display method thereof are provided to reduce a workload on a controller and to increase the safety of flight. A main-control terminal on a man-machine interface apparatus for use in a flight control system has an aircraft position display area 102, an aircraft order display area 102, a simple strip display area 104, an aircraft data display area 104, and a control pilot data link communication display area. These areas are arranged in such a way that they are controlled by one input unit. | Masao Nishida (Tokyo, JP), Yasuhiro Taka (Tokyo, JP), Toshikazu Nakajima (Tokyo, JP), Ryuji Otsuka (Tokyo, JP) | Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, JP) | 1998-05-27 | 2000-02-01 | G01S7/04, G01S7/22, G08G5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G08B021/00 | 09/084792 |
| 878 | 6018698 | High-precision near-land aircraft navigation system | An aircraft including an approach and landing system, including a navigation unit for providing navigation information, a weather radar unit for providing radar information, a processor which receives navigation information from the navigation unit and information from the weather radar unit, the processor unit providing an output representing information concerning the aircraft in accordance with the provided navigation information and radar information, a memory for storing information representing a scene, the processor unit correlating the stored scene information with the output representing information concerning the aircraft to provide a mapped scene, a display unit for displaying the output of said processor and the mapped scene, and a steppable frequency oscillator for providing a signal which is stepped in frequency to the weather radar unit, thereby providing an increased range resolution. | Joseph M. Nicosia (Carlsbad, CA), Keith R. Loss (Escondido, CA), Gordon A. Taylor (Escondido, CA) | Winged Systems Corporation (Dickinson, TX) | 1997-06-23 | 2000-01-25 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01C23/00, G01C21/10, G01C21/16, G08G5/00, G05D1/06, G05D1/00, G01S13/00, G08G5/02, G01S13/91, G01S13/95, G01S13/90, G01S13/28, G01S13/86, G01S5/14, G01S013/08 | 08/880362 |
| 879 | 6018306 | Scalable range migration algorithm for high-resolution, large-area SAR imaging | An improved range migration algorithm or processing method that advantageously performs digital synthetic aperture radar image formation processing. The range migration algorithm provides high-resolution, large-area spotlight SAR imaging that is free from phase and gain discontinuities and geometric distortions. The range migration algorithm also provides for truly scalable and portable processing. The range migration algorithm may be used in a real-time implementation on a multi-processor platform. The range migration algorithm of the present invention does not perform range deskew, which results in more efficient processing and the imaging of very large swath widths. In addition, the range migration algorithm explicitly and efficiently treats the residual video phase term. Also, no overcollection of input data is required. | Evan B. Serbin (Los Angeles, CA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1998-08-21 | 2000-01-25 | G01S13/90, G01S7/285, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 09/137720 |
| 880 | 6014099 | Isar method to analyze radar cross sections | A method of analyzing the radar cross section of a target vehicle determines the contributions to total radar cross section of various vehicle design details. The method includes obtaining ISAR images of the vehicle with a radar at a known position relative to the vehicle. A visible three-dimensional set of images of the vehicle is created. The visible images have the same point of view as the ISAR images. Each visible image is matched by one or more corresponding ISAR images in terms of distance from the target and angular position of the target relative to the vehicle's axis of rotation. The corresponding ISAR images are used to paint the visible images so as to produce one or more rendered composite images of the vehicle. A relation is then found between chosen vehicle details and bright zones in the composite image. | John G. Bennett (Macomb County, MI), Jack C. Jones (Oakland County, MI) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1998-11-09 | 2000-01-11 | G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 09/208154 |
| 881 | 6011505 | Terrain elevation measurement by interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) | An interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) elevation measurement processor computes an elevation array by processing a first image array to generate an elevation corrected first image array, processing a second image array to generate an elevation corrected second image array, generating a phase interferogram from the elevation corrected first and second image arrays, and processing the phase interferogram to generate the computed elevation array. The layover correction is based on either (1) a predetermined elevation array, (2) an elevation array computed by radargrammetry, (3) an initial computed elevation array developed in an initial iteration by initial interferometry of uncorrected images followed by the layover correction in a subsequent iteration based on the initial computed elevation array, or (4) a combination of the above. The layover correction process removes range and Doppler distortion inherent in pixel data due to elevations variations in the imaged terrain. | Paul L. Poehler (Melbourne, FL), Arthur W. Mansfield (Rockville, MD) | Science Applications International Corporation (San Diego, CA) | 1997-07-09 | 2000-01-04 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/86, G01S13/89, G01S013/90 | 08/890596 |
| 882 | 6008754 | On-ground radio altimeter calibration system | To ensure that a radio altimeter indicates zero altitude when the aircraft is on the ground, an on-ground calibration system utilizes a calibration switch to initiate a calibration radio altimeter signal from the radio altimeter's transmitter section which is reflected off of the ground and received by the altimeter's receiver section. The time delay between transmission and reception of the signal is measured and a value representing the delay is stored in the altimeter's microprocessor. This value corresponds to zero altitude and can be used as the relative zero point for calculating altitudes of the aircraft when it is in flight. | Mark G. Roos (Shawnee, KS) | Alliedsignal Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 1997-08-12 | 1999-12-28 | G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S007/40 | 08/910190 |
| 883 | 5999118 | Method of spectral analysis, FM/CW type radio altimeter with digital processing | A spectral analysis carried out on the beat signals obtained by the mixing of a transmission signal, the frequency of which is modulated in the form of recurrent sawteeth, with this same signal after it has been transmitted, reflected and then received. The spectral analysis is based on the computation of self-correlation coefficients enabling the definition of the spectral components. for this purpose, the coefficients are computed at each sawtooth and are combined with the coefficients determined with the most recent previous sawteeth to give so-called global coefficients, from which the spectral components sought are restituted in a conventional way. Application especially to altimeters for the measurement of small heights. | Serge Hethuin (Courbevoie, FR), Gilles Bourde (Issy les Moulineaux, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1997-07-03 | 1999-12-07 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S013/34 | 08/887938 |
| 884 | 5990824 | Ground based pulse radar system and method providing high clutter rejection and reliable moving target indication with extended range for airport traffic control and other applications | An MTI radar system transmits pulses with variable interpulse time periods and is structured with a lattice filter to process return signals to identify targets while substantially rejecting static and moving clutter. The MTI radar system also operates to reject adverse effects of transmitter instability in the processing of return signals. The MTI radar system is applied as an airport traffic control in which aircraft are detected as targets. | Earnest R. Harrison (Severna Park, MD) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1998-06-19 | 1999-11-23 | G01S13/00, G01S13/524, G01S13/91, G01S013/534 | 09/100727 |
| 885 | 5982319 | UHF synthetic aperture radar | A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) which operates at UHF frequencies and which includes a two element antenna. The SAR generates a null in the backlobe of the antenna pattern at the location of a target which is steered rather than trying to obtain directivity in the mainlobe. Both analog and digital implementations are provided. In the analog approach, required phase shifts are performed at a frequency higher than the RF output frequency and the receive and transmit nulls are steered separately to increase the width of the null so as to allow for wider SAR swaths. The digital implementation involves steering the null only on receive and multiplying fast time samples by a complex phase correction similar to that used in the analog approach to form the beam. The phase correction is also performed prior to range resolution which employs ''stretch'' processing, so as to achieve high range resolution. | Scott C. Borden (Finksburg, MD), George A. Ioannidis (Bel Air, MD) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1998-03-12 | 1999-11-09 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S013/90 | 09/041215 |
| 886 | 5973634 | Method and apparatus for reducing range ambiguity in synthetic aperture radar | A modified Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system with reduced sensitivity to range ambiguities, and which uses secondary receiver channels to detect the range ambiguous signals and subtract them from the signal received by the main channel. Both desired and range ambiguous signals are detected by a main receiver and by one or more identical secondary receivers. All receivers are connected to a common antenna with two or more feed systems offset in elevation (e.g., a reflector antenna with multiple feed horns or a phased array with multiple phase shift networks. The secondary receiver output (s) is (are) then subtracted from the main receiver output in such a way as to cancel the ambiguous signals while only slightly attenuating the desired signal and slightly increasing the noise in the main channel, and thus does not significantly affect the desired signal. This subtraction may be done in real time, or the outputs of the receivers may be recorded separately and combined during signal processing. | Jordin T. Kare (San Ramon, CA) | The Regents of The University of California (Oakland, CA) | 1997-12-10 | 1999-10-26 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/20, G01S013/90 | 08/988604 |
| 887 | 5969662 | SAR radar system | A synthetic aperture radar system (SAR) has a wide antenna beam. By using a Local Backprojection SAR Processor the requirment for computational power becomes practical. The SAR radar system is arranged to collect signal amplitudes over segments of the vehicle track, called subapertures, which are so short that the closest points imaged on the ground are in the far-field of said subapertures with respect to a wavelength, charactersitic of the radar signal, then to synthesize, from data obtained over each subaperture, a set of directive radar beams with an angular resolution determined by the subaperture length and the wavelength mentioned and each associated with a given position within the subaperture, to assume a topography for the ground surface, either based upon a topographical map or an assumption, for example that the ground is flat, and finally to compute the radar reflectivity of all ground points forming the image by a summation of the amplitudes for all subapertures at the range and beam direction determined by the platform position and the ground point. | Hans Hellsten (S-585 97 Linkoping, SE) | --- | 1998-03-20 | 1996-09-20 | 1999-10-19 | G01S13/90, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S007/295, G01S013/02 |
| 888 | 5959566 | Method and system for detecting moving objects using a synthetic aperture radar system | A method and system for detecting moving objects using azimuth streaks in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image data are disclosed. The method and system of the present invention are directed to processing amplitude data relating to a SAR image, the first amplitude data having at least first and second indications corresponding to at least a first object moving at a substantially constant linear velocity and clutter, respectively, to separate or filter at least the first indication from the second indication, reducing/altering a spatial frequency power of the clutter corresponding to the second indication relative to a first azimuth streak power of a first azimuth streak corresponding to the first indication, and thresholding a first amplitude of the first azimuth streak to detect the first azimuth streak. | Joe V. Petty (Highlands Ranch, CO) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 1998-03-27 | 1999-09-28 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 09/049499 |
| 889 | 5951479 | Method and apparatus for synthetic transmit aperture imaging | An ultrasound imaging system uses a synthetic transmit aperture method with prefocused subapertures. The transmit aperture is divided into several subapertures. Transmission is done sequentially on each subaperture while receiving on the full aperture. The received data sets are then combined using the appropriate delays. In this way the focusing performance of a composite focusing system using a number of focal zones equal to the square of the number of subapertures is achieved. The gain is an increase in the frame rate which is also equal to the number of subapertures used. | Sverre Holm (Asker, NO), Hongxia Yao (Oslo, NO) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1998-09-29 | 1999-09-14 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, G01S7/523, G01S7/524, A61B008/00 | 09/162848 |
| 890 | 5945937 | Along-track interferometric synthetic aperture radar | An along-track interferometric SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) of the present invention includes a single SAR line and observes a target only once. SAR data derived from a single observation are subjected to look division in order to reproduce two SAR images deviated in time from each other. Interference processing is executed with the two SAR images in order to determine a phase difference. The phase difference is converted to the velocity of the target. This can be done without resorting to any additional hardware. | Takashi Fujimura (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 1997-11-17 | 1999-08-31 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/971260 |
| 891 | 5941931 | Simplified system for integrating distance information from an additional navigation system into an existing aircraft design | A simplified system for integrating a distance measurement derived from an additional navigation system into an existing aircraft design by creation of a Distance integrator function that makes use of existing Distance Measuring Equipment to couple the additional navigation system into the aircraft's display and navigation systems. | Ralph D. Ricks (Huntington Beach, CA) | Rockwell International (Costa Mesa, CA) | 1997-10-22 | 1999-08-24 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G06F013/00 | 08/955581 |
| 892 | 5940024 | Onboard radar system for a vehicle | An onboard radar system for a vehicle using the FM-CW method is provided. The radar system includes a mode changer. The mode changer provides a first mode which is suitable to detect a target existing distant from the vehicle. The mode changer also provides a second mode which is suitable to detect a target existing nearby the vehicle. The radar system detects a pair of beat frequencies in the first mode. Further, the radar system detects another pair of beat frequencies in the second mode. The radar system detects a target based on a pair of base beat frequencies which are determined based on an analysis result of both pairs of the beat frequencies. | Makoto Takagi (Suntou-gun, JP), Setsuo Tokoro (Susono, JP) | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota, JP) | 1997-12-10 | 1999-08-17 | G01S13/93, G01S13/34, G01S13/00, G01S7/285, G01S13/87, G01S7/288, G01S013/93, G01S013/34 | 08/988407 |
| 893 | 5936229 | Tracking means for distant ballistic missile targets comprising means for tracking largest radius of curvature | A laser tracking system steers a beam of laser energy which is dithered in two directions to scan the surface of a moving object. A laser energy detector detects laser energy reflected from the target. Reflected energy is filtered to distinguish dither frequencies for signals in both directions, which signals are independently analyzed to determine the location of the target in relation to the laser beam. A bias signal is generated which causes the beam of laser energy to be steered toward a surface radius to be steered toward a surface with the sharpest radius of curvature within the trackers' field-of-regard, to the target, to the tracked location on-target, or modified signals steer a portion of the beam to an optimum track location on target while offsetting most of the beam's energy to a second engagement location on target. Also, a track testing system is capable of monitoring a laser beam focused on a missile and determining the effective laser engagement on a spinning target. | Peter M. Livingston (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) | Trw Inc. (Redondo Beach, CA) | 1997-12-11 | 1999-08-10 | G01S17/46, G01S17/00, G01S17/66, G01S7/48, G01S7/491, G01S7/497, G01S7/481, G01S017/66 | 08/989189 |
| 894 | 5910785 | Method for the processing of the reception signal of a synthetic aperture radar with frequency ramps | A Deramp type radar used in synthetic aperture radar for radar imaging transmits coherently repeated linear frequency-modulated pulses and carries out a sort of pulse compression in reception by demodulation of the echo signals received by means of a frequency ramp that reproduces all or part of a transmitted pulse, and by a Fourier transform performed in range. With this type of pulse compression, a parasitic phase modulation appears on the signal delivered by a Deramp type radar. This parasitic phase modulation disturbs the standard SAR procession operations for the construction of radar images. The proposed method is used to eliminate the detrimental effects of this parasitic phase modulation on the construction of a radar image. It consists of the adoption of a particular temporal support for the demodulation and of the correction of the parasitic phase modulation that appears with this particular temporal supports chiefly by a phase correction in the pulse response of the image focusing filter and, secondarily, by a another phase correction in the complex reflection coefficients obtained for the points of the image at the end of the SAR processing. FIG. 7. | Eric Normant (Montigny le Bretonneux, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1998-04-30 | 1999-06-08 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/28, G01S013/00 | 09/069989 |
| 895 | 5902241 | Large-aperture imaging using transducer array with adaptive element pitch control | An adaptive transducer array in which the element pitch is controlled by the imaging system depending on the mode of operation. A multiplicity of transducer elements are connected to a multiplicity of beamformer channels by a multiplexing arrangement having multiple states. In one multiplexer state, successive transducer elements are respectively connected to successive beamformer channels to produce an aperture having a small element pitch equal to the distance separating the centerlines of two adjacent transducer elements. In another multiplexer state, selected transducer elements are respectively connected to successive beamformer channels to produce an aperture having an increased element pitch equal to the small pitch multiplied by a factor of two or more. The aperture is increased by connecting together pairs of adjacent elements to a respective beamformer channel or by connecting every other element to a respective beamformer channel to form a sparse array. | Mir Said Seyed-Bolorforosh (Brookfield, WI), Anne Lindsay Hall (New Berlin, WI), Satchidananda Panda (Greenfield, WI) | General Electric Company (Milwaukee, WI) | 1997-11-24 | 1999-05-11 | G10K11/34, G10K11/00, G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, A61B008/00 | 08/977082 |
| 896 | 5898401 | Continuous wave radar altimeter | A continuous wave radar altimeter comprises a pulsed power control (4) , operable when the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal is likely to be too low, to pulse the transmitted power so that the power varies between a non-zero base level and a higher level. The receiver channel (13, 14) is switched off during each transmitted pulse. | Raymond John Walls (Chelmsford, GB) | Gec-Marconi Limited (Stanmore, GB) | 1988-06-09 | 1999-04-27 | G01S13/32, G01S13/10, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S7/285, G01S7/03, G01S13/02, G01S13/34, G01S7/288, G01S7/40, G01S7/28, G01S7/41, G01S7/282, G01S7/02, G01S013/32 | 07/211270 |
| 897 | 5889479 | Apparatus for guiding the pilot of an aircraft approaching its parking position | An apparatus for guiding the pilot of an aircraft approaching its stipulated parking position in a straight line with a distance measuring device, which looks at the aircraft from the front in the direction of movement and which determines the actual position of the aircraft, and with an indicating device, which tells the pilot the distance remaining between the actual and parking positions, is characterised in that at least a 2D laser sensor is provided as the distance measuring device which surveys the front of an aircraft point by point in a (not horizontal) plane within a predetermined viewing angle and in successive measuring sweeps and which resolves each measuring point into its horizontal and vertical coordinates and from the horizontal coordinates, determined in a measuring sweep, of such measuring points, the vertical coordinates of which fall within at least one height range which is separately definable between the threshold values for each aircraft type, forms the average value as the actual position of the aircraft and compares it with the parking position which is also defined as a horizontal coordinate and produces a signal for the indicating device in dependence on the distance between the actual position and the parking position. | Ernst Otto Tabel (Hamburg, DE) | Johann Hipp (Hamburg, DE) | 1996-08-30 | 1995-02-23 | 1999-03-30 | B64F1/00, G01C15/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/06, G05D1/00, G08G5/06, G08G5/00, G01S17/88, G01S7/51, G01S7/48, G08B021/00 |
| 898 | 5883593 | Method for the calibration of the positioning errors of a radar and the drift in ground speed of an inertial unit on board an aircraft | A method of calibration includes obtaining an estimation of the ground speed of an aircraft by an inertial unit V.sub.inertial and by a radar V.sub.radar in at least two different flight orientations and in using these estimations to determine the drift in speed B and a rotation matrix R corresponding to positioning errors of the radar with respect to inertial unit on the basis of the matrix relationship: applied for each of the flight orientations. The ground speed and ground speed drift vectors are expressed by their x, y and z components in a referential system related to the aircraft, and the matrix of rotation R being defined on the basis of the angles of positioning error in terms of yaw .phi., attitude .theta. and roll .psi. by the relationship: ##EQU1## | Eric Chamouard (Le Mesnil St Denis, FR), Boris Fronteau (Montigny le Bretonneux, FR), Brice Monod (Issy les Moulineaux, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1997-06-20 | 1999-03-16 | G01S13/60, G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S007/40 | 08/879443 |
| 899 | 5870192 | Multibeam visar using image coupling from one optical fiber bundle to another through the visar interferometer | A multi-beam Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR) which can measure velocity histories at multiple locations simultaneously. A VISAR's interferometer accepts laser signal light which has been reflected from a specimen surface, and produces light fringes in proportion to the reflecting surface velocity by virtue of the Doppler shift in wavelength. The invention uses a reflected-light fiber optic bundle to supply the signal light for the VISAR. The bundle has multiple optical fibers, each carrying light reflected from a separate measurement location. The light emerging from the reflected-light fiber bundle is transformed into a beam by a collimator. The beam travels through the conventional VISAR interferometer, emerging usually in two or four exit beams. Imaging optics in the exit beams, together with the collimator, create real images of the end of the reflected-light fiber bundle. The light reflected from the different locations of measurement is not segregated while traversing the interferometer. However, in the exit beam images, the light from each individual reflected-light optical fiber is resegregated, and forms the separate images of the ends of the individual fibers. This allows the separated signals from each location of measurement to be recaptured and sent to assigned light detectors for sensing, recording, and later data reduction to velocities vs. time. The multi-beam VISAR preserves the high-quality optical fringes, accuracy, and ease-of-use features of many former VISARs, and is capable of economically measuring at least tens of locations simultaneously. | Lynn M. Barker (Albuquerque, NM) | --- | 1998-05-08 | 1999-02-09 | G01B9/02, G01P3/36, G01S17/00, G01S17/58, G01S7/481, G01B009/02 | --- |
| 900 | 5854602 | Subaperture high-order autofocus using reverse phase | A high-order synthetic aperture radar (SAR) autofocusing method decomposes phase error into basis function components, one order at a time. Image patches are partitioned into a plurality of subapertures in accordance with positive- and negative-going slope of the basis function at each order. A positive mask is applied to each subaperture within which the basis function is increasing in slope, whereas a negative mask is applied to each subaperture within which the basis function is decreasing in slope. The results are then correlated to obtain a focused image, with the principle of map-drift preferably being used to compute phase-amplitude weights. The method may be uniformly applied, enabling the steps to be performed at a plurality of increasingly higher orders without performance degradation. | Herbert C. Stankwitz (Ann Arbor, MI), Ken W. Burgener (Ann Arbor, MI) | Erim International, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1997-04-28 | 1998-12-29 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/842094 |
| 901 | 5850202 | Method for improving SAR system sensitivity in the presence of RF interference | The sensitivity of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system employing stretch processing is improved in the presence of radio-frequency interference (RFI) . The sequence of data processing operations initially uses a high number of bits to digitize radar echoes plus RFI, then uses floating-point arithmetic to perform range deskewing to ''compress'' RFI tones, followed by threshholding and nulling the primary RFI contributors, and finally re-quantizes the resulting radar signal to a lower number of bits and appropriately allocating these bits over the range of signal levels. | Ron S. Goodman (Novi, MI), Ronald A. Schneider (San Diego, CA) | Erim International, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1997-07-29 | 1998-12-15 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S7/292, G01S013/90 | 08/902422 |
| 902 | 5847675 | Radar with a wide instantaneous angular field and a high instantaneous angular resolution in particular for a missile homing head | This radar with a wide instantaneous angular field and a high instantaneous angular resolution, in particular for a missile homing head, includes essentially: a transmitting antenna with a relatively wide radiation pattern, transmitting a quasi-continuous wave, a receiving antenna including a plurality of radiating elements, means for formation of beams associated with said receiving antenna, to achieve a linear combination of the signals from the various radiating elements of said receiving antenna, in order to obtain a group of simultaneous reception beams allowing the instantaneous scanning of the airspace covered by said transmitting antenna. | Henri Poinsard (76460 St. Valery en Caux, FR) | --- | 1990-09-28 | 1998-12-08 | G01S13/00, G01S13/536, G01S13/72, G01S7/36, G01S013/56, G01S013/00 | 07/594438 |
| 903 | 5838276 | Microwave energy implemented aircraft landing system | A microwave radio frequency landing system includes an aircraft borne transmitter/receiver (transceiver) and a ground unit. The ground unit comprises a dielectric material lens and a transponder module array. The transceiver transmits pulsed interrogation signals to the ground unit. The dielectric material lens focuses the pulsed signals onto the transponder module array. The transponder modules illuminated by the pulsed signals transmit continuous wave return signals to the aircraft. Each continuous wave return signal comprises four tones, which are used by the aircraft to determine azimuth and glide slope of the aircraft, carried on a microwave carrier. In each transponder module which receives the pulsed signals from the aircraft transceiver, the microwave carrier is phase inverted for the duration of each pulse of the pulsed signals. The phase inversions on the microwave carrier are used by the aircraft to determine the range, velocity and acceleration of the aircraft with respect to the ground unit. | Aubrey I. Chapman (Dallas, TX), George F. Ridpath (Plano, TX) | --- | 1996-09-03 | 1998-11-17 | G01S13/00, H01Q19/06, G01S13/76, H01Q3/24, G01S13/87, H01Q19/00, H01Q15/08, G01S13/91, H01Q15/06, H01Q25/00, H01Q15/00, G01S1/16, G01S1/18, G01S13/84, G01S1/04, G01S1/00, G01S001/38, G01S013/75 | 08/709466 |
| 904 | 5812082 | Method for azimuth scaling of SAR data and highly accurate processor for two-dimensional processing of scanSAR data | In a method for azimuth scaling of SAR data without interpolation, raw SAR data in azimuth are multiplied with a phase function H.sub.5 (f.sub.a ,r.sub.o) , where f.sub.a denotes the azimuth frequency and r.sub.o denotes the range to a target point, and where a desired scaling factor is entered into the phase function. An azimuth modulation of the SAR data is subsequently adapted with the phase function H.sub.5 (f.sub.a,r.sub.o) to that of a reference range, in a manner so that the azimuth modulation no longer depends on the range. In a last step of the process, a quadratic phase modulation is performed in the azimuth so that, in order to attain an azimuth processing with a very high phase accuracy, the azimuth frequency modulation becomes exactly linear. | Alberto Moreira (Garching, DE), Josef Mittermayer (Munchen, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 1997-03-11 | 1998-09-22 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/816044 |
| 905 | 5808578 | Guided missile calibration method | A method for calibrating the radar system includes the steps of: replacing stored statistically generated ''average'' error correction coefficients with error correction coefficients personal to a missile under test. More particularly, stored in the missile's memory are: (a) first personalized error correction coefficients generated in response to test signals produced internal to the missile and injected into a monopulse arithmetic unit for the missile's receiver/processor, and (b) a second set of personalized error coefficients generated in response to test signals external to the missile and injected through the missile's antenna to the receiver/processor. The missile includes a radio frequency (R.F.) energy test signal generator for performing a test during the missile's flight to determine ''in-flight'' personalized error correction coefficients. The test is performed in-flight by injecting the R.F. energy test signal generated internal to the missile during the missile's flight into the monopulse arithmetic unit for the receiver/processor. The receiver/processor: (a) compares the first set of error correction coefficients with the ''in-flight'' error coefficients and adjusts the second set of error correction coefficients in accordance with such comparison, and, (b) if R.F. energy external to the missile is less than a predetermined threshold level, uses the adjusted second set of coefficients during the missile's flight to produce boresight error signals, otherwise, the receiver/processor uses unadjusted first set of error correction coefficients. | Peter F. Barbella (Littleton, MA), Malcolm F. Crawford (Lexington, MA), William M. Kaupinis (Methuen, MA), Jeffrey E. Carmella (Acton, MA), Michael A. Davis (Hudson, NH) | --- | 1996-12-20 | 1998-09-15 | F41G7/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/44, G01S13/00, G01S007/40 | 08/771787 |
| 906 | 5808577 | Stealth aircraft identification system | The invention is an identification friend or foe system for an aircraft providing identification information when illuminated by an incident radar signal. In detail, the system includes at least a portion of the aircraft's surface incorporating magnetic material for absorption of at portion of the incident radar signal with the remainder reflected and scattered back in the direction of the incident radar signal. A electromagnetic coil assembly) is positioned behind the aircraft skin and is used to impress a biasing field on a portion of the aircraft's surface incorporating the magnetic material such that the biasing field modulates the reflected and scattered signal. A system is coupled to the coil assembly to modulate the biasing field such that the reflected and scattered signal from the portion of the aircraft's surface incorporating the magnetic material is modulated with an encoded signal incorporating the identification information. | James W. Brinsfield (Thousand Oaks, CA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Palmdale, CA) | 1996-05-31 | 1998-09-15 | G01S13/78, G01S13/75, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S013/78 | 08/656115 |
| 907 | 5805099 | Synthetic aperture radar and target image production method | A synthetic aperture radar apparatus which analyzes Doppler frequency displacements arising from a range direction motion component of a target and motion components of a flying body to produce a motion target image wherein only azimuth direction motion components of the target are converted into Doppler components. An SAR apparatus wherein SAR reproduction processing is performed based on target information obtained from a reflected wave received from a target and flying information of a flying body includes a recording and reproduction unit for recording the target information and reproducing the data in a designated range, and a moving target processor for analyzing Doppler frequency displacements arising from a range direction motion component of the target and motion components of the flying body from the reproduced data and producing a moving target image wherein only azimuth direction motion components of the target are converted into Doppler components. | Hidefumi Nagata (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 1996-12-23 | 1998-09-08 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/771905 |
| 908 | 5802012 | Synthetic-aperture sonar system | A synthetic-aperture sonar system of the present invention includes a range curvature compensating section having a divided aperture propagation time calculation 32. The calculation 32 calculates a round-trip signal propagation time on the basis of a divided aperture for transmission and a divided aperture for reception, thereby calculating a range curvature correction time. A transmission/reception section includes a PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency) modificator and a divided aperture switch. The PRF modificator adjusts PRF such that a ratio between the aperture length and the divided aperture length of the transducer is an integral multiple. The divided aperture switch 16 switches the outputs of elements on the transducer each being assigned to one of the divided apertures, produces a sum of the outputs of the individual element on each divided-aperture, and feeds the sum to a range compressing section. With this configuration, the system reduces range curvature compensation errors, prevents the transducer from being scaled up, and eases limitations on the number of multi-transmission/reception ascribable to a platform speed. | Isao Yamaguchi (Tokyo, JP) | Nec Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 1997-11-05 | 1998-09-01 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S015/89 | 08/964713 |
| 909 | 5784026 | Radar detection of accelerating airborne targets | Radar detection of accelerating airborne targets in accordance with the present invention utilizing a sequence of velocity, acceleration matched filters. This system includes a transmitter generating a signal oscillating at a predetermined frequency controlled by modulator such that the transmitter repeatedly outputs short duration pulses. The output pulse frequency is passed to an antenna that radiates the energy into free space. Reflected electromagnetic wave energy is received by the antenna to produce a radar return signal that is processed to a receiver that includes a radio frequency amplifier having an output that is mixed with a local oscillator signal an applied to an IF amplifier. An output of the IF amplifier is mixed with the output of an IF oscillator where the mixed signal passes through a low pass filter to a pulse compression network. An output of the pulse compression network is input to a matched filter processor array having multiple outputs applied to an adaptive threshold detector. Outputs from the adaptive threshold detector are applied to a display for creating human intelligent information. | Winthrop Whitman Smith (Greenville, TX), George Marvin Eargle (Greenville, TX) | Raytheon E-Systems, Inc. (Dallas, TX) | 1996-09-23 | 1998-07-21 | G01S13/524, G01S13/00, G01S13/58, G01S013/53 | 08/710892 |
| 910 | 5781148 | Continuous wave radar altimeter | A continuous wave radar altimeter comprises a memory (24, 26) , means for storing in the memory in digital form an array of return signals representative of the variation of reflected amplitude with path length, means (27) , for addressing the memory for identifying a peak return representative of the highest objects on the terrain, means (28) responsive to the array for determining the signal-to-noise ratio thereof, and means (29) responsive to the height at which the said peak return occurs and to the signal-to-noise ratio to determine a ''center of area'' height representative of the lowest surface on the terrain. The altimeter thus provides not only the peak level, representing for example the tops of trees and buildings, but also the ground level. | Robert Anthony Severwright (Hockley, GB) | Gec Marconi Limited (Stanmore, GB) | 1988-05-20 | 1998-07-14 | G01S13/32, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S013/26 | 07/199885 |
| 911 | 5779187 | Seeker head for target-tracking missiles or projectiles | In a seeker head for target tracking missiles or projectiles, an imaging optical system with an optical axis is mounted on a rotor. The rotor is mounted for universal swivelling motion in the missile. It rotates about its geometrical axis. Thereby, the rotor is stabilized in inertial space as a gyro. The optical system images an object scene on a circular array of detector elements. The rotor can be caused to make controlled precession and nutation movements by control loops with attitude pick-offs and a torquer coil such that the optical axis of the optical system makes a cyclic spiral movement over an extended field of view, in a seeking and target acquisition mode, is then precessed towards a detected target, the nutation amplitude, in a pre-phase mode, being made equal to the target deviation, and, eventually, in a target-tracking mode, makes a circling movement within a limited area in the field of view containing the target. In the target-tracking mode, the target image circles on the circular array of detector elements. | Bernd Dulat (Uberlingen, DE), Wolfgang Eger (Aach-Linz, DE) | Bodenseewerk Geratetechnik Gmbh (Uberlingen/Bodensee, DE) | 1997-02-10 | 1998-07-14 | F41G7/22, F41G7/20, G01S17/00, G01S17/66, G01S7/481, F41G007/00, G02B026/08 | 08/798537 |
| 912 | 5777573 | Device for motion error compensation for a radar with synthetic aperture based on rotating antennas (ROSAR) for helicopters | The present invention pertains to a device for motion compensation for a radar with synthetic aperture based on rotating antennas (ROSAR) for helicopters, with which the flight guidance of the helicopter is made possible according to a radar image on a ROSAR basis, because this device substantially improves the quality of this radar image. | Helmut Klausing (Wessling/Hochstadt, DE), Aribert Wolframm (Landsberg, DE) | Daimler-Benz Aerospace Ag (Ottobrunn, DE) | 1996-08-02 | 1998-07-07 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/691715 |
| 913 | 5767802 | IFF system including a low radar cross-section synthetic aperture radar (SAR) | An IFF system including an interferometric ultra-high resolution synthetic aperture (SAR) radar located on an aircraft and a respective transponder located on one or more ground targets which may be, for example, ground vehicles. Each transponder is responsive to RF pulses transmitted from the radar and includes means for generating an identification code which then modulates the radar return with a coded signal indicative of the target's identity. Upon receiving the signal from the transponder, the radar processes the signals in an interferometric moving target focusing (IMTF) mode and a high resolution SAR processing mode to provide signals indicative of both moving and fixed targets with ID data superimposed thereon. Target ID extraction apparatus also having the same identification code applied thereto is included in the radar signal processor and extracts the target ID by a correlation technique which is then displayed along with the radar image of the target in question. | Lester Kosowsky (Stamford, CT), Edward Stockburger (Norwood, MA), Kevin W. Lindell (Trumbull, CT) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1997-01-10 | 1998-06-16 | G01S13/78, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/78, G01S013/90 | 08/783383 |
| 914 | 5745442 | Digital time interval measurement engine for a time of flight system | An exclusively digital timing engine that measures extremely short time intervals for use in time of flight systems such as laser range finding systems. This exclusively digital timing engine minimizes the use of high speed, high cost components by employing a novel time multiplexing scheme to execute each of the primary time of flight functions: frequency synthesis, range gating, and time of flight interval measurement. In addition, the timing engine incorporates a random time delay scheme which enhances the resolution of the time interval measurement. | Bret A. Herscher (Cupertino, CA) | Power Spectra, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) | 1996-10-22 | 1998-04-28 | G04F10/04, G04F10/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/10, G01S15/14, G01S15/00, G04F008/00, G01S013/18, G01C003/08 | 08/735182 |
| 915 | 5745073 | Display apparatus for flight control | A display apparatus for flight control comprises a digital scan converter which converts ASDE video signal into a radar display by a television scan video, a CPU portion which receives a radar target position via LAN and generates a computer graphic display by adding an operation information from operation panel, a picture synthesizing portion which superposes computer graphic display from CPU portion on a radar display, and CRTs which display a picture synthesized at synthesizing portion. ASDE radar signal is converted to television scan video signal via the digital scan converter. The computer graphic display is generated by adding an operation information to the target information such as an airplane at CPU portion. A radar display and a computer graphic display are synthesized at the picture synthesizing portion. Thereby various information necessary for flight control is displayed on CRT. | Atsushi Tomita (Tokyo, JP) | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP) | 1996-01-03 | 1998-04-28 | G01S13/00, G01S7/22, G01S13/91, G01S7/295, G01S7/04, G01S7/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/95, G01S7/298, G01S007/22, G01S013/91 | 08/582506 |
| 916 | 5740806 | Dynamic receive aperture transducer for 1.5D imaging | An ultrasound imaging system enables 1.5D image information to be generated from a single firing of a linear transducer array by permitting dynamic control over the receive aperture. The imaging system comprises a transducer having a linear array of piezoelectric elements arranged in a plurality of distinct rows of the elements. The transducer is operable to provide acoustic pulses from elements of a first one of the rows in response to respective driving signals and to provide corresponding return signals in response thereto at elements of additional ones of the plurality of the rows and at the first one of the rows. A receiver is coupled to the transducer to receive a summed signal corresponding to the return signals from the elements. The receiver comprises a plurality of low voltage switches that couple to respective ones of the additional ones of the plurality of the rows, and a high voltage switch disposed in series with the low voltage switches. The timing of the high and low voltage switches is controlled to vary the focusing characteristics of the imaging system. A processor coupled to the receiver and the transducer generates a 1.5D image using the summed signal. | Gregg Miller (Seattle, WA) | Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. (Iselin, NJ) | 1996-03-29 | 1998-04-21 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, G10K11/00, G10K11/34, A61B086/00, G01N029/00 | 08/626241 |
| 917 | 5736957 | Delay compensated doppler radar altimeter | A delay compensated Doppler radar altimeter which eliminates the relative delay curvature associated with the energy reflected by a scatterer located in the along-track direction of an aerial platform for which a most accurate estimation of scatterer elevation is desired. By Doppler shifting each return, the range indicated for each scatterer over its illumination history is equal to the minimum range x.sub.h experienced when the relative velocity between the aerial radar and the ground is effectively zero. Compensating each signal so that its entire along-track history can be used for elevation estimation leads to an advantage of more than 10 dB in gain improvement over existing systems, and less degradation from surface topography. | Russell Keith Raney (Arnold, MD) | The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) | 1996-05-28 | 1998-04-07 | G01S13/00, G01S13/08, G01S13/524, G01S13/88, G01S13/58, G01S13/89, G01S7/288, G01S7/285, G01S013/08 | 08/654444 |
| 918 | 5736955 | Aircraft landing/taxiing system using lack of reflected radar signals to determine landing/taxiing area | A system for displaying a landing/taxiing area as an aircraft approaches/taxis that landing/taxiing area. The system includes means on the landing/taxiing area that absorbs radar signals. The remainder of the landing/taxiing area reflects radar signals, and the system includes processors on board the aircraft or in the control tower for translating the signals and the lack of signals into a graphic representation of the landing/taxiing area. The representation changes as the orientation and position of the aircraft changes with respect to the landing/taxiing area. The system can include an autopilot control, head-up displays and memory systems. The system permits surface control by the tower. | Henry I. Roif (Miami, FL) | --- | 1996-04-10 | 1998-04-07 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S7/22, G01S13/86, G01S7/04, G01S013/06, G01S013/91 | 08/630499 |
| 919 | 5719582 | Software/hardware digital signal processing (DSP) altimeter | A radar altimeter system uses a microprocessor-based subsystem to process radar signals in software. The subsystem includes a track loop and a verify loop for digital signal processing of the radar signals. The track loop generates a gate pulse and integrates a radar return signal over the time window defined by the gate pulse in order to determine the leading edge of the return pulse. The verify loop positions the gate pulse for maximum overlap with the return pulse and integrates the return pulse over the gate pulse to determine the maximum signal strength of the radar return signal. | Kimberly J. Gray (Zimmerman, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1996-10-17 | 1998-02-17 | G01S13/00, G01S13/18, G01S13/70, G01S13/88, G01S7/34, G01S7/40, G01S7/285, G01S013/08 | 08/733215 |
| 920 | 5719581 | Low-cost radio altimeter | A relatively low-cost FMCW radio altimeter includes a voltage-controlled oscillator based upon a GaAs FET. The oscillator produces, for example, a 4.3 GHz microwave signal that is modulated with a triangular wave having a pin-selectable modulation frequency. The modulated signal is amplified by a buffer amplifier, as well as a power amplifier, and connected to an RF output terminal by way of a plurality of microstrips. Reflected signals are received at an RF input and are coupled to a mixer by way of a low-noise amplifier. The modulation signal is also applied to the mixer by way of a microstrip coupling device to produce an audio output signal whose frequency is proportional to the altitude above ground. The gains of all of the amplifiers are selected to eliminate the need for hand-tuning of the microstrips and to enable the use of a glass/epoxy circuit board. The output of the radio altimeter is an audio signal whose frequency is proportional to the height above ground, which enables direct digital conversion by way of a frequency-to-binary converter. | John J. Poe (Woodinville, WA) | Alliedsignal, Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 1996-02-12 | 1998-02-17 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/94, G01S13/88, G01S013/26 | 08/599736 |
| 921 | 5712785 | Aircraft landing determination apparatus and method | An aircraft landing determination apparatus and method for determining landing status of an aircraft by tracking arriving aircrafts and providing a unique runway assignment therefor. The aircraft landing determination apparatus includes a target processor, a track administrator, and a track reporter. The target processor culls multiple target tracks from a target data transmission provided by a target sensor. The track administrator receives the target tracks, selects at least one arrival track therefrom, and allocates a unique runway assignment to each arrival track. The track reporter receives the arrival track and runway assignment, prepares a track report thereabout, and transmits the track report to a position monitoring apparatus. The method according to the present invention tracks aircrafts approaching a predefined space and can include correlation of selected targets to tracks, thereby confirming track candidate status, and drop zone tracking of the arriving track candidate through at least a portion of a drop zone. | Din Mok (Weston, CT), Marshall Watnick (Trumbull, CT) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1995-06-23 | 1998-01-27 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/06, G08G5/00, G01S13/72, G06G007/76, G01S013/00 | 08/494118 |
| 922 | 5708436 | Multi-mode radar system having real-time ultra high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability | One meter and one foot resolution is achieved in a multi-mode SAR radar system in real time by wide bandwidth RF signal generation, precision motion compensation, polar reformatting, autofocusing and high dynamic range image processing. An exciter/receiver of this system includes means for providing wideband RF waveform generation and down-conversion, while a programmable digital signal processor includes improvements in software for implementing the functions of motion compensation including the presuming of data, polar reformatting, autofocusing and image processing. | Miguel E. Loiz (Shelton, CT), Kevin J. Kelly (Stamford, CT), John P. Robinson (Newtown, CT), Edward F. Stockburger (North Caldwell, NJ), Russell Whitman (Ansonia, CT) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1996-06-24 | 1998-01-13 | G01S13/90, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S1/00, G01S7/40, G01S013/90 | 08/668897 |
| 923 | 5703591 | Aircraft N-number control system | An aircraft N-number control system includes a receiver for receiving aircraft identification information signals representing alphanumeric characters corresponding to an aircraft. A microprocessor operating in accordance with stored programming instructions processes the received aircraft identification information signals into alphanumeric codes, determines whether there is a substantial similarity between the alphanumeric codes representing two aircraft and generates an output signal representing the alphanumeric codes only if there is no substantial similarity. The alphanumeric codes representing the aircraft are displayed on a air traffic controller's radar screen in response to the output signal. | Bruce Tognazzini (Woodside, CA) | Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 1996-06-03 | 1997-12-30 | G01S7/22, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S1/00, G01S7/26, G01S7/04, G01S5/00, G01S7/06, G01S013/00 | 08/657262 |
| 924 | 5696347 | Missile fuzing system | A fuzing system adapted for use by a guided missile to generate a detonation signal for a warhead carried by the missile. The missile has a seeker/tracker to track, and direct the missile towards, a target. The seeker/tracker has: a seeker, gimballed with respect to the body of the missile, for producing a signal representative of the angular deviation between the target and the missile, and, a ranging system for producing a signal representative of a range between the target and the missile. The fuzing system, in response to the range signals, produces a time-to-go signal, t.sub.go, where t.sub.go, related to the range between the missile and the target divided by the rate of change in such range. The seeker produced signal represents the line of sight angle between the missile and the target and wherein the processor, in response to the range signal and the line of sight angle signal produces a miss distance signal representative of a predicted distance, normal to the line of sight, at the time the remaining before the missile intercepts the target. A fragment velocity signal is produced representative of the velocity of fragments of the warhead divided by the predicted warhead miss distance. | Joseph L. Sebeny, Jr. (Barrington, NH), Aaron T. Spettel (Arlington, MA), F. Taft Murray (Cambridge, MA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1995-07-06 | 1997-12-09 | F42C13/00, F42C13/04, F41G7/22, F41G7/20, G01S13/44, G01S13/72, G01S13/00, F42C013/04 | 08/498936 |
| 925 | 5680138 | Synthetic aperture radar simulation | In a simulated synthetic aperture radar SAR, a terrain elevation model is provided. A phase component of the simulated SAR data is computed by determining a distance between incremental terrain points and a simulated SAR platform modulo the wavelength. The amplitude component is computed in the following manner. The terrain elevation model is rotated about a vertical axis to present terrain strips extending perpendicular to the assumed direction of travel of the SAR platform. Points distributed along the terrain strips are projected into an illumination plane perpendicular to the assumed SAR signal and into an image plane perpendicular to the illumination plane. Brightness values and areas in shadow from the simulated SAR signal are determined by the projection into the illumination plane and brightness values are accumulated into an accumulation register corresponding to incremental pixel areas of the image plane by interpolating the brightness of illumination values in accordance with the incremental pixel areas of the image plane. | Mark D. Pritt (Walkersville, MD) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 1995-12-15 | 1997-10-21 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S7/40, G01S013/90 | 08/573083 |
| 926 | 5675550 | Reduced wavenumber synthetic aperture | A system for radiation imaging of objects within a target area utilizing echo signals from a target area such as a patch of seafloor or the anatomy of a body. Data is obtained by time domain measurements received at a plurality of transducers in either monostatic or bistatic mode. Using multidimensional interferometry and multidimensional Fourier transforms, the data is reconstructed in multiple temporal and spatial frequency domains with a unique reduced wavenumber characteristic that retains the resolution potential of a traditional synthetic aperture approach. The system is inherently robust in applications with significant transceiver motion and/or variations in the propagation characteristics of the surrounding medium. | Ira B. Ekhaus (Arlington, MA) | --- | 1996-06-05 | 1997-10-07 | G01S13/00, G01S15/89, G01S13/90, G01S15/00, G01S015/00 | 08/658336 |
| 927 | 5670961 | Airport surface traffic control system | An airport surface traffic system is provided which detects targets moving on an airport surface and automatically adds ID codes thereby reduces the controlling duties of an air traffic controller and elevates safety of an aviation control. An airport surface traffic system comprises airport surface monitoring radars which detects targets moving on an airport surface, ASDE target detector which detects targets by an output signal of the airport surface monitoring radars, a second monitoring radar which receives response signals from airplanes and from an airport monitoring radar which controls airport, ASR/SSR target detector which detects targets, ID code addition apparatus which adds an ID code to targets based on a signal from FDP which stores flight schedule data of airplanes and a multi-function display which displays targets. | Atsushi Tomita (Tokyo, JP), Koichi Kimura (Tokyo, JP), Shinichi Moriwaki (Tokyo, JP) | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP) | 1995-11-22 | 1997-09-23 | G08G5/06, G01S13/76, G01S5/14, G01S5/16, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G01S5/00, G01S13/86, G01S13/87, G01S13/78, G01S013/87, G01S013/91, G01S013/93 | 08/562064 |
| 928 | 5661490 | Time-of-flight radio location system | A bi-static radar configuration measures the direct time-of-flight of a transmitted RF pulse and is capable of measuring this time-of-flight with a jitter on the order of about one pico-second, or about 0.01 inch of free space distance for an electromagnetic pulse over a range of about one to ten feet. A transmitter transmits a sequence of electromagnetic pulses in response to a transmit timing signal, and a receiver samples the sequence of electromagnetic pulses with controlled timing in response to a receive timing signal, and generates a sample signal in response to the samples. A timing circuit supplies the transmit timing signal to the transmitter and supplies the receive timing signal to the receiver. The receive timing signal causes the receiver to sample the sequence of electromagnetic pulses such that the time between transmission of pulses in the sequence and sampling by the receiver sweeps over a range of delays. The receive timing signal sweeps over the range of delays in a sweep cycle such that pulses in the sequence are sampled at the pulse repetition rate, and with different delays in the range of delays to produce a sample signal representing magnitude of a received pulse in equivalent time. Automatic gain control circuitry in the receiver controls the magnitude of the equivalent time sample signal. A signal processor analyzes the sample signal to indicate the time-of-flight of the electromagnetic pulses in the sequence. The sample signal in equivalent time is passed through an envelope detection circuit, formed of an absolute value circuit followed by a low pass filter, to convert the sample signal to a unipolar signal to eliminate effects of antenna misorientation. | Thomas E. McEwan (Livermore, CA) | The Regents of The University of California (Oakland, CA) | 1996-04-23 | 1997-08-26 | G01F23/284, G01S13/02, G01S13/00, G01S11/00, G01S13/18, G01S11/02, G01S5/14, G08G1/04, G01S13/88, G01S13/10, G01S13/93, G01S7/285, H04B1/69, G01S001/24 | 08/636370 |
| 929 | 5661486 | Aircraft landing aid device | The disclosure is an aircraft landing aid device that includes at least a database containing signatures and positions of reference objects, a sensor picking up signatures of reference objects, means of navigation used to fix the approximate position of the aircraft, means of correlation connected to said means of navigation, sensor and database, that define the vertical and horizontal bearings of the objects picked up by said sensor, and means of fixing the exact position of the aircraft, connected to said means of navigation, sensor and database. It is applicable in particular to airliners, enabling landing in all weather conditions. | Fran.cedilla.ois Faivre (St. Medard En Jalles, FR), Xavier Denoize (St. Medard En Jalles, FR) | Sextant Avionique (Meudon la Foret, FR) | 1995-04-10 | 1997-08-26 | G05D1/00, G05D1/06, G08G5/02, G01C21/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G01S13/95, G01S013/74, G01S013/93 | 08/419269 |
| 930 | 5661477 | Methods for compressing and decompressing raw digital SAR data and devices for executing them | In a method for compressing raw digital SAR data input data are first coded with fewer bits by means of an adaptive block quantization (BAQ) and subsequently vectors are formed from the block-quantized data. The vectors are coded by a special mapping table in order to achieve an effective data reduction. In a method for decompressing digital data, vectors are generated from the coded data by means of a code book table, from which scalar values are formed. After de-standardization of the scalar values, decoded data are obtained in that the scalar values are multiplied for the de-standardization by the standard deviation of each block already calculated during coding. | Alberto Moreira (Garching, DE), Frank Blaser (Taufkirchen, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfaht E.V. (Koln, DE) | 1995-08-03 | 1997-08-26 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S7/295, H03M7/30, G01S7/00, G01S7/285, H03M007/00 | 08/510699 |
| 931 | 5659318 | Interferometric SAR processor for elevation | An interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system having a special-purpose processor to integrate motion compensation, interferogram coregistration, and a spectral shifting for optimal interferogram correlation together to achieve efficient, accurate, and robust three-dimensional imaging. A simple radar mapping coordinate system is implemented in the present invention to enhance the overall image processing and in particular to improve the accuracy and efficiency. The present invention substantially improves the fidelity and efficiency of phase unwrapping by incorporating phase-bootstrapping process, a correlation filter, and other processes. Absolute phase determination is implemented without known ground references by two proposed techniques employing cross-correlation of sub-patches to generate a number of estimates within a patch and weighting correlation processes. | Soren N. Madsen (Pasadena, CA), Paul A. Rosen (La Crescenta, CA), David A. Imel (Altadena, CA), Scott Hensley (Fullerton, CA), Jan M. Martin (Altadena, CA), Yunjin Kim (Glendora, CA) | California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA) | 1996-05-31 | 1997-08-19 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/657602 |
| 932 | 5657009 | System for detecting and viewing aircraft-hazardous incidents that may be encountered by aircraft landing or taking-off | A system and method for detecting and viewing aircraft hazardous incidents such as flying aircraft and meteorological phenomena which includes microbursts, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and the wake turbulence of aircraft. The aircraft hazardous incidents are positionally and horizontally displayed to the pilot on a display, that is located in the aircraft cockpit, in relation to the flight path of the aircraft. The timely displaying of any of the aircraft hazardous incidents permits the pilot to take evasive action to avoid a potentially dangerous incident. | Andrew A. Gordon (Encino, CA) | --- | 1995-07-10 | 1997-08-12 | G01C23/00, G01S7/00, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G01S7/22, G01S13/91, G01S7/04, G08B023/00 | 08/500098 |
| 933 | 5654890 | High resolution autonomous precision approach and landing system | An aircraft including an approach and landing system, including a navigation unit for providing navigation information, a weather radar unit for providing radar information, a processor which receives navigation information from the navigation unit and information from the weather radar unit, the processor unit providing an output representing information concerning the aircraft in accordance with the provided navigation information and radar information, a memory for storing information representing a scene, the processor unit correlating the stored scene information with the output representing information concerning the aircraft to provide a mapped scene, a display unit for displaying the output of said processor and the mapped scene, and a steppable frequency oscillator for providing a signal which is stepped in frequency to the weather radar unit, thereby providing an increased range resolution. | Joseph M. Nicosia (Carlsbad, CA), Keith R. Loss (Escondido, CA), Gordon A. Taylor (Escondido, CA) | Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD) | 1994-05-31 | 1997-08-05 | G05D1/00, G05D1/06, G01C23/00, G08G5/02, G01C21/10, G01C21/16, G01S7/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S13/91, G01S13/28, G01S13/95, G08G5/00, G01S7/41, G01S13/86, G01S5/14, G01S013/02 | 08/251451 |
| 934 | 5648604 | Method and system for determining anemobaroclinometric parameters on board an aircraft | The invention is a method for determining anemobaroclinometric parameters on board an aircraft. The air speed vector (Vp) , the static pressure (Ps) , and the impact temperature (Ti) are measured, and the other parameters are calculated on the basis of the aforementioned measurements. | Bertrand Morbieu (Bordeaux, FR) | Sextant Avionique (Meudon La Foret, FR) | 1995-09-20 | 1997-07-15 | G01S17/95, G01S17/00, G01S17/58, G01S17/02, G01C021/20 | 08/531300 |
| 935 | 5647559 | Apparatus for flight path correction of flying bodies | An apparatus for flight path correction of flying bodies, such as projectiles, rockets and the like, with the aid of a laser guide beam, wherein the course of the respective flying body is determined and processed in a measuring apparatus associated with the firing apparatus and containing an optical receiving detector in order to obtain an appropriate correction signal, and wherein the correction signal is then transmitted, through encoding of the laser guide beam, to a receiving apparatus disposed in the tail portion of the flying body. To determine the course of the flying body in a simple manner, both an optical light source for producing a light beam and an optical receiving detector are disposed on the measuring apparatus, and triple reflector or mirror elements, that reflect the incident light beam back in its initial direction independently of the respective angle of incidence, are disposed on the bottom of the flying body or at the ends of the guiding mechanism of the flying body. In rotating flying bodies, the triple mirror elements are preferably distributed at irregular intervals in a circle, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flying body. This arrangement makes it possible to use the signals reflected by the triple mirror elements to determine the roll position of the respective flying body. | Rudolf Romer (Kaarst, DE), Gerd Wollmann (Oberhausen, DE), Helmut Misoph (Lauf a.d. Pegnitz, DE) | Rheinmetall Industrie Gmbh (Ratigen, DE), Tzn Forschungs Und Entwicklungszentrum Unterluss Gmbh (Unterluss DE) | 1995-07-06 | 1997-07-15 | F41G7/20, F41G7/30, G01S17/00, G01S17/66, G01S5/16, G01S3/78, G01S3/786, G01S5/00, F41G007/26 | 08/498651 |
| 936 | 5638282 | Method and device for preventing collisions with the ground for an aircraft | A mass memory stores a data base representing at least a substantial part of the terrestrial globe, in accordance with a grid configuration on several levels, said grid configuration being in particular more precise in the vicinity of an airport. Status indications are received representing the position of the aircraft with two horizontal components, and the altitude, and the velocity and acceleration vectors of the aircraft, as well as control indications coming from the flight deck. In accordance with the horizontal components of the position of the aircraft, a temporary local map is transferred into a fast access memory, on the basis of which map, an altitude envelope of the terrain is established in the zone where the aircraft is travelling. Anticollision processing make it possible to establish an alarm if the relation between a protection field and the altitude envelope meets a first condition which is defined at least partly by the control indications. The device has application as an aid for aerial navigation. | Xavier Chazelle (Saint-Cloud, FR), Anne-Marie Hunot (Paris, FR), Gerard Lepere (Aubervilliers, FR) | Dassault Electronique (Saint Cloud, FR) | 1995-10-13 | 1997-06-10 | G05D1/00, G05D1/06, G01C21/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G08G5/00, G08G5/04, G01S5/14, G08G005/04 | 08/542645 |
| 937 | 5629691 | Airport surface monitoring and runway incursion warning system | An airport runway incursion warning system for monitoring air and ground traffic at an airport. The system is optimally used with an aircraft that has an electronic tag or interrogation system that stores identification information regarding the aircraft, and an RF transponder for receiving interrogation signals and for transmitting the identification information in response thereto. A radar system comprises a plurality of radar sensor units disposed at predetermined installation sites adjacent to a runway. Each radar sensor unit typically has an interface processor and telemetry electronics for communication, although hard-wired communication paths may be used. An RF/telemetry interface is provided for communicating with the radar sensor units when the interface processor and telemetry electronics are used. The RF/telemetry interface is also used to transmit the interrogation signals to the aircraft and receive the identification information therefrom. A central processing unit is coupled to the radar sensor units for receiving and integrating radar data produced by each the radar sensor units to produce a map of the runway that identifies authorization objects and aircraft that do not constitute intrusion threats, and intruding objects that do constitute intrusion threats to the runway. The central processing unit is optionally coupled to the RF/telemetry interface for transmitting signals to and from the aircraft, and in this case, the central processing unit processes identification information received from the aircraft to integrate the identification information into to generate a displayed image. An operator display is coupled to the central processing unit for displaying the map and identification information generated thereby for use by an operator. | Atul Jain (Los Angeles, CA) | Hughes Electronics (Los Angeles, CA) | 1995-05-26 | 1997-05-13 | G08G5/06, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G01S7/06, G01S7/04, G01S7/22, G01S7/00, G01S13/76, G08G005/04 | 08/451597 |
| 938 | 5627546 | Combined ground and satellite system for global aircraft surveillance guidance and navigation | The present invention provides a combined ground and satellite system for global aircraft surveillance, navigation, landing guidance and collision avoidance which comprises a satellite subsystem consisting of both a satellite constellation and associated ground stations, and a ground subsystem consisting of a network of ground stations, together with an airborne subsystem comprised of a transponder unit located in each of the aircraft using the system. A high speed two-way data link is provided between each of the subsystems using spread spectrum technology to permit overlaying and operation of the system in an existing band of narrow channels with minimum mutual interference. The system of the invention is reliable because of the redundant subsystems, and is not subject to failure. Also, the system provides for computations to be made on the ground, rather than in the aircraft, thereby reducing the size and complexity of the airborne equipment. The system also achieves a high degree of precision, as compared with the prior art systems. The system also provides air/ground data communication. | Robert P. Crow (Colorado Springs, CO) | --- | 1995-09-05 | 1997-05-06 | G01S13/76, G01S13/00, G08G5/00, H04B7/185, G01S13/86, G01S13/93, G01S13/91, G01S13/94, H04B007/185 | 08/523348 |
| 939 | 5623268 | Device for protecting SSR transponders against unintended triggering on an airport with very limited muting activity in vertical direction | A device is provided for interrogating airborne SSR transponders at an airport, in which in certain regions which are made non-active, P1 pulses are transmitted followed, with the correct timing, by P2 pulses which have the same or a larger amplitude than the P1 pulses. As a consequence, SSR transponders in these regions are blocked or muted, and this blocking or muting is repeated, whereas in one or a few selected regions, normal interrogating signals are transmitted. Spreading of transmitted pulses to higher levels above ground is countered by keeping the energy of the pulses low and the vertical gain of transmitter antennas small. | Frans H. De Haan (Lochem, NL) | British Technology Group Ltd. (London, GB2) | 1994-10-06 | 1997-04-22 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S013/87, G01S013/93 | 08/319019 |
| 940 | 5617862 | Method and apparatus for beamformer system with variable aperture | An ultrasonic scanner imaging system includes connections to one or more transducer arrays of at least M elements each, a transmit beamformer with N processors, and a receive beamformer with N processors. Separate transmit and receive multiplexers permit switching between transmit firings to any contiguous N-element transmit or receive aperture completely within a transducer array or straddled across two arrays. The transmit and receive apertures for a given firing may be independently placed and are not required to coincide. Such flexibility supports random aperture placement, sliding aperture acquisitions, and synthetic aperture acquisitions. The multiplexers also permit shorting adjacent transducer elements to enable 2N elements to be used in conjunction with N-channel transmit/receive beamformers. Beamforming to create synthetic apertures of P*N< =M elements are accomplished with the multiplexing arrangement by coherently summing the receive beamformer pre-detected output from at least P acquisition firings. | Christopher R. Cole (Cupertino, CA), Albert Gee (Los Altos, CA), Laurence J. Newell (Saratoga, CA) | Acuson Corporation (Mountainview, CA) | 1995-05-02 | 1997-04-08 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G10K11/34, G10K11/00, G01S7/52, A61B008/00 | 08/432547 |
| 941 | 5615118 | Onboard aircraft flight path optimization system | An onboard aircraft flight optimization system that includes an onboard performance management computer, a control display unit, an infrared probe, a temperature probe, a weather radar, an inertial navigation system, and comparing apparatus. The control display unit inputs a position remote from an aircraft into the performance management computer. The infrared probe determines temperature at the position remote from the aircraft and generates a remote temperature signal received by the performance management computer. The temperature probe determines temperature at the aircraft and generates a local temperature signal received by the performance management computer. The weather radar determines wind at the position remote from the aircraft and generates a remote wind signal received by the performance management computer. The inertial navigation system determines wind at the aircraft and generates a local wind signal received by the performance management computer. And, the comparing apparatus is disposed in the performance management computer and compares the remote wind signal with the local wind signal and compares the remote temperature signal with the local temperature signal so as to determine the position remote from the aircraft where the remote wind signal is less than the local wind signal so that an altitude can be achieved that has less head wind and is therefore more economically efficient. | Robert K. Frank (Shelter Island, NY) | --- | 1995-12-11 | 1997-03-25 | G01C21/10, G01C21/16, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G01S7/22, G01S7/04, G06F165/00, G01S013/95 | 08/570598 |
| 942 | 5614907 | All weather visual system for helicopters | The invention relates to an all weather visual system that combines information from a ROSAR type radar sensor with navigation and flight information to provide artificial vision for the pilot. The radar utilizes the movements of rotating arms fixedly mounted on the rotor head of a helicopter. for this purpose, a turnstile is used as the central carrier structure, which is protected by an aerodynamically shaped body against atmospheric forces. The radar transmitter and radar receiver are located on the rotor head and in the tips of the rotating arms, respectively. | Wolfgang Kreitmair-Steck (Hohenkirchen, DE), Helmut Klausing (Wessling/Hochstadt, DE) | Daimler-Benz Aerospace Ag (DE) | 1996-03-14 | 1997-03-25 | G01S13/90, G01C15/14, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S007/04 | 08/616003 |
| 943 | 5608404 | Imaging synthetic aperture radar | A linear-FM SAR imaging radar method and apparatus to produce a real-time image by first arranging the returned signals into a plurality of subaperture arrays, the columns of each subaperture array having samples of dechirped baseband pulses, and further including a processing of each subaperture array to obtain coarse-resolution in azimuth, then fine-resolution in range, and lastly, to combine the processed subapertures to obtain the final fine-resolution in azimuth. Greater efficiency is achieved because both the transmitted signal and a local oscillator signal mixed with the returned signal can be varied on a pulse-to-pulse basis as a function of radar motion. Moreover, a novel circuit can adjust the sampling location and the A/D sample rate of the combined dechirped baseband signal which greatly reduces processing time and hardware. The processing steps include implementing a window function, stabilizing either a central reference point and/or all other points of a subaperture with respect to doppler frequency and/or range as a function of radar motion, sorting and compressing the signals using a standard fourier transforms. The stabilization of each processing part is accomplished with vector multiplication using waveforms generated as a function of radar motion wherein these waveforms may be synthesized in integrated circuits. Stabilization of range migration as a function of doppler frequency by simple vector multiplication is a particularly useful feature of the invention, as is stabilization of azimuth migration by correcting for spatially varying phase errors prior to the application of an autofocus process. | Bryan L. Burns (Tijeras, NM), J. Thomas Cordaro (Albuquerque, NM) | The United States of America As Represented By The United States (Washington, DC) | 1993-06-23 | 1997-03-04 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/28, G01S7/288, G01S7/285, G01S013/90 | 08/081462 |
| 944 | 5590044 | Method and apparatus for finding aircraft position by integrating accelerations less time averages | A method and apparatus for short-range position determination of aircraft, used for preventing errors in radar mapping from position inaccuracies, finds velocity in the x-direction (flight direction) by integrating accelerometer outputs. The accelerometer values are averaged over a time interval and then the average is subtracted from the instantaneous signal value, this difference, called adjusted acceleration, is integrated over time to yield a velocity. In turn, this velocity is time-averaged and the time average is subtracted from the instantaneous velocity. The resulting adjustment velocity is subtracted from the output of aircraft speedometer, and the difference is used to generate estimates of the average aircraft speed and acceleration by the method of least squares. These estimates are used to create a speed correction term for correcting the flight speed. The same process is used for positions in the y-direction and z-direction (vertical) , except that an additional integration, time-average, and subtraction are involved for each. | Stefan Buckreub (Munich, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 1995-02-02 | 1996-12-31 | G01C21/10, G01C21/16, G01S5/14, G01S13/60, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/90, G06F017/10 | 08/382532 |
| 945 | 5557278 | Airport integrated hazard response apparatus | An apparatus for monitoring the position of multiple objects in a space including a target supervisor, a location supervisor, and a hazard monitoring supervisor. The tracking supervisor receives target data from a sensor, characterizes and tracks selected objects, and provides a target output having multiple features respective of the selected objects. The location supervisor characterizes and displays multiple features in the space, and provides a location output having the aforementioned features therein. The hazard monitoring supervisor detects and responds to a predetermined hazard condition, and provides a detectable notice of such hazard condition, responsive to the target output and the location output. A data logger for selectively retains the target output, the location output, or both. The position monitoring apparatus has six modes: full operation, non-airport-surveillance-radar, isolation, set-up, adaptation, and simulation. An integrator mode is included wherein the target supervisor receives data from a surface detection radar, an airborne surveillance radar, a secondary surveillance radar, a global positioning-system based sensor, a ground-based sensor, or an auxiliary sensor. | Bart J. Piccirillo (Mt. Caramel, CT), Marshall Watnick (Trumbull, CT), Raymond M. Kruczek (Guilford, CT) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1995-06-23 | 1996-09-17 | G01S7/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/91, G01S13/95, G01S13/72, G01S013/87 | 08/494119 |
| 946 | 5554990 | Airspace management system and method | An airspace management system and method includes an alternate quick look mode display option which allows a user to designate a specific geographic region for display in a specified area on a display screen. Within this specified area, which can encompass a portion or all of the display screen, radar plot data is displayed for at least one aircraft for which input radar information is received. Symbols can be assigned to aircraft to differentiate friend and enemy aircraft, colors can be assigned to differentiate friend and enemy aircraft and plots, and radar-measured height information can optionally be displayed. In this quick look mode, near real-time positions for all aircraft within the quick look mode window are displayed, since selection of the quick look mode window bypasses normal time-consuming tracking information processing. Thus, a controller can view only essential plot and identification data in an aerial combat situation or to control an aircraft on a landing approach for example, with other portions of the display screen other than the quick look mode window, remaining unaffected. This airspace management system and method thereby combines the most useful attribute of an automated system, namely the automatic tracking of all aircraft, with the most useful attribute of a manual system, namely the near real time display of aircraft locations. | Terry L. McKinney (Severn, MD) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1995-08-22 | 1996-09-10 | G01S7/22, G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S7/04, G01S13/91, G01S7/295, G01S013/87 | 08/518133 |
| 947 | 5552788 | Antenna arrangement and aircraft collision avoidance system | An antenna arrangement on a host aircraft for generating power signals related to a direction from which a transponder reply signal is received from a threat aircraft. The arrangement includes first and second monopole antenna elements arranged along a first axis of the host aircraft, third and fourth monopole antenna elements arranged along a second axis of the host aircraft, with the second axis being orthogonal to the first axis, a first quadrature combiner coupled to the first and second monopole antenna elements for generating first and second signals from the received reply signal, and a second quadrature combiner coupled to the third and fourth monopole antenna elements for generating third and fourth signals from the received reply signal. The respective power levels of the first, second, third and fourth signals are related to the direction from which the reply signal is received from the threat aircraft. | Paul A. Ryan (Dublin, OH), Dean E. Ryan (Columbus, OH) | Ryan International Corporation (Columbus, OH) | 1995-06-30 | 1996-09-03 | G01S13/76, G01S3/30, G01S13/00, G01S3/14, G01S3/32, G01S013/00 | 08/497714 |
| 948 | 5552787 | Measurement of topography using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) | The polarimetric technique of measuring azimuth direction terrain slopes utilizes a polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to provide a direct measure of terrain azimuthal slopes and a derived estimate of terrain elevation. Utilizing this measure of the azimuthal slopes and estimated terrain elevations, a one-dimensional terrain slope map over a wide area may be produced without any prior knowledge of the terrain. Utilizing the method of steepest descent (or gradients) the polarimetric orientation of the peak (maximum) of the signature is determined for each image pixel. The terrain elevations are derived by integrating the slopes in the azimuthal direction and may be further refined so as to obtain absolute, rather than relative, elevation values by independently knowing at least one elevation ''tie-point'' along each slope profile being integrated. These orientations are proportional to terrain slope in the azimuthal direction. Processing of all the image pixels allows a complete two-dimensional topography elevation map of the terrain slopes can then be constructed from sets of elevation profiles spaced throughout the range direction. | Dale L. Schuler (Fairfax Station, VA), Jong-Sen Lee (Great Falls, VA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1995-10-10 | 1996-09-03 | G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S013/90 | 08/541392 |
| 949 | 5548290 | Method of designing transmission power in synthetic aperture radar | In a method of designing the transmission power of a synthetic aperture radar installed on a flight object such as an artificial satellite, the transmission power is designed such that, in applying radar equation P.sub.r =P.sub.t .multidot..sigma..multidot.A.sub.p.sup.2 / (4.pi..lambda..sup.2 R.sup.4) [P.sub.t : transmission power (W) , .sigma.: radar scattering cross section (m.sup.2) , A.sub.p : antenna area (m.sup.2) , R: distance to the object to be observed (m) , .lambda.: wavelength of radio wave (m) ] for setting transmission power P.sub.r so as to satisfy the conditions required for the radar, the radar scattering cross section .sigma. is set to .sigma.=.sigma..sup.0 .multidot.S.sup.2 .multidot.4.pi./ .lambda..sup.2 [.sigma..sup.0 : scattering coefficient, S: area of irradiated domain (m.sup.2) ]. | Toshihiro Sezai (Tokyo, JP) | National Space Development Agency of Japan (Tokyo, JP) | 1995-03-09 | 1996-08-20 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/401437 |
| 950 | 5546357 | Monostatic projector synthetic aperture sonar | A pulsed-transmission, echo-ranging sonar system of the side scanning type ses a synthetic aperture to form search beams. The system uses multiple projectors, and a multistatic hydrophone array and a four transmission sequence, each originating at the same location thus permitting a shorter array which can travel twice as fast as conventional systems while achieving grating lobe suppression. | William J. Zehner (Lynn Haven, FL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1994-12-27 | 1996-08-13 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, G01S015/89, G01S013/90 | 08/363990 |
| 951 | 5546183 | Lidar droplet size monitor for in-flight measurement of aircraft engine exhaust contrails, droplets and aerosols | A lidar system which utilizes optical backscatter and extinction to determine the size of particles inside the exhaust plume of an aircraft at a distance of several hundred meters behind the aircraft. The system transmits a laser beam through the exhaust plume of the aircraft, where it is reflected by the particles contained in the exhaust plume. The reflected light is detected by a receiver, where it is processed by a computer to calculate the size of the particles in the exhaust plume. | Ronald W. Fegley (Whittier, CA), Darrell A. Terry (Huntington Beach, CA) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1994-10-12 | 1996-08-13 | G01N15/02, G01S17/88, G01S17/00, G01C003/00 | 08/321715 |
| 952 | 5546084 | Synthetic aperture radar clutter reduction system | A method, and corresponding apparatus, for deriving clutter-reduced images of the ocean surface in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems. An estimate of ocean surface parameters is first made and subsequently updated iteratively, to provide a reliable model of a selected patch of the ocean as it existed when a series of conventional spotlight mode SAR images were obtained. Based on the estimated ocean model, and on models of ocean wave behavior, of radar scattering behavior, and of the SAR acquisition system, predicted SAR images can be generated, and compared with the measured SAR images, and clutter-reduced images can be produced as a result. In addition to the clutter-reduced images, the method and apparatus of the invention produce an accurate estimate of ocean surface data, and can be used in a reliable approach for detecting hard targets on the ocean. | Carlton L. Hindman (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Trw Inc. (Redondo Beach, CA) | 1992-07-17 | 1996-08-13 | G01S13/90, G01S7/02, G01S13/00, G01S7/41, G01S013/90 | 07/917632 |
| 953 | 5530440 | Airport surface aircraft locator | A system for identifying the location of an aircraft on the surface of an airport includes a plurality of low power FM transmitters located along the boundaries of runway and taxiways. Each transmitter provides an FM signal having a common carrier frequency and each FM signal is encoded with unique information indicative of the position of the transmitter on the airport surface. Aircraft and other vehicles containing a conventional FM receiver ''capture'' only the strongest signal and process the ''captured'' signal to determine which transmitter was the source of the signal and hence where the aircraft is on the airport surface. | Paul M. Danzer (Norwalk, CT), Leonard A. Carlson (Ridgefield, CT) | Westinghouse Norden Systems, Inc (Norwalk, CT) | 1994-10-06 | 1996-06-25 | G01S13/00, G01S1/68, G08G5/06, G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G01S1/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G08G001/01 | 08/319354 |
| 954 | 5528391 | Infrared beam steering system using diffused infrared light and liquid crystal apertures | A system for scanning a room to find the location of target devices, and then locking onto them with stationary directed beams for two-way communication. In one embodiment, a base system in each room comprises an IR source/receiver combination plus an LCD display panel which covers the source/receiver and is addressed in such a way as to open up dynamic apertures through which IR radiation in a scanning mode can be directed toward any particular location in the room. When a device at that location senses that it is being irradiated by the base station, the targeted device responds by emitting a coded packet of IR pulses. This system takes advantage of the higher bandwidth communication that can be obtained with point-to-point communications, while still allowing for multiple devices at arbitrary locations in the same room. | Scott A. Elrod (Redwood City, CA) | Xerox Corporation (Stamford, CT) | 1993-06-04 | 1996-06-18 | G01S17/00, G01S17/74, H04B10/10, G02F001/13, H04B010/24 | 08/071788 |
| 955 | 5523759 | In flight doppler weather radar wind shear detection system | An airborne doppler radar wind shear detection system has a volumetric scanning pattern for providing atmospheric measurement data for individual resolution cells that are formed into a 3-D grid of atmospheric data samples. Volumetric feature extraction modules identify and group resolution cells having particular features into air masses of interest. A spatial feature association and filtering module combines the air masses of interest into a 3-D representation of atmospheric conditions and filters out ground clutter. A contextual matching and temporal tracking module compares the 3-D representation to known wind shear models and compares successive 3-D representations to one another to aid in identifying hazardous wind shear conditions in the aircraft flight path. | Jeffrey M. Gillberg (Coon Rapids, MN), Gregory H. Piesinger (Cave Creek, AZ), Mitchell S. Pockrandt (Minneapolis, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1993-08-16 | 1996-06-04 | G01S13/95, G01S13/00, G01S013/95 | 08/105670 |
| 956 | 5519618 | Airport surface safety logic | An airport safety logic system includes a target state machine, a prediction engine, light-control logic, and alert logic. The target state machine receives a plurality of tracks, each of which includes information about an airport target object including a track number, position, velocity, acceleration, and a measure of the size of the airport target object. The target state machine also determines, for each track, a state of the airport target object at an airport including whether the object is stopped, taxi-ing, arriving, landing, aborting a landing, departing, or aborting a departure. The prediction engine utilizes, for each track, at least the position and the velocity of the object to predict a variety of things. The predictions include a maximum and a minimum distance the airport target object could travel in a period of time, and a maximum distance path and a minimum distance path the object could follow in that time period. The prediction engine also determines, if the state of the object is ''arriving,'' whether the airport target object can land on a particular runway of the airport. The light-control logic controls runway-status lights of the airport based on the predictions and determinations made by the prediction logic. The alert logic determines if two or more objects are at risk of colliding based on the predictions and determinations made be the prediction logic, and then generates visual and audible alerts in an airport control tower of the airport if risk of collision exists. | Marcia P. Kastner (Newton, MA), James R. Eggert (Bedford, MA), Theodore J. Morin (Andover, MA), James L. Sturdy (Leominster, MA), Harald Wilhelmsen (Carlisle, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 1995-04-03 | 1996-05-21 | G05D1/00, G01S13/93, G08G5/06, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G01S13/72, B64F001/22 | 08/416441 |
| 957 | 5516252 | Turnout protection for aircraft tractor | An aircraft extending along a longitudinal aircraft axis and having a nose wheel pivotal about an upright wheel axis can be maneuvered by a tractor extending along a longitudinal tractor axis and adapted to engage the nose wheel of the aircraft. The tractor and aircraft axes can extend at an angle to each other that should not exceed a predetermined maximum turnout angle. A turnout protection system has structure on the aircraft that is directed generally perpendicular of the aircraft axis and that is only directed toward the tractor when the aircraft and tractor axes extend generally at the maximum turnout angle relative to each other. At least one electronic sensor on the tractor directed toward the aircraft detects the structure when the aircraft and tractor axes extend generally at the maximum turnout angle relative to each other. A controller on the tractor takes action, e.g. emits an alarm or takes over the tractor steering and/or braking, when the electronic sensor detects that the aircraft and tractor axes extend generally at the maximum turnout angle relative to each other. | Erwin Francke (Grobenzell, DE), Peter Molzer (Schwabhausen. both of, DE) | Krauss Maffei Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE) | 1994-02-24 | 1996-05-14 | G01D1/00, B64F1/22, G01B21/22, G01D1/18, B64F1/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/93, G01S13/08, B60P003/11, B64F001/10 | 08/201370 |
| 958 | 5512899 | Method of evaluating the image quality of a synthetic aperture radar | An active reflector including an antenna, a frequency converter, and a delay circuit is placed at a location within an area to be detected by a synthetic aperture radar. The active reflector receives an incoming radio wave emitted by the synthetic aperture radar and changes its frequency or delay time. The resultant radio wave is transmitted as a reflected radio wave toward the synthetic aperture radar. As a result, the position of the active reflector image displayed on the screen of the synthetic aperture radar is shifted. The ambiguity is quantitatively detected from the pixel value at the original display position at which the active reflector image was displayed before it was shifted, thereby evaluating the image quality of the synthetic aperture radar. | Yuji Osawa (Tokyo, JP), Toshihiro Sezai (Tokyo, JP) | National Space Development Agency of Japan (Tokyo, JP) | 1995-02-16 | 1996-04-30 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/76, G01S013/90 | 08/390221 |
| 959 | 5510800 | Time-of-flight radio location system | A bi-static radar configuration measures the direct time-of-flight of a transmitted RF pulse and is capable of measuring this time-of-flight with a jitter on the order of about one pico-second, or about 0.01 inch of free space distance for an electromagnetic pulse over a range of about one to ten feet. A transmitter transmits a sequence of electromagnetic pulses in response to a transmit timing signal, and a receiver samples the sequence of electromagnetic pulses with controlled timing in response to a receive timing signal, and generates a sample signal in response to the samples. A timing circuit supplies the transmit timing signal to the transmitter and supplies the receive timing signal to the receiver. The receive timing signal causes the receiver to sample the sequence of electromagnetic pulses such that the time between transmission of pulses in the sequence and sampling by the receiver sweeps over a range of delays. The receive timing signal sweeps over the range of delays in a sweep cycle such that pulses in the sequence are sampled at the pulse repetition rate, and with different delays in the range of delays to produce a sample signal representing magnitude of a received pulse in equivalent time. Automatic gain control circuitry in the receiver controls the magnitude of the equivalent time sample signal. A signal processor analyzes the sample signal to indicate the time-of-flight of the electromagnetic pulses in the sequence. | Thomas E. McEwan (Livermore, CA) | The Regents of The University of California (Oakland, CA) | 1994-09-06 | 1996-04-23 | G01S11/00, G01S1/00, G01F23/284, G01S13/02, G01S1/04, G01S13/18, G01S11/02, G01S13/04, G01S13/00, G01S7/285, G01S5/14, G01V3/12, G08G1/04, G01S13/88, G01S13/93, G01S13/10, G01S001/24 | 08/300909 |
| 960 | 5502444 | Method and apparatus for improving the signal-to-clutter ratio of an airborne earth penetrating radar | The method improves the signal-to-clutter ratio of an airborne earth penetrating radar for distinguishing subsurface objects from surface clutter or above-ground objects. The method relies on the dispersive response of the signals returned from an subsurface object to distinguish these subsurface signals from the non-dispersive response signals returned by surface clutter. The electromagnetic response from a subsurface object is spread out over time in comparison to the response from surface clutter. A correlation coincidence detection methodology discriminates surface clutter based on the temporal persistence of a subsurface object. The correlation procedure produces a sequence of values which are used as the basis for detection. If the radar pulses detect a subsurface object, the sequence of values persists beyond the interval of integration containing the clutter response. | Ira Kohlberg (Alexandria, VA) | Mandex, Inc. (Springfield, VA) | 1994-09-23 | 1996-03-26 | G01S7/32, G01S7/292, G01S7/285, G01V3/15, G01V3/17, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S013/00 | 08/311674 |
| 961 | 5501219 | Real-time dynamic time-of-flight calculator | Time-of-flight calculations may be simplified by performing them on the fly at selected intervals and then interpolating the results to obtain a comprehensive set of values. The method and apparatus offer improved accuracy, speed, and hardware savings. | Robert N. Phelps (Livermore, CA), Lin X. Yao (Bellevue, WA) | Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. (Iselin, NJ) | 1994-11-14 | 1996-03-26 | G01S7/52, G01S15/89, G01S15/00, A61B008/00 | 08/340081 |
| 962 | 5495248 | Stabilizing method of synthetic aperture radar and position determining method thereof | A stabilizing method of a synthetic aperture radar and a position determining method by the radar. At least three repeaters are arranged in mutually different positions on the ground or the sea and a radio frequency signal having a predetermined frequency is transmitted from the radar mounted on a radar platform such as an aircraft to the repeaters. Each repeater frequency-modulates and amplifies the received signal to return the signal to the radar. The radar receives the signal returned from each repeater. The radar calculates a distance between the radar platform and each repeater on the basis of a time required for the transmitting and the receiving and phase information of the received signal. When the position of each repeater is known, by using the positions of the repeaters and the calculated distances, the position of the radar platform can be calculated. On the basis of the obtained position of the radar platform, a reference signal for phase compensation is generated. The radar eliminates a phase variation of a reflected wave received from an object to be acquired by multiplying the reflected wave by the reference signal for phase compensation. | Masatoshi Kawase (Yachiyo, JP), Seiichi Maeda (Houya, JP), Takahiko Fujisaka (Kamakura, JP), Yoshimasa Oh-Hashi (Kamakura, JP), Michimasa Kondo (Kamakura, JP), Natsuki Kondo (Kamakura, JP) | Sachio Uehara, Director General, Technical Research and Development (Tokyo, JP), Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo JP) | 1993-11-16 | 1996-02-27 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/74, G01S013/74, G01S013/90 | 08/153675 |
| 963 | 5489907 | Airborne SAR system for determining the topography of a terrain | In an airborne SAR system for determining the topography of a terrain, two complete, correlated SAR images with different amplitude modulation in the cross-track direction are obtained and recorded by switching of two antenna patterns which can be generated by means of a monopulse antenna. The desired terrain information is extracted from the amplitude relationship of the two SAR images. It is furthermore possible to extract the terrain information from polarimetric SAR data via crosstalk parameters. | Manfred Zink (Wessling, DE), Herwig ttl (Germering, DE), Anthony Freeman (Pasadena, CA) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 1994-09-23 | 1996-02-06 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01C11/00, G01S7/02, G01S13/94, G01S013/90 | 08/311743 |
| 964 | 5488563 | Method and device for preventing collisions with the ground for an aircraft | A mass memory stores a data base representing at least a substantial part of the terrestrial globe, in accordance with a grid configuration on several levels, said grid configuration being in particular more precise in the vicinity of an airport. Status indications are received representing the position of the aircraft with two horizontal components, and the altitude, and the velocity and acceleration vectors of the aircraft, as well as control indications coming from the flight deck. In accordance with the horizontal components of the position of the aircraft, a temporary local map is transferred into a fast access memory, on the basis of which map, an altitude envelope of the terrain is established in the zone where the aircraft is travelling. Anticollision processing make it possible to establish an alarm if the relation between a protection field and the altitude envelope meets a first condition which is defined at least partly by the control indications. The device has application as an aid for aerial navigation. | Xavier Chazelle (Saint-Cloud, FR), Anne-Marie Hunot (Paris, FR), Gerard Lepere (Aubervilliers, FR) | Dassault Electronique (Saint Cloud, FR) | 1993-04-02 | 1996-01-30 | G05D1/00, G05D1/06, G01S13/00, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G01C21/00, G01S5/14, G01S13/94, G08G005/04 | 08/041870 |
| 965 | 5488374 | Multi-scale adaptive filter for interferometric SAR data | Apparatus including a multi-scale adaptive filter for smoothing interferometric SAR (IFSAR) data in areas of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and/or coherence while preserving resolution in areas of high SNR/coherence. The multi-scale adaptive filter uses simple combinations of multiple linear filters applied to a complex interferogram. The multi-scale adaptive filter is computationally efficient and lends itself to parallel implementation. A pyramid architecture comprising a plurality of cascaded stages is employed which reduces the computational load and memory required for implementation of the processing algorithm. The multi-scale adaptive filter implements a processing algorithm that may be applied to standard IFSAR data. Its input is a complex interferogram (the conjugate product of two complex images) and its output is a filtered interferogram (A) which is passed to an information extraction processor, that extracts a terrain elevation map, for example. The adaptive filter incorporates linear filters at two or more scales (i.e. filter impulse response widths) whose outputs are combined in a data-dependent manner. The combination rules result in an output interferogram (A) that is filtered heavily in areas of low coherence and receives little or no filtering in areas of high coherence. The combination rules use a coherence measure that is a simple nonlinear function of the linear filter outputs themselves. | Robert T. Frankot (Van Nuys, CA), Ralph E. Hudson (Los Angeles, CA), George H. Senge (Los Angeles, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1994-10-14 | 1996-01-30 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/292, G01S013/90 | 08/323414 |
| 966 | 5485384 | On-board navigation system for an aerial craft including a synthetic aperture sideways looking radar | On-board navigation system for an aerial craft of the type including an SAR synthetic aperture sideways looking radar (12) . According to the invention, computing device (18) express the alignment deviation as a function of the estimation error vector .DELTA.U associated with the state vector U consisting of the components of the vectors P, V for the position and relative velocity of the vehicle, in the form of a noise-affected observation, a KALMAN-BUCY filter with gain matrix K computing the estimate of the vector of estimation errors. | Bruno Falconnet (Verneuil Sur Seine, FR) | Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle (Paris, FR) | 1993-09-03 | 1996-01-16 | G01C21/16, G01S13/00, G01C21/10, G01S13/86, G06F165/00 | 08/116337 |
| 967 | 5483241 | Precision location of aircraft using ranging | A millimeter wave radar is placed on an aircraft and several radar targets are placed near a runway. The targets are discrete objects, each having a relatively localized radar cross section, a unique signature or a unique range bin, and a position which is accurately known. Targets should be spread over the length of the runway. Radar corner reflectors and active or passive repeaters are preferred. The locations of the radar targets with respect to the runway can be transmitted to the aircraft, or they can be stored on board. On board memory requirements can be reduced by requiring all airports to select one of only a few standard target placement patterns, or even only one. Targets are inexpensive, as are radars whose only precision requirement is in range, and not in azimuth or elevation angles. Range to at least three targets in the radar's field of view is all that is required for an on-board computer to determine the aircraft's location. A radar-generated image of the runway perimeter may be provided to the pilot, preferably in a heads-up display, with hazards superimposed in their proper relative positions. The runway edges need provide no radar contrast at all. | Douglas K. Waineo (Placentia, CA), Henry F. Williams (Temecula, CA), Daniel E. Castleberry (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (Seal Beach, CA) | 1994-05-09 | 1996-01-09 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/87, G01S13/75, G01S013/72, G01S013/76, G01S013/91, G01S013/93 | 08/239795 |
| 968 | 5481359 | Multi-etalon VISAR interferometer having an interferometer frame of high stiffness with a linear elongated slide bar | A multi-etalon VISAR interferometer with variable velocity-per-fringe constant, capable of measuring the velocity of a diffusely-reflecting surface, having design innovations which preserve the fringe alignment of the interferometer even when its velocity-per-fringe constant is changed or when it is exposed to environmental stress such as substantial temperature changes or being moved from one location to another. The interferometer stability is enhanced by using a very stiff interferometer frame, to which the alignment-sensitive components of the interferometer are attached. The movable interferometer components are attached to a relatively long slide bar which can be attached to the interferometer frame at various locations in a slide bar track in the interferometer frame. Delay leg spacers allow the slide bar, with its movable interferometer components, to be positioned easily and accurately when changing the velocity-per-fringe constant. | Lynn M. Barker (Albuquerque, NM) | --- | 1994-08-23 | 1996-01-02 | G01P3/36, G01B9/02, G01S17/58, G01S17/00, G01S7/481, G01B009/02 | 08/294546 |
| 969 | 5477226 | Low cost radar altimeter with accuracy enhancement | A low cost frequency modulated (FM) radar altimeter system with enhanced accuracy for continuously providing an altitude of a target, comprising a transmitter means for transmitting a carrier modulated output signal towards the target, a receiver means having an altitude output signal for receiving the carrier modulated output signal reflected from the target after a time delay, and for providing an open loop error correction means for correcting errors resulting from nonlinearities in the transmitter means and signal processing delay variations in the receiver means so that the altitude determined is accurate, a coupling means for directing a portion of the carrier modulated output signal to the receiver means, and searching means having a first output directed to the receiver means and a second output directed to the transmitter means and having a symmetrical search output signal with a slope, s.sub.s, and a fixed period for providing continuous and repeated sweeping from a low altitude to a high altitude, an upsweep, and then back down to the low altitude, a downsweep, so that the radar altimeter is in a constant searching mode, and for automatically altering a search rate of the radar altimeter with changes in the slope, s.sub.s, of the search output signal so that the sensitivity of the radar altimeter increases as the slope, s.sub.s, decreases. | James R. Hager (Golden Valley, MN), Gregory J. Haubrich (Champlin, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1994-05-09 | 1995-12-19 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 08/239652 |
| 970 | 5476098 | Partially coherent imaging for large-aperture phased arrays | Ultrasonic imaging performed with a large aperture phased array employs partially coherent processing to provide an improved real-time ultrasound image compared to that obtainable using either fully coherent or fully incoherent processing. Partially coherent processing is achieved by computing different sums across the imaging aperture and using a weighted total of the computed sums to generate a real-time image, enabling the operator to choose the extent of coherent summation versus incoherent summation across the aperture. Since coherent summation affects spatial resolution and incoherent summation affects contrast resolution, a trade-off between spatial and contrast resolution results in an optimal image for a given application. | Matthew O'Donnell (Ann Arbor, MI) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1995-02-13 | 1995-12-19 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, A61B008/00 | 08/387513 |
| 971 | 5473331 | Combined SAR monopulse and inverse monopulse weapon guidance | A system and method that provides for all-weather precision guidance of conventional air-to-surface weapons. The system and method employs a coherent monopulse radar disposed on a launch platform and a noncoherent passive (receive only) radar disposed on the weapon. The synthetic aperture radar generates a synthetic aperture radar monopulse map of an area around the target. The radar is used designate the location of the target, and transmit a sequence of alternating sum and simultaneous azimuth and elevation difference patterns centered on the target. The weapon includes a guidance system and seeker that is responsive to guidance commands transmitted by the synthetic aperture radar. The guidance system and seeker receives reflections of the alternating sum and combined azimuth and elevation difference pattern from the target, and the sum pulse is used by the weapon to acquire and track the azimuth and elevation difference pattern null on the target to fly an optimum trajectory to the target. One method for guiding a weapon to a target comprises the following steps. A synthetic aperture radar is used to generate a SAR monopulse map of a target area and designate a target therein. The weapon is then launched toward the target. The radar is used to transmit an interleaved sum and simultaneous azimuth and elevation difference pattern guidance pulse train at the target. The reflected interleaved sum and simultaneous azimuth and elevation difference pattern is received from the target at a seeker and guidance system on the weapon. The sum pattern is used by the weapon to lock onto the converging null, and is used by the launch platform to provide closed loop tracking of the target during guidance illumination. After weapon null lock-on, steering commands are generated to cause the weapon to fly an optimum trajectory to the target. | Thomas A. Kennedy (Manhattan Beach, CA), Mark I. Landau (Los Angeles, CA), Howard Nussbaum (Los Angeles, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1994-10-31 | 1995-12-05 | G01S13/00, F41G7/22, G01S1/00, F41G7/20, G01S13/86, G01S13/90, G01S1/14, G01S013/44, G01S013/90 | 08/332004 |
| 972 | 5471383 | Monitoring systems to measure and display flight characteristics of moving sports object | A sports object flight monitoring system including at least one shutterable camera units each of which units receive light patterns from each and every one of a plurality of contrasting areas or markers on the object in rapid successive sequence. A computer receives the signals generated by the light patterns as received by each camera unit to determine the flight characteristics of the object. | William Gobush (No. Dartmouth, MA), Diane Pelletier (Fairhaven, MA), Charles Days (So. Dartmouth, MA) | Acushnet Company (Fairhaven, MA) | 1994-09-30 | 1995-11-28 | A63B69/36, G01S11/12, G01P3/36, G01P3/38, G01S17/50, G01S17/66, G01S17/00, G01S11/00, A63B43/00, A63B69/00, A63B43/06, G06F151/00 | 08/316599 |
| 973 | 5469167 | Synthetic aperture radar for nonlinear trajectories using range relative doppler processing and invariant mapping | Synthetic aperture radar imaging for nonlinear trajectories utilizing range relative doppler processing, invariant mapping of information from arbitrary shaped cells onto an X--Y coordinate system, and round trip signal delay which allows accurate synthesis of a reference signal for each range cell. A synthetic signal synthesizer produces the reference signal for synchronous demodulation in the radar. | Robert J. Polge (Baton Rouge, LA), Augustus H. Green, Jr. (Huntsville, AL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1995-05-01 | 1995-11-21 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S007/483 | 08/432353 |
| 974 | 5465142 | Obstacle avoidance system for helicopters and other aircraft | A system for sensing objects in the flight path of an aircraft and alerting the pilot to their presence includes a laser radar subsystem for emitting a beam of laser energy, receiving returns from objects, and processing the returns to produce range data related to the range of the objects from the aircraft. A scanning subsystem scans the beam and produces directional information related to the instantaneous direction of the beam relative to the aircraft. Processor circuitry controls operation, processes the range data and directional information with instrumentation data from the avionics system, produces video information related to the range, direction, and type of the objects, and interfaces the video information to the video display system. The processor circuitry may be programmed to (1) overlay video information on existing aircraft video display system, (2) provide acoustical warnings on an aircraft intercom, (3) analyze returns by subdividing the field of regard into a series of analysis windows, performing a statistical analysis of the returns related to each of the analysis windows, and identifying returns that fall into a common range interval, (4) transforming coordinates of objects measured relative to the aircraft to a horizon-stabilized, north-oriented coordinate system which is independent of the attitude of the aircraft, (5) inserting the coordinates of identified objects into a data base so that the coordinates may be used for constructing a video display at a later time and updating the data base to correct for movements of the aircraft, and (6) constructing a window-of-safety display of objects currently within the field of regard by adjusting the displayed position of the objects to compensate for avoidance maneuvers the pilot may execute. | Rolf Krumes (Anaheim, CA), Dennis C. Richman (Irvine, CA), Carl L. Bose (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Northrop Grumman Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) | 1993-04-30 | 1995-11-07 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01C003/08, G01B011/26, G08B021/00, G02B026/08 | 08/056220 |
| 975 | 5463397 | Hyper-precision SAR interferometry using a dual-antenna multi-pass SAR system | The present invention is an interferometric SAR system and processing method that combines multi-pass SAR interferometry with dual-antenna SAR interferometry to obtain elevation maps with accuracy unobtainable by either method alone. A single pass of the dual-antenna system provides coarse elevation maps. High accuracy maps are obtained through additional passes, with accuracy determined by the number of passes. The processing method combines the acquired data to provide a calibrated, high precision, low ambiguity elevation map, using approximate least-squares and maximum-likelihood processing methods. The present dual-antenna SAR interferometer collects two complex SAR images from slightly different elevation angles on a single pass using two antennas on the same platform. The present invention provides calibrated maps that have coarse precision but are nearly unambiguous because of the small interferometer baseline. The multi-pass method collects two or more complex images using multiple passes of a radar platform with each antenna. Alone, the multipass method provides much more precise, but ambiguous and uncalibrated, elevation maps. However, the present invention combines the dual-antenna and multi-pass techniques to provide unambiguous and highly precise maps. | Robert T. Frankot (Van Nuys, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1993-10-25 | 1995-10-31 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/140946 |
| 976 | 5448768 | Aircraft data communication employing existing voice channels | A system for communicating data between an aircraft and ground unit over conventional amplitude modulated (AM) voice radio channels employs a data collection unit for collecting data desired to be transmitted, such as global positioning system (GPS) data, altitude, or aircraft identification information which is encoded by a data encoder. A gating means senses when the microphone of the AM transmitter is keyed, and passes the encoded data and the voice signals to the existing AM modulator of the AM voice transceiver. This results in a transmitted signal received by a receiving unit, such as a ground unit, which separates the received signal into an AM modulated voice signal and a AM data signal. The AM voice signal is demodulated by normal means into an audible signal, with the AM data signal being decoded by a data decoder into data. This data may be used to identify the aircraft symbol on a radar screen, identify the voice signal with a aircraft identification number, or flight number thereby reducing the amount of identification required. In alternative embodiments, avionics equipment may be added to the aircraft responsive to the data being sent from the ground unit, allowing collision avoidance capabilities. | Richard L. Zinser (Niskayuna, NY) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1993-10-04 | 1995-09-05 | G01S13/91, G01S13/76, G01S13/00, G01S7/00, H04L27/02, H04B1/04, H04B7/185, G01S1/00, G01S5/00, H04B1/46, H04B1/44, H03C001/52 | 08/130811 |
| 977 | 5448243 | System for locating a plurality of objects and obstructions and for detecting and determining the rolling status of moving objects, such as aircraft, ground vehicles, and the like | In a system for locating a plurality of objects and obstructions and for detecting and determining the rolling status of moving objects, such as aircraft, ground vehicles, and the like, in the area of an airport, a short-range radar network is provided having at least three radar stations. Via simple stationary non-rotating transmitting antennas with coherent time-pulsed microwaves or other microwave signal forms, a large sector in the azimuth of about 90.degree. is illuminated, and the associated fixed receiving antennas, which have fixed subdivided sector characteristics, with one receiving channel per subsector, also receive signals from the other stations for bistatic measurements. The separation of the signals of individual stations is effected by selecting different frequencies, or alternatively, a time triggering of transmitted signals and receiver gates or by station-specific modulation codes. Illumination zones are chosen so there are no shadow zones caused by, e.g., buildings. | Karl-Heinz Bethke (Oberpfaffenhofen, DE), Bernd Rode (Seehausen, DE), Arno Schroth (Puchheim, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Cologne, DE) | 1994-02-14 | 1995-09-05 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/90, G01S013/93 | 08/194984 |
| 978 | 5448233 | Airborne obstacle collision avoidance apparatus | An airborne obstacle collision avoidance apparatus which includes an object sensor for sensing objects within a field of view of the aircraft and an aircraft navigation system for navigating the aircraft through space. The apparatus also includes a signal processor for receiving data from both the object sensor and the aircraft navigation system, for generating map data of the objects within the field of view of the aircraft, for dynamically changing the map data as the aircraft moves through space and for determining the probability that the aircraft is on a collision course with respect to each sensed object. The apparatus further includes an alarm which is activated when the signal processor determines that there is a high probability that the current aircraft flight direction is on a collision course with respect to a sensed object. | Izhak Saban (Kiryat Hayim East, IL), Sorin Faibish (Haifa, IL), Ezra Shamay (Kiryat Bialik, IL) | State of Israel, Rafael Armament Development Authority (Haifa, IL) | 1994-01-27 | 1995-09-05 | G01S7/48, G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G08B023/00 | 08/186959 |
| 979 | 5442356 | Airborne system for operation in conjunction with a marker beacon | An airborne radio system upon receipt of mode and code radio signals from a arker beacon that it is seeking, queries the marker beacon as to its slant range and direction. Upon receipt of information on the slant range and direction the airborne system and/or its operator make a determination whether to initiate a radio signal that would activate a flare on the marker beacon. Upon actuation the flare is usable for visual and infrared homing. | Frederick F. Hiltz (Newport, RI), Charles E. Wilson (Clarksville, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1994-03-23 | 1995-08-15 | G01S1/70, G01S1/00, G01S7/00, G01S13/76, G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S013/80 | 08/216568 |
| 980 | 5432520 | SAR/GPS inertial method of range measurement | A method that provides precise target location measurement using a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system jointly with a global positioning inertial navigation system (GPS/INS) located on a moving aircraft. The SAR system provides a precise measurement of the round trip elapsed radar wave propagation time from the aircraft location to a selected pixel in a ground map that includes a portion of the target. The velocity of radar wave propagation is measured at the same time that the range time lapse to the designated SAR map pixel is measured. When combined with position and velocity information derived from the GPS/INS inertial navigation system, the radar wave propagation time is used to calculate the position of the target pixel in GPS/INS coordinates, thereby improving measurement accuracy. The method comprises flying an aircraft containing GPS/INS and SAR systems along a predetermined flight path. The relative position and velocity of the aircraft along the flight path is accurately measured using the the global positioning system. A first SAR map is generated. A target pixel in the first SAR map that corresponds to the target is then designated. A minimum of two additional SAR maps are generated and the target pixel in each of the additional SAR maps is designated. The position of the target pixel relative to GPS/INS coordinates and the velocity of radar wave propagation to the target using aircraft position data derived from the global positioning system are then simultaneously measured. Finally, a more accurate position for the target pixel is calculated using the computed value for the radar wave propagation velocity. | Arthur J. Schneider (Pasadena, CA), Richard J. Olerich (Saugus, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1993-10-18 | 1995-07-11 | G01S7/40, F41G7/00, F41G7/36, G01S5/14, G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S005/02, G01S013/00 | 08/137523 |
| 981 | 5430445 | Synthetic aperture radar guidance system and method of operating same | A synthetic aperture radar guidance system adapted for use in a guided missile is described wherein the frequency of the transmitted pulses changes with time with a chirp slope which varies with range. The time between pulses also changes as a function of range. The desired values of the chirp slope and the interpulse interval are computed for all values within a range of interest and stored. Furthermore, the operating parameters of the SAR are changed as the range changes. The time intervals and frequencies are selected to avoid interruption ambiguities and eclipsing. The phase and frequency of the synthesized signal are controlled to adjust for motion of a vehicle on which the SAR is mounted. The SAR is operated in several modes. In a search mode, the beam of transmitted pulses is steered across a mapping area to form a plurality of patches of the mapping area. The patches are combined into one map of the entire area. Each pixel of the map is compared with a target template until a match is provided. Then the SAR operates in track mode wherein a correlation process ensures the missile is steered toward the target area using a template provided using known feature data. | Theodore J. Peregrim (Bedford, MA), Frank A. Okurowski (Concord, MA), Albert H. Long (Framingham, MA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1992-12-31 | 1995-07-04 | G01S13/90, F41G7/00, F41G7/34, G01S13/28, G01S13/22, G01S13/00, G01S13/72, G01S7/288, G01S7/285, G01S013/90 | 07/999758 |
| 982 | 5424742 | Synthetic aperture radar guidance system and method of operating same | A synthetic aperture radar guidance system adapted for use in a guided missile is described wherein the frequency of the transmitted pulses changes with time with a chirp slope which varies with range. The time between pulses also changes as a function of range. The desired values of the chirp slope and the interpulse interval are computed for all values within a range of interest and stored. Furthermore, the operating parameters of the SAR are changed as the range changes. The time intervals and frequencies are selected to avoid interruption ambiguities and eclipsing. The phase and frequency of the synthesized signal are controlled to adjust for motion of a vehicle on which the SAR is mounted. The SAR is operated in several modes. In a search mode, the beam of transmitted pulses is steered across a mapping area to form a plurality of patches of the mapping area. The patches are combined into one map of the entire area. Each pixel of the map is compared with a target template until a match is provided. Then the SAR operates in track mode wherein a correlation process ensures the missile is steered toward the target area using a template provided using known feature data. | Albert H. Long (Framingham, MA), Theodore J. Peregrim (Bedford, MA), Mon Y. Young (Quincy, MA), Allan C. Vanuga (Acton, MA), Walter H. Storm (Lexington, MA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1992-12-31 | 1995-06-13 | G01S13/90, G01C21/00, G01S13/28, G01S13/00, G01S13/24, G01S13/22, G01S013/90 | 07/999506 |
| 983 | 5412618 | Spotlight-mode synthetic aperture side-look sonar | A side-look sonar system and method apply a spotlight-mode synthetic aperture technique to provide increased image resolution and a long receive aperture. A control circuit activates mechanical drives to rotate projecting and receiving sonar transducers as the carrier vehicle on which the transducers are mounted moves relative to a target. The mechanical drives rotate the transducers as a function of the rate of movement of the carrier vehicle to direct receiving and projecting surfaces of the transducers at the target for an extended period of time. An image processor uses conventional beamforming techniques to form a high resolution image of the target based on the acoustic energy samples acquired by the receiving transducer. | George A. Gilmour (Severna Park, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1994-04-07 | 1995-05-02 | G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G10K11/35, G10K11/00, G01S015/89 | 08/224375 |
| 984 | 5401978 | Laser-optic missile control surface monitor | A system uses laser optic technology for non-obtrusive monitoring of movements a missile control surface undergoing electromagnetic testing. The system includes a laser source, a detector positioned opposite the laser source, an attenuator assembly positioned between the laser source and the detector, and a recorder for recording data processed by the detector. The attenuator assembly consists of a framed translucent gray scale shaded window mounted on a block member, which in turn is mounted to the missile control surface. The control surface is a pivotally mounted canard member on the missile body. Generated laser beams project onto the gray scale shaded window. The gray scale shading affects the intensity of the directed laser beams (darker areas attenuate more light and lighter areas allow more light to pass through) . Accordingly, data is obtained from tracking the different shades of the light intensities which are directly related in synchronization with the movements of the canard member of the monitor assembly. The resulting intensity data is detected and measured by the detector and then processed by the recorder. Thus, as the control surface moves, the recorded data provides a basis for determining recognition characteristics with respect to the missile control surface, such as (1) the direction of the movement, (2) the distance of the movement, and (3) the speed of the movement. | David J. DeTroye (Woodbridge, VA), Thomas J. Bock (Woodbridge, VA), Vincent J. Ellis (Stafford, VA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1993-06-24 | 1995-03-28 | G01D5/34, G01S17/00, G01S17/88, G01D5/26, G01S17/46, G01D005/34 | 08/081892 |
| 985 | 5400031 | Airport surface vehicle identification system and method | An airport vehicle identification system for improving airport traffic management and collision avoidance, includes a ground surveillance radar and a plurality of low power frequency translators located in spaced relationship about the surface of the airport. The radar system transmits a conventional radar signal for target detection and a beacon interrogation signal for target detection. Each translator is designed to bandshift the interrogation signal to a frequency value compatible with the vehicle transponder, and transmit the bandshifted interrogation signal to the vehicle transponder. Each frequency translator is bi-directional and receives a transponder reply signal indicative of vehicle identity and bandshifts the reply signal to a frequency value compatible with the ground surveillance radar and transmits the bandshifted reply signal to the ground radar. This invention fills the critical void in airport traffic control of providing ground controllers with electronic airport ground surveillance data which includes both vehicle position and identity. | Richard A. Fitts (Monroe, CT) | Norden Systems, Inc. (Norwalk, CT) | 1994-03-07 | 1995-03-21 | G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G01S13/87, G01S013/80 | 08/207332 |
| 986 | 5388047 | Aircraft traffic alert and collision avoidance device | A proximity warning device for aircraft responds solely to transmissions from transponders. The host aircraft has a host transponder and a signal is generated therein and coupled to the device to indicate transmission of a host reply. Selective suppression is implemented based on presence of an SSR beam which is indicated by the signal. Suppression pulses have a fixed duration but randomly selected intervening durations. Data collection proceeds without regard for suppression or the presence of host replies. The shaping of data collection intervals free of interference from suppression provides for improved efficiency for later data decoding and processing. The signal is used to specially mark collected data generated by a host reply. The ability to discriminate between host and other replies allows completely new performance monitoring functions. In one case, the health of the receiver is deduced from the amplitude of host replies. In another case the effectiveness of suppression is noted by capturing host replies in the presence of a suppression pulse. | Dean E. Ryan (Columbus, OH), Paul A. Ryan (Dublin, OH), William C. Brodegard (Columbus, OH) | Ryan International Corp. (Columbus, OH) | 1992-03-18 | 1995-02-07 | G01S13/00, G01S13/74, G01S13/93, G01S13/76, G06F015/50 | 07/853147 |
| 987 | 5386737 | Portable aircraft RCS versus azimuth measurement apparatus | Portable RCS versus azimuth measurement apparatus for an aircraft to be tested has a dolly attached to the aircraft at a location on a supporting surface. A nose wheel adapter mounted on the dolly temporarily replaces the nose wheel of the aircraft with a spare nose wheel. An electric motor on the dolly coupled to the spare nose wheel rotates the spare nose wheel. A beam structure has a first end removably affixable to the dolly and a spaced opposite second end extending under the axis of rotation of the aircraft and between the main landing wheels. A synchronizing gearbox, mounted on the second end of the beam structure at the axis of rotation of the aircraft, has an output shaft and senses rotation of the aircraft about the axis of rotation, sensed rotation of the aircraft being indicated by rotation of the output shaft. Rotation of the output shaft of the gearbox is restrained relative to the surface by an anchor. A radar computer signal is utilized to compare signals from the motor and the gearbox to produce an output command to the motor for rotating the spare nose wheel. This rotates the aircraft about its axis of rotation. The gearbox transmits signals indicating sensed rotation of provide data for RCS versus azimuth measurement. | Walter S. Soeder (Patchogue, NY), John J. Proscia (Northport, NY) | Grumman Aerospace Corporation (Bethpage, NY) | 1993-06-25 | 1995-02-07 | B64F5/00, G01S7/02, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S7/41, G01S013/68, B64F001/24 | 08/083647 |
| 988 | 5384572 | Testing of airborne windshear radars | A portable test system is arranged to enable testing of an aircraft-mounted radar system. Simulated radar returns are transmitted via a test antenna positioned a short distance from an aircraft parked on an airport surface. The varying amplitude of received radar pulses is analyzed as the test antenna is illuminated by the main beam and side lobes of the radar antenna pattern as the radar beam is scanned. By controlling the amplitude of the simulated radar returns in inverse relation to the amplitude of received radar pulses, simulated radar returns inserted off beam center line are interpreted by the radar system as received on the beam center line. Test system transmissions, which may incorporate windshear effect test data, are thus enabled to create simulated effects usable for testing radar system response to a variety of airborne conditions, such as windshear. Test methods are also described. | John F. Michaels (East Patchogue, NY), William L. Rubin (Whitestone, NY) | Republic Electronics Co. (Hauppauge, NY) | 1993-08-25 | 1995-01-24 | G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G01S7/40, G01S007/40 | 08/111847 |
| 989 | 5381152 | Unfocussed signal processing apparatus for a synthetic aperture radar having a rotating antenna | In a rotating antenna synthetic aperture radar, a method and apparatus for unfocussed signal processing for the correlation of the received signals by means of the reference functions. In unfocussed signal processing, only the main portion of the receiving signal S.sub.E is used, in which the phase shift is smaller than or equal to 90.degree. for the go-and return-path of the signal. A simplified window function is used as a reference function whose width also corresponds to the main portion of the received signal. Preferably, the in-phase and quadrature component (I.sub.r, Q.sub.r) of the window function r are selected to be identical. | Helmut Klausing (Bad Aibling, DE) | Deutsche Aerospace Ag (DE) | 1993-10-05 | 1995-01-10 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/131736 |
| 990 | 5381140 | Aircraft position monitoring system | There is provided an aircraft position monitoring system for monitoring the position of aircraft in a ground station. An air-borne sub-system mounted in the aircraft acquires, automatically and periodically, monitor data including data on the aircraft position, ID and FOM. The acquired monitor data is transmitted to the ground station via a satellite communication line or a data communication line. In the ground station, the monitor data sent from the aircraft is sent to a monitoring device and a tracking processing unit. The resultant data is displayed on a display device. The tracking processing unit collates the input monitor data with track data in a track file prepared on the basis of flight schedule data of the aircraft, and determines presence/absence of correlation therebetween by referring to FOM data in the monitor data. On the basis of the determination result, the existing track file is updated or a new track file is prepared. Thus, the tracking processing of each aircraft is performed. The display device shows position and ID data relating to the aircraft, the tracking processing of which has been performed by the tracking processing unit, in a mode which can be easily recognized. | Yuichi Kuroda (Yokohama, JP), Yoshikatsu Mizuna (Yokohama, JP) | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Kawasaki, JP) | 1993-02-18 | 1995-01-10 | G01S5/14, G08G5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S7/00, G01S13/66, G08G005/04 | 08/019573 |
| 991 | 5379041 | Synthetic aperture radar having rotating antennas | A rotating antenna synthetic aperture radar apparatus having a module in the processor circuit in which are stored image definition values for reducing image errors. The module acts upon process circuits to subdivide the distance range illuminated by the antenna into individual distance intervals and to determine the reference functions in these distance intervals. | Helmut Klausing (Bad Aibling, DE) | Deutsche Aerospace Ag (DE) | 1993-10-05 | 1995-01-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/131634 |
| 992 | 5376940 | Helicopter recognition radar processor | A radar processor is disclosed for processing the radar return samples from a Doppler radar receiver to discriminate helicopter targets from fixed-wing targets. The samples are passed through a helicopter filter which eliminates the target skin Doppler return, and passed the sidebands about the target skin return which are due to the helicopter rotor hub modulation. The coefficients of the helicopter filter are selected to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio. The radar processor requires only a few milliseconds on target for reliable detection and can, therefore, be easily implemented by scanning surveillance systems. | Theagenis J. Abatzoglou (Fullerton, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1985-12-19 | 1994-12-27 | G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G06K9/32, G01S13/00, G01S13/524, G01S007/292, G01S013/52 | 06/811599 |
| 993 | 5374932 | Airport surface surveillance system | An airport surface traffic surveillance and automation system addresses a wide variety of airport surface conflict scenarios using a combination of runway-status lights, controller alerts, and enhanced controller displays. Runway-status lights, composed of runway-entrance lights and takeoff-hold lights, provide alerts directly to pilots and vehicle operators, to prevent runway incursions before they happen. Controller alerts are used to direct a controller's attention to existing conflicts between aircraft on or near the runways. Enhanced displays present symbology to describe aircraft position, size, direction and speed of motion, altitude, aircraft flight number, and equipment type. Aircraft on approach to runways are also depicted on the displays. The invention features an airport surveillance system, having a radar data interface for receiving radar data from a radar source at a first data rate and for outputting radar data at a second data rate less than the first data rate, and a radar target processor coupled to the radar data interface. The radar target processor includes a clutter rejecter for generating a clutter map of the clutter signals in the radar data, and for substantially removing the clutter signals from the radar data using the clutter map, a morphological processor to receive radar data from the clutter rejecter and for detecting from the radar data target objects using the morphology of the target object, a multipath processor to receive radar data from the morphological processor and for detecting and removing from the radar data false targets resulting from multipath radar reflections, and a target tracker to receive radar data from the multipath processor and for tracking the path of target objects on or near the airport surface. | Daniel Wyschogrod (Brookline, MA), Loren Wood (Lexington, MA), James L. Sturdy (Leominster, MA), Hayden B. Schultz (Maynard, MA), Richard J. Sasiela (Sudbury, MA), Douglas V. Marquis (Framingham, MA), William H. Harman, III (Westford, MA), James R. Eggert (Bedford, MA), Peter M. Daly (Natick, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 1993-08-02 | 1994-12-20 | G08G5/06, G01S13/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G01S7/28, G01S7/06, G01S7/20, G01S7/292, G01S7/22, G01S7/04, G01S13/72, G01S13/76, G01S13/89, G01S013/56, G01S013/66, G01S013/93 | 08/101448 |
| 994 | 5371581 | Helicopter obstacle warning system | A helicopter hazardous ground object warning system has a horizontally rotating beam from a laser rangefinder which detects and measures the distance to ground objects which may present a hazard to a helicopter during hover, takeoff and landing. The rotating laser beam from the rangefinder is positioned on the fuselage of a helicopter to create a quasi-horizontal (planar) scan pattern parallel to the earth's surface. The maximum and minimum ranges which can be measured by the rangefinder to objects and to ground personnel are preset. The minimum range can be used for blanking range measurements as a function of angle from helicopter parts, such as landing skids or wheel structures. A pilot warning system for hazardous objects may include an audible or visual alarm which may include a screen positioning all objects relative to the helicopter rotors and an external audible personnel warning system alerting ground personnel in the hazardous zone. | Richard J. Wangler (Maitland, FL), Keith L. Fowler (Orlando, FL), Robert E. McConnell, II (Longwood, FL) | Schwartz Electro-Optics, Inc. (Orlando, FL) | 1993-03-08 | 1994-12-06 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01S17/42, G01S7/51, G01S7/48, G01C003/08, G08B021/00, G08B023/00, G08G005/04 | 08/027866 |
| 995 | 5359334 | X-scan aircraft location systems | Linear array antenna systems are used in X-scan aircraft location systems and methods able to avoid disabling azimuth error conditions caused by multipath reflections under roll and pitch conditions during aircraft carrier landing operations. Aircraft azimuth and elevation data is derived based upon time of incidence at an aircraft location of two transverse, diagonally oriented, scanned antenna beams. The aircraft location data is derived by comparing time of incidence data with data on known timing of scanning of the beams, which have diagonally-oriented fan beam patterns. A plurality of vertically oriented radiating elements are typically positioned along a line diagonal to the vertical to produce a diagonally oriented fan beam pattern. Beam scanning results from relative adjustment of signal portions supplied to the radiating elements. While beam scanning is nominally diagonal, the vertical radiation cut-off characteristics of the elements constrain vertical radiation and thereby enhance provision of a desired horizontally oriented approach window. A particular embodiment uses spaced feeds along a traveling-wave input waveguide, with coupling to radiating elements by interconnecting waveguide sections of successively longer length, to provide broad-band equalization of signal supply path lengths. | John H. Gutman (Huntington, NY) | Hazeltine Corporation (Greenlawn, NY) | 1993-01-14 | 1994-10-25 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S1/56, G01S1/00, H01Q13/22, H01Q13/20, G01S001/16, G01S013/00, H01Q013/00 | 08/004357 |
| 996 | 5353030 | Method for simulating high resolution synthetic aperture radar imagery from high altitude photographs | A simple and inexpensive method for using aerial or satellite photographs of an area of terrain to form images to be used in the simulation of a series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the terrain as would be observed by a down-looking SAR mounted on an aircraft over the terrain. Scanned and digitized photographic pixels are formed and converted into radar image pixels and combined into composite images as required for SAR simulation. Terrain elevation data are assembled, correlated with the radar image pixels and converted to elevation images. These images are stored on media accessible by aircraft simulators and correlated with simulated aircraft position and altitude data to form composite images with obscured terrain features for display as darkened areas closely duplicating actual SAR images when displayed in an aircraft simulator. | Robert D. Koch (Enon, OH), Harold W. Dean (Beavercreek, OH), Roger L. Overdorf (New Carlisle, OH) | Science Applications International Corporation (San Diego, CA) | 1993-06-09 | 1994-10-04 | G01S13/00, G01C11/00, G01S13/90, G09B9/54, G01S013/90 | 08/071770 |
| 997 | 5347282 | Apparatus for the observation and indentification of helicopters | Apparatus for the observation and identification of helicopters by means of an FM-CW radar apparatus provided with transmitter means (1) , antenna means (2) and receiver means (3) . Blade flashes caused by the rotor blades are digitized by A/D converter (4) and processed by Fourier analysis means (5) and processor (6) in order to determine the range from a helicopter to the radar apparatus and the rotor symmetry characteristics. These symmetry characteristics, together with the blade flash repetition frequency yield a substantially unambiguous indication of the helicopter type. | Richard E. M. G. La Grange (Hengelo, NL), Willem A. Hol (Hengelo, NL) | Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. (Hengelo, NL) | 1992-10-08 | 1994-09-13 | G01S13/34, G01S7/41, G01S7/02, G01S7/292, G01S13/00, G01S13/524, G01S013/50, G01S007/292 | 07/957784 |
| 998 | 5343204 | Auto-focusing correction for rotational acceleration effects on inverse synthetic aperture radar images | Inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging systems that are used to image targets that undergo rotational accelerations are enhanced by signal processing techniques which provide correction factors to reduce the frequency-shift and frequency-stretch errors that occur due to such accelerations. A target scan is subdivided into a number of sub-apertures and a Fast Fourier Transfer (FFT) is performed on the data for each sub-aperture to provide associated frequency sub-images. The FFT is then subdivided in ''sub-swaths'' of amplitude versus frequency for a plurality of frequency bands. The change-of-frequency, or frequency shift, data between prominent scattering points of each sub-image are processed to provide a phase correction factor that incorporates range changes and translational acceleration distortions for additional scattering points other than the most prominent scattering point. A frequency-stretch correction factor that compensates for rotational acceleration distortion is also provided. | Michael E. Farmer (Eagan, MN), John D. Hatlestad (Burnsville, MN) | Unisys Corporation (Blue Bell, PA) | 1993-07-29 | 1994-08-30 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/098917 |
| 999 | 5334982 | Airport surface vehicle identification | An airport vehicle identification system includes a ground surveillance radar system which radiates both a conventional radar signal and a beacon interrogation signal. The radar receives i) a backscatter signal from the skin returns of a target and ii) an encoded ID signal indicative of the target identity. The encoded ID signal is transmitted by a vehicle (e.g., an aircraft) mounted transponder in response to receiving the beacon interrogation signal. The transponder can be located within an external vehicle light housing such as an aircraft collision avoidance light. This invention fills the critical void in airport traffic control of providing ground controllers with electronic airport surface surveillance data which includes both vehicle position and identity. | Lee A. Owen (Southbury, CT) | Norden Systems, Inc. (Norwalk, CT) | 1993-05-27 | 1994-08-02 | B64D47/06, B64D47/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/76, G01S13/78, G01S013/87 | 08/068478 |
| 1000 | 5334981 | Airborne metal detecting radar | Method and arrangement for an airborne radar system particularly adapted to detect large metal targets that are concealed from the air by camouflage or natural foliage. The arrangement includes an antenna that transmits a continuous wave electromagnetic signal having a selectable frequency that preferably has a wave length generally twice the length of an anticipated target and which is carried by a flying vehicle. The frequency of the transmitted signal is chosen to provide maximum penetration of the camouflage or natural foliage and maximum re-radiation from a metal target. Receivers connected to an in-line receiving antenna and to a crossed receiving antenna carried by a flying vehicle detect the radiation that is reflected from the terrain and a target with the same polarization as that transmitted. The co-linear antenna and receiver respond to the reflected radiation while the cross-polarized antenna does not detect this reflected radiation. However, a metal object on the ground re-radiates cross polarized electromagnetic waves in proportion to their angular orientation and lateral distance to the transmitting antenna so that a metal target is detected by observing the output differences for the two receivers. | Carter C. Smith (San Diego, CA), John B. Gehman (La Jolla, CA) | Hughes Missile Systems Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1992-04-09 | 1994-08-02 | G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S13/04, G01S7/41, G01S7/02, G01S013/04 | 07/865572 |
| 1001 | 5334980 | Method and system for sharpening impulse response in a synthetic aperture radar | A synthetic aperture radar system performing two dimensional monopulse measurement of the return data. | Martin J. Decker (Baltimore, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1993-08-02 | 1994-08-02 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/100825 |
| 1002 | 5332999 | Process for generating synthetic aperture radar interferograms | A process for generating synthetic aperture radar interferograms comprises the following steps. First and a second radar images of a scene from a first and a second position spaced apart by a given baseline are generated. A first signal of said first image within a first radio frequency band of the spectrum is recorded. A second signal of said second image within a second radio frequency band of the spectrum having a frequency shift relatively to the first detecting band is recorded. The frequency shift being such that it ensures or maximizes correlation between the first and the second images. The first and second signals are combined for generating an interferogram of said scene. | Claudio Prati (Milan, IT), Fabio Rocca (Milan, IT) | Agence Spatiale Europeenne (Paris, FR) | 1993-02-05 | 1994-07-26 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/24, G01S013/90 | 08/014240 |
| 1003 | 5329283 | Synthetic aperture radar digital signal processor | A digital signal processor optimized for synthetic aperture radar image formation provides two separate stages of arithmetic processing along independent in-phase and quadrature channels. The first stage accepts a first reference input and integrates a multiplier/accumulator for each channel, and the second stage accepts a second reference input and includes a multiplier and an adder for each channel. In addition to hardware to select and route data in accordance with a desired operation, a hold register is incorporated prior to input-selection logic to facilitate complex-by-complex multiplications of data derived from either input in the first stage. Hold registers are also included before the second-stage adders to permit a complex multiplication with magnitude weighting to occur during the zero-th stage of a fast Fourier transformation, effectively hiding the time to perform one FFT stage. A control section contains a microprogrammed control sequencer, an input/output controller, data address generators and two reference address generators, the data and address generators being implemented using digital differential analyzers, or DDAs, which may be combined to form second-order or groups of complex linear DDAs. Implemented as a single-chip C-MOS integrated circuit, the architecture comprises a complete SAR image-formation processing element, including all arithmetic, control and addressing functions. The circuit is entirely self-contained with the exception of an external memory required to store partial results and reference functions. | John E. Smith (Ann Arbor, MI) | Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1993-04-28 | 1994-07-12 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G06F17/10, G06F007/38 | 08/053195 |
| 1004 | 5327140 | Method and apparatus for motion compensation of SAR images by means of an attitude and heading reference system | For motion compensation of SAR images by means of an attitude and heading reference system a mean track angle (.psi..sub.T) flight is selected as desired flight direction, an acceleration (a.sub.x '' (t) ) is turned through a drift angle (.psi..sub.D) in the direction of a desired flight path, the speed (v.sub.xo ' (t) ) in the desired flight direction is calculated from a ground speed (v.sub.G (t) ) , a variation of the relative speed (v.sub.x ' (t) ) in the desired flight direction is calculated by an integration of the acceleration (a.sub.x (t) ) , a relative change of the across heading horizontal position (P.sub.y (t) ) is calculated by a double integration of the across heading horizontal acceleration (a.sub.y ' (t) ) , and an actual slant range of the aircraft to an illuminated terrain strip (R.sub.i ' (t) ) is calculated for each range gate in a manner known per se. | Stefan Buckreu.beta. (Mu, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Koln, DE) | 1993-07-29 | 1994-07-05 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 08/098926 |
| 1005 | 5323162 | Synthetic aperture radar system | A synthetic aperture radar system is mounted in a moving platform. The synthetic aperture radar system includes a multi-beam antenna having a plurality of reception beams different in direction from one another, the multi-beam antenna being adapted to receive radar echoes from objects. The width of each of the reception beams is selected such that the band width of a Doppler shift contained in the radar echo of a moving object is broader than that of a Doppler shift contained in the radar echo of a stationary object. The radar echo is pulse compressed to improve the range resolution before the frequency thereof is shifted such that the center frequency of the Doppler shift due to the velocity of the moving platform becomes zero. After the frequency shifting, the radar echo is filtered to separate the radar echoes of the moving and stationary objects from each other. The radar echoes of the moving and stationary objects are respectively subjected to Fourier transform with respect to the distance between the moving platform and the objects. The spectrum of the radar echo from the moving object is further shifted such that the center frequency of the Doppler shift due to the velocity of the object becomes zero. These reception, pulse compression, frequency shift and Fourier transform are executed for each reception beam. The spectrums in the radar echoes of the moving and stationary objects are respectively synthesized for all the reception beams. After the synthesization, the spectrums are respectively multiplied by a reference spectrum in the complex manner. The results of the multiplication are respectively inverse transformed from the spectrums. | Takahiko Fujisaka (Kamakura, JP), Yoshimasa Oh-Hashi (Kamakura, JP), Michimasa Kondo (Kamakura, JP) | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP) | 1993-09-23 | 1994-06-21 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/28, G01S013/90 | 08/125589 |
| 1006 | 5321489 | Method for the avoidance of collisions between aircraft and onboard optical set designed for its implementation | A method and system for the avoidance of collisions among aircraft in which monochromatic radiation is transmitted from an aircraft fitted out with a wide-field optical transceiver. The monochromatic radiation scans the space around the aircraft which defines a zone of proximity. Optical radiation is returned after back reflection off objects which may be sources of danger constituted by other aircraft that have entered the zone of proximity. The radiation received is detected and then processed to deduce therefrom the direction and, as the case may be, the distance of the source of danger. Such a method can be applied especially to the avoidance of collision between non-cooperating aircraft. | Martin Defour (Croissy S/Seine, FR), Benoist Grossmann (Paris, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Puteaux, FR) | 1992-10-16 | 1994-06-14 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01S17/42, G01S7/481, G01C003/08 | 07/961621 |
| 1007 | 5321406 | Method of track merging in an aircraft tracking system | A method of processing a plurality of tracks representative of one or more target aircraft in a vicinity of a surveillance aircraft, where each track is generated in response to target reply signals provided by the target aircraft in response to interrogation signals transmitted by the surveillance aircraft, includes eliminating a portion of the plurality of tracks which are duplicate tracks of the same target aircraft. The remaining tracks are maintained and updated in response to the target reply signals provided by the target aircraft. A threat level for each of the remaining tracks is determined and two or more of the remaining tracks which are possibly representative of a same target aircraft are merged resulting in a composite track. The composite track is output to a display device utilizing information from a particular remaining track of the composite track having the greatest threat level to the surveillance aircraft while continuing to maintain and update all the remaining tracks. | Douglas L. Bishop (Phoenix, AZ), Patricia K. Sturm (Phoenix, AZ), Kathryn W. Ybarra (Phoenix, AZ) | Honeywell, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1992-12-22 | 1994-06-14 | G01S7/22, G01S7/04, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S013/93 | 07/995212 |
| 1008 | 5319611 | Method of determining range data in a time-of-flight ranging system | A time-of-flight range sensing system for a vehicle such as a mobile robot comprised of a number of sensors that are situated at preset locations and aligned with particular orientations on the vehicle. Each sensor may consist of single or multiple transmitting transducers and single or multiple receiving transducers. Each sensor provides a means for changing the effective sensing volume of the sensors or it has two or more separate processing channels for processing the time-of-flight information with several different effective sensing volumes using the sensor signal processor. The sensor signal processor also provides a means for collecting information regarding the echo signal peak value and the noise present in the received signal before reception of the first echo. A sensor array processor excites the transducers, measures the time-of-flight of arrival of the first echo above a predetermined threshold and combines the data from the multiple signal processing channels so as to increase the range data gathering speed and to improve the fidelity of the range data received. The sensor array processor determines from the range data received and the signal and noise information the position and orientation of gross geometric features in the environment (flat surfaces, posts inside corners and outside corners) relative to the sensor array. This information may be used by a navigation control processor to avoid collisions, recognize features in the environment, or map the environment. | Larry W. Korba (Ottawa, CA) | National Research Council of Canada (Ottawa, CA) | 1993-03-31 | 1994-06-07 | G01S15/93, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, G01S7/539, G01S015/93 | 08/040847 |
| 1009 | 5317316 | Method of altitude track initialization in an aircraft tracking system | A method of processing a plurality of replies of target aircraft provided in response to interrogation signals from the surveillance aircraft during surveillance periods to determine whether an altitude track may be initialized for use in a traffic alert and collision avoidance system includes the step of selecting three replies, one from each of three consecutive surveillance periods. The replies have binary or coded altitude data of high or low confidence. The binary or coded altitude data of non-adjacent and adjacent replies of the selected replies are compared and an altitude difference value for each of the comparisons is generated. Further efforts to initialize a track are discarded if any of the altitude difference values are greater than first predetermined separated altitudes if and only if such compared non-adjacent and adjacent replies have binary or coded altitude data of high confidence. The binary or coded altitude data of the non-adjacent and adjacent replies are further compared whether or not the replies have binary data of low or high confidence to determine whether an altitude track may be initialized. The process applies if the altitude data is Gilham code, binary, or other encoded data with single bit errors. | Patricia K. Sturm (Phoenix, AZ), Kathryn W. Ybarra (Phoenix, AZ), Lewis R. Motisher (Peoria, AZ) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1992-12-22 | 1994-05-31 | G01S13/00, G01S13/76, G01S13/78, G01S13/93, G01S013/00 | 07/995274 |
| 1010 | 5313263 | System for, and method of, determining the speed of an airborne vehicle | This system measures the speed of an airborne vehicle relative to the surrounding atmosphere. The measurement is based on the scattering of pulses of coherent laser radiation, generated in the vehicle, preferably in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, by particles naturally present in the atmosphere at all times. The pulses are focused into the atmosphere at a sufficient distance from the vehicle, preferably 10-30 meters, to be beyond that region perturbed by the passage of the vehicle. The frequency of the radiation scattered by the particles differs from the frequency of the transmitted pulses by virtue of the relative motion of the vehicle and the atmosphere. Equipment in the vehicle digitally processes the received energy to determine this frequency difference for each pulse, and hence the component of the vehicle's velocity in the direction of the pulse transmission. Successive pulses are transmitted into the atmosphere in differing directions lying on the surface of a cone whose axis is fixed with respect to the vehicle, making possible the vectorial determination of the vehicle's relative motion. This conical scan is repeated without interruption over successive cycles of pulses. In determining the vehicle's velocity vector from the measured velocity components, account is taken, through weighting factors, of the statistically variable quality of the individual measurements from successive pulses. These weighting factors are derived from the properties of the measurements themselves and are applied to the data to enhance both accuracy and continuity of information. | John B. Abbiss (Irvine, CA), Anthony E. Smart (Costa Mesa, CA) | The Titan Corporation (San Diego, CA) | 1992-08-21 | 1994-05-17 | G01P5/00, G01S17/50, G01S17/00, G01P5/26, G01P003/36 | 07/933226 |
| 1011 | 5311184 | Airborne weather radar system with aircraft altitude and antenna tilt angle dependent sensitivity time control | Sensitivity time control (STC) data for an airborne weather radar system is provided as a function of aircraft altitude and radar system antenna tilt angle to normalize radar return signals at high as well as low aircraft altitudes. In one form of the invention the STC data is used to adjust the gain of a signal applied to a radar system received by a system antenna and in another form of the invention the STC data is used to establish a desired threshold for said signal. | Daryal Kuntman (Highland Beach, FL) | Alliedsignal Inc. (Morris Township, Morris County, NJ) | 1993-02-26 | 1994-05-10 | G01S13/95, G01S7/34, G01S7/285, G01S13/00, G01S013/95, G01S007/34 | 08/023516 |
| 1012 | 5307070 | Method for resolving ambiguity in the determination of antenna angle of view and Doppler frequency in synthetic aperture radar | In a method for resolving ambiguity in the determination of antenna angle of view and Doppler frequency in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) , by evaluating the dependence of the Doppler frequency on the transmitting frequency a skew of the two-dimensional Fourier power spectrum or the two-dimensional autocorrelation function of radar data is measured in that the radar data are subjected to a range Fourier transformation and for the individual range frequencies in a following Doppler centroid estimator a Doppler centroid determination is carried out in the azimuth direction. By this method the pulse repetition frequency ambiguities are eliminated without any demands having to be made on the data acquisition or a high image contrast, this method can therefore be applied to any region of the raw data matrix. Moreover, no azimuth compression is necessary. | Hartmut Runge (Seefeld, DE), Richard Bamler (Gilching, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt (Koln, DE) | 1991-08-23 | 1994-04-26 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/749080 |
| 1013 | 5299576 | Ultrasonic synthetic aperture diagnostic apparatus | The present invention relates to an ultrasonic synthetic aperture diagnostic apparatus which detects information concerning an internal structure of an object to be examined by making each of a plurality of arranged transducers sequentially emits an ultrasonic pulse signal into the object in turn, receiving each ultrasonic echo reflected by the internal structure of the object by the plurality of transducers in each ultrasonic scanning cycle, and obtaining information concerning the internal structure of the object on the basis of input signals provided by the plurality of transducers. The present invention is intended to provide an ultrasonic synthetic aperture diagnostic apparatus capable operating at a high frame rate and of forming a clear picture of high quality even if the object is moving. The ultrasonic synthetic aperture diagnostic apparatus comprises a displacement measuring means which determines displacement vectors indicating the displacements of the picture elements between two focused input pictures obtained in two ultrasonic scanning cycles for a plurality of focused input pictures, and a displacement integrating means which determines integrated displacement vectors indicating the displacements of the picture elements of a focused input picture from those of a predetermined reference focused input picture by integrating displacement vectors of the corresponding picture elements in a plurality of focused input pictures. | Akira Shiba (Kawasaki, JP) | Fujitsu Limited (Kawasaki, JP) | 1992-11-18 | 1994-04-05 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, A61B008/00 | 07/978404 |
| 1014 | 5296909 | Detector of suspended cables for avionic applications | Detector of suspended cables specially suited for avionic applications formed mainly by a scanning system (S) provided with a noise generator (1) and scan concentrator (3) , by a Lidar system (L) and an extractor system (E) . The latter is composed of a background filter (7) and a chain extractor (8) . This detector, if included in the on board instrumentation of light aircrafts and helicopters, is in condition of supplying the pilot with a warning signal if suspended cables are detected in the flight path during low altitude flights. The instrument gives the cable position and allows the selection of the right corrective move. The invention finds its most convenient application in the flight safety field while that of the avionic optical radars is the specific technical field of this device. | Marco Fazi (Rome, IT), Filippo Modestini (Nemi, IT) | Alenia Aeritalia & Selenia S.P.A. (Rome, IT), C.N.R. (Rome IT) | 1992-07-07 | 1991-09-05 | 1994-03-22 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01C003/08, G01C001/00, G01B011/26 |
| 1015 | 5295118 | Synthetic aperture side-looking sonar apparatus | A synthetic aperture side-looking sonar which includes a receiver transducer array and two transmitter transducers. When the apparatus is at a first position, the forwarded transmitter transducer is provided with a signal of frequency F1 while the aft transmitter transducer is provided with a signal of frequency F2. At a subsequent position, the application of the frequencies to the transmitter transducers are reversed. At each location, the F1 and F2 returns are stored and combined with the returns of the subsequent transmission to form a plurality of receiver beams. | George A. Gilmour (Severna Park, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1993-02-18 | 1994-03-15 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S015/89 | 08/019382 |
| 1016 | 5280285 | Method of improved initial transmission of acquisition and tracking interrogations in an aircraft tracking system | In an aircraft having an aircraft tracking system (ATS) , the aircraft being a monitoring aircraft, the monitoring aircraft interrogates target aircraft in the vicinity of the monitoring aircraft in order to determine potentially dangerous situations. The target aircraft responds to the interrogations with parameter information which includes identification (ID) . A method of interrogating the target aircraft comprises the steps of receiving unsolicited signals from the target aircraft in the vicinity of the monitoring aircraft. The received unsolicited signals are received by the monitoring aircraft at a first power level. Based on the first power level of the received unsolicited signals, the monitoring aircraft interrogates the target aircraft with a first interrogation signal. The first interrogation signal is transmitted at a second power level, the second power level being based on the first power level of the received unsolicited signal, thereby minimizing interference in the environment and optimizing receipt of the first interrogation signal by the target aircraft. | Michael H. Curtis (Phoenix, AZ), Patricia K. Sturm (Phoenix, AZ), Kathryn W. Ybarra (Phoenix, AZ) | Honeywell, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1992-11-13 | 1994-01-18 | G01S13/00, G01S13/76, G01S13/78, G01S013/93 | 07/976150 |
| 1017 | 5278757 | Synthetic aperture ultrasonic imaging system using a minimum or reduced redundancy phased array | A synthetic aperture ultrasonic imaging system for imaging a target with a resolution limited by a designated aperture. A phased array of nonuniformly spaced ultrasound transducers having an average inter-transducer spacing which is greater than a .lambda./2 Nyquist spacing for the transducers is used for imaging in a manner so as to either obtain a desired point spread function which is unattainable by a single image taken by the nonuniformly spaced transducers or to provide coarray equivalence to a phased array of transducers which are uniformly spaced at the .lambda./2 Nyquist spacing for the designated aperture. Coarray equivalence makes possible the technique of applying amplitude weightings to each of the nonuniformly spaced ultrasound transducers during transmit and receive modes and by forming a number of component images which when added together form a sum image substantially equivalent to a single image formed by a scan beam of the uniformly spaced transducers with the designated aperture. The complex values of the resulting component images are then added on a point by point basis, preserving phase, such that a point spread function of the sum image is substantially equivalent to the desired point spread function of the single image formed by the uniformly spaced transducers with the designated ape STATEMENT of GOVERNMENT INTEREST This invention was made with government support under contract N00014-89-J-1538 awarded by the Department of the Navy. The government has certain rights in the invention. | Ralph T. Hoctor (Wilmington, DE), Saleem A. Kassam (Bala Cynwyd, PA) | The Trustees of The University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) | 1991-11-15 | 1994-01-11 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G06F015/00, G01N029/00 | 07/792789 |
| 1018 | 5264853 | Method of reducing false tracks due to suppression pulse replies in an aircraft tracking system | In an aircraft which has a tracking system, the aircraft interrogates all target aircraft in the vicinity of the aircraft in order to determine potentially dangerous situations. The interrogation has a predetermined interrogation sequence which includes interrogation pulses and suppression pulses. The target aircraft respond to the interrogation with predetermined parameter information, the target aircraft sometimes responding to the suppression pulses of the interrogation resulting in an indication of false tracks to the monitoring aircraft. A method is implemented which reduces the false tracks resulting from replies to the suppression pulses. The method comprises the steps of forming tracks on responses to the interrogations wherein the responses meet a first set of predetermined criteria. The formed tracks are then identified as suppression pulse tracks or non-suppression pulse tracks in accordance with a second set of predetermined criteria. Lastly, tracks labelled as suppression pulse tracks are inhibited from being displayed by the tracking system as a potentially dangerous target aircraft to the monitoring aircraft. | Patricia K. Sturm (Phoenix, AZ), David F. Weymans (Phoenix, AZ), Kathryn W. Ybarra (Phoenix, AZ) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1992-10-29 | 1993-11-23 | G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S013/00 | 07/968100 |
| 1019 | 5262784 | System for monitoring aircraft position | A system for locating and identifying aircraft while on an airport. Each aircraft has an IFF transponder which is interrogated from on board the aircraft to produce replies at a slower rate than normal interrogation rates. A plurality of receiving stations at different locations about the airport measure the time of arrival of the replies and decode the replies. The time of arrival information is forwarded to a central receiving station along with the decode reply data. Using conventional correlation techniques, the location of each aircraft is established through the time of arrival information as well as the identity of the aircraft from the decoded reply data. | Paul F. Drobnicki (Holbrook, NY), Carl E. Schwab (Huntington Station, NY), Fred N. S. Goodrich (Barnstead, NH) | Cardion, Inc. (Woodbury, NY) | 1992-06-15 | 1993-11-16 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/78, G01S013/80 | 07/898654 |
| 1020 | 5260708 | Three dimensional interferometric synthetic aperture radar terrain mapping with unambiguous phase unwrapping employing subset bandwidth processing | Synthetic aperture radar data is used to produce a terrain map. Two synthetic radar antennas are placed on an aircraft, which moves in a set of substantially parallel flight paths. At least one antenna repeatedly transmits radar signals whose return echoes are received by both the antennas. The echo signals are processed conventionally to yield slant range and Doppler frequency data for plural resolution cells. The measured phase difference for each resolution cell provides an ambiguous measure of slant range difference to the two antennas needed to determine terrain elevation and correct ground range. As in the prior art, the radar transmissions employ an extended bandwidth of wavelengths. The received echo data is reprocessed using less than the entire bandwidth of the radar transmission to achieve additional center wavelengths. This produces a differing ambiguity interval and permits unambiguous determination of the slant range difference. | James L. Auterman (Ann Arbor, MI) | Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1992-04-13 | 1993-11-09 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/867341 |
| 1021 | 5260702 | Aircraft information system | An aircraft landing information system is disclosed which provides to the aircraft pilot information regarding the actual and preferred sink rate of the aircraft, the distance between the landing gear wheels and the runway, and deviation of the actual sink rate from the preferred sink rate. An altitude determining sensor is provided on the aircraft and the information transmitted therefrom is fed into a microprocessor or like system which then presents the relevant data to the pilot in an audio and/or visual format to allow the pilot to touch down at the preferred sink rate. | Keith P. Thompson (Atlanta, GA) | --- | 1991-06-20 | 1993-11-09 | G01S13/00, G01C5/00, G01S13/91, G08G5/02, G08G5/00, G08B023/00 | 07/717996 |
| 1022 | 5250952 | Method of correcting rotational motion error in SAR and ISAR imagery | A method of correcting rotational motion error in SAR and ISAR imagery includes shifting the center of the image to zero doppler and thus to the center of rotation of the target being imaged, selecting a dominant scatterer at an off-center range cell to provide a phase reference, calculating the rotational motion error function from the phase of the selected scatterer, using the rotational motion error function to interpolate raw radar return image data between the original unequal angular samples to obtain equal angular samples of the target reflectivity function, and performing an image quality check and producing a value which is a relative measure of focus of the image. Also, the method includes repeating the steps starting with selecting a new dominant scatterer as a phase reference. Further, the performing step of the method includes storing and comparing the relative measures of focus provided by repeating of the steps to arrive at the corrected image which is the most focused and then saving the corrected image determined to be the the most focused. | Duane Roth (Ridgecrest, CA) | --- | 1991-07-01 | 1993-10-05 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/727257 |
| 1023 | 5243351 | Full aperture image synthesis using rotating strip aperture image measurements | A spinning strip aperture imaging radiometer sensor system and data processing method that is capable of synthesizing full circular aperture images from a plurality of image frames acquired by the strip aperture imaging sensor. One embodiment of the imaging system comprises a rotating strip aperture wide field of view telescope, a two dimensional detector array used to detect images in the telescope's focal plane, a rotation compensation device used to prevent rotational smear during the integration time of the detectors, a signal processor used to record a plurality of image frames of a target scene that is imaged by the telescope as it rotates around its optical axis, and a signal processor and method used to synthesize the full circular aperture image from the recorded images. The operation of the full aperture image synthesis method hinges upon the ability of the rotating strip aperture to measure all of the spatial frequencies contained in a full circular aperture image measurement. Having knowledge of the strip apertures' spatial frequency passband, and the temporal registrations of each of the recorded strip aperture images permits synthesis of the full aperture image by the sensor system and image synthesis method. Image synthesis may be accomplished in the spatial or spatial frequency domains. General and illustrative examples of the image synthesis procedure and first order noise performance predictions are described. A general form of the invention utilizes two dimensional spatial frequency information to greatly reduce the line of sight stability requirements of the telescope. | Gerard L. Rafanelli (Fountain Valley, CA), Mark J. Rehfield (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1992-06-25 | 1993-09-07 | G01S3/786, G01S17/89, G01K11/00, G01S17/00, G01S3/78, G01S013/89, G01S013/90 | 07/904235 |
| 1024 | 5243349 | High resolution synthetic aperture radar having rectilinear output image format | A method and apparatus for providing a constant scale factor in azimuth and synchronism of data blocks for a second stage fast Fourier transform in a synthetic aperture radar having two stages of FFT by varying the sampling rate at the output of the first stage FFT as an inverse function of range. | James H. Mims (Millersville, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1981-03-17 | 1993-09-07 | G01S13/90, G01S7/295, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/244563 |
| 1025 | 5241317 | Method and apparatus for determining target elevation angle, altitude and range and the like in a monopulse radar system with reduced multipath errors | The present invention relates to a method and system for determining target elevation angle, altitude and range and the like in a monopulse radar system with reduced multipath errors. A transmitter/receiver unit receives monopulse sum and difference signals caused by echoes from targets. The sum and difference signals are then logarithmically-amplified in a logarithmic amplifier unit. A selector selects one of the sum and difference signals having the largest amplitude, and generates a selection signal indicating which of the sum and difference signals has the largest amplitude. The selection signal is provided to a search radar target tracking unit which determines whether a target at a given range interval and azimuth interval, for example, has been selected for tracking by an operator. The search radar target tracking unit then controls a gate unit to selectively provide either the logarithmically-amplified sum signal or the logarithmically-amplified difference signal to a peak detection unit based on the selection signal, and based on whether a particular target has been selected for tracking. The peak detection unit determines peak value (s) in the logarithmically-amplified sum and difference signals provided by the gate unit. A target elevation angle/altitude calculation unit uses the peak value (s) to determine target elevation angle or altitude values, or average target elevation angle or altitude values. Such values may be displayed on a CRT for in correspondence with the selected target (s) . | Dean D. Howard (La Plata, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1992-05-29 | 1993-08-31 | G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S013/44 | 07/889806 |
| 1026 | 5237329 | Method of correcting range migration in image generation in synthetic aperture radar | In a method for correcting range migration in image generation in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to eliminate the entire range migration or the residual range migration left by a conventional focussing method, prior to the range compression the data are transformed to the range-Doppler domain and there multiplied by a specific two-dimensional phase function, after an additional range Fourier transformatioin the range compression is then carried out with a specifically modified range transfer function and thereafter a range inverse Fourier transformation performed. Furthermore, a corresponding residual phase error is corrected. In addition, the data can if necessary be segmented in range or a range precompression performed. With the method according to the invention the range migration is completely eliminated without having to perform an explicit interpolation. Furthermore, with reduced processing expenditure improved image quality is obtained and moreover all known SAR focussing methods can be equipped with the method according to the invention. | Richard Bamler (Gilching, DE), Hartmut Runge (Seefeld, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V. (Cologne, DE) | 1992-07-07 | 1993-08-17 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/909843 |
| 1027 | 5235336 | Method of bearing determination utilizing a bottom antenna in an aircraft tracking system | In a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System on an aircraft having a plurality of antennas, an optimal bearing value is obtained for each target aircraft by generating a target data block for each response to an interrogation, each target data block including a measured bearing value and an associated priority code. A priority code is assigned based on the antenna receiving the information, and the number of valid bearing measurements used to determine a measured bearing value for the reply. If more than one target data block is obtained in a surveillance period, one target data block is retained based on predetermined criteria. The measured bearing value of all the target data blocks having the same, highest priority code are selected or combined, the result being saved in the target data block. The priority codes are then used to select the proper reply bearing measurement, the bearing track update filtering parameters, and to aid in the reply qualification for bearing track initialization. | Patricia K. Sturm (Phoenix, AZ), Gregory T. Stayton (Glendale, AZ) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1991-09-27 | 1993-08-10 | G01S13/00, G01S13/76, G01S13/93, G01S013/78, G01S013/93 | 07/767007 |
| 1028 | 5231480 | Airborne imaging lidar system employing towed receiver or transmitter | An imaging lidar apparatus for detecting and imaging an object enveloped by a backscattering medium which is at least partially transmitting to light is presented. The imaging lidar apparatus is mounted on an airborne platform and including light pulse generating means, reflected light pulse detection means and computer control means. A discrete vehicle is towed by a cable connected to the airborne platform. The discrete vehicle houses optics for receiving or transmitting light pulses. Fiber optic communication may be used to transmit the light pulses along the cable between the airborne platform and the towed vehicle. | Bobby L. Ulich (Tucson, AZ) | Kaman Aerospace Corporation (Bloomfield, CT) | 1990-10-24 | 1993-07-27 | G01S17/89, G01S17/00, G01C003/08, H04N007/00 | 07/614670 |
| 1029 | 5231402 | Method for detecting and classifying helicopters | To detect and classify a helicopter as a target by means of a radar system equipped with a Doppler filter bank, an initial determination is made as to whether the threshold value has been exceeded in a substantial number of the individual filters of the Doppler filter bank, and if so, the width of that amplitude band delimited by the highest and lowest amplitudes of the filter output signals is determined and a decision regarding the presence of a helicopter target is derived from the width of the amplitude band. | Albrecht Ludloff (Ulm, DE), Manfred Minker (Ulm, DE), Frank Hagedorn (Nersingen, DE) | Telefunken Systemtechnik Gmbh (Ulm, DE) | 1986-08-11 | 1993-07-27 | G01S13/00, G01S13/52, G01S7/41, G01S7/02, G01S007/35 | 06/900950 |
| 1030 | 5218360 | Millimeter-wave aircraft landing and taxing system | Apparatus, and a corresponding method, for generating navigational data to aid a pilot in landing or taxiing an aircraft in poor visibility conditions. Radio-frequency (rf) beacons at predetermined locations around an airport runway or taxiway are separately modulated to render them uniquely identifiable from the aircraft. A fixed array of receiving antennas on the aircraft has multiple, angularly spaced antenna beams that substantially overlap each other in coverage, such that a signal received from one of the beacons will in most cases be received in more than one adjacent receive beam. Signals received in each beam are processed by a fast Fourier transform module to separate signal components from the various beacons, then an interpolation process determines the arrival angles of the signals by comparing the amplitudes received in adjacent receive beams. Azimuth and elevation angle values are thereby obtained for each detected beacon, and this information can be used in conjunction with conventionally obtained aircraft attitude and altitude data to produce a visual display for the pilot when landing or taxiing the aircraft. | Allan C. Goetz (La Jolla, CA), Ronald K. Ching (Los Angeles, CA), Lee L. Peterson (Fallbrook, CA) | Trw Inc. (Redondo Beach, CA) | 1992-09-17 | 1993-06-08 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S1/14, G01S1/00, G01S3/14, G01S3/28, G01S001/08, G01S013/00 | 07/946141 |
| 1031 | 5210586 | Arrangement for recognizing obstacles for pilots of low-flying aircraft | An arrangement working according to the laser radar principle comprises a pulsed laser range finder (LEM) for scanning a given field of view and for the pictorial presentation of the course of a perceived obstacle for the pilot on a display, whereby a respective array of semiconductor laser diodes or, respectively, of receiving detectors is provided as a transmitter and as a receiver of the laser range finder and the scanning of the field of view occurs with a mesh network-like pattern. As a result of these measures, the expense for the individual components of the arrangement is minimized and a simple, compact structure is achieved. The arrangement is suitable for obstacle warning for aircraft, particularly for low-flying helicopters. | Ludger Grage (Eichenau, DE), Wolfgang Kranz (Munich, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE) | 1991-06-12 | 1993-05-11 | G01S17/93, G01S17/00, G01S17/87, G01C003/08, G01B011/26, H04N007/18 | 07/713876 |
| 1032 | 5208601 | All-weather precision landing system for aircraft in remote areas | An all-weather aircraft landing system includes a plurality of ground based passive 90.degree. dihedral reflectors for producing two-bounce reflected signals without ground reflections, and an airborne radar system which may transmit and receive ''same sense'' circularly polarized radiation, while completely rejecting ''opposite sense'' polarization returns or else utilizing them to indicate weather conditions. Radar clutter from objects such as rain, buildings and trees which produce opposite sense reflections are rejected by the ''same sense'' receiver or switched to an ''opposite sense'' receiver to provide weather/obstacle condition information. By properly orienting a plurality of 90.degree. dihedral angle reflectors of a particular size in a predetermined array pattern and tilt-angle adjacent a runway, the reflections from airborne radar signals are processed and displayed to provide a visual means for determining glide slope deviation and approach vector of the landing aircraft. In a preferred embodiment, two (portable) reflectors are utilized in conjunction with an conventional linearly polarized wave airborne radar system (e.g., standard modern weather radar) , requiring no modifications to the airborne equipment while still providing an inexpensive means to obtain precise visual indication of glide slope and approach vector information. | Gerald E. Hart (McLean, VA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1990-07-24 | 1993-05-04 | G01S7/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S001/14, G01S013/91 | 07/556606 |
| 1033 | 5206654 | Passive aircraft monitoring system | A passive aircraft monitoring system (20) receives signals transmitted by an instrument landing system (14, 16) and reflected from aircraft (18) . The Doppler shift in the reflected signals is used to calculate the position or velocity of the aircraft. Using the ILS 90 and 150 Hz signals reflected from the aircraft and comparing their magnitude, the altitude and lateral position of the aircraft can also be determined. | Marc Finkelstein (Vienna, VA), Martin J. Geesaman (Bowie, MD), Thomas J. Lynch (Potomac, MD) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1992-05-19 | 1993-04-27 | G01S11/10, G01S11/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S1/14, G01S1/00, G01S5/02, G01S001/16, G01S001/18 | 07/886112 |
| 1034 | 5202684 | System of an aircraft collision avoidance system for suppressing useless alarms | The present invention is concerned with a system in which when the altitude of a subject aircraft becomes lower than a predetermined altitude, a warning limit value is reduced or made equal to zero on the minimum altitude side whereby a useless alarm based on response signals delivered from other aircraft staying in or taxiing in the airport are suppressed. | Chuhei Funatsu (Kanagawa, JP) | Toyo Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. (Kanagawa, JP) | 1990-04-19 | 1993-04-13 | G01S13/00, G08G5/04, G01S13/93, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/78, G08G005/04 | 07/511321 |
| 1035 | 5191344 | Method for digital generation of SAR images and apparatus for carrying out said method | In a method for digital generation of SAR images obtained by means of a coherent imaging system a signal compression in the azimuth and/or range direction is carried out with high resolution by means of a subaperture configuration. A stepwise linear approximation of a quadratic phase characteristic is performed with regard to a reference function and frequency overlapping of the subapertures is effected for optimizing the approximation of the phase characteristic. for the formation and synthesis of the subapertures complex multiplications are carried out, the signal of each subaperture thereby being shifted in the frequency. The individual subapertures are integrated twice by means of the moving average method for reducing the side lobes of the low resolution impulse response and after a time shift for equalizing the relative positioning of the subapertures and after the complex multiplications for the frequency shift the results obtained in the individual subapertures are coherently summated. | Alberto Moreira (Gilching, DE) | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt (Cologne, DE) | 1991-11-27 | 1993-03-02 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/799214 |
| 1036 | 5189424 | Three dimensional interferometric synthetic aperture radar terrain mapping employing altitude measurement and second order correction | Synthetic aperture radar data is used in conjunction with altimeter data to produce a terrain map corrected for platform roll angle. The technique uses two synthetic radar antennas and a ranging altimeter placed on an aircraft. The aircraft is moved in a set of substantially parallel flight paths where each flight is directly over the strip of terrain viewed by the synthetic aperture radar of an adjacent flight. During each flight the at least one antenna repeatedly transmits radar signals whose return echoes are received by both the first and second antennas. Conventional synthetic aperture radar processing yields a terrain map uncorrected for roll angle. Altimeter data from an adjacent flight determines the first order corrected aircraft roll angle when the corresponding synthetic radar data was taken. This roll angle is used to correct the height and ground range of nearby points in the uncorrected terrain map. A second order corrected roll angle is determined using the first order corrected terrain map to identify the first return point of the altimeter measurements. The measured altitude is then realigned to the first return point to produce a second order corrected roll angle and a corresponding second order corrected terrain map. The result is a terrain map corrected for aircraft roll angle. | William M. Brown (Ann Arbor, MI) | Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1991-09-19 | 1993-02-23 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S013/90, G01S015/89 | 07/762923 |
| 1037 | 5186177 | Method and apparatus for applying synthetic aperture focusing techniques to a catheter based system for high frequency ultrasound imaging of small vessels | A catheter based ultrasound imaging system is disclosed which is capable of providing images of coronary vessels at frequencies near 50 MHz. The catheter based system implements a Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) by scanning through a miniature ultrasound transducer array to sequentially select and fully multiplex a subset of array elements to operate as a sub-aperture of the total synthetic aperture on each firing, thus reducing the number of required catheter interconnections. Each synthetic aperture array is dynamically and retrospectively focused to accommodate precision imaging at high frequency without conventional signal to noise losses. | Matthew O'Donnell (Ann Arbor, MI), Lewis J. Thomas, III (Schenectady, NY) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1991-12-05 | 1993-02-16 | A61B8/12, G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S7/52, A61B008/12 | 07/803242 |
| 1038 | 5185606 | Primary flight display presenting resolution advisory information provided by a traffic alert and collision avoidance system | A display for presenting symbolically to an aircraft flight crew the resolution advisory information developed by a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) computer aboard an aircraft. The flight display shows a a line symbol representing the artificial horizon, a pitch scale extending perpendicular to said line symbol and indicating pitch angles with reference to said line symbol, and an aircraft reference symbol indicating by its position along said pitch scale the momentaneous aircraft pitch attitude. Furthermore a pitch cue symbol is displayed consisting of a first line segment extending parallel to the artificial horizon and across said pitch scale, said first line segment indicating a limit pitch value processed from the TCAS vertical speed limit ouput, and an area indicator extending below or above said line segment indicating a range of pitch values bounded by said limit pitch value, which range of pitch values has to be avoided by the aircraft flight crew. | Petrus A. A. Verbaarschot (Alphen A/D Rijn, NL), Michel M. C. Schless (Amsterdam, NL), Wim J. Hultzer (Noordwijkerhout, NL) | Fokker Aircraft B.V. (Schiphol-Oost, NL) | 1990-05-08 | 1993-02-09 | G01C23/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G08G005/04 | 07/520507 |
| 1039 | 5184133 | ISAR imaging radar system | A method for removing range migration effects that produce doppler smearing in Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) system (20) image of moving target (50) first generates a synthetic aperture radar image in the zero doppler cells from the target by summing a plurality of ISAR radar data points. Next, the method and system compensate each of the data points by a factor representing the effect of non-zero doppler frequency shift in said data points. Further, the method and system compensate the generated ISAR image for non-zero doppler frequency shift from the target using the compensated data points. This method and system may be used in an ISAR system doppler processor to reduce or eliminate doppler smearing in ISAR images. | Sherman H. Tsao (Plano, TX) | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX) | 1991-11-26 | 1993-02-02 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/798459 |
| 1040 | 5181039 | System for sensing the approach of a moving missile to a target | A system for determining the trajectory of a missile and the minimum miss distance with respect to a target aircraft, comprises two transmitters on the aircraft each cooperating with four receivers on the aircraft. Each transmitter radiates a succession of pulses each having a very short duration of the order of 2 nanoseconds and each having a shape approximating to a single sine wave. The transmitted pulses are reflected from the missile and received by the receivers each of which is accurately time gated so that the received signal is sampled at a predetermined time delay after the radiation of each transmit pulse. A time delay corresponds to a particular missile range, and by gating at different delays the sampled signals indicate when the missile enters or leaves a plurality of range envelopes surrounding the target. Processing of the sampled signals enables the missile trajectory and minimum miss distance to be computed. | Gordon K. A. Oswald (Huntingdon, GB), Christopher S. Neal (Cambridgeshire, GB), Alan T. Richardson (Cambridge, GB) | Cambridge Consultants Limited (Cambridge, GB) | 1991-09-16 | 1990-04-20 | 1993-01-19 | G01S13/00, F41J5/00, F41J5/12, G01S013/18 |
| 1041 | 5179383 | Synthetic aperture radar processor to handle large squint with high phase and geometric accuracy | A digital signal processor for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data comprising a method of implementing range cell migration correction without the use of an interpolator, and a method of applying phase corrections and memory management to accommodate large squint in the radar sensor. With this method, the image quality of the processed SAR image is improved, particularly in regard to phase and geometric registration. | R. K. Raney (Ottowa, Ontario, CA), Ian G. Cumming (Richmond, BC, CA), Frank H. Wong (Richmond, B.C., CA) | --- | 1991-07-15 | 1993-01-12 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/729641 |
| 1042 | 5175555 | Combined radar altimeter, radiometer sensor employing multiport feed horn having blended sidewall geometry | A remote sensing apparatus for conducting (spaceborne) measurements of ocean geophysical parameters integrates a radar altimeter subsystem with a radiometer subsystem through the use of a shared antenna feed horn that permits each subsystem to have the same viewing aperture, so that each subsystem sees the same location on the ocean. The horn is a multiport, multifrequency horn having a throat and a tapered sidewall portion extending from the throat to the outer edge of the horn. A first sidewall port is coupled to the transmit/receive channel of the radar altimeter. A second sidewall port is coupled to a first receive channel of the radiometer, and a third sidewall port is coupled to a second receive channel of the radiometer. A throat port is coupled to a third receive channel of the radiometer. The tapered sidewall portion has a first, generally linear shape adjacent to the throat, a second, conic (elliptical) shape at its outer edge, and a third, blending shape disposed between and joining together the generally linear shape and the conic shape at the outer edge. The blending shape is preferably a sinusoidal function and serves to blend the first shape into the second shape in such a manner that the horn presents, over the entirely of the surface of the sidewall portion, an effectively continuous surface to the E plane of an electromagnetic wave emitted or received by the horn. The distance over which the sidewall portion is tapered to effect the blending function is preferably no greater than two wavelengths of the lowest frequency of electromagnetic waves emitted or received by the horn. | Larry T. Holak (Palm Bay, FL), Michael J. Lynch (Merritt Island, FL), James Conn (Indialantic, FL) | Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL) | 1991-03-15 | 1992-12-29 | G01S13/00, G01S13/86, H01Q13/02, H01Q13/00, H01Q5/00, G01S013/00 | 07/670317 |
| 1043 | 5170171 | Three dimensional interferometric synthetic aperture radar terrain mapping employing altitude measurement | Synthetic aperture radar data is used in conjunction with altimeter data to produce a terrain map corrected for platform roll angle. The technique uses two synthetic radar antennas and a ranging altimeter placed on an aircraft. The aircraft is moved in a set of substantially parallel flight paths where each flight is directly over the strip of terrain viewed by the synthetic aperture radar of an adjacent flight. During each flight the at least one antenna repeatedly transmits radar signals whose return echoes are received by both the first and second antennas. Conventional synthetic aperture radar processing yields a terrain map uncorrected for roll angle. The uncorrected terrain map data from one flight are compared with the altimeter data taken during an adjacent flight. This permits the altimeter data to be used to determine the roll angle when the corresponding synthetic radar data was taken. This roll angle measure is then used to correct the height and ground range of nearby points in the uncorrected terrain map. The result is a terrain map corrected for roll angle in a manner more accurate than can be obtained by direct measurement of the roll angle. | William M. Brown (Ann Arbor, MI) | Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1991-09-19 | 1992-12-08 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S13/87, G01S013/90 | 07/762908 |
| 1044 | 5164730 | Method and apparatus for determining a cross-range scale factor in inverse synthetic aperture radar systems | Apparatus and methods for estimating the cross-range scale factor for a displayed inverse synthetic aperture radar image using received image data. The image data is first converted into a polar format. The image data is then processed by a two-dimensional Fourier transform filter to produce a plurality of image entropy estimates. The best image entropy estimate is selected, and then a cross-range scale factor is computed from the data associated with this estimate. This cross-range scale factor is then displayed on a display, from which an operator can accurately determine the size of target objects imaged by the radar. This, in turn provides for identification of the target objects. More specifically, by using polar-format processing, and by selecting the best image obtained for assumed values of rotation rate of a target object, an accurate estimate of the cross-range scale factor is obtained. The present method enables estimation of the length of a target object from it's image and thus provides for rapid identification of the object using the displayed length estimate. | Atul Jain (Westchester, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1991-10-28 | 1992-11-17 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S013/90 | 07/783304 |
| 1045 | 5160933 | Radar altimeter with self-calibration feature | A radar altimeter incorporates circuitry for automatically adjusting altitude readings for variations caused by altitude and temperature changes. Normal target tracking of the radar is intermittently interrupted and a calibration sequence is interjected. The current altitude and receiver AGC information at the time of each interruption is temporarily stored and a test is initiated in which a pseudo radar return at that altitude is introduced to the receiver. The receiver operates on the pseudo return as it would on an actual return. The transmit power is adjusted automatically for the correct signal level at the tracker. The resultant altitude measured for the pseudo return is compared to a known test altitude and any difference is stored away as a correction factor to be applied to the altitude reading which had been stored at the time that its operation had been interrupted to perform the calibration test. | James R. Hager (Crystal, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1991-05-20 | 1992-11-03 | G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/18, G01S13/88, G01S007/40 | 07/702403 |
| 1046 | 5160932 | Over-the-horizon synthetic aperture radar | An over-the-horizon, synthetic aperture radar (OTHSAR) system (10) is disclosed. The OTHSAR system is used to locate moving objects (14) at long distances in response to modulated high-frequency radiation reflected by the objects and distinguishes the objects from stationary clutter (16) that also reflects the radiation. Specifically, a central processor (26) synthesizes information received from an antenna (18) and receiver (22) over an interval of time t.sub.s to enhance azimuth resolution. Although ambiguous Doppler information is likely to be received from the moving object and the stationary clutter, the antenna is selected to have a real antenna beam that resolves the ambiguous data, ensuring that conflicting clutter data is eliminated. | James G. Bull (Issaquah, WA) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 1990-07-13 | 1992-11-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/02, G01S013/90 | 07/553441 |
| 1047 | 5160931 | Interferometric synthetic aperture detection of sparse non-surface objects | A technique for detecting non-surface objects from a moving platform using radiant ranging. The platform moves perpendicular to a line through a pair of first and second transducers. A transmitter repeatedly transmits a radiant signal via a first transducer. The return reflection signals in both transducers include return reflection signals from sparse non-surface objects in the presence of surface clutter reflections. Respective synthetic aperture complex images of resolution cell in slant range and Doppler frequency are formed from the received reflections of the two transducers. The complex phase factor between received reflections for each resolution cell in the absence of non-surface objects is determined. This is feasible because the non-surface objects are sparse, that is rare and generally encountered individually. Each resolution cell of the first synthetic aperture complex image is multiplied with the complex conjugate of the corresponding resolution cell of said complex phase factor. The resulting product signal is subtracted from the second synthetic aperture complex image. The resulting signal is non-zero (except for second order effects) only in the presence of a non-surface reflecting target. The technique may employ a third transducer permitting detection of non-surface objects at otherwise blind heights. | William M. Brown (Ann Arbor, MI) | Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1991-09-19 | 1992-11-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S015/89 | 07/762901 |
| 1048 | 5159344 | Aircraft theft detection and location system | A theft detection and location system for aircraft utilizing both a conventional aircraft transponder/encoder and a dedicated transponder/encoder. The dedicated transponder is fixed on an alarm code which when transmitted in response to interrogation signals from ground stations, alerts air traffic controllers that the aircraft has been stolen. The system includes electronic switching devices which automatically enable the dedicated transponder to be activated each time an aircraft electrical master switch is turned on. An arming device is provided for activating the dedicated transponder in response to a predetermined condition. The dedicated transponder will continue to function even if the entire aircraft electrical system is turned off since the electronic switching device directly couples the dedicated transponder to the aircraft battery. A disarming device is provided in order to deactivate the dedicated transponder and in turn activate the conventional transponder. | Kenneth A. Robinson (Magnolia, MA), Arthur Zolot (Marblehead, MA) | North Atlantic Air, Inc. (Danvers, MA) | 1991-03-22 | 1992-10-27 | B60R25/10, B64D45/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/76, G01S013/80 | 07/673325 |
| 1049 | 5157615 | Aircraft traffic alert and collision avoidance device | A passive aircraft Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance Device (TCAD) is based on sensing and responding to transponder replies of other aircraft to SSR interrogations. In order to avoid masking other aircraft replies by the host transponder TCAD repeatedly and randomly suppresses the host transponder and simultaneoulsly listens for other aircraft replies. Suppression on each occasion is effective for an equal and predetermined duration which is much longer than a typical replay, in a preferred embodiment the suppression/listen duration is 725 .mu.s. In this embodiment the time between successive suppression/listen occasions is random between 725 .mu.s. and 5.025 ms. with an average value of about 2.9 ms. Digital signal processing is used to detect and discard garbled or overlapping replies. Each valid reply, exhibiting a minimum pulse amplitude, is decoded and correlated with a calibrated range parameter and given a time tag. Successive replies which match to within predetermined criteria in time and calibrated range are merged to track the positional relation between the host and other aircraft. The positional relation between other aircraft and the host are evaluated via a priority table in terms of relative altitude and range to locate that craft which poses the highest threat to the host. Parameters of such a craft are displayed. In the event a craft penetrates a shield of programmable size an audible alert is sounded. TCAD provides for shields for each of a plurality of flight regimes, such as terminal, standard and enroute. | William C. Brodegard (Columbus, OH), Dean E. Ryan (Columbus, OH), Paul A. Ryan (Dublin, OH) | Ryan International Corporation (Columbus, OH) | 1991-12-31 | 1992-10-20 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/74, G01S13/76, G06F015/50 | 07/815489 |
| 1050 | 5150125 | High Doppler rate, high altitude capability coherent pulse Doppler radar altimeter | A pulse Doppler radar altimeter designed to resolve the ambiguous range problem associated with the use of a pulse repetition interval, which is less than the aircraft altitude, includes a radar transmitter configured to transmit first and second series of pulses where the first series has a pulse repetition interval slightly different from the pulse repetition interval of the second series. At a time when the first series is being transmitted, the receiver electronics including a range gate and a tracker searches for ground returns and positions the range gate in time coincidence with the detected ground return. Control then shifts so that the second series of pulses is transmitted and a determination is made whether overlap of the range gate with the ground return from the second series corresponds to the same altitude as when the first series was involved. If not, it is known that the detected range is ambiguous and the tracker continues repositioning the range gate (altitude) until an unambiguous range determination is made. | James R. Hager (Crystal, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1990-12-24 | 1992-09-22 | G01S13/00, G01S13/70, G01S13/20, G01S13/22, G01S13/02, G01S13/88, G01S7/40, G01S13/18, G01S013/20, G01S013/70 | 07/632938 |
| 1051 | 5144315 | System for accurately monitoring aircraft position during training exercises | Tracking system for monitoring aircraft position during simulated training exercises. Standard IFF transponders on the aircraft are periodically enabled by a squitter transmitter mounted on the aircraft. On the ground a plurality of receiving stations are interconnected through a communication link. The transponder replies are received at each receiving station. The time of arrival for each of the transponder replies is measured and communicated to one of the receiving stations. Using Loran techniques, accurate longitudinal and latitude coordinates are determined from the time of arrival data. | Carl E. Schwab (Huntington Stat., NY), Fred N. S. Goodrich (Barnstead, NH) | Cardion, Inc. (Woodbury, NY) | 1990-12-10 | 1992-09-01 | G01S13/00, G01S5/06, G01S13/76, G01S13/78, G01S5/00, G01S013/80, G01S013/06 | 07/625040 |
| 1052 | 5140330 | Continuous emission radar device for determining, at short range, the relative positions of a missile and a vehicle to which the device is fitted | A continuous emission radar device for determining, at short range, the relative positions of a missile and a vehicle to which the device is fitted, includes a transmitting circuit connected to a transmitting antenna for emitting a continuous signal modulated by a pseudo-random binary sequence delivered at a clock frequency fH, and three receiving circuits connected respectively to three receiving antennae which receive echos of the emitted signal from the missile, a first receiving circuit generating the clock frequency and slaving it to the missile vehicle distance, and the other two receiving circuits determining the phase shift between the echo received by the first antenna and each of the echos received by the other two antennae, these three parameters being transmitted to a device for calculating the position of the missile in relation to the vehicle. | Guy Le Garrec (Sannois, FR), Bruno R. Sebilet (Rueil Malmaison, FR) | Societe Nationale D'etude Et De Construction De Motors D'aviation (Paris, FR) | 1991-09-12 | 1992-08-18 | G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/32, G01S013/08 | 07/757929 |
| 1053 | 5122803 | Moving target imaging synthetic aperture radar | A method and apparatus of imaging moving targets with an aircraft mounted complex radar system has a plurality of independent, but synchronized synthetic aperture radars (SARs) positioned on the aircraft at equal separation distance .DELTA.x along the flight velocity vector V.sub.p of the aircraft. Frequency modulated (or otherwise coded) pulses are transmitted therefrom with an interpulse period T.sub.p, where 1/T.sub.p is an integral multiple of V.sub.p /.DELTA.x. The pulse repetition frequency, platform velocity, and spacing between adjacent SARs are all chosen to create the effect of a stationary radar momentarily fixed in space. A two dimensional complex IF (intermediate frequency) output signal is recovered by the first SAR on the aircraft. This signal is identical to that recovered by a conventional SAR. The two dimensions are fast time and downtract position. If only one point target is present, the IF output signal is the point target's phase history. Typically, many point targets are simultaneously present, and the IF output signal is the sum of point target phase histories. Each additional SAR on the platform recovers a different two dimensional complex IF output signal. These signals are sequentially stacked to form a three dimensional complex data set. The stacking dimension is called subaperture time, and is unique to this invention. A two dimensional cut through the three dimensional complex data set and normal to the downtract position dimension, say at downtrack position x, contains the data which would be collected by a stationary radar at downtrack position x. This radar would transmit a total of M frequency modulated (or otherwise coded) pulses, where M is the number of SARs on the aircraft, at a rate of one pulse every .DELTA.x/V.sub.p seconds, as it observes all targets. for each target present, a slow doppler fluctuation, whose frequency is directly proportional to target slow relative velocity, appears along the subaperture time axis. Target slow relative velocity is the target velocity with respect to the fixed radar in space. Subaperture time and slow relative velocity are a Fourier transform pair. Consequently, targets, in terms of phase history RIGHTS of THE GOVERNMENT The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the United States Government for Governmental purposes without payment to us of any royalty thereon. | Barry L. Stann (Silver Spring, MD), Peter Alexander (Rockville, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1991-11-06 | 1992-06-16 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S013/90 | 07/788699 |
| 1054 | 5111400 | Automatic integrated real-time flight crew information system | An integrated real-time information dissemination system for aircraft within a predetermined range of an air traffic control facility (ATC) , includes airborne components for receiving ground-disseminated data concerning dynamic conditions, such as air traffic and meteorological conditions, and for storing data concerning static features, such as terrain and moving map features, within the range of the ATC. An airborne computer and display is provided in a subject aircraft for generating a continuously updated integrated graphic display of representations of the dynamic and static conditions. The graphic display is egocentric with respect to the ATC until the subject aircraft has been identified to the ATC, after which the graphic display is egocentric with respect to the subject aircraft. The airborne computer includes a computer program for detecting potential collisions with the dynamic or static features and for issuing a warning based upon the level of collision threat. When a potential collision is detected, the aircraft display isolates the threatening target and provides critical information to facilitate collision avoidance actions. The system provides real-time information to the flight crew of air traffic that has been previously restricted to ground-based air traffic controllers, to provide an added level of security against mid-air collisions and crashes caused by inadequate or erroneous information provided to the ATC or flight crew. | Evan W. Yoder (Russiaville, IN) | --- | 1990-11-13 | 1992-05-05 | G01S7/22, G01S7/04, G08G5/04, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G06F007/70, G06F015/48, G06F015/50, G01S013/00 | 07/611454 |
| 1055 | 5109230 | Method for aircraft velocity error detection with a Doppler radar | A method for preventing errors in the Doppler radar measurement of velocity in aircraft that result from the radar receiver being locked to backscatter from side lobes of a plurality of main lobes radiated in a fixed radiation geometry. The inertial vertical velocity component (V.sub.IZ) obtained by a baro-inertial control loop is compared with the vertical velocity component (V.sub.DZ) determined from the Doppler frequencies to derive an error detection signal. When the error signal occurs, the inertial vertical velocity component replaces the corresponding velocity component supplied from the Doppler system while the horizontal velocity components are determined, for example, from the last calculated wind and the corresponding airspeed components, for the duration of the error signal. | Wolfgang Hassenpflug (Freiburg i Br., DE) | Litef Gmbh (Freiburg im Breisgau, DE) | 1988-11-04 | 1992-04-28 | G01S13/00, G01S13/60, G01S13/86, G01S013/60 | 07/267016 |
| 1056 | 5093662 | Low altitude wind shear detection with airport surveillance radars | Method and apparatus for detecting low altitude wind shear through the use of autocorrelation on the received and processed echo signals. Self Autocorrelation of echo signals and autocorrelation of echo signals from consecutive pulses are used to calculate the low altitude Doppler velocities over distance. In an alternate embodiment, autocorrelation of echo signals from alternate pulses is also required. Wind shear is calculated from low altitude Doppler velocity as a function of location. | Mark Weber (Arlington, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 1990-01-30 | 1992-03-03 | G01S13/95, G01S13/00, G01S013/95 | 07/472534 |
| 1057 | 5081459 | Doppler radar for the detection and localizing of helicopters | This Doppler radar for the detection and localization of helicopters through blade flashes works in a band located between 300 MHz and 20 GHz and identifies the blade flashes by the width of their frequency spectrum and their duration. It uses, at reception, a multilobe antenna associated with several parallel signal processing chains specialized in the detection of helicopters, enabling detection over a widened zone as well as precise localization. Each chain has a phase amplitude detector PAD (10, 10') followed by a Doppler filter MTI (20, 20') selecting the wide frequency spectrum, a module computing circuit (30, 30') , a contrast circuit (40, 40') eliminating excessively long echoes, a threshold circuit (50, 50') and a false alarm reduction circuit FAR (60, 60') eliminating excessively short echoes. The chains lead to a relative bearing computation circuit (100) performing angle measurements when this is possible. | Jean-Claude Guillerot (Versailles, FR), Claude Chanot (Clamart, FR), Thierry Girou (Paris, FR), Patrick de Grancey (Emerainville, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Puteaux, FR) | 1990-11-16 | 1992-01-14 | G01S7/02, G01S13/524, G01S13/00, G01S7/41, G01S013/52 | 07/614135 |
| 1058 | 5077673 | Aircraft traffic alert and collision avoidance device | A passive aircraft Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance device (TCAD) is based on sensing and responding to transponder replies of other aircraft to SSR interrogations. In order to avoid masking other aircraft replies by the host transponder TCAD repeatedly and randomly suppresses the host transponder and simultaneously listens for other aircraft replies. Suppression on each occasion is effective for an equal and predetermined duration which is much longer than a typical reply, in a preferred embodiment the suppression/listen duration is 725 .mu.s. In this embodiment the time between successive suppression/listen occasions is random between 725 .mu.s. and 5.025 ms. with an average value of about 2.9 ms. Digital signal processing is used to detect and discard garbled or overlapping replies. Each valid reply, exhibiting a minimum pulse amplitude, is decoded and correlated with a calibrated range parameter and given a time tag. Successive replies which match to within predetermined criteria in time and calibrated range are merged to track the positional relation between the host and other aircraft. The positional relation between other aircraft and the host are evaluated via a priority table in terms of relative altitude and range to locate that craft which poses the highest threat to the host. Parameters of such a craft are displayed. In the event a craft penetrates a shield of programmable size an audible alert is sounded. TCAD provides for shields for each of a plurality of flight regimes, such as terminal, standard and enroute. Selection among shields is via a single pushbutton. TCAD allows the pilot to program each of the different shield sizes. Peripheral functions such as altitude deviation alert, density altitude and barometric pressure correction for altitude reporting are also provided. | William C. Brodegard (Columbus, OH), Dean E. Ryan (Columbus, OH), Paul A. Ryan (Dublin, OH) | Ryan International Corp. (Columbus, OH) | 1990-01-09 | 1991-12-31 | G01S13/93, G01S13/74, G01S13/76, G01S13/00, G01S003/02 | 07/462387 |
| 1059 | 5077558 | Airborne wind shear detection weather radar | An airborne wind shear detection radar includes a transmitter for transmitting successive radar beams into airspace in front of an aircraft and a receiver for receiving reflected signals. The radar analyzes the received reflected signals in the frequency domain to determine if a wind shear condition exists in the airspace in front of the aircraft. | Daryal Kuntman (Highland Beach, FL) | Allied-Signal Inc. (Morris Township, Morris County, NJ) | 1990-12-14 | 1991-12-31 | G01S13/95, G01S13/00, G01S013/95 | 07/627781 |
| 1060 | 5075694 | Airborne surveillance method and system | An airborne surveillance method and system allows an observer aircraft to determine the position and change of position of a multiplicity of target aircraft and thus allows analysis of collision threats from these aircraft. The system uses a phase comparison direction finding antenna to determine direction of nearby ground based SSRs and all target aircraft of interest. The system further makes use of all other available data including Mode C transponder generated altitude information of the target aircraft, the altitude of the observer aircraft, the received signal strength of both the SSR beam and the received transponder signal, the time difference of arrival between the SSR interrogation signal and the response from the target aircraft, and a variety of other factors to determine the position of the target aircraft. The system compensates for the attitude of the observer aircraft and performs optimal Kalman filtering on the input data set to produce an estimate on target position based upon prior estimates and upon information contained in the data set while making estimates of the error magnitude of each measurement and compensating for these errors. The covariance matrix Q of the Kalman filter is adaptively varied so as to optimize the estimate of the degree of correlation between various input values. | Nicholas C. Donnangelo (Leesburg, VA), John T. Abaunza (Warrenton, VA), John G. Aiken (Fairfax, VA) | Avion Systems, Inc. (Leesburg, VA), [*] Notice: The Portion of The Term of This Patent Subsequent To March 20 2007 Has Been Disclaimed. | 1989-12-14 | 1991-12-24 | G01S3/14, G01S13/93, G01S3/48, G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S013/93 | 07/450439 |
| 1061 | 5070335 | Pulse doppler radar systems for helicopter recognition | A pulse doppler radar system for helicopter recognition has a receiver (5) for receiving reflected pulse radar signals. A distinguishing circuit (22) is provided for distinguishing a group of received frequencies within a predetermined spectral range and for ignoring at least the largest amplitude frequency within that group. A threshold detector (24) is arranged to determine when the amplitude of the remaining frequencies in the group exceed a predetermined value to provide a recognition signal. | Christopher Lewis (Isle of Wight, GB2), Robert J. Barton (Isle of Wight, GB2) | Siemens Plessey Electronic Systems Limited (Ilford, GB2) | 1990-11-08 | 1991-12-03 | G01S7/41, G01S7/02, G01S13/524, G01S13/00, G01S013/50, G01S013/88 | 07/610210 |
| 1062 | 5061931 | Recursive system for image forming by means of a spotlight synthetic aperture radar | Recursive system for the forming of a radar image by means of a SAR sensor, for application preferably related to the radar field, essentially having a monodimensional transformation system (1) of the signal received by the radar, a convolution element (2) of the same signal by means of a monodimensional inverse transformation (3) . The result of the convolution is retro-projected by means of element (4) . In turn, the result of this operation, envelope-detected (5) , provides an estimate of the electromagnetic characteristics of the teledetected scene. The invention belongs to the radar application field, and more precisely to that of synthetic aperture radars for teledetection. It finds its best application in the area of synthetic aperture radar signal processing. | Alfonso Farina (Rome, IT), Carlo F. Morabito (Cannitello, IT) | Selenia Industrie Elettroniche Associate S.P.A. (Rome, IT) | 1990-07-23 | 1991-10-29 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/00 | 07/557309 |
| 1063 | 5059966 | Synthetic aperture radar system | A synthetic aperture radar system wherein a plurality of beams is formed for receiving echo signals and the spectra of the received signals are synthesized in an azimuth compression unit to improve the cross-range resolution. | Takahiko Fujisaka (Kanagawa, JP), Yoshimasa Oh-Hashi (Kanagawa, JP) | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP) | 1990-02-08 | 1991-10-22 | G01S13/90, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/477346 |
| 1064 | 5053778 | Generation of topographic terrain models utilizing synthetic aperture radar and surface level data | Topographical terrain models are generated by digitally delineating the boundary of the region under investigation from data obtained from an airborne synthetic aperture radar image and surface elevation data concurrently acquired either from an airborne instrument or at ground level. A set of coregistered boundary maps thus generated are then digitally combined in three dimensinoal space with the acquired surface elevation data by means of image processing software stored in a digital computer. The method is particularly applicable for generating terrain models of flooded regions covered entirely or in part by foliage. | Marc L. Imhoff (College Park, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The (Washington, DC) | 1989-08-10 | 1991-10-01 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/89 | 07/391896 |
| 1065 | 5053773 | Doppler compensated airborne weather radar system | An airborne weather radar system having a capability of compensating for variable Doppler shift caused by the forward motion of the aircraft and the relative motion of the antenna sweep which includes a local oscillator having a single low phase noise crystal which is operated in its fundamental mode at a predetermined frequency for increasing the pullability away from the tuned frequency of the local oscillator. | John D. Mosinski (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1989-03-15 | 1991-10-01 | G01S13/95, G01S7/285, G01S7/288, G01S13/00, H03B5/36, H03B1/00, H03B005/36 | 07/324287 |
| 1066 | 5051750 | Winds aloft estimation through radar observation of aircraft | A method and a system for determining the wind velocity vector in a region in which a turn is being executed by an aircraft using a positional detection system to obtain aircraft positional data during the turn, calculating the ground speed vector of the aircraft at a plurality of points during the turn and determining the wind vector that best fits the ground speed vector data. The wind velocity vector can be calculated even when the aircraft airspeed vector is not constant. | Walter M. Hollister (Lincoln, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 1990-10-03 | 1991-09-24 | G01S13/95, G01P5/00, G01S13/60, G01S13/00, G01S013/95 | 07/592110 |
| 1067 | 5051749 | Synthetic aperture radar assembly and a method of creating a radar image of a planet surface using such an assembly | A synthetic aperture radar assembly (1) locatable on a satellite (2) for radar imaging of a planet surface (3) in swaths, including means (8) for transmitting pulses (4) of electromagnetic radiation towards the planet surface (3) to be imaged, means (8) for receiving echoes of said pulses (4) returned by said planet surface (3) , means for creating an image of a swath (5) of said planet surface (3) from said returned echoes and means for randomly varying the frequency of transmission of said pulses (4) to increase the width (11) of swath (5) imagable. | Peter N. R. Stoyle (Bristol, GB) | British Aerospace Public Limited Company (London, GB2) | 1990-03-08 | 1991-09-24 | G01S13/90, G01S13/22, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S013/22 | 07/489185 |
| 1068 | 5047779 | Aircraft radar altimeter with multiple target tracking capability | An aircraft radar altimeter includes a programmed microcontroller which permits effective simultaneous tracking of at least two targets such that, for example, both ground and obstacles on the ground can be simultaneously tracked, thus avoiding crashes when the aircraft is operating at very low altitudes. The microcontroller is operatively coupled to the radar transmitter and to the receiver so that information relating to a first target can be stored away while a search and track operation is run on a second target. The information concerning a detected second target is likewise stored away and the microcontroller permits alternate tracking of the two targets with the stored information being used as the basis for establishing an initial position for a target when tracking of that target is resumed. | James R. Hager (Crystal, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1990-08-28 | 1991-09-10 | G01S13/94, G01S13/70, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S13/18, G01S13/88, G01S7/40, G01S013/18 | 07/574586 |
| 1069 | 5046010 | Fixed-echo cancelling radio altimeter and method of operating same | A low altitude radio altimeter of the FM/CW type which transmits a sawtooth frequency wave and has a transmitting and a receiving aerial. A beat frequency signal Fb.sub.t between the transmitted and received waves is produced at the output of a mixer. The altimeter includes means for digitizing Fb.sub.t at the rate of n samples per sawtooth, a first memory (M1) to store n.times.k samples S.sub.j.sup.i (where i varies from 1 to k and j varies from 1 to n) , a second memory (M2) to store n sums ##EQU1## first computing means (PR) for determining ##EQU2## representative of Fb.sub.4, for storage in a third memory (M3) , and additional computing and storage means (PR, M4) producing difference signals Fb.sub.t -Fb.sub.f. | Jean-Pierre Tomasi (Brive, FR) | U.S. Philips Corporation (New York, NY) | 1989-12-19 | 1991-09-03 | G01S13/34, G01S13/00, G01S013/34 | 07/452985 |
| 1070 | 5043734 | Discrete autofocus for ultra-high resolution synthetic aperture radar | The invention provides improved focus by phase corrections for Synthetic Aperture Radar images by operation on the range bin containing a selected isolated target. A phase correction signal is generated by first obtaining a non-interfering radar return from the selected target through band pass filtering operation and then extracting a non-linear residual phase from the band pass filtered data with an arc-tangent generator. The residual phase derived by the arc-tangent generator is then applied to the range compressed SAR data as a phase correction signal. | Yoji G. Niho (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1988-12-22 | 1991-08-27 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/89 | 07/288741 |
| 1071 | 5029307 | Synthetic aperture radar apparatus | A synthetic aperture radar apparatus comprising an altitude calculation device, and means to feed back altitudinal information obtained by the altitude calculation device, to a synthetic aperture radar device in the synthetic aperture radar apparatus at all times. Thus, an observational region is observed with the synthetic aperture radar device, while at the same time, the altitude of an artificial satellite is calculated by measuring the acceleration thereof in the altitude calculation device, the altitudinal information being continually fed back to an operation controller in the synthetic aperture radar device, whereby the synthetic aperture radar device is operated continuously and automatically. | Kyoko Osaki (Kamakura, JP) | Director General, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (JP) | 1989-08-23 | 1991-07-02 | G01S13/90, G01S13/87, G01S13/46, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/397648 |
| 1072 | 5028929 | Icing hazard detection for aircraft | An airborne Icing Hazard Detector for aircraft uses dual frequency radar beams which are transmitted into a cloud ahead of the aircraft. The reflected signals at each of the two frequencies are compared and processed to determine the presence, amount and location of regions of liquid water in the cloud. The presence of liquid water is determined as a result of liquid water attenuating the power of one of the signals a greater amount than the other signal, due to different attenuation characteristics of the two signals at the two frequencies. A temperature sensor provides ambient temperature information to determine if the detected liquid water is super-cooled. Upon detection of a predetermined amount of liquid water and the determination that it is super-cooled, an advance warning indication is provided to allow the pilot to avoid flying through the volumetric region of supercooled liquid water and risking ice formation on the aircraft. | Wayne R. Sand (Louisville, CO), Robert A. Kropfli (Boulder, CO) | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (Boulder, CO) | 1990-04-30 | 1991-07-02 | G01S13/95, G01S13/10, G01S13/00, G01S013/38, G01S013/95 | 07/515487 |
| 1073 | 5017930 | Precision landing system | A precision aircraft landing system comprising at least four receivers which are located at different predetermined positions. Each receiver includes a precision timer for measuring the timer interval between the receiver's detection of an interrogation signal and a reply signal from a transponder onboard the aircraft. The system also includes a central processing unit (computer) at a base station which collects the time measurements from the receivers, and calculates the location of the aircraft. Because more than three independent measurements are used, the base station can compute not only the three-dimensional coordinates of the aircraft, but also the transponder reply time. Preferably estimation filtering calculations, such as Kalman filtering, are used to improve the accuracy. The aircraft's position is compared with a mathematical description of a desired approach path, and the position error is then communicated to the aircraft. Any desired approach path than can be mathematically represented may be used in the system, including paths having curves, steps and segments. | John R. Stoltz (Mount Hood, OR), Carl W. Clawson (Hood River, OR) | John R. Stoltz (Hood River, OR) | 1990-01-25 | 1991-05-21 | G01S5/00, G01S13/74, G01S13/00, G01S5/14, G01S003/02 | 07/470643 |
| 1074 | 5017922 | Radar system having a synthetic aperture on the basis of rotating antennae | The present invention relates to a radar system having a synthetic aperture on the basis of rotating antennae. In order to achieve real-time capacity with a high discrimination despite the high data flow, reference functions are determined by a geometry module and a circuit for dividing the strip illuminated by the antennae into a specific number of range intervals. As a result of the division of the overall analysis circuit into individual modules, a complete analysis of the incoming signals can take place despite the high data flow. By signals from additional kinematics sensors integrated into the tips of the rotor carrying the antennae, the reference functions are corrected for rotor movements which deviate from the ideal orbit. | Helmut Klausing (Bad Aibling, DE), Horst Kaltschmidt (Neubiberg, DE) | Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm Gmbh (DE) | 1990-06-07 | 1991-05-21 | G01S13/90, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/534284 |
| 1075 | 5016018 | Aperture synthesized radiometer using digital beamforming techniques | A digital aperture synthesized radiometer for synthesizing the imaging an image scene. A plurality of antenna arrays receive radiation emitted or reflected from an scene, and an analog to digital coverter converts received radiation into digitized signals. A digital beamformer synthesizes the digitized signals to provide an image corresponding to the scene. The digital beamformer comprises individual digital beamformers which generate a set of fanbeam signals for each array. The beamformers provide for cross track imaging of the scene. A digital interferometer correlates corresponding pairs of fanbeam signals from the two sets of fanbeam signals to produce a chirp signal for each pair. A matched filter processes the chirp signals to transform each chirp signal into a corresponding image point of the scene. This provides for along track imaging of the scene. The beamformers include an amplitude weighting and data turning circuit to reduce fanbeam signal sidelobe levels and eliminate alternate mainlobes from the digitized radiation signals to reduce mainlobe widening. A fast Fourier transform circuit in the beamformers generally comprises a decimation-in-time algorithm implemented by means of a plurality of parallel and cascaded butterfly computation circuits. Image processing methods for achieving digital radiometry are also disclosed. | Donald C. D. Chang (Thousand Oaks, CA), Edwin A. Kelley (Los Angeles, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1989-03-22 | 1991-05-14 | G01N22/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, H01Q25/00, H01Q3/26, G01S007/00 | 07/326935 |
| 1076 | 5014063 | Integrated altimeter and doppler velocity sensor arrangement | A transmitter section of the arrangement includes an altimeter transmitter and a Doppler transmitter. The transmitters both provide frequency-modulated outputs. The altimeter transmitter is linear-FM while the Doppler transmitter is sine-FM. | John Studenny (Montreal, CA) | Canadian Marconi Company (Montreal, CA) | 1990-01-11 | 1991-05-07 | G01S13/60, G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S013/38 | 07/463415 |
| 1077 | 4999635 | Phase difference auto focusing for synthetic aperture radar imaging | The present invention discloses an autofocusing method and apparatus for Synthetic Aperture Radar which employs operation on two or three subarrays of the SAR compressed data to estimate quadratic and cubic phase errors in the data. Focusing of the SAR array may then be accomplished by removing the estimated phase error from the data to sharpen the image. Phase error is estimated by FFT filtering product arrays formed by multiplying the complex conjugate of one subarray by another of the subarrays to form a correlation function. The correlation functions are integrated. A peak detection of the integrated correlation functions yields a peak location in the filter which is proportional to the phase error which may then be calculated. | Yoji G. Niho (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1990-03-29 | 1991-03-12 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/502000 |
| 1078 | 4994681 | Device for detecting the position of a moving body, in particular an aircraft, in a plane | The device includes a source of laser radiation for emitting a beam of planar and thin section in a sector having an angle of divergence adapted to the possibilities of displacement of the moving body, in a plane parallel to the plane of displacement of the moving body. A camera is reponsive to the reflection of the laser radiation from, for example, a point on the front set of wheels of an aircraft. A calculating device responsive to data received from the camera determines the distance and the azimuth of this point relative to a fixed reference, and a display device controlled by the calculating device informs the operator or the pilot of the position of the moving body. | Charles Mann (Paris, FR) | Societe D'etudes Et D'enterprises Electriques (S.E.E.E.), (Paris, Fr) | 1989-10-06 | 1991-02-19 | B64F1/00, G01S17/88, G01S17/46, G01S17/00, G01N021/86, G08B021/00 | 07/417762 |
| 1079 | 4990921 | Multi-mode microwave landing system | A guidance system for landing an aircraft is described which uses a source of signals identifiable with the aircraft and a ground station which is linked to the aircraft. Specifically, the ground station includes a receiver which is connected to one or more pairs of antennas having a fixed, overlapping, directional sensitive pattern symmetically located relative to the center of the landing path, a receiver and a processor for measuring the relative sensitivity of the signals received at the antennas and for using the relative signal intensity to determine the location of the aircraft relative to the center of the landing path. | John P. Chisholm (Olympic Valley, CA) | Sundstrand Data Control, Inc. (Redmond, WA) | 1987-05-01 | 1991-02-05 | G01S13/00, G01S3/30, G01S13/91, G01S13/42, G01S3/14, G01S001/14, G01S013/80, G01S013/93 | 07/045911 |
| 1080 | 4987563 | Synthetic aperture minimum redundancy sonar apparatus | A sonar system including an elongated transducer having a fully populated or non-fully populated array of transducer elements. During course of travel of the carrier on which the transducer is mounted, successive acoustic transmissions take place whereupon the transducer elements provide output signals in response to the reflected energy. At least one synthetic aperture beam is formed by combining the element output signals from at least two successive transmissions wherein there is a predetermined gap between the array at a location at which a first transmission takes a location at which a subsequent transmission takes place. | John E. Gilmour (Pasadena, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1990-02-07 | 1991-01-22 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G10K11/34, G10K11/00, G01S015/00 | 07/476209 |
| 1081 | 4985704 | Processing parameter generator for synthetic aperture radar | A signal processor for synthetic aperture radar comprises a processing parameter generator (17) for generating processor filter parameters for use in squint compensation multiplication means (3) and azimuth replica evaluation (4) . The parameter generator products and stores tables of data to be used in the subsequent processing. | Andrew M. Smith (Surrey, GB3) | Scicon Limited (Milton Keynes, GB3) | 1988-11-14 | 1988-01-15 | 1991-01-15 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 |
| 1082 | 4983977 | Architecture for monopulse active aperture arrays | An architecture for a monopulse, active aperture array is provided which functions as a high precision error compensation system correcting both the Sum and the Difference beams simultaneously. The architecture incorporates, a radiating antenna, a transmit-receiver, a -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider operable to split the signal received from the transmit-receiver, a Sum plus Difference network, a Sum minus Difference network both of which accept the split signal from the -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider and simultaneously error compensate the beams, and a four port magic tee operable to output the error compensated signals from the Sum plus Difference network and the Sum minus Difference network. | Peter D. Hrycak (Millersville, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1990-02-16 | 1991-01-08 | G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S013/44 | 07/481039 |
| 1083 | 4980683 | Aircraft instrument systems | An aircraft collision avoidance instrument system has a display located in the aircraft glareshield in the peripheral field of view of the pilot when the pilot is looking forwardly through the aircraft window. The display has a matrix array of LCD elements which is controlled to provide a continually changing image that is visible in the peripheral field of view of the pilot when a possible collision with another aircraft is likely. The changing image may be arrows moving up or down the display to indicate climb or decend, or a flashing horizontal line to indicate that present height must be maintained. An alphanumeric legend indicative of the collision avoidance action to be taken is also provided by the display. When no collision is likely, the display is used to present other information to the pilot. | Peter-Francis O'Sullivan (Cheltenham, GB2), Keith G. Dougan (Cheltenham, GB2) | Smiths Industries Public Limited Company (London, GB2) | 1989-11-03 | 1990-12-25 | G02B27/01, G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S7/04, G08G005/04 | 07/431406 |
| 1084 | 4979154 | Landing aid for aircraft | Ultrasonic echo ranging techniques and voice synthesis are used to provide a cost-effective convenient means of determining aircraft altitude during the landing phase of flight to overcome parallax problems, thereby to permit proper flare out, while maintaining constant visual contact down the runway during the landing procedure. In one embodiment a visual height indication or audible altitude annunciation is provided by through-the-air sonar ranging, with the display changing or an annunciation made only when the plane descends through predetermined altitudes such as 50, 25, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 feet. In the above embodiment the height is called out by converting a number representing height to a number which is audiblized in a human voice. This height annunciation technique may also be used with microwave range detection apparatus. In various embodiments, the altitude call outs may be periodic, for predetermined changes in altitude, or upon reaching predetermined heights above the runway. A specialized flare out annunciation may also be provided. As an added feature, an apertured focusing tube is used to maintain the transducer contamination to a minimum as is the use of a skeg in front of the open end of the focusing tube to divert air flow and thus contaminants. | Lester Brodeur (Hudson, NH) | --- | 1989-01-10 | 1990-12-18 | G01S15/88, G01S15/00, G01S7/521, G01S7/52, G01S015/00 | 07/296509 |
| 1085 | 4978961 | Synthetic aperture radar with dead-ahead beam sharpening capability | A synthetic aperture radar is disclosed, having the capability of dead-ahead beam sharpening. A monopulse antenna having sum and difference ports is employed, generating from the radar returns sum port signals and difference port signals. The respective sum and difference port signals are provided to respective first and second SAR processors. The processor output data is processed to separate the returns from each side of the SAR velocity vector and yield an unambiguous, doppler beam sharpened ground map about the velocity vector. | Fred C. Williams, deceased (late of Vancouver, WA), by Dorothy Williams, executor (Vancouver, WA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1989-12-21 | 1990-12-18 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/454793 |
| 1086 | 4978945 | Alarm suppressing system in aircraft collision avoidance system | The present invention is concerned with a system in which when the altitude of a subject aircraft becomes lower than a predetermined altitude, a warning limit value is reduced or made equal to zero on the minimum altitude side whereby a useless alarm based on response signals delivered from other aircraft staying in or taxiing in the airport are suppressed. | Chuhei Funatsu (Kanagawa, JP) | Toyo Communication Equipment Co. (JP) | 1989-06-30 | 1990-12-18 | G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/78, G01S13/91, G08G5/00, G08G5/04, G01S009/56 | 07/373205 |
| 1087 | 4978221 | Laser distance and altitude measuring apparatus | Two laser distance measuring functions are preformed on board of a ground-hugging cruise missile by at least one laser distance meter for taking downwardly directed altitude measurements and diagonally or slantedly forwardly directed distance measurements for producing corrected altitude signals for use in controlling the flight of the missile. Both types of measurements can be made by one laser distance meter that is tiltable in the required direction or two laser units are provided. The correction provides a clear recognition of artificial fog by evaluating both types of measured values in an intelligent signal processing unit which compares the intensities of the measured values from the same ground locations, determines the extinction coefficient of the fog and takes the angular distribution of the back-scattering intensity of the laser beams into consideration for correcting the altimeter readings. | Gunther Sepp (Ottobrunn, DE) | Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 1990-01-16 | 1990-12-18 | G01S17/87, G01S17/00, G01S7/48, G01S017/87 | 07/465764 |
| 1088 | 4975704 | Method for detecting surface motions and mapping small terrestrial or planetary surface deformations with synthetic aperture radar | A technique based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry is used to measure very small (1 cm or less) surface deformations with good resolution (10 m) over large areas (50 km) . It can be used for accurate measurements of many geophysical phenomena, including swelling and buckling in fault zones, residual, vertical and lateral displacements from seismic events and prevolcanic swelling. Two SAR images are made of a scene by two spaced antennas and a difference interferogram of the scene is made. After unwrapping phases of pixels of the difference interferogram, surface motion or deformation changes of the surface are observed. A second interferogram of the same scene is made from a different pair of images, at least one of which is made after some elapsed time. The second interferogram is then compared with the first interferogram to detect changes in line of sight position of pixels. By resolving line of sight observations into their vector components in other sets of interferograms along at least one other direction, lateral motions may be recovered in their entirety. Since in general, the SAR images are made from flight tracks that are separated, it is not possible to distinguish surface changes from the parallax caused by topography. However, a third image may be used to remove the topography and leave only the surface changes. | Andrew K. Gabriel (Altadena, CA), Richard M. Goldstein (La Canada, CA), Howard A. Zebker (Altadena, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The (Washington, DC) | 1990-01-26 | 1990-12-04 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S013/90 | 07/470665 |
| 1089 | 4973967 | Radioaltimeter type of detector and a proximity fuse equipped with such a detector | The invention relates to a radioaltimeter type detector comprising an oscillator-transmitter (10) , a modulator (20) suitable for frequency modulating the oscillator-transmitter according to a given characteristic, a mixer receiving the signal from the oscillator-transmitter and a corresponding echo signal reflected by a target, and a discriminator circuit (50, 60) connected to the output from the mixer. According to the invention, the modulator (20) includes a digital memory (21) containing a series of values defining the frequency modulation characteristic of the oscillator-transmitter (10) . | Jacques David (Montastruc, FR), Raymond Crampagne (Toulouse, FR), Jean Baricos (Ramonville Saint Agne, FR) | Etienne Lacroix - Tous Artifices S.A. (Muret, FR) | 1988-11-23 | 1990-11-27 | F42C13/04, F42C13/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/34, H03B5/18, G01S013/34, F42C013/04 | 07/276250 |
| 1090 | 4965572 | Method for producing a warning of the existence of low-level wind shear and aircraftborne system for performing same | A method for producing a warning of the existence of low-level wind shear and an aircraftborne system for performing the method utilizes measured values of airspeed and temperature, to determine a temperature based hazard factor relating to the existence of a wind shear threat to the aircraft and to issue a warning whenever the hazard factor exceeds a predetermined threshold level based upon the performance characteristics of the aircraft. Temperatures may be sensed locally, such as by a resistive temperature sensor or, remotely, such as by an infrarred temperature detector. Furthermore, in accordance with preferred embodiments, an inertial reactive wind shear detector is utilized as an integrated safety measure. Moreover, the threshold level may be varied depending on such factors as aircraft altitude. | Hugh P. Adamson (Boulder, CO) | Turbulence Prediction Systems (Boulder, CO) | 1988-06-10 | 1990-10-23 | G01S17/95, G01S17/00, G08B021/00 | 07/204865 |
| 1091 | 4963877 | Synthetic aperture radar | A synthetic aperture radar system includes a distortion correction device arranged for autofocussing of raw data by contrast maximization. Reference functions are selected on the basis of a range of trial accelerations. The acceleration producing the highest contrast is taken as the current radar platform across-track acceleration. This information is used to generate phase and range corrections for the data. | James W. Wood (Worcester, GB2), Christopher J. Oliver (Worcester, GB2), Ian P. Finley (Worcester, GB2), Richard G. White (Worcestershire, GB2) | The Secretary of State for Defence In Her Britannic Majesty's Government (London, GB2) | 1989-12-05 | 1988-05-24 | 1990-10-16 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 |
| 1092 | 4953143 | Multiple frequency synthetic aperture sonar | A dual frequency, synthetic aperture, sonar system includes a transmitter r projecting insonifying pings alternatively at first and second frequencies and a linear receiving array carried by a vehicle so as to receive returns from said pings. The first and second frequency returns are separated and subjected to processing in parallel channels where they are resolved into in-phase and quadrature components for subsequent phase-error correction, coherent addition, and synthetic aperture beamforming. | Francis J. Higgins (Panama City, FL), Chester D. Loggins, Jr. (Panama City, FL), James T. Christoff (Panama City, FL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1981-01-12 | 1990-08-28 | G01S15/89, G01S15/10, G01S15/00, G01S015/00 | 06/237352 |
| 1093 | 4950880 | Synthetic aperture optical imaging system | A distributed optical aperture imaging system for generating visual images with arbitrarily high angular resolutions. A large number of relatively small optical receiver modules are optically and electronically phased to synthesize a coherent collecting aperture. Each of the optical receivers performs localized figure measurement, figure control and the collection of optical energy from which the angle versus angle images are generated. These optical receivers generate quadrature measurement data of the reflected radiation field. From these quadrature measurements, either phase and/or magnitude information regarding the target structure can be derived and employed in image synthesis algorithms. The system employs either broadband, narrow band, single line or multi-line laser illuminators having an angular resolution of the order of the angular resolution of a single optical receiver element. Computationally intensive calculations may be performed on a distributed, parallel-processing basis within each receiver module for faster response, or on a centralized basis in a shared host processor to reduce the cost and complexity of the individual receiver modules. | David A. Hayner (Arlington Heights, IL) | Recon/Optical, Inc. (Barrington, IL) | 1989-07-28 | 1990-08-21 | G01S17/89, G02B27/58, G01S17/00, G01J001/20 | 07/386278 |
| 1094 | 4945360 | Radar altimeter | The present radar altimeter operates in accordance with the frequency modulated continuous wave principle in the C-band. The altimeter is constructed with microminiaturized integrated circuits and provides a completely digital signal evaluation and mode control which enables the transmitter to produce a wave-form providing the altimeter with the following advantages. A silent mode during the signal evaluation greatly improves the resistance of the altimeter against electronic countermeasures. The transmitter frequency is stabilized and a compensation for Doppler frequency drift is provided. Further, the altimeter is able to discriminate between intended proper targets on the one hand and false or erroneous targets on the other hand. The altimeter is equipped with a self-testing unit which provides different functions in different modes. | Guenther Trummer (Baiersdorf, DE), Richard Koerber (Putzbrunn, DE), Ludwig Mehltretter (Riemerling, DE) | Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gmbh (Munich, DE) | 1989-09-12 | 1990-07-31 | G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S7/40, G01S7/35, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S7/36, G01S013/26 | 07/406295 |
| 1095 | 4937584 | Adaptive phase-shifter nulling techniques for large-aperture phases arrays | A method of nulling out interference sources in a large-aperture phased ay radar system is described. The system has apriori knowledge of the interference sources and depends upon access to the array element phase shifters for injection of phase only or phase and amplitude perturbations, of a mainbeam aperture distribution, into said array element phase shifters. The phase or phase and amplitude perturbations are derived from an aperture ripple modulation algorithm. The system does not require any auxiliary elements or correlators or beamformers. A method of nulling out interference sources in a monopulse large-aperture phased array radar system is also described wherein the phase only or phase and amplitude perturbations are injected into both the sum and difference beams. | William F. Gabriel (Annandale, VA), Theodore C. Cheston (Bethesda, MD) | United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (WA) | 1988-12-22 | 1990-06-26 | G01S7/28, H01Q3/26, H01Q25/02, H01Q25/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S003/16, G01S003/28 | 07/288184 |
| 1096 | 4930111 | Overlap correlator synthetic aperture processor | A means for extending the useful aperture of a multi-hydrophone towed array by using the overlap of the successive positions of the array hydrophones as the array moves forward through the water. The overlap information is used by an overlap correlator to provide phase correction factors for a synthetic aperture signal processing scheme. The overlap correlator continues to refine the correction factors using later in time hydrophone measurement data. | Edmund J. Sullivan (Portsmouth, RI), Stergios Stergiopoulos (Athens, GR) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1989-06-30 | 1990-05-29 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01V1/20, G01V1/16, G01S003/80 | 07/374679 |
| 1097 | 4929950 | Synthetic aperture radar systems | In a synthetic aperture radar system, information concerning the radar reflectivity of a point on the ground is placed in an image at an azimuthal (cross-range) position which corresponds to the position of zero Doppler frequency shift of the received signal, under the assumption that the antenna has followed a straight line trajectory. In practice, the antenna trajectory will undergo small deviations about this straight line path which are not taken into account in the azimuth processing and which, consequently, cause incorrect azimuthal positioning in the image of the information concerning a point target on the ground. The invention uses the value of the slope of the frequency modulation of the received signal, calculated by means of an autofocus procedure, to determine the intercept of this frequency modulation at successive azimuth positions. This true intercept value is then incorporated in the azimuth processing, instead of the assumed intercept of the frequency modulation, allowing imagery which is free from azimuthal positioning errors to be produced. | Anthony Freeman (La Crescenta, CA), David Blacknell (Sheffield, GB2), Shaun Quegan (Sheffield, GB2), Ian A. Ward (Chelmsford, GB2), Christopher J. Oliver (Malvern, GB2), Ian P. Finley (St. Johns, GB2), Richard G. White (Malvern, GB2), James W. Wood (Malvern Link, GB2) | The General Electric Company, Plc (London, GB), The Secretary of State for Defence In Her Britannic Majesty's Government (London GB) | 1989-01-05 | 1990-05-29 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/293599 |
| 1098 | 4925303 | Aircraft piloting aid laser landing system | A piloting aid system for landing an aircraft in either normal or adverse weather conditions is disclosed. The system applies a laser scanning process for determining and correcting the aircraft's position with respect to the commanded landing trajectory and for determining the aircraft's speed, altitude, and distance from the runway. The system provides the possibility to direct the aircraft exactly towards the runway longitudinal axis and to level the aircraft exactly parallel to the runway plane all along the landing trajectory and, consequently, to effect a safe landing under visibility conditions which would otherwise prevent landing. | Pavo Pusic (Dubrovnik, YU) | --- | 1988-12-27 | 1990-05-15 | G01C9/00, G01S17/87, G01S17/50, G01S17/00, G01C021/00 | 07/290749 |
| 1099 | 4924229 | Phase correction system for automatic focusing of synthetic aperture radar | A phase gradient autofocus system for use in synthetic aperture imaging accurately compensates for arbitrary phase errors in each imaged frame by locating highlighted areas and determining the phase disturbance or image spread associated with each of these highlight areas. An estimate of the image spread for each highlighted area in a line in the case of one dimensional processing or in a sector, in the case of two-dimensional processing, is determined. The phase error is determined using phase gradient processing. The phase error is then removed from the uncorrected image and the process is iteratively performed to substantially eliminate phase errors which can degrade the image. | Paul H. Eichel (Albuquerque, NM), Dennis C. Ghiglia (Placitas, NM), Charles V. Jakowatz, Jr. (Albuquerque, NM) | The United States of America As Represented By The United States (Washington, DC) | 1989-09-14 | 1990-05-08 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/407088 |
| 1100 | 4922258 | Method for determining aircraft flight altitude | A method for determining the flight altitude h above ground of an aircraft equipped with a radar altimeter and an additional (baro-inertial) altitude measuring device or a course and position reference system capable of determining altitude. The method relies upon restriction of high-frequency emissions from the radar altimeter to very short periods of time. The radar altimeter measures h.sub.RO within the high-frequency intermission intervals to calibrate the altitude value supplied by the other altitude-measuring device. The method permits the omission of any radar altimeter from aircraft-launched missiles without degrading system performance. | Wolfgang Hassenpflug (Freiburg i. Br., DE) | Litef Gmbh (Freiburg im Breisgau, DE) | 1987-11-12 | 1990-05-01 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/86, G01S003/02 | 07/119576 |
| 1101 | 4916448 | Low altitude warning system for aircraft | To provide a predictive emergency warning to the pilot of flight and terrain conditions which will result in a collision with the ground unless the pilot takes immediate action, without issuing excessive nuisance warnings, the system uses input parameters from other aircraft systems such as the radar altimeter. Inertial Navigation System, and Central Air Data Computer which are processed in an on-board computer to determine when a warning is required. A software program which is part of the warning system provides a logic link between the on-board aircraft parameters and the on-board voice command (''pull-up, pull-up'') . The software program is readily adaptable to all aircraft applications with varying amounts of modification depending on specific mission requirements for which this protection is required. A feature is the use of a continuously computing predictive warning algorithm (based on classical flight dynamics equations) in combination with unique inhibit logic equations. Another feature is the introduction of ''extended coverage'' logic which permits the altitude dependent, time limited use of an alternate (other than radar) altitude reference signal when the radar altimeter is beyond limits. | Wayne Thor (New Carlisle, OH) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1988-02-26 | 1990-04-10 | G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/86, G08B023/00 | 07/163902 |
| 1102 | 4910526 | Airborne surveillance method and system | An airborne surveillance method and system allows an observer aircraft to determine the position and change of position of a multiplicity of target aircraft and thus allows analysis of collision threats from these aircraft. The system uses a phase comparison direction finding antenna to determine direction of nearby ground based SSRs and all target aircraft of interest. The system further makes use of all other available data including Mode C transponder generated altitude information of the target aircraft, the altitude of the observer aircraft, the received signal strength of both the SSR beam and the received transponder signal, the time difference of arrival between the SSR interrogation signal and the response from the target aircraft, and a variety of other factors to determine the position of the target aircraft. The system compensates for the attitude of the observer aircraft and performs optimal Kalman filtering on the input data set to produce an estimate on target position based upon prior estimates and upon information contained in the data set while making estimates of the error magnitude of each measurement and compensating for these errors. The covariance matrix Q of the Kalman filter is adaptively vaired so as to optimize the estimate of the degree of correlation between various input values. | Nicholas C. Donnangelo (Leesburg, VA), John T. Abaunza (Warrenton, VA), John G. Aiken (Fairfax, VA) | Avion Systems, Inc. (Leesburgh, VA) | 1987-05-18 | 1990-03-20 | G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/78, G01S3/48, G01S3/14, G01S013/93 | 07/050716 |
| 1103 | 4906999 | Detection system for locating aircraft | A portable detection system, including a receiver tuned to the frequency of signals transmitted by an aircraft transponder, will detect the presence of an aircraft in proximity to the system. The system has signal processing circuitry to transform the received signals to indicate the altitude of the detected aircraft. A display or alarm may alert the user to the presence of an aircraft. The system is useful to determine whether an aircraft may be engaged in a speed detection and ticketing operation or the closeness of other aircraft. The aircraft detection system may be used in conjunction with a radar detection system to provide a means by which various methods of traffic control can be detected. | David G. Harrah (Stow, OH), David J. Kollar (Chesterland, OH) | --- | 1989-04-07 | 1990-03-06 | G01S13/00, G01S13/86, G01S7/02, H04K003/00 | 07/335033 |
| 1104 | 4902126 | Wire obstacle avoidance system for helicopters | An improved wire detection and avoidance system for helicopters is characterized by the use of a solid state laser transmitter which emits radiation in the near infrared wavelength region. Using either a beam dividing device or a plurality of laser diode arrays, separate laser beam lobes are generated which are passed through optical lenses for deflection in slightly different directions to define a field of coverage. A wire obstacle in the field of coverage intercepts one or more of the lobes and reflects return signals thereof to a receiver detector array. The return signals are compared with the transmitted laser lobes, with the difference therebetween being a function of the range between the obstacle and the helicopter. The range information is displayed to the pilot who then takes evasive action to avoid striking the obstacle. | Walter Koechner (Great Falls, VA) | Fibertek, Inc. (Herndon, VA) | 1988-02-09 | 1990-02-20 | G01S17/02, G01S17/06, G01S17/00, G01C003/08 | 07/154026 |
| 1105 | 4894659 | Radar altimeter systems | An aircraft microwave altimeter system has a threshold detector with two parallel channels that provide two sets of output signals at two different levels of sensitivity. The signals at the higher sensitivity are supplied to a display whereas those at the lower sensitivity are supplied to a navigation system. A comparator indicates a fault in the system if the two sets of output signals differ by more than a predetermined amount. | Frank P. Andrews (Easton, GB2) | Smiths Industries Public Limited Company (London, GB2) | 1988-10-04 | 1990-01-16 | G01S13/00, G01S13/10, G01S7/292, G01S7/285, G01S7/40, G01S7/34, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 07/253029 |
| 1106 | 4891648 | Aircraft radar arrangement | In an aircraft on-board radar arrangement including a search radar and a radar warning receiving system, an additional receiving branch is provided to which are fed foreign radar signals received by the sharply focused transmit/receive antenna of the search radar, with the output of the additional receiving branch being connected to the radar warning receiver. This results in a greater angular resolution and a considerable increase in range, which again leads to a more detailed and early detected of threatening situations. By using already available components and because of the simple configuration of the additional receiving branch, additional costs remain low. | Franz Jehle (Ulm, DE), Roland Drescher (Voehringen, DE) | Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh (Frankfurt, DE) | 1988-05-18 | 1990-01-02 | G01S13/00, G01S13/86, G01S7/02, G01S007/40 | 07/195324 |
| 1107 | 4876446 | Optical sensor with optical interconnection board | An optical sensor comprises a sensor circuit having parts which are optically interconnected with each other through an optical interconnection board interposed therebetween. The interconnection between the sensor circuit parts is thereby simplified remarkably, so that the mass-producibility of the sensor can be increased to lower its manufacturing costs. | Yoshiaki Kambe (Kadoma, JP), Yoshihiko Okuda (Kadoma, JP), Atsuyuki Hirono (Kadoma, JP), Akira Nagaoka (Kadoma, JP), Takayasu Ito (Kadoma, JP) | Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (Osaka, JP) | 1988-01-29 | 1989-10-24 | G01S17/46, G01D5/34, G01D5/26, G01S17/00, G01S7/481, G01V009/04, H01J005/16 | 07/150385 |
| 1108 | 4866448 | Signal processor for synthetic aperture radar, particularly for parallel computation | This invention concerns a synthetic aperture radar system within which focussing processing is achieved through the use of filter banks, based upon undersampling and polyphase networks. The focussing operation consists of the correlation of the datum with system response to a point scatterer. | Fabio Rocca (Milan, IT), Ciro Cafforio (Grottaglie-Taranto, IT), Claudio Prati (Milan, IT) | Selenia, Industrie Elettroniche Associate S.P.A. (Rome, IT) | 1986-12-22 | 1989-09-12 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S007/30 | 06/945338 |
| 1109 | 4853700 | Indicating system for warning airspace or threatening aircraft in aircraft collision avoidance system | The present invention relates to a indicating system for warning airspace or threatening aircraft in aircraft collision avoidance system which provides simply and inexpensively information required for safe cruising of aircraft with respect to range of warning airspace of aircraft, positions of other aircraft involving threatening of collision, and flight courses of proximate said other aircraft involving threatening of collision. The present system can provide simply and inexpensively information indispensable for safe cruising of aircraft with respect to range of warning airspace of aircraft, positions of other aircraft involving threatening of collision, and flight courses of proximate said other aircraft involving threatening of collision by such manner that the warning airspace is changed into a required shape in response to speed of a subject aircraft, and indication range for the threatening aircraft is changed in response to angle of climb or descent of the subject aircraft, besides detected data of distances and bearings with respect to the other aircraft are indicated by a prescribed afterglow time. | Chuhei Funatsu (Kanagawa, JP), Kazuyuki Kita (Tokyo, JP) | Toyo Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. (Samu Kawa, JP) | 1986-06-30 | 1985-10-17 | 1989-08-01 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S7/04, G01S7/06, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G01S003/02 |
| 1110 | 4853699 | Method for cancelling azimuth ambiguity in a SAR receiver | A method for cancelling azimuth, i.e., doppler ambiguity, in a SAR receiver on board a moving craft, e.g., an aircraft, which permits a lower PRF, without causing range ambiguity. Radar returns are received on board the craft with an antenna having first and second apertures to produce corresponding first and second return signals. The first return signal is processed over a given time period to generate a first series of component SAR signals representing radar returns from respective cells of an azimuth-range grid. The second return signal is processed over the given time period to generate a second series of component SAR signals representing radar returns from the respective cells of the azimuth-range grid. The component signals, individually weighted, are additively combined to produce a third series of resultant SAR signals representing the radar returns from the respective cells of the azimuty-range grid. The weighted additive combination of the component signals resolves azimuth ambiguity, even though the PRF is less than the minimum PRF prescribed by conventional wisdom. | James K. Easton (Marina del Rey, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1987-11-13 | 1989-08-01 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 07/119938 |
| 1111 | 4851852 | Decorrelation tolerant coherent radar altimeter | A pulsed coherent radar altimeter is described which employs a narrow band receiver and utilizes a novel digital coherent pulse generator. A coherent pulse radar transmits a pulse comprised of the sum of at least two phase related RF signals closely spaced in frequency. The phase shift due to platform motion and return surface irregularity of the return signal is approximately the same for each carrier. The receiver produces a signal representative of the difference of the two carriers which is substantially free of decorrelation effects, and which can be processed in a narrow band receiver to produce range information. | Merlin D. Bjorke (Minneapolis, MN), Baard H. Thue (Columbus Township, Anoka County, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1987-04-20 | 1989-07-25 | G01S13/10, G01S13/32, G01S13/00, G01S7/28, G01S13/88, G01S013/08 | 07/040436 |
| 1112 | 4851848 | Frequency agile synthetic aperture radar | A radar transmission, reception and signal processing system generates high esolution synthetic aperture radar ground maps from air or space platforms using waveforms in which frequency is changed pulse-to-pulse. The transmitted radar signal is comprised of a series N bursts with n pulses per burst wherein each of the pulses is a fixed frequency step, .DELTA.f, either above or below one or the other of the n pulses, i.e. the n pulses comprises an ordered set and further, preferably, wherein the set of n pulses is arranged in time as a random permutation of the ordered set. In each of the k sample gates for each burst the n complex samples of reflectivity are inverse Fourier transformed from frequency domain samples of reflectivity to synthetic range domain profiles to result in an array of aligned range profiles in each of k coarse range delay positions. Azimuth or cross-range processing is accomplished by convolving complex range data appearing in each synthetic range cell with a suitable azimuth reference to result in a set of complex numbers that represent complex reflectivity maps of the earth's surface in that coarse range bin. ''Zoom'' capability is achieved by discrete Fourier transforming the data in each synthetic range cell of the selected delay. ''Zoom'' is achieved by increasing the target dwell time and simultaneously increasing the radar signal bandwidth. In both the spotlight ''zoom'' mode and the SAR mode, the processed data is converted from complex numbers to absolute magnitudes before display. | Donald R. Wehner (San Diego, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1988-02-01 | 1989-07-25 | G01S13/90, G01S13/24, G01S13/00, G01S013/90, G01S007/42 | 07/151042 |
| 1113 | 4830485 | Coded aperture light detector for three dimensional camera | High speed readout is achieved in a triangulation ranger by a coded aperture light detector which provides a direct digital representation of a range or height position. A light spot reflected from the surface is optically spread into a line segment so it can be shared among a number of light detection channels. The line of light falls on a coded aperture in front of a segmented fiber optic bundle and the light transmitted by each channel is led to a separate photomultiplier or solid state detector. Every coded channel is constructed to give one bit of the digital address of the range position, and a reference light value is obtained from another channel. Background and secondary reflections may be filtered out by focusing light scattered from the surface to a spot and passing it through a slit aperture oriented in the plane of triangulation before being spread to a line segment. | Carl m. Penney (Schenectady, NY), Nelson R. Corby, Jr. (Scotia, NY) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1987-11-23 | 1989-05-16 | G01B11/02, G01S17/46, G01S7/481, G01S17/00, G01C003/00, G01C005/00 | 07/124239 |
| 1114 | 4818100 | Laser doppler and time of flight range measurement | A hybrid laser distance gauge utilizes complementary simultaneous measurements based upon both Doppler and time of flight principles. A complete record can be produced of the location and shape of a target object even when the object has severe discontinuities such as the edges of a turbine blade. Measurements by the two principles are made by using many optical elements in common. The Doppler measurements have an open loop optical/electronic arrangement in which the Doppler shift is converted to a voltage by a phase locked loop. The time of flight measurements are made at one or more harmonic frequencies of a mode locked pulse envelope wave train, for unusually accurate and unambiguous distance data. | Michael T. Breen (Garden City, MI) | Eaton Corporation (Cleveland, OH) | 1987-09-30 | 1989-04-04 | G01S17/87, G01S17/58, G01S17/08, G01S17/00, G01C003/08, G01P003/36, G01B011/26 | 07/103087 |
| 1115 | 4805015 | Airborne stereoscopic imaging system | The imaging system includes widely-spaced sensors on an airborne vehicle providing a base-line distance of from about five to about 65 meters between the sensors. The sensors view an object in adjacent air space at distances of from about 0.3 to 20 kilometers. The sensors may be video cameras or radar, sonar infrared or laser transponders. Two separate images of the object are viewed by the spaced sensors and signals representing each image are transmitted to a stereo display so that a pilot/observer in the aircraft has increased depth perception of the object. In effect the interpupillary distance of the human viewer is increased from the normal 5.9-7.5 cm to from about 5 to about 65 meters resulting in depth perception of objects at a distance of from about 0.3 km to 20 km or more. | J. William Copeland (Palo Alto, CA) | --- | 1986-09-04 | 1989-02-14 | G01S13/89, G01S13/00, H04N13/00, H04N013/00, H04N017/18 | 06/903615 |
| 1116 | 4801939 | High-speed data compressor/decompressor for synthetic aperture radar | Apparatus is provided for compressing unfocused synthetic aperture radar (SAR) phase history pixel data by coupling the complex inphase phase history data output from the SAR to a first converter/compressor which produces compressed scalar log amplitude data and scalar phase pixel data. The output from the first converter/compressor is applied to a series to parallel converting means for converting plural scaler pixel data into vector data representative of a plurality of pixels. The output of the series to parallel conversion means is coupled to a second converter/compressor for converting the plural scalar pixel data into compressed encoded data representative of a plurality of pixels of unfocused SAR phase history data which is transmitted as compressed unfocused phase history data. | Robert V. Jones (Bountiful, UT) | Unisys Corporation (Blue Bell, PA) | 1987-09-04 | 1989-01-31 | G01S13/90, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S007/38 | 07/093328 |
| 1117 | 4792904 | Computerized flight inspection system | A computerized flight inspection system is disclosed. The system of the present invention may be utilized to generate an accurate reference location with respect to an airport runway for an aircraft having an inertial navigation system. A selected geometric pattern having a highly unambiguous autocorrelation function is placed on at least one end of the runway. A video line scanning camera mounted to the aircraft is then utilized to scan the geometric pattern in a line generally perpendicular to the line of flight. The output of the video line scanning camera is then correlated with a stored reference pattern to generate a signal indicative of the detection of the geometric pattern on the runway. A laser altimeter is mounted to the aircraft and utilized to generate an accurate signal indicative of the aircraft altitude with respect to the runway pattern. The outputs of the correlation circuit and the laser altimeter are then utilized to correct data from the inertial navigation system. | Frederick G. Reinagel (Buffalo, NY), Allen B. Johnson (North Tonawana, NY) | Ltv Aerospace and Defense Company (Dallas, TX) | 1988-01-06 | 1988-12-20 | G01C23/00, G05D1/06, G05D1/00, G01S17/88, G01S17/00, G06F015/50 | 07/140875 |
| 1118 | 4780718 | Sar image encoding for data compression | A technique is disclosed for encoding SAR image data to achieve data compression. In the image encoding stage, the SAR image is transformed into a list of high reflectivity radar discretes and a small array of frequency filters. In the target list, the location data and intensity levels above the local average background clutter are tabulated for a predetermined number of the highest intensity radar discretes. The array of frequency filters is divided into three zones, the inner, middle, and higher frequency zones relative to the d.c. filter. Only the inner and middle zones of filters are retained and the outer filters are discarded, thus acheiving the desired data reduction. The inner zone filters are quantized to a higher level of precision than the middle zone of filters. The saturation levels of the filters are determined adaptively. In the decoding stage, the original SAR image is reconstructed from the radar discrete list and the small array of frequency filters. | Ralph E. Hudson (Los Angeles, CA), Yoji G. Niho (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) | Hughes Aircraft Company (Los Angeles, CA) | 1985-06-17 | 1988-10-25 | G01S13/90, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S013/89 | 06/745729 |
| 1119 | 4763861 | Microwave rendezvous system for aerial refueling | A microwave rendezvous system for use on a tanker aircraft for aerial refueling of a receiver aircraft. The tanker providing a larger rendezvous envelope in space between the tanker and receiver aircraft thereby requiring less tedious navigation and attention during a refueling operation. | Frank J. Newman (Wichita, KS) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 1987-03-05 | 1988-08-16 | B64D39/00, G01S1/00, G01S1/54, G01S13/00, G01S13/78, B64D039/00 | 07/022611 |
| 1120 | 4760396 | Apparatus and method for adjusting set clearance altitude in a terrain following radar system | An apparatus and method for adjusting set clearance altitude of an aircraft to control the aircraft to fly along a predetermined path relative to the terrain below. A terrain following radar system and a stored terrain elevation data base are used to determine the respective positions and elevations of selected portions of the terrain downrange from the aircraft. This information is used along with pre-stored information relating to the ability of a ground threat to detect the aircraft and the roughness of the terrain to compute three different altitudes. The first altitude (Ia) represents the maximum height at which the aircraft can fly without being detected by the ground threat. The second altitude (Da) represents the maximum desired altitude of the aircraft at any time during a flight. The third altitude (Ra) represents the minimum altitude at which the aircraft is allowed to fly. The set clearance altitude is determined for each of the selected positions on the terrain by first comparing Ia and Da and taking the lesser altitude as between the two. The lesser altitude is then compared with Ra and the greater of those two values is selected as the set clearance altitude. Set clearance altitude is one of the variables used to determine the desired vertical flight vector angle of the aircraft to control the aircraft to fly along a path corresponding to the respective set clearance altitudes above the terrain. | George M. Barney (Dallas, TX), Bryan A. Stickel (Garland, TX) | Merit Technology Incorporated (Plano, TX) | 1986-07-11 | 1988-07-26 | G01C21/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/00, G05D1/06, G05D1/00, G01S013/08 | 06/884388 |
| 1121 | 4758838 | Method of reconstructing images from synthetic aperture radar's data | A method of reconstructing original images from synthetic aperture radar image data, wherein in order to speed up the reconstruction of an original image from image data provided by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) , the process for generating a point image pattern in correspondence to each point on the original image and the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) process for the generated point image pattern and 1-line image data are carried out once for every certain number of lines. Positional and phase displacement created on a reconstructed image are corrected by multiplying a phase rotation factor to the product of the FFT-processed point image pattern and 1-line image data. | Akira Maeda (Machida, JP), Akira Tsuboi (Tokyo, JP), Fuminobu Komura (Yokohama, JP) | Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, JP) | 1985-08-19 | 1988-07-19 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/89 | 06/767046 |
| 1122 | 4755818 | Aircraft collision warning system | An aircraft collision warning system in which a low power pulsed laser sym projects narrow bandwidth radiation into 4.pi. steradians around an aircraft and a matched, narrow bandwidth receiver system, with a 4.pi. steradian field-of-view which detects such radiation emitted from another aircraft within range of the receiver and activates appropriate warning. | Raymond W. Conrad (Russellville, AL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1986-08-15 | 1988-07-05 | G01S7/481, G01S17/00, G01S17/93, G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G08G005/04 | 06/896788 |
| 1123 | 4739330 | Frequency modulation radio altimeter | A frequency modulation radio altimeter has a directional antenna which is connected to a transmission-reception switch controlled by a signal generator. The generator delivers periodic signals whose recurrence period is proportional to the delay time of the ground echo. The transmitter includes a radio frequency modulator modulated in frequency by a saw tooth signal whose recurrence period is proportional to the delay time of the ground echo. A homodyne receiver includes circuits for acquiring and tracking the ground echo signal, and supplies an output signal representative of the altitude and a control signal which is supplied to the inputs controlling the recurrence period of the transmission modulator and of the generator controlling the transmission-reception switch. | Michel Lazarus (Gif sur Yvette, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1985-06-19 | 1988-04-19 | G01S13/70, G01S13/00, G01S7/03, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S013/34 | 06/746328 |
| 1124 | 4737788 | Helicopter obstacle detector | A pulsed Doppler radar mounted adjacent to the tip of a helicopter rotor blade for sensing obstacles in the helicopter path. The rotor tip velocity shifts the frequency of radar echos so that, through pulsed Doppler radar techniques, the echos from obstacles can be separated from clutter. | Peter D. Kennedy (Mesa, AZ) | Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg, IL) | 1985-04-04 | 1988-04-12 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/50, G01S13/90, G01S013/93 | 06/719854 |
| 1125 | 4733239 | Radar altimeter | A Radar Altimeter signal presence circuit which provides improved useable system sensitivity for a given false track probability by providing an improved method for detecting the adequacy of the return signal. This return signal is composed of many small, rapidly changing reflections that vary between additive and substractive combination giving the net return the characteristic of noise. A non-linear detector is used to enhance the signal presence detectors sensitivity to weak but adequate returns while (1) reducing the ability of short periods of strong returns to cause a positive signal presence indication when the overall signal is inadequate, and (2) retaining a high sensitivity to periods of signal fades that produce measurement errors. This is accomplished by using a non-linear detector that reduces the effect of strong returns when the many small reflections tend to combine additively, and increases the effect of weak returns when the many small reflections tend to combine subtractively. | Jerry C. Schmitt (Spring Hill, KS) | --- | 1984-02-27 | 1988-03-22 | G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S013/34 | 06/583668 |
| 1126 | 4724418 | Synthetic aperture radar focusing | An extended depth-of-focus synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system (13) mounted on a moving platform, including a controller (120) , pulse timer (83) , synthesizer (105) and modulator (17) for varying the pulse rate interval (PRI) and/or the radar carrier frequency of radar pulses produced, in order to establish a radar return which, when conventionally processed, results in a SAR terrain map exhibiting extended depth-of-focus under conditions of platform acceleration. Depth of focus is established by ensuring the establishment of two or three separate, independently selected focal points in a target region of interest. | Frederik Weindling (Norwalk, CT) | United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, CT) | 1986-03-24 | 1988-02-09 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/89 | 06/842959 |
| 1127 | 4723124 | Extended SAR imaging capability for ship classification | Capability is provided using coherent synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques for substantially extending the useful range for producing 3 scaled high resolution orthogonal image projections on a CRT of a translating ship under the influence of rotational motions arising from sea state conditions, for the purpose of ship classification and weapon delivery from an airborne platform at long stand-off ranges. This advantage is brought about by determining image coordinates on the basis of range, doppler, and doppler rate measurements of individual scatterers and from ship angular rotational velocities derived from a weighted multivariate regression solution to doppler processed interferometric azimuth and elevation angle measurements of all significant ship target scatterers. In this manner, the image degradation suffered by plotting angular measurements directly, whose location accuracies are known to deteriorate rapidly with increased range due to high signal-to-noise requirements, is circumvented. | Sol Boles (Syosset, NY) | Grumman Aerospace Corporation (Bethpage, NY) | 1986-03-21 | 1988-02-02 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/842459 |
| 1128 | 4719606 | Process and device for passive detection of aircraft, namely helicopters | A process and device for passive detection of helicopters includes detection of helicopter noise and ambient noise by means of an electro-acoustic transducer, and outputting of an amplitude modulated signal therefrom, amplitude demodulation of the signal in the frequency band between 300 Hz and 3500 Hz, spectral analysis of the demodulated signal, and selection and registration of characteristic frequency lines reflective of the rotary units of the helicopter. The process and device permit passive detection of helicopters in the lower noise, higher frequency band, thereby also permitting utilization of smaller antenna arrays. | Michel B. Andrieu (Paris, FR) | Etat Francais (Paris, FR) | 1985-03-14 | 1988-01-12 | G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S7/534, G01V1/00, H04B001/06 | 06/741301 |
| 1129 | 4719463 | Microwave receiver making deviation measurements more especially in combination with a secondary airborne radar and a secondary radar containing it | A microwave deviation measurement receiver particularly applicable to airborne secondary radars making deviation measurements with two logarithmic amplifiers which increase the reliability of deviation measurements for targets close to the direction of aim of the radar. A programmable phase shifter preferably is controlled to compensate for aircraft movements by shifting the phase of the sum or control signal. | Maurice Chabah (Paris, FR) | Thomson Csf (Paris, FR) | 1980-04-01 | 1988-01-12 | G01S13/44, G01S13/00, G01S013/87, G01S013/44 | 06/132662 |
| 1130 | 4714928 | Radar altimeter static accuracy circuit | A Radar Altimeter static accuracy circuit which provides improved system accuracy when the altimeter platform is stationary over the ground. Most often this stationary condition occurs in helicopters while hovering at low altitudes but also occurs, for example, in altimeters used to measure the level of grain in elevators. The altimeters output, a voltage proportional to altitude, is used to control a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) , the output of which is summed into the receiver intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier output to fill in the return signal fades. These fades otherwise cause altitude processor errors leading to erroneous altitude measurements. The VCO is adjusted to produce an output frequency equal to the IF amplifier output frequency. | Jerry C. Schmitt (Spring Hill, KS) | --- | 1986-03-03 | 1987-12-22 | G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S007/40 | 06/835634 |
| 1131 | 4713669 | Binaural doppler collision alert system for general aviation aircraft | An aircraft collision avoidance system is disclosed which presents target or threat information to a pilot using a pair of doppler radar transceiver systems directed orthogonally about and centered on the user aircraft's pitch plane to produce binaural audio tones that by their amplitude, frequency and phase difference allow the user pilot to visualize the location and closing rate of a potential target or threat, aurally, while maintaining an effective visual traffic scan. | Howard P. Shuch (San Jose, CA) | --- | 1986-07-23 | 1987-12-15 | G01S13/93, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S003/02 | 06/888759 |
| 1132 | 4710774 | Aircraft collision avoidance system | A communication system particularly adapted for use in an aircraft collision avoidance system wherein the transmitted portions of messages exchanged between aircraft consist of pulses or pairs of pulses at the beginning and end of a message. The data or information content of a message is defined by the time duration between start and end pulses, an interval during which the sender's transmitter is off. Thus the media is clear for other aircraft to use during the major portion of any message, thereby greatly increasing the number of aircraft which can be accommodated by the system without overloading the communication medium. The system provides for determining the presence of other aircraft in the near vicinity which may be a collision threat and for sending intent messages to threat aircraft to assist in collision avoidance. | Edmond R. Gunny (Los Angeles, CA) | --- | 1986-02-18 | 1987-12-01 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/76, G01S003/02 | 06/830629 |
| 1133 | 4706089 | Synthetic aperture radar focusing | An extended depth-of-focus synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system (13) mounted on a moving platform, including a controller (120) , pulse timer (83) , synthesizer (105) and modulator (17) for varying the pulse rate interval (PRI) and/or the radar carrier frequency of radar pulses produced, in order to establish a radar return which, when conventionally processed, results in a SAR terrain map exhibiting extended depth-of-focus under conditions of platform acceleration. Depth of focus is established by ensuring the establishment of two or three separate, independently selected focal points in a target region of interest. | Frederik Weindling (Norwalk, CT) | United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, CT) | 1986-03-24 | 1987-11-10 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/842951 |
| 1134 | 4706088 | Synthetic aperture radar focusing | An extended depth-of-focus synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system (13) mounted on a moving platform, including a controller (120) , pulse timer (83) , synthesizer (105) and modulator (17) for varying the pulse rate interval (PRI) and/or the radar carrier frequency of radar pulses produced, in order to establish a radar return which, when conventionally processed, results in a SAR terrain map exhibiting extended depth-of-focus under conditions of platform acceleration. Depth of focus is established by ensuring the establishment of two or three separate, independently selected focal points in a target region of interest. | Frederik Weindling (Norwalk, CT) | United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, CT) | 1986-03-24 | 1987-11-10 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/842961 |
| 1135 | 4695842 | Aircraft radar arrangement | For an aircraft radar arrangement, particularly helicopters, a first frequency is provided at a maximum of atmospheric attenuation and a second frequency near the first frequency in a region of less atmospheric attenuation, preferably at 60 GHz and 50 GHz. The first frequency serves to provide obstacle warnings, the second to provide for moving target detection and navigation. The mm wave components of the arrangement can substantially be used for both frequencies so that significant savings in weight, space and costs result. | Franz Jehle (Ulm, DE), Holger Meinel (Ulm, DE) | Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh (Frankfurt am Main, DE) | 1985-07-30 | 1984-10-16 | 1987-09-22 | G01S13/522, G01S13/93, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S013/87 |
| 1136 | 4687281 | Synthetic aperture laser radar | A synthetic aperture laser radar outputs a dual beam that overlaps at a distant object to form a moving fringe pattern. The object reflects back a return beam to the radar where a receiver makes a holographic image of the object on a photographic medium. The moving fringe pattern effectively increases the beam size that would be necessary if a stationary fringe pattern were used when the object moves across the pattern. | Richard A. Gross (Reseda, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1985-05-22 | 1987-08-18 | G01S17/89, G01S17/00, G03H1/08, G03H001/08, G01B009/021 | 06/736898 |
| 1137 | 4680587 | Instrument landing system | In a single-frequency precision guidance landing system, the use of a DME interrogator in the aircraft and a DME receiver at the ground installation, each tuned to the same DME channel frequency, to uniquely interrogate a selected ground station and hence identify it by virtue of its replies being synchronous in the aircraft with the interrogations, the interrogations and the replies also being used to obtain range to the ground installation. This technique uses airborne already-installed DME interrogators for selective interrogation of a desired landing installation, thereby to eliminate any need to add additional special purpose equipment to the aircraft to accomplish the desired uniqueness of interrogation and ground installation identification achieved by this invention. | John P. Chisholm (Olympic Valley, CA) | Sundstrand Data Control, Inc. (Redmond, WA) | 1985-08-14 | 1987-07-14 | G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S013/86 | 06/765490 |
| 1138 | 4679047 | Terminal-guidance or position-adjustment system for aircraft using distance and angle measurements | An aircraft is equipped with a system of the FM-CW type including an on-board radio altimeter which cooperates with a transponder/beacon located at A. The radio altimeter is adapted for the measurement, alternately with the measurement of the altitude H, of the distance D in relation to point A, and of the angle .beta. in relation to a horizontal axis (46) linked to the transponder. The radio altimeter includes two aerials and a supplementary processing chain for the measurement of angle .beta.. The transponder is equipped with a base with two receiving/transmitting aerials (25, 27) , switched alternately to sequentially operated circuitry in the transponder. Furthermore, the exact position of the aircraft within the vicinity of point A is determined by at least two measurements of distance D and of the angle .beta. in relation to the aerial base of the transponder. | Jean-Pierre Tomasi (Les Molieres, FR) | U.S. Philips Corporation (New York, NY) | 1985-05-23 | 1987-07-07 | G01C21/10, G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01C21/16, G01S5/14, G01S013/87 | 06/737012 |
| 1139 | 4668954 | Aircraft position determining system | An aircraft position determining system including an on-board radio altimeter which cooperates with a ground based transponder/beacon located at a position A. The radio altimeter is adapted as a distance meter and comprises means (9, 14, 15, 16) for shifting the frequency of the local oscillation signal. The system has a range sufficient to enable it to operate in a second predetermined volume defined with respect to the position A which includes a first volume defined by the lateral distance accuracy (d) and vertical distance accuracy (h) of the position determined by an independent on-board guidance device. The exact position of the aircraft when close to A is determined by at least two successive measurements of distance from to the position A. | Jean-Pierre Tomasi (Les Molieres, FR) | U.S. Philips Corporation (New York, NY) | 1985-05-23 | 1987-05-26 | G01C21/10, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01C21/16, G01S5/14, G01S001/24 | 06/737017 |
| 1140 | 4667196 | Active visual display system for remote three-axis flight path guidance of landing aircraft | An active, electro-optical display system for use on fixed-wing, land-based airport runways, is disclosed for remotely guiding a pilot during visual approach and landing of an aircraft. Conventional Microwave Landing System (MLS) ground-transmitted data is air-derived on board the aircraft and data-linked to a ground receiver to produce a continuous digital data signal indicative of aircraft slant range, elevation and azimuth relative to the desired landing position. The resulting data signal is electrically coupled to a signal processor governed in accordance with control guidance laws to produce three discrete signals indicative of the magnitude and direction of the descent rate error, the flight path acceleration, and the lateral drift rate of the aircraft relative to the intended landing area. The three control signals are respectively coupled to display drivers which produce a plurality of drive signals for energizing individual light cells in horizontally oriented linear arrays located adjacent to the runway. The resulting light signals provide a continuous visual indication of the flight path acceleration and flight path angular error, in the elevation and azimuth planes, for appropriate corrective action by the pilot. | Charles E. Kaul (Springfield, VA) | --- | 1984-06-13 | 1987-05-19 | B64F1/20, B64D45/00, B64F1/00, B64D45/08, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/78, B64D045/08, B64F001/18 | 06/620088 |
| 1141 | 4653000 | Image signal-processing system based on synthetic aperture technique | In an ultrasonic computed tomography system including an image signal-processing apparatus for reconstructing an image signal of an object on the basis of a synthetic aperture technique, a probe includes a transducer unit. The transducer unit emits an ultrasonic beam to the object and detects the corresponding echo wave. Hologram data is produced in response to the echo wave and then digitized to have a predetermined number of bits by A/D converters. The digital hologram data is temporarily stored in buffer memories and read out under the control of a computer unit. The computer unit has a ROM assembled therein to prestore digital kernel function data, the number of whose bits is smaller than that of the digital hologram signals. The computer unit executes a convolution on the digital hologram data and the kernel function data, thus increasing the speed of a computation needed for image reconstruction. | Kenzo Matsumoto (Tokyo, JP) | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Kawasaki, JP) | 1984-08-31 | 1987-03-24 | A61B8/14, G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G06F015/42, G06G007/60 | 06/646156 |
| 1142 | 4647761 | Airborne system for the electrooptical detection, location and omnidirectional tracking of a target | An airborne system for the electrooptical detection, location and omnidirectional tracking of a target has an input objective lens carried by a universal joint, whereof one frame is rotated circularly in azimuth and the second frame moves the optic in elevation. An image offsetting optical section integral with the universal joint maintains the image centering through the detection plane, the detector being fixed. The image offsetting optical section is catadioptric and has an input mirror integral with the objective lens, and an output mirror integral with the first frame and which reflects the radiation along the circular rotation axis. The input objective lens focuses the radiation in an image plane located on the optical path between two mirrors, and a second optical objective lens, re-forms the field image in the detection plane. | Yves Cojan (Paris, FR), Robert Pressiat (Paris, FR) | Thomson Csf (Paris, FR) | 1985-06-06 | 1987-03-03 | F41G3/06, F41G3/22, F41G3/00, F41G7/20, G01S17/02, F41G7/22, G01S3/78, G01S3/786, G01S17/00, G06F015/50 | 06/741799 |
| 1143 | 4646091 | Airborne set for a two-way distance-ranging system | In the standard DME system, an airborne station having transmitted a pair of interrogation pulses receives a plurality of pairs of space-coded reply pulses from which the pulse pairs intended for the airborne station are selected by a decoder (DK) and a correlator (KR) . The invention uses the first pulse of the selected pulse pair for the distance measurement. A measuring counter (MZ) is provided whose count is transferred to a register file (SR) at the reception of every pulse. A reply signal intended for the airborne station stops the write operation, it being insured that the counts based on the two pulses of the reply signal intended for the airborne station are contained in the register file (SR) . Starting from the last count based on the second pulse, an evaluating circuit calculates back to the first pulse, taking account of the decoded pulse spacing. | Hermann-Josef Behrens (Leonberg, DE) | International Standard Electric Corporation (New York, NY) | 1984-10-25 | 1987-02-24 | G01S13/00, G01S13/78, G01S013/76 | 06/664667 |
| 1144 | 4645917 | Swept aperture flying spot profiler | A flying spot system uses a laser beam scanned in X and Y directions to provide surface profile information. The beam is applied to a surface under test and the time interval between the beginning of the sweep and the appearance of the beam image through an aperture is determined. This time interval is indicative of the beam angle which, through optical triangulation, is used to determine the surface height. A scan-descan arrangement and a plate with a small aperture are used to isolate a light detector from background light. | Carl M. Penney (Schenectady, NY), Robert N. Roy (Altamonte Springs, FL), Bradley S. Thomas (Altamonte Springs, FL) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1985-05-31 | 1987-02-24 | G01B11/24, G01S17/46, G01S17/00, G01B11/00, G01B011/00, G01C003/20 | 06/739632 |
| 1145 | 4638315 | Rotor tip synthetic aperture radar | A rotor tip synthetic aperture radar is described including a rotor operable to rotate, a radar receiver positioned in the rotor and for relaying received signals to a second position such as the cab of a helicopter. A radar transmitter and receiver located within the second location for transmitting radar signals towards a target and for receiving target reflected signals relayed from the rotor tip. The doppler frequency shift imposed on the relayed target reflected signals is cancelled by generating a pilot signal at a predetermined frequency and transmitting the pilot signal to the rotor tip which has a receiver for receiving the pilot signal and for relaying the pilot signal back to the second location and frequency multipliers and mixers for generating a first order doppler frequency shift signal appropriately scaled to cancel the doppler frequency shift signal of the target reflected signals when the two are subtracted in a mixer. | Robert S. Raven (Catonsville, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1984-06-20 | 1987-01-20 | G01S13/90, G01S7/00, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/622516 |
| 1146 | 4611208 | Means for aligning elevation beam pattern along an isodop in synthetic aperture mapping radar | Using an electronically scanned phased array antenna, a technique is developed for aligning a broad elevation beam along an isodop for use in synthetic aperture mapping. A beam steering controller algorithm for practical implementation of the technique is described. Implementation is realized by means of a beam steering controller and the radar computer. The controller first finds the space stabilized row and column for a given phase shifter. A look-up table furnished by the radar controller provides a slope correction as a function of row. The slope is multiplied by the element column to give the correct linear phase function. This term is then subtracted from the term used to point the beam peak. | Jerry A. Kane (Crofton, MD), Winthrop W. Smith, Jr. (Maitland, FL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1983-10-04 | 1986-09-09 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/538872 |
| 1147 | 4594676 | Aircraft groundspeed measurement system and technique | A system and technique is disclosed which enables the measurement and display of aircraft groundspeed using a modified FMCW radar altimeter. The system is constructed to have a conventional FMCW altimeter transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving vertical return signals, and a narrowbeam forward-looking antenna and associated receiver for detecting return signals from the forward angle. The transmitted signal is triangularly modulated to produce returns on both the upsweep and downsweep of the modulation and the difference between the frequencies of those returns, as detected by the forward looking antenna, is proportional to aircraft slant velocity. The system also detects slant range and altitude and combines them with slant velocity to produce an output representing the aircraft groundspeed. | Arlen E. Breiholz (Marion, IA), Robert H. Pool (Marion, IA), Glenn W. Sellers (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1982-12-27 | 1986-06-10 | G01S13/60, G01S13/00, G01S13/58, G01S013/58 | 06/453676 |
| 1148 | 4586135 | Image signal-processing system based on synthetic aperture technique | An apparatus for reconstructing an image signal of a foreground subject wherein a probe having a plurality of transducers for scanning a foreground subject by radiation, such as an ultrasonic beam, is connected to a phase detector through a receiver. An electrical signal corresponding to a wave reflected from the foreground subject is phase-detected by a phase detector. At least one resultant hologram signal is subjected to the A/D conversion to be stored in a buffer memory. A processing unit causes the hologram signal to be read out of the buffer memory, carries out the convolution integration of the hologram signal and the corresponding kernel function data by the synthetic aperture technique, thereby producing a reconstructed image signal. The processing unit further carries out the nonlinear compression of the amplitude of the hologram signal before the convolution integration and performs the nonlinear expansion of the amplitude of an image signal after the convolution integration. | Kenzo Matsumoto (Tokyo, JP) | Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Kawasaki, JP) | 1983-11-15 | 1986-04-29 | G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G06F015/58, G06G007/60, G01N029/00 | 06/551934 |
| 1149 | 4576346 | Seeker head for a target seeking missile | In a seeker head for a target seeking missile, which comprises a seeker 28 adapted to be directed to a target, two distance sensors 32 and 34 in the form of laser transceiver units are adapted to be directed to the target together with the seeker 28. The arrangement of the distance sensors 32 and 34 on opposite sides of the pitch axis 26 ensures that, with large squint angles, at most one of the distance sensors 32 and 34 is covered. | Roland Gauggel (Salem-Grasbeuren, DE), Reiner Eckhardt (uberlingen, DE) | Bodenseewerk Geratetechnic Gmbh (Uberlingen, DE) | 1984-05-09 | 1986-03-18 | F41G7/22, F41G7/20, G01S17/02, G01S17/00, F41G007/22 | 06/608383 |
| 1150 | 4576045 | Wide aperture ultrasonic scanner employing convex transducer array | Disclosed is a wide aperture ultrasonic scanner which requires no moving parts. A convex array of transducer sub-elements is provided. Groups of sequential sub-elements form a transmission/reception element, and groups of transmission/reception elements are activated to form a vector. A plurality of vectors are defined by selectively removing and adding sequential sub-elements forming each element. | Stockton M. Miller-Jones (Rancho Cordova, CA) | General Electric Company (Milwaukee, WI) | 1983-12-29 | 1986-03-18 | G01S15/00, G01N29/26, G01S15/89, G10K11/34, G10K11/00, G01N029/04 | 06/566865 |
| 1151 | 4568938 | Radar altimeter nearest return tracking | An FMCW distance measuring device is disclosed which enables increased accuracy by detecting the nearest return. A portion of the transmitted wave in an FMCW altimeter is mixed with the received signal indicating distance to ground to produce a beat frequency between the transmitted wave and the received wave. The beat frequency is a spectrum of frequencies, the lowest of which indicates the nearest return in a target area. The beat frequency spectrum is coupled for sampling by an analog-to-digital converter and then coupled to an apparatus for performing a Fast Fourier Transform to isolate the nearest return. In an altimeter, the Fast Fourier Transform of the return spectrum enables the FMCW radar to have an accuracy approaching that of pulsed radars without the associated disadvantages. | Thomas A. Ubriaco (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1981-12-14 | 1986-02-04 | G01S13/34, G01S13/00, G01S13/88, G01S013/32 | 06/330735 |
| 1152 | 4541279 | Method of determining the time-of-flight of an ultrasonic pulse | For the correction of the time-of-flight of an ultrasonic signal, the measurement signal (s) produced by an ultrasonic transducer (3) is digitized, stored and compared with a reference signal (s*) . The comparison is performed by way of different relative shifts between the measurement signal and the reference signal. The value of the shift where both signals correspond best is used for the correction. | Hermann Schomberg (Hamburg, DE) | U.S. Philips Corporation (New York, NY) | 1983-11-14 | 1985-09-17 | A61B8/08, G01H5/00, G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G01S7/52, G01N029/00 | 06/551613 |
| 1153 | 4538152 | Surveillance radar system which is protected from anti-radar missiles | A surveillance radar system comprising an omni-directional transmitter and a number of radar receivers located at different geographic locations from the transmitter which are capable of resolving the angular location of targets by using antenna lobe multiples over the range to be monitored so that anti-range missiles cannot destroy the receivers since their locations will be unknown. The transmitter transmits on a continuous basis rather than on pulsed basis to reduce the probability of location by anti-radar missiles. | Wulf D. Wirth (Rheinbach, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Berlin & Munich, DE) | 1980-01-18 | 1985-08-27 | G01S13/536, G01S13/32, G01S13/00, G01S7/35, G01S7/02, G01S13/48, G01S013/00, G01S007/36 | 06/113175 |
| 1154 | 4536763 | On-board orientation device for aircraft | A pulse radar device which can sweep in the azimuth direction with a two element direction finding antenna (1, 2) having a fan pattern and wherein the path differences and Doppler frequencies are ranged selective to determine at each azimuth from the echo signals received a mean aspect angle (.epsilon.) and the azimuth maximum Doppler frequency which can be calculated therefrom. The mean aspect angles (.epsilon.) are determined according to the values of the measured Doppler frequencies with the equation .epsilon.=arc cos (f.sub.d /f.sub.dmax.alpha.) . In this angle determination, smaller aspect angles are determined according to the measurement of the range selective determined path differences. Subsequently, an image point vertical deflection which is proportional to the aspect angle is utilized for perspective terrain display. The invention can be employed with pulsed radar devices on-board aircraft L for terrain display and for obtaining navigation data. | Klaus von Pieverling (Wolfratshausen, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Berlin and Munich, DE) | 1981-11-09 | 1985-08-20 | G01S13/94, G01S13/60, G01S13/00, G01S013/60 | 06/319705 |
| 1155 | 4523196 | Test equipment for a synthetic aperture radar system | The test equipment for a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system is provided with an input and output connector (6) and is composed of a signal loop (3) arranged between the input and output connector (6) and electromagnetically reproduces these pulses or signals (4) emitted from a SAR system (2) in the absence of a SAR antenna (18) . The input connector (6) is electrically connected with a circulator (5) which is integrated into the signal loop (3) and which combines the incoming and outgoing pulses or signals (4) to and from the SAR system (2) . The signal loop (3) is composed of a forward branch (7) and a backward branch (10) , the forward branch (7) being composed of a multitap time-delay and reproducing different travel times of the pulses or signals (4) , while the backward branch (10) in the form of a bus (9) combines the delayed pulses or signals (4) . The ends of the forward and backward branches (7 and 10) are terminated by their wave impedances (11, 12) and between them is arranged a crossbar matrix (13) onto which can be set the point target modules (14) . | Wolfgang Gieraths (Friedrichshafen, DE) | Dornier System Gmbh (Friedrichshafen, DE) | 1982-02-16 | 1985-06-11 | G01S7/40, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S007/40 | 06/348687 |
| 1156 | 4516125 | Method and apparatus for monitoring vehicle ground movement in the vicinity of an airport | The invention provides an apparatus for processing radar returned video signals in the vicinity of an airport including at least one runway and at least one vehicle roadway intersecting the runway, in order to assist air traffic controllers in detecting potential hazardous situations. Radar returns from each of plural geographic monitored locations are compared with a simulated return for each corresponding location to detect a moving object at any of said geographic monitored locations. The presence of a moving object at one of such locations may be indicative of a hazardous situation, and in that event, the air traffic control operator may be warned by an alarm or the like. | Carl E. Schwab (Huntington Station, NY), David P. Rost (Malverne, NY), William Hackenberg (Farmingdale, NY), Paul Holcombe (Huntington, NY) | General Signal Corporation (Stamford, CT) | 1982-09-20 | 1985-05-07 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/52, G01S013/52 | 06/419886 |
| 1157 | 4509049 | FMCW system for providing search-while-track functions and altitude rate determination | An FMCW distance measuring system is disclosed which provides a search and track function for enabling searching for nearer returns during altitude tracking, and for more accurately determining altitude rate. A portion of the transmitted wave in an FMCW altimeter is mixed with the received signal indicating distance to target to produce a beat frequency between the transmitted wave and the received wave. The transmitted wave is triangularly modulated to produce separate upsweep and downsweep modulations which are maintained to produce a constant beat frequency from the return signal. The up and downsweep of the triangular modulation are independently operable so that tracking may be maintained on either or both of the sweeps or one sweep may track while the other sweep is searching for a nearer return. By comparing the difference in the modulation slopes during the up and downsweep, a reading can be provided which is indicative of the rate of change in altitude. The operation thus allows altitude searching during nearest return tracking along with a combined instantaneous reading of altitude rate without additional circuitry. | Richard S. Haendel (Iowa City, IA), John C. Wauer (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1982-07-26 | 1985-04-02 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/72, G01S013/32 | 06/401801 |
| 1158 | 4509048 | Method and apparatus for .DELTA.K synthetic aperture radar measurement of ocean current | A synthetic aperture radar (10) is employed for .DELTA.k measurement of ocean current from a spacecraft (11) without the need for a narrow beam and long observation times. The SAR signal is compressed (12) to provide image data for different sections of the chirp bandwidth, equivalent to frequencies f.sub.1 (t.sub.a,t) , f.sub.2 (t.sub.a,t) . . . f.sub.n (t.sub.a,t) , and a common area for the separate image fields is selected (14) . The image for the selected area at each frequency is deconvolved (16) to obtain the image signals for the different frequencies (f.sub.1, f.sub.2 . . . f.sub.n) and the same area. A product of pairs of signals is formed (18, 20) , Fourier transformed (22) and squared (24) . The spectrum thus obtained from different areas for the same pair of frequencies f.sub.jk, f.sub.j+n,k are added (26) to provide an improved signal to noise ratio. The shift of the peak from the center of the spectrum is measured and compared (28) to the expected shift due to the phase velocity of the Bragg scattering wave. Any difference is a measure of current velocity v.sub.c (.DELTA.k) . | Atul Jain (La Canada, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The (Washington, DC) | 1982-03-18 | 1985-04-02 | G01S13/00, G01S13/95, G01S13/90, G01S013/90 | 06/359382 |
| 1159 | 4507658 | Narrow beam radar installation for turbine monitoring | A millimeter wave radar mounted on a turbine installation for monitoring turbine blade vibration. The waveguide conducts signals from a millimeter wave radar unit outside of the turbine and directs the signal to the rotating blades and directs the reflected signals therefrom back to the radar unit. A sealing arrangement is provided where the waveguide passes through the turbine's outer casing and the waveguide itself within the turbine is positioned within a waveguide support member which extends from the aperture in the turbine casing to a point in the vicinity of the turbine blades where it is immovably supported. The waveguide additionally has an internal sealing arrangement transparent to the radar signals for maintaining pressure integrity. | John E. Keating (Upper Derby, PA) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1982-07-30 | 1985-03-26 | G01S13/88, G01H1/00, G01S13/00, H01P3/00, H01P3/12, H01P1/00, G01S013/08, G01H003/04 | 06/403432 |
| 1160 | 4503401 | Wideband phase locked loop tracking oscillator for radio altimeter | A wideband phase locked loop oscillator (PLLO) for tracking the frequency of an altitude signal in an FM/CW type radio altimeter. The phase locked loop oscillator conventionally includes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) , a phase comparator for comparing the phase of the altitude signal to be tracked with the phase of the VCO output and an error signal amplifier for applying the output of the phase comparator as control voltage to the VCO. The frequency range of the PLLO is extended by changing the natural frequency of the VCO in steps spanning the useful frequency range of the altitude signal. Selection of the proper value of VCO natural frequency is effected through microprocessor directed digital control. | Constantinos S. Kyriakos (Deerfield Beach, FL), Dean S. Maurer (Lighthouse Pt., FL), Louis J. Millio (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) | Allied Corporation (Morristown, NJ) | 1982-08-04 | 1985-03-05 | G01S13/00, G01S13/32, H03L007/08, H03L007/10, G01S013/08, H03B023/00 | 06/404946 |
| 1161 | 4490719 | Polarization controlled map matcher missile guidance system | A reference grid for a map matching missile guidance system is generated from a vertically polarized radar map and a horizontally polarized radar map, both of which represent radar returns from a preselected ground area. In generating this reference grid, illuminating radar pulses are alternately fed to a horizontal aperture and vertical aperture of a mapping radar. Horizontal radar returns and vertical radar returns are processed in separate channels to form a radar map of the ground area containing the target to which the missile is to be directed. A pixel-by-pixel comparison of the data in each map is performed to create a polarization diverse map which is essentially those returns from man-made objects. This map is then used by the missile guidance system as a reference grid for a final fix by which the missile obtains its final course orientation enroute to the target. | Leo Botwin (Westport, CT), Lester H. Kosowsky (Stamford, CT) | United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, CT) | 1981-11-27 | 1984-12-25 | F41G7/20, F41G7/22, G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G01S013/06, F41G007/20 | 06/325520 |
| 1162 | 4481822 | Synthetic aperture ultrasonic testing apparatus with shear and longitudinal wave modes | An ultrasonic synthetic aperture testing apparatus comprises transmitting/receiving sections having an ultrasonic wave probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at multiple points on the surface of a steel material, an operation section for accumulating the received signals corresponding to the distance between the multiple points and a reproduction point in a desired region of the material under testing, and a display section for displaying an image formed as a result of this accumulation operation. The ultrasonic wave probe is provided with vibrators corresponding to the respective vibration modes so that two kinds of ultrasonic waves in different vibration modes may be transmitted and received. The accumulation section is provided with a mechanism which performs accumulation and arithmetic operation for the two kinds of waves in different modes. | Jun Kubota (Hitachi, JP), Junichi Ishii (Hitachi, JP), Soji Sasaki (Hitachi, JP) | Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, JP) | 1982-10-18 | 1984-11-13 | G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G01N029/00 | 06/434879 |
| 1163 | 4471357 | Pipelined digital SAR azimuth correlator using hybrid FFT/transversal filter | A synthetic aperture radar system (SAR) having a range correlator (10) is provided with a hybrid azimuth correlator (12) for correlation utilizing a block-pipelined Fast Fourier Transform (12a) having a predetermined FFT transform size with delay elements (Z) for so delaying SAR range correlated data as to embed in the Fourier transform operation a corner-turning function as the range correlated SAR data is converted from the time domain to a frequency domain. A transversal filter (12b) connected to receive the SAR data in the frequency domain, and from a generator (14b) a range migration compensation function, D, to a programmable shift register (30) for accurate range migration compensation, weights, W.sub.i, to multipliers (35-38) for interpolation, and an azimuth reference function, .phi..sub.j, in the frequency domain to a multiplier 42 for correlation of the SAR data. Following the transversal filter is a block-pipelined inverse FFT (12c) used to restore azimuth correlated data in the frequency domain to the time domain for imaging. The FFT transform size is selected to accommodate the different SAR azimuth aperture lengths, number of looks and prefiltering requirements. | Chialin Wu (Pasadena, CA), Kuang Y. Liu (Los Angeles, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The (Washington, DC) | 1981-10-26 | 1984-09-11 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S009/00 | 06/314928 |
| 1164 | 4468638 | Linear sweep frequency modulator for FM/CW radio altimeter | A linear sweep frequency modulator for a varactor tuned transistor microwave oscillator used in an FM/CW radio altimeter where the oscillator-frequency v. varactor bias characteristic is non-linear. A linear triangular wave is converted by means of a function generator to the non-linear wave required for varactor bias to cause linear frequency modulation of the oscillator. Linearity of modulation is tested by measuring variations in the period of a calibration signal derived from a delay line. Variations in the period of the calibration signal are measured by determining the difference between the average and the instantaneous calibration period and sampling the difference during each cycle of the triangular wave, once during the upswing thereof when the oscillator is at low frequency and once during the down swing thereof when the oscillator is at high frequency and separately integrating the up swing and down swing samples. By applying both results of integration to the function generator it thereby has its biases controlling the low frequency and the high frequency operation of the oscillator separately adjusted. | Constantinos S. Kyriakos (Deerfield Beach, FL) | The Bendix Corporation (Southfield, MI) | 1982-02-11 | 1984-08-28 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, H03C3/00, H03C3/08, G01S13/88, H03B023/00 | 06/347839 |
| 1165 | 4456911 | Frequency modulated continuous wave altimeter | A frequency modulated continuous wave altimeter and method of detecting the presence of an object in a predetermined area. The altimeter is generally comprised of an antenna for receiving and radiating microwave energy, a transmitter for generating frequency modulated microwave energy, a mixer for generating a sinusoidal resulting signal from the communication of transmitted and reflected microwave energy, and a receiver for processing the resulting signal and generating an output signal indicative of distance. The transmitter includes a Gunn diode for generating a carrier signal, modulating means for varying the frequency of the carrier signal, and a high frequency oscillator for impressing a tone on the modulating means. The receiver includes multiple staged amplifiers tuned to the frequency of the tone for selectively amplifying the resulting signal, a detector for generating a signal responsive to the inflection points on the sinusoidal resulting signal, and a counter for generating an output indicative of distance from the number of inflection points detected. | C. F. Augustine (Ann Arbor, MI) | Microwave Sensors, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI) | 1980-10-20 | 1984-06-26 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/04, G01S13/88, G01S013/04 | 06/198600 |
| 1166 | 4454510 | Discrete address beacon, navigation and landing system (DABNLS) | An aircraft surveillance, navigation, landing, guidance and collision avoidance system is provided which takes the form of a two-way data communication link between each of a plurality of controlled aircraft and a ground station, and appropriate measuring equipment at the ground station which provides three-dimensional position data on the ground for air traffic control purposes, and which also provides three-dimensional position data in the aircraft for navigation, landing guidance and collision avoidance purposes, as well as a two-way air/ground data link for miscellaneous data and control purposes. The system of the invention comprises the combination of a ground transmitter/receiver station and airborne transponders mounted in the aircraft. The ground transmitter broadcasts discrete aircraft addressed interrogation pulses which are coded to contain position and/or other data. The transponders in all aircraft receive and decode the interrogation pulses, and the discretely addressed aircraft transmits appropriately timed reply pulses to the ground receiver which contain altitude and other data. Other aircraft utilize the received position information for collision avoidance purposes. The ground receiver measures the incident angles of the reply signal pulses and their precise time delays with respect to the interrogation pulses, so as to provide aircraft position and other data to the ground station, and to provide additional data for transmission to the aircraft on the following interrogation pulses. | Robert P. Crow (Los Angeles, CA) | --- | 1981-03-23 | 1984-06-12 | G01S13/79, G01S13/00, G09B9/00, G01S013/00 | 06/246174 |
| 1167 | 4435708 | Means for eliminating step error in FM/CW radio altimeters | A radio altimeter of the FM/CW type which is linearly frequency modulated by a triangular wave exhibits step error in the output indication at times near the peaks of the modulating wave. Step error is eliminated by gating the data which is processed to produce the altimeter output indication to inhibit processing during times the modulation wave is near peak values and to enable processing at other times. Accuracy is further improved by adjusting the duration of the time during which data processing is enabled so as to equal an integral number of cycles of processed data. | Constantinos S. Kyriakos (Deerfield Beach, FL) | The Bendix Corporation (Southfield, MI) | 1981-08-10 | 1984-03-06 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S009/04 | 06/291854 |
| 1168 | 4433323 | Ground proximity warning system with time and altitude based mode switching | To increase the effectivity of warnings and to decrease nuisance warnings in a ground proximity warning system having several modes of operation, the switching from one mode to another is done as a function of radio altitude and time. In addition, in a ground proximity warning system where a warning signal is generated in accordance with a predetermined relationship between flight parameters, one or more of these parameters can be varied as a function of radio altitude and time in order to, for example, increase the altitude above ground as a function of radio altitude and time from take-off that a terrain clearance warning is generated or to decrease as a function of radio altitude and time, the radio altitude below which a negative climb after take-off warning is generated. | Michael M. Grove (Bellevue, WA) | Sundstrand Data Control, Inc. (Rockford, IL) | 1982-02-04 | 1984-02-21 | G01C5/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G08B023/00 | 06/345891 |
| 1169 | 4431994 | Combined radar/barometric altimeter | An altitude sensing arrangement which combines the advantages of a barometric altimeter with a radar altimeter. The apparatus monitors the radar altimeter's associated radar validity signal and selects the radar altimeter's reading when the validity signal indicates a valid condition. Alternately, when the validity signal does not indicate a valid condition, the invention computes the difference in barometric altitude since the last valid radar altimeter reading and sums this difference with the last valid reading from the radar altimeter to produce a combined altitude reading. | Robert A. Gemin (Beavercreek, OH) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1981-05-06 | 1984-02-14 | G01C5/00, G01S13/86, G01C5/06, G01S13/00, G01S13/94, G01J013/08, G06F015/50 | 06/260879 |
| 1170 | 4429312 | Independent landing monitoring system | An independent landing monitoring system (ILM) for guiding airborne vehicles on final approach to a landing using a ground-based beacon which transmits a sequence of pulse signals including an omnidirectional signal coded to identify its location and used for initial approach, followed by time spaced directionally radiated right/left and up/down signals used for precision guidance along the final approach path. The time spacing of the various beacon signals and their order of succession in the sequence identify the signals, and the relative intensities of paired precision guidance signals as received by the aircraft is used to provide precision indications of the location of the aircraft on the path. The beacon can be either triggered by the weather radar in the aircraft which then receives the beacon signals on its beacon mode receiver, and/or it can be triggered randomly by a noise jittered oscillator in the beacon for use by approaching aircraft equipped only with a beacon receiver but no weather radar. | John P. Chisholm (Olympic Valley, CA) | --- | 1981-07-24 | 1984-01-31 | G01S13/86, G01S1/00, G01S13/00, G01S1/12, G01S001/16 | 06/286312 |
| 1171 | 4427981 | Tracking filter for radio altimeter | A filter for tracking the ground signal return in an FM/CW radio altimeter. The filter has a variable band pass frequency response which is adjusted as a function of the altitude measured by the altimeter. The control means of the filter respond to altitude measurements in digital format. | Constantinos S. Kyriakos (Deerfield Beach, FL) | The Bendix Corporation (Southfield, MI) | 1981-09-28 | 1984-01-24 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S009/04 | 06/306038 |
| 1172 | 4413519 | Turbine blade vibration detection apparatus | Turbine blade vibration detection apparatus having two or more extremely narrow beam radar sensors positioned to direct their radar signals towards predetermined blade row or rows. A blade identification circuit is provided for each blade row having an associated radar sensor for providing an output count indicative of which blade is being examined by a particular radar sensor. The gating of the blade count and radar sensor signals is governed by a computer which performs a frequency analysis of the radar signals and compares the result with predetermined threshold values. | Ronald L. Bannister (Westtown, PA), John M. Beatty (Aston, PA) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1981-07-29 | 1983-11-08 | G01S13/88, G01H1/00, G01S13/00, G01H003/04 | 06/287843 |
| 1173 | 4398195 | Method of and apparatus for guiding agricultural aircraft | A microprocessor controls a radar trilateralization system, used on board an aircraft to provide pattern flying. A suitable hard wired board may be added to the microprocessor to enable it to read out any suitable flight pattern. A plurality of transponders are set up at known positions to establish a baseline. Then, by using known radar techniques, the system feeds radar derived, distance information into the microprocessor. The microprocessor calculates the airplane's position from these radar signals, relates that position to the X, Y grid locations in a desired flight pattern, and then gives an instrument readout. The pilot keeps a display of the instrument over an appropriate index, and the airplane flies over the entire predetermined flight pattern. | Paul K. Dano (Euless, TX) | Del Norte Technology, Inc. (Euless, TX) | 1979-10-16 | 1983-08-09 | G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S013/78 | 06/085284 |
| 1174 | 4389647 | Doppler discrimination of aircraft targets | Two discriminator circuits are used with Doppler radars to indicate the t of aircraft in the radar beam based on the modulating effect of the aircraft rotor or propeller on the Doppler return signal. The increase in the Doppler signal when a rotor or propeller becomes orthogonal to the incident radar beam causes a spike in the detected Doppler signal. The frequency of such spikes is an indication of the make and model aircraft being observed and the circuitry comprises means for sensing such frequency and operating one of a plurality of indicators if such frequency corresponds to that of a known rotor or propeller frequency of a particular make and model aircraft corresponding to that indicator. | Michael A. Fanuele (Toms River, NJ), Joseph A. McCray (Freehold, NJ), Otto F. Rittenbach (Neptune, NJ) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1980-12-22 | 1983-06-21 | G01S13/58, G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S013/52, G01S013/00 | 06/219455 |
| 1175 | 4386355 | System for determining the location of an airborne vehicle to the earth using a satellite-base signal source | A satellite in geosynchronous orbit includes a source of signal illumination which is directed toward the earth, covering a given area thereof. An airborne vehicle, such as a missile, traveling over the area covered by the signal illumination from the satellite, includes a first antenna for receiving an incident set of signals from the satellite directly, and a second antenna for receiving the same signals from the satellite after they have been reflected from the earth's surface, referred to as a reflected set of signals. The altitude of the airborne vehicle may be ascertained by comparing the relative times at which the two sets of signals are received at the airborne vehicle, while the remaining location information, referred to as ground map information, may be ascertained by first determining range and angle data from the reflected signals and then comparing that data with ground map data stored aboard the airborne vehicle. | Prentis B. Drew (Kirkland, WA), Ervin J. Nalos (Bellevue, WA) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 1980-03-31 | 1983-05-31 | G01S13/00, G01S11/02, G01S11/00, G01S5/12, G01S005/10 | 06/135440 |
| 1176 | 4384198 | Time-shared aperture device | A time-shared aperture device using the laser illuminated target to provide a return wavefront which passes through the optical train and beam expander. The distortions in this return wavefront are sampled by a rotating beam chopper which completely blocks the outgoing beam, thereby preventing scattered laser light in the optical train and beam expander from drowning out the fainter target return. Wavefront analyzers provide an indication of errors present in the optical system so that correction may be applied. | Robert P. Williamson (Woodside, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1982-02-09 | 1983-05-17 | G01S17/66, G01S7/483, G01S7/481, G02B26/04, G02B26/02, G01S17/00, G01S7/48, G01J001/20 | 06/347227 |
| 1177 | 4382258 | Airborne frequency-modulation radar and its application to a missile homing head | In an airborne frequency-modulation radar designed for the homing head of a guided missile, enhanced resolution both in distance and in velocity is obtained by making use of a solid-state transmitter in conjunction with a frequency-modulating oscillator and by means of a receiver comprising a controlled frequency-shift oscillator. | Remy Tabourier (Paris, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1980-10-23 | 1983-05-03 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/64, G01S013/26 | 06/199994 |
| 1178 | 4380050 | Aircraft location and collision avoidance system | A location system and method whereby the azimuth and range information of an aircraft with respect to a reference ground station is made available to other aircraft by transmission of a pulse at a time uniquely associated with the aircraft's location. A synthetic azimuth function and a synthetic range function provide a periodic mapping of an area. The synthetic azimuth function is a slowed, time-expanded representation of a conventional azimuth function. Each azimuth increment is allocated a time slot in the synthetic azimuth function. The synthetic azimuth function is synchronized by counting a number of synchronizing pulses from the conventional azimuth function, and a synthetic azimuth reference pulse is periodically transmitted from a reference ground station to synchronize all aircraft using the synthetic azimuth function. During the particular synthetic azimuth function time slot corresponding to an aircraft's azimuth, a pulse is transmitted and the aircraft's range is encoded as the time-delay of that pulse with respect to the most recent conventional azimuth synchronizing pulse, providing a synthetic range function which is embedded in one of the synthetic azimuth degree increments. Display and collision warning devices are also synchronized and operated by this location system. | Jesse H. Tanner (Renton, WA) | --- | 1980-06-30 | 1983-04-12 | G01S13/78, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S7/00, G01S003/02 | 06/164042 |
| 1179 | 4371946 | Servomechanism for doppler shift compensation in optical correlator for synthetic aperture radar | A method and apparatus for correcting doppler shifts in synthetic aperture radar data. More particularly, in an optical correlator (10) for synthetic aperture radar data having a means for directing a laser beam (22) at a signal film (12) having radar return pulse intensity information recorded thereon, a resultant laser beam (32) then passing through a range telescope (34) , an azimuth telescope (38) , and a Fourier transform filter (36) located between the range and azimuth telescopes, thereby forming an image for recordation on an image film (40) , a compensation means for doppler shift in the radar return pulse intensity information includes a beam splitter (46) for reflecting the modulated laser beam, after having passed through the Fourier transform filter (36) , to a detection screen (48) having two photodiodes (66 and 68) mounted thereon. The photodiodes are positioned on each side of the Gaussian distribution of the Fourier transform spectrum reflected by the beam splitter (46) . Doppler shifts in the synthetic aperture radar data are detected by a shifting of the Gaussian distribution curve in one direction or the other, thus resulting in unequal light level intensities at the two photodetectors (66 and 68) . Control electronics (52) are disclosed for processing this unequal light level intensity and controlling appropriate optical elements in the optical correlator in order to compensate for the doppler shift. Control is effected until the light level intensities at the two photodetectors are again equal. | Nicholas J. Constantinides (Pasadena, CA), Thomas J. Bicknell (Pasadena, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Administrator of The (Washington, DC) | 1980-10-09 | 1983-02-01 | G01S13/00, G01S7/04, G01S13/90, G01S013/90, G06G007/66 | 06/195547 |
| 1180 | 4371873 | Clutter free synthetic aperture radar correlator | A synthetic aperture radar correlation system including a moving diffuser located at the image plane of a radar processor. The output of the moving diffuser is supplied to a lens whose impulse response is at least as wide as that of the overall processing system. A significant reduction in clutter results. | Robert A. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Frosch (N/A), (Pasadena, CA) N/A, Atul Jain | --- | 1977-12-08 | 1983-02-01 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/89, G01S013/90 | 05/858767 |
| 1181 | 4370656 | Use of bistatic radar system for determining distance between airborne aircraft | A bistatic passive radar system and method for airborne use in a first aircraft in conjunction with a host transmitter located in a second aircraft that may be at a different altitude than the first aircraft, characterized by a system and method for determining the distance between the aircraft. The system for determining the distance between the aircraft includes a system for receiving radar signals from the host transmitter directly and via reflection from a selected ground target located between the two aircraft, a system coupled to the receiver for determining the apparent range R.sub.a from the host transmitter on the second aircraft to the receiver on the first aircraft in response to receipt of the radar signals, a device on the first aircraft for determining the altitude H of the first aircraft, a device on the first aircraft for determining the angle .theta. with respect to vertical at which the radar signals are received directly from the host transmitter, a device on the first aircraft for determining the angle .phi. with respect to vertical at which the reflected radar signals from the ground are received, and a computer system on the first aircraft for computing the distance D between the two aircraft from the determined values of R.sub.a, H, .theta. and .phi.. The system further includes an alphanumeric display device coupled to the computer system for providing an alphanumeric readout of the computer value of the distance D between the aircraft. | Lawrence M. Frazier (West Covina, CA), Benjamin G. Lewis (Corona, CA) | General Dynamics, Pomona Division (Pomona, CA) | 1980-10-27 | 1983-01-25 | G01S13/00, G01S11/04, G01S11/00, G01S5/12, G01S005/10 | 06/200660 |
| 1182 | 4355311 | Multibeam single frequency synthetic aperture radar processor for imaging separate range swaths | A single-frequency multibeam synthetic aperture radar for large swath imaging is disclosed. Each beam illuminates a separate ''footprint'' (i.e., range and azimuth interval) . The distinct azimuth intervals for the separate beams produce a distinct Doppler frequency spectrum for each beam. After range correlation of raw data, an optical processor develops image data for the different beams by spatially separating the beams to place each beam of different Doppler frequency spectrum in a different location in the frequency plane as well as the imaging plane of the optical processor. Selection of a beam for imaging may be made in the frequency plane by adjusting the position of an aperture, or in the image plane by adjusting the position of a slit. The raw data may also be processed in digital form in an analogous manner. | Robert A. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Frosch (N/A), (La Canada, CA) N/A, Atul Jain | --- | 1980-07-03 | 1982-10-19 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/00, G01S013/90 | 06/165910 |
| 1183 | 4319243 | Airport-surveillance system | An airport-surveillance system for determining the position and identification of aircraft (4) on the airfield which utilizes secondary radar and includes an interrogation station (1) installed on the airfield (3) and from which the interrogation signal is transmitted by way of a narrow sharply forcused beam of an antenna which scans the airfield and further includes transponding stations installed in the aircraft (4) . The present invention provides accurate identification and location of the aircraft by utilizing a receiver which has a sharply focused antenna beam and which is geographically located a distance away from the interrogation antenna and wherein the replies from the transponder of the aircraft are received by the receiving antenna only when the interrogation and receiving antenna beams (2, 22) intersect. By scanning all locations of the airport, the position and identification of all aircraft on the airport can be determined. A modification of the invention provides that instead of or in addition to the receiving station having a narrow beam antenna a number of receivers (5, 6 and 7) having omni-directional receiving antennas can be mounted at different locations on the airfield for determining the aircraft positions by using hyperbola locating techniques. The airport surveillance system of the invention is particularly suitable for large airports. | Erwin Vachenauer (Haar, DE), Gerhard Wagner (Waakrichen, DE), Bernd Mueller (Poecking, DE) | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Berlin & Munich, DE) | 1980-02-08 | 1982-03-09 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S13/48, G01S13/87, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G01S013/78 | 06/119792 |
| 1184 | 4318102 | Intrusion detection system having look-up sensor instrumentation for intrusion range and altitude measurements | Range and elevation measurement ambiguities in upward looking intruder detection systems are eliminated by look-up sensor instrumentation that utilizes monostatic and bistatic radar principles. Intruder detection systems that have the capability of monitoring the air space over the perimeter of an area to be protected and that employ radar ranging techniques and guided wave sensor generate only limited or ambiguous intrusion event information. That is, the r.f. signals that are transmitted and received travel from the transmitter-receiver-processor location through the sensor, up to the intrusion and back through the same path. The data developed is thus the same for high altitude close range intrusions as it is for low altitude distant intrusions. This ambiguity is eliminated by utilizing a transmitter and receiver at one end of the upward looking sensor and a second receiver at the other end. The transmitter and its associated receiver comprises a monostatic radar and the transmitter and the other receiver comprises a bistatic radar. The conventional monostatic radar measures total distance from the transmitter to an intrusion. The bistatic radar measures intrusion altitude only. The two radar outputs are differenced by a processor to determine range. | Joseph L. Poirier (Chelmsford, MA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1980-04-15 | 1982-03-02 | G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S013/08 | 06/140551 |
| 1185 | 4315609 | Target locating and missile guidance system | A target locating and missile guidance system comprising reconnaissance araft equipped with laser or radar range-measuring apparatus in conjunction with a plurality of selectively predetermined ground stations. Range and altitude of the aircraft relative to a detected surface target are obtained at two or more points on its flight path. The positions of the aircraft with respect to the ground stations are simultaneously determined by pulse-time-of-arrival technique. Using triangulation techniques the location of the target is determined with respect to a pulse grid coordinate system associated with the ground stations. At any time after the determination of the location of the target, properly timed signals from the ground stations or command signals based upon time-of-arrival data with respect to pulses from the missile are used to provide accurate guidance of the missile to the target. | James D. McLean (Riverside, CA), Frederick C. Alpers (Riverside, CA), George R. Lanning (San Diego, CA), Fred H. Camphausen (China Lake, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1971-06-16 | 1982-02-16 | F41G7/00, G01S13/00, F41G7/20, F41G7/30, F41G7/34, G01S13/91, G01S5/02, F41G007/28 | 05/154235 |
| 1186 | 4302827 | Runway and obstacle detector to improve airplane landing | An airplane flies through the air because the forward speed of its wings through the air produces lift which is greater than the total weight of the craft. When the forward speed decreases below a certain amount, there is insufficient lift to counteract the weight of the plane and the plane will drop down (or stall) . This is the ideal condition of speed at which an airplane lands, but it is important that the stall occur when the plane is only a very short distance (like three feet) above the ground. It is also very important that the plane remain well above the ground or other obstacles until a suitable landing field is reached. The device herein described uses ''sonar'' or reflections of sound pulses to give the pilot an audible indication of his exact distance from the ground so that he can know the correct moment to stall or ''flare'' the plane for a perfect landing. The device also warns of obstacles when they are less than 100 feet below the aircraft to warn the pilot if he is flying too low before reaching the airport. | Arthur B. Rosenblum (Philadelphia, PA) | --- | 1980-04-08 | 1981-11-24 | G01S15/88, G01S15/00, G01S015/10 | 06/138645 |
| 1187 | 4292634 | Real-time multiple-look synthetic aperture radar processor for spacecraft applications | A spaceborne synthetic aperture radar having pipeline multiple-look data processing makes use of excessive azimuth bandwidth in radar echo signals to produce multiple-look images. Time multiplexed single-look image lines from an azimuth correlator go through an energy analyzer which analyzes the mean energy in each separate look to determine the radar antenna electric boresight for use in generating the correct reference functions for the production of high quality SAR images. The multiplexed single look image lines also go through a registration delay to produce multiple-look images. | Robert A. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Frosch (N/A), (Pasadena, CA) N/A, Chialin Wu (Pasadena, CA), Vance C. Tyree | --- | 1978-12-15 | 1981-09-29 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 05/969761 |
| 1188 | 4286462 | Acoustic detection of wind speed and direction at various altitudes | An acoustic apparatus for ascertaining wind speed and direction at various altitudes which uses back scattered acoustic waves which are formed from acoustic pulses of predetermined frequencies, are transmitted on at least two planes and the frequency spectrum and power of back scattered signals are measured, the received signal is divided into a number of discrete frequency channels and these divided signals are used to provide a velocity indication at various altitudes at sequential time intervals. | Ian A. Bourne (Nunawading, AU) | The University of Melbourne (Parkville, AU) | 1979-08-21 | 1981-09-01 | G01S13/95, G01S13/86, G01S15/88, G01S13/00, G01S15/18, G01S15/00, G01S15/58, G01S7/539, G01W001/02 | 06/068331 |
| 1189 | 4283725 | In-flight aircraft weather radar calibration | A weather radar calibration system, wherein one or more radar reflectors are located at a known position adjacent to an airport runway. Each of the reflectors are shaped to direct reflective patterns of known radar cross-section in response to radar signals transmitted from an aircraft following a known guidance path to the airport. The aircraft radar detects the radar return signals from the reflectors. Circuitry is responsive thereto for utilizing the radar returns for calibrating the weather radar for precipitation measurement and display purposes. The design of the reflectors is such as to minimize multipath reflections off the ground and prevent them from disturbing the reflective properties for aircraft following the guidance path. | John P. Chisholm (Olympic Valley, CA) | --- | 1979-10-09 | 1981-08-11 | G01S13/95, G01S13/00, G01S7/40, G01S013/95, G01S007/40 | 06/082512 |
| 1190 | 4280127 | Range swath coverage method for synthetic aperture radar | A synthetic aperture radar antenna, which is mechanically scanned through the squint mode, is operated to a selected roll angle to optimize the alignment of the antenna beam axis or isogain line, and the line of constant doppler frequency or isodop line. The roll angle is selected as a function of the angular position of the antenna in azimuth and elevation. | Henry E. Lee (Columbia, MD), Francisco J. Guillen (Ellicott City, MD), R. Noel Longuemare, Jr. (Ellicott City, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1979-07-25 | 1981-07-21 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S013/90 | 06/060514 |
| 1191 | 4275396 | Helicopter rotating blade detection system | An airborne pulse doppler radar set generally includes a moving target indicator (MTI) system for detecting moving aircraft within its scanning purview. To avoid processing undesirable clutter, the MTI system includes a clutter cancelling type filter for rejecting doppler shift frequency signals reflected from objects moving at velocities below a predetermined minimum velocity value. Unfortunately, the doppler shift frequencies representative of the body velocity of most helicopters fall within this clutter repetition band and may go undetected by the MTI system. To detect these helicopters, a helicopter detection system which operates on the specular flash energy of the doppler shift frequency signals reflected from the rotating blades of a helicopter is provided. The helicopter detection system passes substantially the received reflected radar signals that have doppler shift frequencies representative of the helicopter rotating blade velocities, derives a threshold value based on the values of the passed signals, and generates detection signals at times corresponding to the passed signal values which are at least that of the derived threshold value. In addition, the helicopter detection system is capable of inhibiting the generation of the detection signals at time corresponding to the reception of interference type radar signals by the radar set. Furthermore, an unambiguous range of each detected helicopter may be computed. Moreover, the helicopter detection system has the capability of distinguishing between detected targets having even and odd numbers rotating blades. | Omar J. Jacomini (Severna Park, MD) | --- | 1979-10-12 | 1981-06-23 | G01S13/522, G01S13/00, G01S7/02, G01S7/41, G01S013/02 | 06/084220 |
| 1192 | 4274096 | Aircraft proximity monitoring system | An aircraft proximity monitoring method according to the invention comprises the steps of: continuously and repeatedly developing and transmitting signals corresponding to the positions relative to a first location of aircraft within a predetermined range of said first location receiving said transmitted signals at a given aircraft and transposing the signals corresponding to the positions of the others of said aircraft to said second signals corresponding to the positions of said other aircraft relative to the location of said given aircraft and producing an observable indication of the positions of said other aircraft relative to said location of said given aircraft. Apparatus according to the invention includes apparatus for performing each of the foregoing steps. | Terry A. Dennison (Naperville, IL) | --- | 1979-07-09 | 1981-06-16 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S7/00, G01S003/02 | 06/055992 |
| 1193 | 4264907 | Rolling dual mode missile | In a rolling missile a seeker system which is responsive to two forms of energy emanating from a target. The system has the capability to switch between guidance modes during its path towards its intended target. | Charles C. Durand, Jr. (Upland, CA), Ralph E. Hawes, Jr. (Claremont, CA) | General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division (Pomona, CA) | 1968-04-17 | 1981-04-28 | F41G7/20, G01S13/86, F41G7/22, G01S13/00, G05D1/10, F41G007/00, G01S013/86 | 04/722104 |
| 1194 | 4256275 | Homing system and technique for guiding a missile towards a metal target | A homing system is provided for guiding a missile (10) towards a metal target. The metal target is illuminated by a radar unit (12) with a transmitted RADAR signal of predetermined frequency. The target reflects the RADAR signal and produces HARMONIC signals having frequencies that are harmonic with the predetermined frequency. An antenna (14) is mounted in the missile for receiving signals, including the HARMONIC signals produced by the target. A wave guide bandpass filter (18) receives signals from the antenna and passes selected HARMONIC signals to a filter output. A detector (34) is responsive to selected HARMONIC signals passed by the filter (18) to produce STRENGTH signals proportional to the signal strength of the selected HARMONIC signals. The STRENGTH signals are received by an error circuit (48) that produces ERROR signals indicating the direction of the target relative to the missile (10) . | Edward A. Flick (Seminole, FL), Timothy R. Holmes (St. Petersburg, FL), Myles A. Larson (South Pasadena, FL) | E-Systems, Inc. (Dallas, TX) | 1978-11-01 | 1981-03-17 | F41G7/20, F41G7/22, G01S13/00, G05D1/12, F41G007/00, F42B015/02, G06F015/50 | 05/956727 |
| 1195 | 4250505 | Independent landing monitor | This invention comprises means for monitoring the operation of an aircraft landing guidance system which functions independently of the landing guidance system. The means include a radio altimeter aboard the aircraft, a reflector positioned on the ground at a predetermined location along the prescribed approach path to provide enhanced return of the altimeter signal and means for comparing the actual radio altitude with a predetermined altitude value to provide an indication of the location of the aircraft within a tolerable distance from a prescribed point on the approach path. | Ernest O. Kirner (Coral Springs, FL) | The Bendix Corporation (Southfield, MI) | 1979-12-07 | 1981-02-10 | G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S013/00 | 06/101309 |
| 1196 | 4249174 | Aircraft weather radar system | A low cost airborne weather radar system suitable for mounting in the wing of a single engine aircraft. The radar antenna is a truncated parabolic dish. The receiver/transmitter, relative to parameters used in a conventional receiver/transmitter operates at relatively small peak transmitter power with a relatively long transmitter pulsewidth which, in turn, is matched to the receiver bandwidth. The relatively small peak power allows for acceptable range performance due to the relatively larger pulse width. Further, the receiver/transmitter assembly is significantly reduced in size so as to facilitate location in an aircraft wing and be thereby directly connected to the antenna to eliminate range reducing intercabling losses. | George A. Lucchi (Granada Hills, CA), Ramon H. Aires (Granada Hills, CA) | Rca Corporation (New York, NY) | 1979-05-31 | 1981-02-03 | G01S13/95, G01S13/00, H01Q1/27, H01Q1/28, G01S013/95, H01Q001/28 | 06/044088 |
| 1197 | 4241346 | Pulse radar altimeters | The invention relates to pulse radar altimeters for aircraft wherein the altimeter includes a variable beam width receiver antenna for receiving radar ground echoes, a timer for measuring time intervals between transmitted pulses and received ground echoes thereof, and control means responsive to the output of the timer and arranged to vary the beam width of the antenna in accordance with the values of the measured time intervals. | George C. Watson (Salisbury, GB2) | The Secretary of State for Defence In Her Britannic Majesty's Government (London, GB2) | 1979-07-11 | 1980-12-23 | G01S13/00, G01S13/10, G01S013/12 | 06/056678 |
| 1198 | 4231533 | Static self-contained laser seeker system for active missile guidance | Four pulse-repetition-frequency coded laser diode arrays emit four beams in quadrature relationship having a central optical axis coinciding with the missile axis. The returned reflected energy from a target impinges upon an optically centered holographic quadrant selector detection system which provides quadrature output signals. These quadrature output signals are passed through respective pulse-repetition-frequency discriminators corresponding to the quadrature prf coded transmitted beams. The outputs from the discriminators are processed through a null comparison circuit to provide output signals for actuating the servo guidance system of the missile to center the optical axis, which is also the missile axis, on the target so that the missile continuously seeks and eventually flies into the target. | Richard F. Durig (Xenia, OH) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1975-07-09 | 1980-11-04 | F41G7/20, F41G7/22, G01S17/00, G01S17/66, F42B015/02, F41G007/24, F41G007/26 | 05/593597 |
| 1199 | 4225226 | Laser guidance system for crop spraying aircraft | This invention provides a method for controlling the path of a crop spraying aircraft in making repeated traverses over a field to insure that each traverse is laterally spaced from the adjacent traverse by the proper distance to assure adequate coverage of the crop land with the material being sprayed and avoiding over-lapping or insufficient coverage of any portion of the crop land. In accordance with the method of the invention, the crop spraying aircraft carries a rotating laser beam transmitter and receiver, and the transmitted beam is reflected from a plurality of reflectors located on the ground at known positions relative to each other to provide successive reflections of the transmitted laser beam from which the angular positions of the aircraft relative to the reflectors may be continuously determined. After an initial pass over the field to establish the spray path, the position of the aircraft may be continuously computed by a microprocessor and an error signal generated during each subsequent pass to indicate to the aircraft operator whether the aircraft should be steered more to the right or left to stay on the desired spraying path. | Richard W. Davidson (Vandalia, OH), Joseph F. Rando (Cupertino, CA), Ted L. Teach (Dayton, OH) | Spectra-Physics, Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 1978-12-29 | 1980-09-30 | G01S17/00, G01S17/87, G05D1/02, G01C003/00, G01C021/00 | 05/974369 |
| 1200 | 4216472 | Gated pseudonoise semi-active missile guidance system with improved illuminator leakage rejection | A system for elimination of transmitter (illuminator) leakage in a high duty cycle, pulsed, pseudonoise, semi-active missile guidance system. The missile has front and back receiving systems, and the illuminator signal extant at the rear receiver is used to develop a gating signal which turns the front receiver ''off'' during the time of arrival of the leakage signals at the front receiver. The receiver gating is automatically time adjusted as a function of missile range. Alternate reversal of the bi-phase transmitted code bits is offered as a means of reducing the ''eclipsing'' loss due to receiver gating out of useful signal return from the target being tracked. | Damian F. Albanese (Chatsworth, CA) | International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (New York, NY) | 1973-08-30 | 1980-08-05 | G01S13/32, F41G7/20, F41G7/22, G01S13/00, G01S013/00, F41G007/00 | 05/392985 |
| 1201 | 4208659 | System for use in an aircraft for obstacle detection | This detection system of the radar type transmits a sawtooth-shaped frequency-modulated centimeter wave. The wave reflected by an obstacle, if any, is received by two fixed receiving antennas, each of these receiving antennas being connected to a circuit for processing the received signal. The phase shift between the waves is a measure for the angle .theta. formed between the path of flight of the aircraft and the straight line which connects the aircraft with the obstacle. Said phase shift is analyzed in an output circuit of the detection device which also comprises a control loop for controlling the amplitude of the beat-frequency signal between the transmitted signal and the received signal, a synthesizing circuit for a signal fan creating a range window by demodulation of the beat-frequency signal by means of the synthesized signal, a Doppler effect tracking loop and a circuit for analyzing the leading edge of the Doppler effect in the demodulated and filtered signal. In the case of an obstacle which is substantially directly in the direction of flight, last-mentioned circuit produces an information which possibly evaluates the information with respect to the angle .theta. and which is already present in the output circuit, in response whereto an alarm circuit becomes operative. | Roland Allezard (Verrieres le Buisson, FR) | U.S. Philips Corporation (New York, NY) | 1978-11-01 | 1980-06-17 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/94, G01S009/24 | 05/956766 |
| 1202 | 4208125 | Cloud altitude measuring apparatus | Cloud altitude measurement is carried out in a step-by-step manner wherein the measuring distance is changed by a predetermined amount for each measurement step. First and second integrators respectively integrate reflected echo signals during respective first and second time intervals T.sub.1, T.sub.2 with T.sub.1 < T.sub.2. The first integrator integrates reflected light pulses and noise and the second integrator integrates noise. The difference between the integrated signal outputs from the first and second integrators is determined by a summation device and a controllable level-sensing signal evaluating device emits a signal if the aforesaid difference exceeds a predetermined value. The signal evaluating device is controlled to emit the indicating signal when a number of consecutive measurement steps have been measured. The first and second integrators can be controlled to integrate over a plurality of consecutive measurement steps before being reset to zero or alternatively, integration is performed over one or more measurement steps at a time. In the latter case, the measuring apparatus further comprises an analog/digital convertor connected to the output of the summation device, an accumulator, and the digital output signal from the analog/digital convertor is transferred to the accumulator and the evaluation device after the predetermined number of measurements. The measurement apparatus can be further modified to include a shift register connected to the output of the analog/digital convertor and an accumulator having inputs respectively connected to the input and output of the shift register and wherein a timing circuit actuates the level-sensing signal evaluating device to examine the contents of the accumulator after each measurement step. | Bernt Ling (Vesteras, SE) | Asea Aktiebolag (Vesteras, SE) | 1978-05-31 | 1980-06-17 | G01S17/00, G01S17/10, G01S17/95, G01C003/08 | 05/911229 |
| 1203 | 4204655 | Broadband interferometer and direction finding missile guidance system | A wide bandwidth interferometer which may be employed in a guidance system or a rolling missile delays the radar signals detected by one of the antennas by a fixed amount and the signals detected by the other antenna by a variable amount prior to their multiplication in a device which first advances the phase of one of the signals by 90.degree.. The product signal, which is proportional to the sine of the angle between the rolling axis and the line-of-sight to the target, is integrated in a limited-integrator whose output is summed with a pick-off signal from an onboard gyroscope. The sum signal determines the amount of the variable delay, while the output of the integrator controls the gyroscope to align it with the radar signal direction and the missile steering apparatus to home it on target. | Joseph F. Gulick (Clarksville, MD), James S. Miller (Columbia, MD), Alan J. Pue (Columbia, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1978-11-29 | 1980-05-27 | G01B9/02, F41G7/20, F41G7/22, G01S13/00, G01S13/68, H04B007/00 | 05/964767 |
| 1204 | 4204210 | Synthetic array radar command air launched missile system | A missile guidance system in which a synthetic array radar antenna control system correlates the phase and doppler frequency information contained in signals received by a four quadrant antenna from an illuminated section of terrain, so as to compute the velocity components of the antenna. The velocity components are utilized, in conjunction with the earth rate supplied from a terrestrial navigation system, to maintain the azimuth null plane of the antenna in alignment with a selected target designated by means of a synthetic array map of the illuminated terrain. A missile command system controls the flight path of missile along the azimuth null plane to the target. | Eddy Hose (Fullerton, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1972-09-15 | 1980-05-20 | G01S13/90, G01S13/72, F41G7/20, F41G7/30, G01S13/00, G01S13/60, G01S009/02 | 05/288243 |
| 1205 | 4199759 | System for correlating electronic distance measurement and aerial photography for the extension of geodetic control | A system for correlating electronic distance measurement and aerial photography where an airborne electronic location station is photographed as it passes over an area to be surveyed. The position of the airborne station is precisely measured as it moves and this information is included in the final image processing. | Donald I. Zulch (Oneida, NY), Robert Brock (Marcellus, NY) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1978-08-10 | 1980-04-22 | G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S5/02, G01S009/02 | 05/932813 |
| 1206 | 4197536 | Airport surface identification and control system | For aircraft equipped with ATCRBS and ILS, an identification and surface guidance system including a plurality of detection positions each including an interrogator and an auxiliary transponder located adjacent the runway and on opposite sides thereof, respectively. The interrogator is enabled through a signal cable from a remote location, such as a control tower, to produce the first of the discretely spaced pulse pair required to interrogate the ATCRBS equipment. The second interrogation pulse of the pair is generated by the transponder, which is activated by the radiated first pulse from the interrogator and includes an internal delay, such that this delay plus the transit time from the transponder serves to generate the second pulse of the pair if the aircraft to be interrogated is in the vicinity and on the pathway centerline or within a specified lateral tolerance therefrom. The ATCRBS reply may be received directly at the control tower or may be transmitted by cable from receiving equipment within the interrogator. ATCRBS decoding and display equipment may be employed at the control tower for discrete identification of a given aircraft. The identification points are distributed along a runway, taxiway or other surface area of an airport for continuing identification. Time discrimination apparatus compares the ATCRBS pulse train received by the transponder and retransmitted therefrom to the interrogator to that received directly by the interrogator to generate a signal representative of the aircraft deviation from pathway centerline, and this signal is transmitted on an unused ILS channel to the aircraft for presentation to the pilot on the localizer cross-pointer indicator within the aircraft. | Arnold M. Levine (Chatsworth, CA) | International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (New York, NY) | 1978-10-30 | 1980-04-08 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/955891 |
| 1207 | 4196434 | Surveillance system for collision avoidance of aircrafts using radar beacon | A collision avoidance system using on-board B-CAS equipment having an object to minimize interference with the ground SSR stations and to effect precise tracking or distance-altitude measurement when necessary. Normally passive surveillance is made to detect the presence of other aircraft in the B-CAS range. Active surveillance is added when required. In the active surveillance mode, initiated on locating an intruder aircraft, the power and interrogation signal are varied when the intruder aircraft becomes a threat aircraft to minimize interference with the ground SSR stations and aircraft outside the threat zone while maintaining accuracy of detection and tracking of the threat aircraft at a high level. | Chuhei Funatsu (Yokohama, JP), Toshikiyo Hirata (Samukawa, JP) | Toyo Tsushinki Kabushiki Kaisha (Kawasaki, JP) | 1977-09-15 | 1980-04-01 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S009/56, G08G005/04 | 05/833597 |
| 1208 | 4188630 | Method of and system for avoiding collisions between aircraft | To avoid collision between aircraft flying in the same general area, each aircraft has individually assigned to it a transmission interval or time slot for sending out data relating to its altitude, course and speed, successive time slots being distinguished by different carrier frequencies. From the received data, each aircraft determines the relative positions and speeds of other aircraft communicating with it. Upon finding itself on a collision or near-collision course with another aircraft, an aircraft initiates an accelerated exchange of information with that other aircraft to determine the passing distance thereof and, if necessary, to take collision-avoiding action. | Ljubimko Milosevic (Paris, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1978-11-16 | 1980-02-12 | G08G5/04, G08G5/00, G01S13/78, G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S009/44 | 05/961099 |
| 1209 | 4180790 | Dynamic array aperture and focus control for ultrasonic imaging systems | A B-scan ultrasonic imager such as a single-sector scanner has a dynamic aperture and focus control to attain improved lateral resolution especially at ranges less than the maximum array aperture. As the range from which echoes are being received propagates out, the array aperture during each echo reception period is increased by steps by switching in more elements of the total transducer array. At least one adjustment of receiving channel time delays is made to dynamically focus the echoes at different focal points. | Charles E. Thomas (Scotia, NY) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 1977-12-27 | 1979-12-25 | G01N29/06, G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G01N29/26, G01S7/52, G10K11/00, G10K11/34, G01S009/66 | 05/864597 |
| 1210 | 4179695 | System for identification of aircraft on airport surface pathways | For aircraft equipped with ATCRBS, an interrogation system including an interrogator and an auxiliary transponder located adjacent the runway and on opposite sides thereof, respectively. The interrogator is enabled through a signal cable from a remote location, such as a control tower, to produce the first of the discretely spaced pulse pair required to interrogate the ATCRBS equipment. The second interrogation pulse of the pair is generated by the transponder, which is activated by the radiated first pulse from the interrogator and includes an internal delay, such that this delay plus the transit time from the transponder serves to generate the second pulse of the pair if the aircraft to be interrogated is in the vicinity and on the pathway centerline or within a specified lateral tolerance therefrom. The ATCRBS reply may be received directly at the control tower or may be transmitted by cable from receiving equipment within the interrogator. ATCRBS decoding and display equipment may be employed at the control tower for discrete identification of a given aircraft. The identification points may be distributed along a runway, taxiway or other surface area of an airport for continuing identification. | Arnold M. Levine (Chatsworth, CA), Ray O. Waddoups (Mesa, AZ) | International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (New York, NY) | 1978-10-02 | 1979-12-18 | G01S13/78, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/947729 |
| 1211 | 4176353 | Radar altimeter tracking circuit apparatus | A radar altimeter having a tracking circuit which includes a controllable reference signal generator which is adapted to selectively control the tracking circuit so that there will be no indication of an altitude change in the event of a momentary loss of a received video signal due to the fading of the video signal or other condition requiring the locking of the tracking circuit because of a lack of reliability of the received video signal. | Robert P. Pearson (Roseville, MN) | Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) | 1978-02-24 | 1979-11-27 | G01S13/18, G01S13/00, G01S009/12 | 05/880909 |
| 1212 | 4175285 | Navigational system of high-speed aircraft | Navigational system for the guidance of automatically piloted aircraft during high-speed (e.g. supersonic) overland flights, the predetermined course of the aircraft including a series of spaced-apart measuring zones registered on a progressively displaceable film strip or other recording medium in the form of two-dimensional arrays of prerecorded altitude markings representing the profile of the overflown terrain within each zone. Each array encompasses several regions of uncertainty defined as a range of possible horizontal deviation of the automatic pilot from the charted course, the markings, which may be in the form of identical asymmetrical figures indicating by their angular orientation the reference parameter (absolute or relative altitude) of the terrain within each elemental area of a region of uncertainty, are electro-optically compared with a bench mark indicating, by its own angular orientation in response to altitude soundings aboard the aircraft, the value of the reference parameter of the terrain actually overflown, the comparison yielding a projected contour line whereby, through a rapid succession of soundings and comparisons within each zone, the true position of the aircraft can be determined from the intersection of the several contour lines so obtained. | Jean Dansac (Paris, FR), Georges Couderc (Meudon, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1967-08-25 | 1979-11-20 | G01S13/86, G01C21/00, G01S13/00, G06F015/50 | 05/665195 |
| 1213 | 4174520 | Radar altimeter for tropical areas | A radar altimeter system for measuring, from an aircraft flying above tropical forest areas, the height of the ground and the height of the forest canopy above the ground comprising a transmitter, a receiver for detecting return pulses from the ground and forest canopy, timing means for measuring the time of arrival at the beginning and end of each received pulse and averaging the said times, means for examining the received pulse duration and preventing pulses with a shorter time duration than a predetermined time from passing further in the system, and means for examining a selected number of pulses and coupling the voltage derived from the received pulse having the longest time of arrival to an output to give an indication of the ground level and the voltage derived from the received pulse having the shortest time of arrival to an output to give an indication of the forest canopy level. | Ray L. Westby (Ottawa, CA) | Canadian Patents & Development Limited (Ottawa, CA) | 1978-02-13 | 1979-11-13 | G01S7/292, G01S13/88, G01S13/00, G01S009/12 | 05/877308 |
| 1214 | 4170773 | Precision approach sensor system for aircraft | A microwave interrogation-transponder system for controlling the airborne rendezvous and closure of two aircraft for aerial refueling and the like. The system of the invention includes a microwave interrogator mounted on the aft underfuselage of a tanker aircraft, for example, for interrogating and receiving a reply from a small microwave transponder mounted on the receiver aircraft near the aerial refueling receptacle. The angle of the received signal relative to the tanker is obtained from the angle sensing receiver portion of the microwave interrogator, whereas range is obtained from the phase of the returned modulation tone (i.e., a range tone) relative to that which was transmitted by the interrogator. The transponder sends back to the interrogator a signal which is shifted in frequency with respect to the transmitted signal and operates in an active mode with gain at long ranges and in a passive mode with no gain at shorter ranges to achieve extremely accurate guidance characteristics. | George W. Fitzsimmons (Lynnwood, WA), Lawrence W. Robinson (Seattle, WA), Jim S. Takeuchi (Mercer Island, WA) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 1978-05-05 | 1979-10-09 | G01S13/84, G01S13/42, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/903312 |
| 1215 | 4168628 | Pulse-echo ultrasonic-imaging display system having time-varied effective aperture | A transducing unit comprising a central section, detecting echoes returned through only a small portion of a relatively large aperture lens, surrounded by an annular section, detecting echoes returned through the remainder of the aperture, provides detected signals from the respective central and annular sections which are selectively utilized during respective specified time intervals in accordance with the operation of time-controlled switches to thereby change the effective depth of focus of the lens as a function of time. | David H. R. Vilkomerson (Princeton, NJ) | Rca Corporation (New York, NY) | 1977-10-20 | 1979-09-25 | B06B1/06, G01S15/00, G01S15/89, G01H3/12, G01H3/00, G01S7/52, G01N029/00 | 05/844141 |
| 1216 | 4167735 | Aircraft orientation determining means | A system for measuring, in conjunction with a GCA radar, the crab angle of n aircraft which is making its landing approach above a runway just prior to touch-down. Two doppler radars are placed, one on each side of the runway at equal spacings from the center line of the runway, with their antennas facing each other. The doppler radars function at very nearly the same frequency. The average doppler frequency of the echo received by each radar is determined and the frequencies are subtracted from each other. The difference in doppler frequency and the ground velocity of the aircraft are coupled to a computer which solves an equation to provide the value of the crab angle of the aircraft. The result can be radioed to the aircraft so that an adjustment in yaw can be made to zero the crab angle before touch-down. | Bernard L. Lewis (Oxon Hill, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1978-08-18 | 1979-09-11 | G01S13/58, G01S13/87, G01S13/00, G01S003/14, G01S009/44 | 05/934777 |
| 1217 | 4167006 | Collision avoidance system of aircraft | A collision avoidance system for aircraft using an on-board beacon interrogator. If altitude information is not included in a response signal from a transponder of an other aircraft or the response signal is garbled because a plurality of other aircraft are responding to the same interrogation signal, the system automatically switches to a beacon based proximity warning system and indicates the distance or other indication to the detected aircraft. | Chuhei Funatsu (Yokohama, JP), Toshikiyo Hirata (Samukawa, JP) | Toyo Tsushinki Kabushiki Kaisha (Kawasaki, JP) | 1977-10-19 | 1979-09-04 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/843657 |
| 1218 | 4164740 | Synthetic aperture using image scanner | In a system for generating a synthetic aperture, a lens or antenna for focusing the radiation from an object scene onto an image sensor which is shifted by a clock at the rate of motion of objects in the object scene and thereby to produce the real tire imaging of the object scene with high resolution. A system for reconnaissance, surveillance and ground mapping. A system for high speed data imaging, medical patient scanning, label scanning, and image correlation. | James N. Constant (Claremont, CA) | --- | 1978-04-19 | 1979-08-14 | G01S13/90, G01S7/04, G01S7/10, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 | 05/897907 |
| 1219 | 4163975 | Method of measuring the altitude of a target maneuvering at a very low elevation, and a tracking radar using same | A method of measuring the altitude of a target maneuvering at very low elevations is used to determine the instantaneous deviation of the target at various operating frequencies of a monopulse tracking radar. The quadrature component of the difference signal is evaluated at these frequencies, the mean values of the instantaneous deviation and of the quadrature component are determined for a certain number of frequency samples, and an extreme value of the mean value of the quadrature component is found to allow the corresponding mean value of deviation to be validated. | Robert Guilhem (Paris, FR), Maurice Rivron (Paris, FR), Bruno Weulersse (Paris, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1978-01-03 | 1979-08-07 | G01S13/68, G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S009/22 | 05/866774 |
| 1220 | 4162495 | Updating an en-route Tacan navigation system to a precision landing aid | High accuracy distance measurements are achieved with a low accuracy Tacan set by utilizing signals available within the Tacan set at a point of sufficient accuracy to provide accurate distance measurements to be made and thus upgrade an en-route navigation aid to higher accuracy for use in a precision landing system. | Robert S. Prill (Parsippany, NJ) | The Singer Company (Little Falls, NJ) | 1977-07-27 | 1979-07-24 | G01S13/91, G01S13/00, G01S009/14 | 05/819569 |
| 1221 | 4160250 | Active radar missile launch envelope computation system | A launch envelope computation system adapted to be mounted on a missile including a radar for providing signals indicative of range, range rate, target angle and target angle rate of change, a memory for storing a maximum and minimum missile envelope, a computer connected to receive signals from the radar and additional signals from a launch vehicle including velocity and altitude, for updating the missile envelopes, and a computer connected to the memory means and the radar for determining whether a target is within the missile envelope and providing launch or no launch signals, as well as indication of what altitude changes, if any, are required in the launch vehicle to allow a launch. | Walker Butler (Scottsdale, AZ), Randolph G. Moore (Scottsdale, AZ) | Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg, IL) | 1977-10-21 | 1979-07-03 | G01S13/88, F41G7/00, F41G9/02, F41G9/00, G01S13/00, G01S009/04 | 05/844254 |
| 1222 | 4158885 | Guidance-light display apparatus and method for in-flight link-up of two aircraft | A display panel of selectively operated pilot guiding lights is mounted on the belly of a fuel tanker aircraft for guiding a piloted receiver aircraft into proper orientation for an in-flight refueling link-up in which a fuel dispensing boom that projects rearwardly and downwardly from the belly of the tanker aircraft is coupled to a complimentary, refueling receptacle mounted above the cockpit of the receiver aircraft. The guidance-lights are selectively and automatically operated by computer processed position signals developed by an optical position sensor system that continuously monitors the position of the receiver aircraft relative to the boom. A first set of guidance-lights are disposed lengthwise of the aircraft to form a fore-aft position indicating array, and a second set of lights are disposed in a cross-shaped array for providing a coordinated visual display of elevational and azimuthal position. In addition to these position indicating lights, the fore-aft array includes a series of longitudinally spaced lights which are sequentially strobed toward the nose or tail of the tanker aircraft to respectively indicate that the receiver aircraft is either closing on or falling behind the target refueling position and the frequency of such strobing is varied to indicate to the receiver pilot the rate at which he is closing on or falling behind such target position. | Wayne K. Neuberger (Renton, WA) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 1977-11-09 | 1979-06-19 | B64D39/00, G01S1/70, G01S1/00, G01S17/88, G01S17/00, G06F015/50, G01B011/27, G01C003/06 | 05/849940 |
| 1223 | 4157544 | Hybrid terminal assist landing | Control of multiple remotely piloted vehicles provided through a system ced the Hybrid Terminal Assist Landing. This system, also referred to as HYTAL, is composed of two principal subsystems, an RF approach control subsystem and a precise optical landing point homing and ranging subsystem. By using a hybrid combination of RF and optical sensors, the remotely piloted vehicle, RPV or other aircraft approach control and recovery guidance system can be optimized with respect to performance complexity, size, weight and cost. | Roy L. Nichols (Ridgecrest, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1977-10-21 | 1979-06-05 | G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 | 05/844252 |
| 1224 | 4139848 | Aircraft proximity warning indicator | An aircraft proximity warning indicator incorporating an RF receiver, optical sensor, and display is described which may receive an RF signal followed by an optical radiation pulse from another aircraft where the received RF signal is used to control the optical sensor and display so that it senses and displays the optical radiation pulse. | Richard F. Maxwell, Jr. (Catonsville, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1976-06-17 | 1979-02-13 | G01S13/86, G01S17/87, G01S13/00, G01S17/00, G01S009/56, G01S003/02 | 05/697100 |
| 1225 | 4135143 | Aircraft altitude annunciator | There is disclosed an annunciator for verbalizing altitude-related messages during the descent of an aircraft. Announcements such as ''nine hundred,'' ''eight hundred,'' etc. are made as the aircraft descends through respective ''hundreds'' levels, such announcements are not made during an ascent. In addition, the word ''terrain'' is heard when the aircraft descends through the 2,000-foot and 1,000-foot levels, and the word ''minimum'' is heard when the aircraft drops below a ''decision height'' selected by the pilot. Lastly, the word ''glideslope'' is out-putted in response to the detection of a glideslope deviation, the frequency of this announcement as well as its volume being a function of the magnitude of the deviation. | Michael A. Argentieri (West Orange, NJ), James G. Lionetti (Northvale, NJ) | Intercontinental Dynamics Corporation (Englewood, NJ) | 1976-06-14 | 1979-01-16 | G01S5/00, G01S13/02, G01S13/00, G08G005/00 | 05/696032 |
| 1226 | 4134677 | Cloud altitude measuring apparatus | A cloud altitude measuring means for detecting the existence of and the distance to a cloud comprising a light emitting means, a light receiving means, a plurality of integrators activated at separate time intervals to receive the output signal from the light receiving means, a signal summation device to receive and determine the difference between the signals in the said integrators, and a signal processing circuit to receive the output signal from the signal summation device, which circuit comprises a memory circuit to store a first series of measurement value pulses from said summation device and a comparison device for comparing the first series of measurement value pulses stored in the memory with a second time delayed series of measurement value pulses to detect a cloud echo when the comparative difference between the measurement value pulses exceeds a specified value. | Bernt Ling (Vasteras, SE), Anders Persson (Vasteras, SE), Sven-Erik Soderstrom (Vasteras, SE) | Asea Aktiebolag (Vasteras, SE) | 1977-09-08 | 1979-01-16 | G01S17/95, G01S17/00, G01C003/08 | 05/831539 |
| 1227 | 4134113 | Monopulse motion compensation for a synthetic aperture radar | A synthetic aperture radar in which radial motion compensation is provided by a monopulse null tracking loop which tracks the null position of a stabilized monopulse antenna, and in which tangential motion compensation is provided by a tangential velocity measurement loop which tracks the cross-over angle of the monopulse antenna pattern. Since the motion compensation for the synthetic aperture radar is made in relation to a stabilized monopulse antenna, the imaging process for the synthetic aperture radar may be controlled in response to the angular scan rate of the antenna. | Norman F. Powell (Ilchester, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1977-04-18 | 1979-01-09 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S009/52 | 05/788208 |
| 1228 | 4130360 | Laser altimeter/profilometer apparatus | Laser altimeter/profilometer apparatus utilizing a CW CO.sub.2 laser transmitter mounted on an aircraft so as to transmit a narrow laser beam towards the terrain below the aircraft. The scattered laser signals are received in a receiver mounted on the aircraft, some distance along the fuselage from the transmitter, and the doppler shift in frequency of the received signal is determined. That doppler shifted frequency is utilized to calculate the altitude of the aircraft above the ground over which it is flying. | Terence H. Courtenay (Ste-Foy, CA) | Her Majesty The Queen In Right of Canada, As Represented By The Minister (Ottawa, CA) | 1977-01-17 | 1978-12-19 | G01C5/00, G01S17/50, G01S17/00, G01C003/08 | 05/760037 |
| 1229 | 4128839 | Means for accumulating aircraft position data for a beacon based collision avoidance system and other purposes | A protected aircraft having a discrete address beacon transponder includes a ground base air traffic control radar beacon system (ATCRBS) interrogator, a collocated discrete address beacon system (DABS) transponder and a directional antenna on the protected aircraft. The protected aircraft synchronizes a local clock with the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and scan rate of the ATCRBS interrogating his field of interest from which information the protected aircraft can calculate the azimuth angle of responding intruder aircraft with respect to the ground station. By means of his directional antenna the protected aircraft also determines the azimuth of the intruder with respect to itself. Interrogation by the protected aircraft of a collocated ground DABS transponder or a DME or other suitable means of measuring range provides a data base which together with the aforementioned azimuth angles permits the protected aircraft to calculate instantaneous position of the intruder relative to his own. | Arthur D. McComas (Baltimore County, MD) | The Bendix Corporation (Southfield, MI) | 1977-06-28 | 1978-12-05 | G01S13/93, G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/810701 |
| 1230 | 4128835 | Method and apparatus for measuring distance between an aircraft and a ground station | A distance measuring system is provided including a ground station transponder continuously transmitting a repeating pseudorandom coded bit pattern, and at least one aircraft interrogator receiving and locking onto the ground station signal. The aircraft interrogator transmits a coded interrogation signal in precise synchronism with an arbitrarily selected any one of the repetitive code words (bit patterns) that comprise the repeating pseudorandom coded bit pattern which are coded identically with the interrogation signal and waits for a reply. If the ground station receives the coded interrogation signal in synchronism with an identically coded word in its continuous transmission, it transmits a reply signal to the aircraft interrogator optionally encoded with synchronism error or interrogation steering information. If no reply is received by the aircraft interrogator, it transmits its next coded interrogation signal shifted by one or more bits relative to the arbitrarily selected received code word from the ground station. Successive interrogation signals are each shifted an additional predetermined number of bits until synchronism is attained and a reply signal is received. The number of bits of shifting performed by the aircraft needed for synchronization when combined with the number of bits representing the whole code word intervals elapsing between transmission of an interrogation and receipt of a reply represents the distance between the ground station and aircraft. The optionally encoded synchronism error and steering information is respectively utilized by the aircraft to more precisely calculate distance and alter its time of interrogation. | James L. Russell (Germantown, MD) | Arinc Research Corporation (Annapolis, MD) | 1978-02-02 | 1978-12-05 | G01S13/79, G01S13/00, G01S13/84, G01S009/04, G01S009/56 | 05/874480 |
| 1231 | 4121213 | Radar altimeter simulator | An altitude simulator for checking the range accuracy of a radar altimeter is disclosed. Typical altimeters include a transmitter and a receiver. The simulator receives a multipulse trigger signal from the altimeter to be checked. The trigger signal is synchronized with the output pulses of the transmitter. This trigger signal forms an input to a phased locked loop to generate at the output of the phased locked loop a multipulse signal which is synchronized with and phase displaced from the trigger signal by an amount equal to the inherent time delays in the simulator. The output signal of the phase locked loop is coupled to the input of a pulse generator which is programmable to generate a multipulse output signal synchronized with and phase displaced from the output signal of the phase locked loop by a selected fixed amount. A modulator receives an RF input from a signal generator and the ouput signal of the pulse generator to produce at the output of the modulator a pulse modulated RF signal. This pulse modulated RF signal is coupled to the receiver as an input signal and is used to test and calibrate the altimeter. | Louis W. Bush (Baltimore, MD), Allen R. Cumming (Towson, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1977-10-31 | 1978-10-17 | G01S7/40, G01S13/88, G01S13/00, H03L7/08, H03L7/081, G01S007/40 | 05/846944 |
| 1232 | 4108538 | Frequency plane filters for an optical processor for synthetic aperture radar | An air-borne radar system for terrain-imaging employs a sidelooking synthetic-aperture radar that records reflected signals on photographic film. Range data has a constant focal length whereas data in an azimuth direction has a focal length that varies as a function of range and therefore requires optical correction. A known processor system brings the various focal planes into coincidence using a complex lens structure that includes a computer generated spatial filter. A novel method and apparatus is disclosed for interferometrically generating a two-dimensional spatial filter which is more simple and economical to produce. Means are provided for diffracting a source beam of coherent light into a beam having a predetermined amplitude distribution. The resulting beam is imaged through a lens system onto a light responsive recording medium together with direct illumination from a reference source of coherent light to obtain a predetermined intensity distribution. The intensity of the exposing light is determined by both a magnification and a Fourier transformation of the diffracted beam. After development, the recording medium has an amplitude transmittance necessary for the desired spatial filter and may be used directly in the known processor system. | E. Barry Felstead (Kanata, CA) | Her Majesty The Queen In Right of Canada As Represented By The Minister (Ottawa, CA) | 1977-03-07 | 1978-08-22 | G01S13/00, G01S13/90, G02B27/46, G02B005/18 | 05/774902 |
| 1233 | 4107681 | Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the resolution of a radio altimeter over its operating altitude range | Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the resolution of a CWFM radio altimeter includes a counter for counting a signal produced by the altimeter having a period relatable to the altitude desired to be measured. Another counter counts the number of pulses of a time reference signal occurring over a predetermined number of periods of the altitude related signal. The number of periods of the altitude related signal over which the time-reference-signal pulses are counted is automatically determined by a circuit responsive to the fullness of the time-reference-signal pulse counter to produce a signal after the counter has reached a predetermined count. The next occurring multiple of the altitude related signal is then determined, and the number of time-reference-signal pulses then counted is divided by the number of the multiple found. In a particular embodiment, the counters are binary counters, and the multiples determined are powers of 2, whereby the division is achieved by shifting the data in shift registers a number of places corresponding to the number of multiples of 2.sup.N found. | Roy E. Robertson (Marion, IA), Robert J. Weber (Marion, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1977-05-26 | 1978-08-15 | G01S13/00, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S009/28 | 05/800685 |
| 1234 | 4107674 | Collision avoidance system for aircrafts | A collision avoidance system for aircraft in which one aircraft is equipped ith an interrogation station having a secondary surveillance radar. Coarse distance measurement is effected either by passive or active distance measurement or by both of them. If the detected distance lies within a certain limit, the output power and/or period of the interrogation signal of the secondary surveillance radar of the subject aircraft is altered so as to effect fine distance measurement. This system can be applied without increasing interference against the existing secondary surveillance radar system by keeping the output power and period of interrogation signal in a minimum required extent. By the same reason the system can keep the interference at a small extent between proximate aircraft, each mounting this collision avoidance system. | Chuhei Funatsu (Yokahama, JP), Toshikiyo Hirata (Samukawa, JP) | Toyo Tsushinki Kabushiki Jaka Toyo Communication Equipment Co. Ltd. (Kawasaki, JP) | 1976-08-13 | 1978-08-15 | G01S13/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/78, G01S009/56 | 05/714335 |
| 1235 | 4106018 | Method and apparatus for reducing interference between plural radio altimeters | A method and apparatus for independently controlling a CWFM radio altimeter to reduce interference from another nearby altimeter employs a high-Q filter outside the bandpass of the signals which are developed and decoded for altitude indication to detect an approaching interference signal received from the other altimeter and produce an output to a threshold detector. When the output of the filter exceeds a predetermined level, the threshold detector causes the transmitted frequency of the altimeter to be stepped. In one embodiment, a digital counter is provided to cyclically count up and down at a desired sawtooth modulation frequency. The output of the counter is applied to a digital-to-analog converter to produce an output used to control the frequency of the transmitted signal. Additionally, the output of the counter is conducted to inputs of an adder having a preset add number therein. When the output from the threshold detector is produced, it loads the counter immediately with the sum of the present counter output with the preset add number. The counter then begins its count at the totalled count, thereby immediately stepping the transmitter frequency. In redundant systems, each transmitter frequency can be shifted a different amount in an individual preset direction. | Paul P. Chihak (Atkins, IA), Charles H. Wehage (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1977-04-18 | 1978-08-08 | G01S13/00, G01S7/36, G01S13/34, G01S13/88, G01S009/24 | 05/788374 |
| 1236 | 4103300 | Air navigation and landing aid system | An air navigation and landing aid system wherein a pair of transponder beacons are located at known positions adjacent an airport runway. The aircraft carries a weather pulse radar system and an antenna for furnishing information affording a navigation aid during the flight stage. Switching means are inserted between the antenna and the weather radar for switching, during the landing stage, the received pulses relating to each beacon, in response to the interrogation of the weather radar, to a special receiver and a processing circuit which furnishes information affording a landing aid. | Robert Gendreu (Paris, FR), Maurice Chabah (Paris, FR) | Thomson-Csf (Paris, FR) | 1974-12-13 | 1978-07-25 | G01S13/00, G01S13/87, G01S13/91, G01S13/44, G01S009/56, G01S009/60 | 05/532686 |
| 1237 | 4088978 | Synthetic aperture side-looking sonar system | A synthetic aperture side-looking sonar system wherein beam formation takes place in two stages, the first being real aperture multiple beam formation and then coherent addition of real aperture beams to obtain the synthetic aperture improvement. | George A. Gilmour (Severna Park, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1976-09-27 | 1978-05-09 | G01S15/89, G01S15/00, G01S009/66 | 05/727195 |
| 1238 | 4086590 | Method and apparatus for improving the slowly moving target detection capability of an AMTI synthetic aperture radar | Detection of slowly moving and stationary targets that are normally obscured by ground clutter is accomplished by an AMTI synthetic aperture radar system that utilizes multiple receiving antennas mounted along the flight velocity vector of the radar bearing aircraft. Each antenna is separated by a distance d from each other. Synthetic arrays are formed by processing the radar returns from each antenna terminal. The radar PRF is controlled so that the aircraft flies a distance d during the interpulse period. The synthetic array outputs of adjacent pairs of antennas are subtracted to provide clutter cancellation. The resulting outputs from adjacent terminals can be used in a monopulse mode for angular discrimination. | William B. Goggins, Jr. (Locke Mills, ME) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1977-01-21 | 1978-04-25 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S009/02 | 05/761507 |
| 1239 | 4084158 | Method of operating synthetic aperture radar | A method, and apparatus for performing the method, of compensating for the effects of Doppler accelerations due to the orientation of the beam in a squinted synthetic aperture radar used for mapping terrain underlying an aircraft are described. According to the disclosed method, compensation is achieved by calculating the Doppler frequency shifts to be experienced by echo signals from points on the terrain to be mapped and then, in accordance with such calculations, varying the pulse repetition frequency of the squinted synthetic aperture radar to eliminate the effects of Doppler acceleration from the echo signals. | Nathan Slawsby (Canton, MA) | Raytheon Company (Lexington, MA) | 1977-01-03 | 1978-04-11 | G01S13/90, G01S13/60, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 | 05/756455 |
| 1240 | 4067009 | Beam focused synthetic aperture | A beam focused synthetic aperture having a lens or antenna for receiving radiation in a receiving beam from an object of interest, a detector for receiving radiation from the lens or antenna, and an output and display circuit for using and viewing the detector output, with delay means internal or external to the lens or antenna and between the object and detector and for producing the matched spatial filtering of signals from objects crossing the receiving beam, and with the detector producing a pulse for each object crossing the receiving beam. | James Nickolas Constant (Claremont, CA) | --- | 1975-08-01 | 1978-01-03 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S13/44, G01S009/02 | 05/601392 |
| 1241 | 4050067 | Airborne microwave path modeling system | An airborne geophysical measurement and recording system and apparatus in which radar signals are focused onto terrain below an aircraft flying in a straight line between microwave tower sites. The echo signals are detected and signals produced and recorded on a strip chart recorder indicating path profile and terrain reflectivity. In addition, atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity data are recorded as functions of aircraft altitude, so that atmospheric refractivity gradients can be calculated, either by an on-board computer or later, and this factor taken into account during path design or performance simulation. | Ethelbert P. Elmore, Jr. (Reston, VA) | --- | 1976-04-21 | 1977-09-20 | G01S13/02, G01S13/00, G01S009/00, G01D009/08 | 05/679082 |
| 1242 | 4045795 | Charge-coupled device data processor for an airborne imaging radar system | Processing of raw analog echo data from a side-looking synthetic aperture radar receiver into images on board an airborne radar platform is made feasible by utilizing charge-coupled device (CCD) semiconductor technology. CCD circuits are utilized to perform input sampling, presumming, range correlation and azimuth correlation in the analog domain. These radar data processing functions are implemented for ''single-look'' or ''multiple-look'' imaging radar systems. | James C. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Fletcher (N/A), (Sierra Madre, CA) N/A, Wayne E. Arens | --- | 1975-06-23 | 1977-08-30 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S007/30, G01S009/02 | 05/589119 |
| 1243 | 4041491 | Method and apparatus for determining the altitude of a signal propagation path | A method and apparatus for determining the altitude of a transmitted signal by adding the altitude of the transmitting antenna to accumulated changes in altitude, determined in relation to the sine function of the elevation angle of the propagation path. The elevation angle of the propagation path is determined in relation to the elevation angle of the transmitting antenna and the local elevation angle change in the propagation path accumulated over the propagation range. The local elevation angle change in the propagation path is determined in relation to a dynamic, vertically dependent refractive index gradient model and in relation to a vertically dependent curvature model. | John W. Taylor, Jr. (Baltimore, MD), Carl A. McGrew (Baltimore, MD) | Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA) | 1975-11-14 | 1977-08-09 | G01S13/02, G01S13/00, G01R029/08 | 05/631976 |
| 1244 | 4030065 | Terrain clearance warning system for aircraft | By utilizing a radio altimeter in conjunction with a measure of the aircraft speed, landing gear position and flap position, an aircraft terrain warning system is made possible which provides a voice warning indicating that the aircraft is too low with respect to the terrain when the aircraft is above a predetermined speed. for aircraft speeds below the predetermined speed, a voice warning is provided when the aircraft is below a predetermined altitude with the landing gear up indicating that the aircraft is too low with the gear up and when the gear is down and the flaps are not in a landing position and the aircraft descends below a second predetermined altitude a voice warning is generated indicating that the aircraft is too low with flaps up. | Charles Donald Bateman (Bellevue, WA) | Sundstrand Corporation (Rockford, IL) | 1976-07-19 | 1977-06-14 | G01C5/00, G01S11/00, G01S11/02, G01S13/94, G01S13/00, G01S13/10, G01C005/00 | 05/706519 |
| 1245 | 4025193 | Apparatus suitable for use in orienting aircraft in-flight for refueling or other purposes | A modulated light beam is projected from a transmitter aircraft toward a receiver aircraft and reflected back toward the receiver aircraft by a retroreflector mounted on the receiver aircraft. The reflected light beam is received by the transmitter aircraft and is focused onto the face of an image dissector tube. The location of the reflected light beam on the face of the tube defines the position of the receiver aircraft in azimuth and elevation with respect to the position of the transmitter aircraft. The range difference between the two aircraft is determined by phase comparing the transmitted light beam with the received light beam. When used for in-flight refueling, further retroreflectors are mounted on a refueling boom and a similar technique is used to determine the exact location of the boom and its associated refueling nozzle. The resultant information is processed by a digital computer and used to either automatically orient the two aircraft, and the boom and nozzle, or create a display (s) suitable for use by one or both aircraft pilots, and the boom operator, to orient the two aircraft, and the boom and nozzle. | C. Ray Pond (Federal Way, WA), Lawrence W. Robinson (Seattle, WA), Patrick D. Texeira (Renton, WA) | The Boeing Company (Seattle, WA) | 1975-02-18 | 1977-05-24 | B64D39/00, G01S17/00, G01S17/06, G01C003/00, G01B011/26 | 05/550218 |
| 1246 | 4024539 | Method and apparatus for flight path control | Signals from a source of flight path data, normally a memory device which stores forward-looking radar data, for example, are sampled in ''reverse-time''. That is, the data points along the flight path are taken in reverse order relative to the direction of flight. By simple circuits, the signals from the flight path data source are modified to conform with the basic criteria of the desired flight and with other desired parameters such as vertical acceleration and velocity limits so that a reverse-time flight simulation is made. The special ''inside-out'' form of indicia is a pair of bands which are fence-like in appearance and form the vertical sides of a tunnel-like outline, along the vertical center of which is the desired flight path. By generating these bands on a cathode ray oscilloscope with vertical displacements in accordance with the desired flight path and relative vertical widths in perspective with the range, the curved center line is easily followed. | Richard P. Quinlivan (Binghamton, NY), Harry H. Westerholt (Vestal, NY) | General Electric Company (Binghamton, NY) | 1966-04-15 | 1977-05-17 | G01S7/04, G01S13/94, G01S7/10, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 | 04/448373 |
| 1247 | 4023168 | Radar altimeter | Following an emergency ejection from an aircraft, a radar altimeteris used to sense when a pilot or crewman, descending by parachute, is within 100 to 500 feet of the underlying terrain. When the predetermined altitude range is reached, the radar altimeter actuates a release mechanism and deploys a survival kit which remains connected to the parachutist via a strap or lanyard. The device can also be modified to measure and indicate the altitude above the terrain to function as a normal radar altimeter. | Joseph A. Bruder (Snyder, NY), Marcus Staloff (Williamsville, NY) | Calspan Corporation (Buffalo, NY) | 1975-07-11 | 1977-05-10 | G01S13/00, G01S13/10, G01S009/06 | 05/595264 |
| 1248 | 4021801 | Single bit doppler processor for guidance missile system | Hybrid digital processor of a missile guidance system in which the input spectrum is mixed, limited, sampled, and fed to a recirculating shift register. Sampled values of the shift register, with the same oscillator controlling the sampling rate of the limiter and the shift register, are mixed with a signal from a voltage controlled oscillator and fed to a threshold pulse generator which is connected to a sampling logic circuit that feeds a series of counters. | Leon Chernick (Los Angeles, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1971-03-03 | 1977-05-03 | G01S13/58, F41G7/22, F41G7/20, G01S13/68, G01S13/00, F41G007/00, G01S009/52 | 05/120684 |
| 1249 | 4016565 | Aircraft ground closure rate filtering method and means | Ground closure rate between an aircraft and underlying terrain is obtained by differentially combining a radio altimeter derived rate signal and a barometric altitude rate signal to obtain a rate of change of ground profile signal. The ground profile rate is filtered on an autocorrelation basis to obtain a profile rate signal devoid of amplitude pulses introduced by sharp or discontinuous terrain features and recombined with barometric rate to obtain ground closure rate. The filtering technique imposes no rate limitation on the radio rate signal. | Ferman L. Walker (Cedar Rapids, IA) | Rockwell International Corporation (El Segundo, CA) | 1975-09-15 | 1977-04-05 | G01C5/00, G01S13/94, G01S13/00, G01S009/04, G06F015/50 | 05/613380 |
| 1250 | 4010467 | Missile post-multiple-target resolution guidance | A feedback loop for use in the guidance system of a guided missile being wn against multiple targets. The feedback loop modifies a transient signal present in the system by introducing a time lag sufficient to cause the missile relative heading change command signal subsequent to target resolution to be equal to the change in the missile antenna-to-target pointing vector that occurs at resolution. | Lawrence P. Slivka (Santa Monica, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1972-03-02 | 1977-03-01 | F41G7/22, G01S13/66, F41G7/20, G01S13/00, F42B015/02, G01S007/46, G01S009/02 | 05/231430 |
| 1251 | 3993994 | Adaptive clutter cancellation for synthetic aperture AMTI radar | Clutter cancellation between adjacent channels of a multichannel synthetic aperture AMTI radar is accomplished by delaying signals from the forward channel to coincide with signals from the aft channel and subtracting the outputs. Adverse effects from unknown, uncalibrated and time varying parameters are compensated for by adjusting the phase and amplitude of the aft channel coherent receiver output in response to the complex multiplier signal .omega.. The synthetic aperture processing circuit outputs of each channel are averaged over many range cells and summed to determine clutter magnitude. The complex multiplier signal .omega. is made to minimize the clutter magnitude by means of a steepest descent algorithm. A mathematical expression relating the complex multiplier signal .omega. to clutter magnitude for optimum clutter cancellation is developed and a circuit is provided for mechanizing the process. | William B. Goggins (Locke Mills, ME) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Air (Washington, DC) | 1975-06-27 | 1976-11-23 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S7/292, G01S13/526, G01S009/42 | 05/590973 |
| 1252 | 3976998 | Synthetic aperture radars | There is disclosed a synthetic aperture radar arranged to survey a region from a mobile location. The radar returns received from the region are first phase weighted by a series of predetermined factors. They are then stored and combined with later returns to give an output signal which has a maximum value when any target present in the region is in a predetermined direction from the location. | Roger Voles (London, EN), Simon Watts (Esher, EN) | Emi Limited (Hayes, EN) | 1974-06-06 | 1976-08-24 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 | 05/476996 |
| 1253 | 3975734 | Synthetic aperture radars including moving target indication | There is disclosed a synthetic aperture radar arranged to survey a region from a mobile location. Radar pulses are transmitted in sets, the pulses from each set being transmitted from congruent positions. The returned echoes of the pulses of each set are then compared to substantially remove signals relating to static targets. The signals relating to the doppler shifts of returns from moving targets are processed by a correlator covering a frequency band sufficient to include such signals or further signals indicative of them and produced as a result of the sampling nature of the pulsed radar. | Robert William Payne (Hillingdon, EN) | Emi Limited (Hayes, EN) | 1974-08-07 | 1976-08-17 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S009/42 | 05/495495 |
| 1254 | 3975731 | Airborne positioning system | An airborne positioning system for acquiring range information from at least three distance measuring equipment (DME) stations, including a computer controlled range gate and means for estimating and removing bias errors from range measurements and smoothing noise to accurately determined aircraft position to typically better than 100 feet circular error probable (C.E.P.) . | Roy W. Latham (Orient, NY), Albert N. Schultz, Jr. (Charlotte, NC) | Grumman Aerospace Corporation (Bethpage, NY) | 1974-12-10 | 1976-08-17 | G01S1/00, G01S1/02, G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/531342 |
| 1255 | 3971025 | Airport ground surveiliance system with aircraft taxi control feature | A system for detecting, monitoring the movements of, and controlling the travel of aircraft and other vehicles on an airport surface. A series of small low-powered radar transmit-receive devices, each having a limited range, is disposed essentially in a line along alternate and opposite sides of a runway, ramp or taxiway. Control pulses at a system PRF travelling down the inter-connecting cables serve to cause the individual radars to ''blink'' in sequence in accordance with the inherent delay in the inter-connecting cable. Frequency separation is used to prevent false indications due to transmit-receive inter-action among the individual miniature radars. The system is adapted to data presentation in accordance with standard radar display techniques, or alternatively, a display is provided on a synthesized map of the airport. A pulse delay discriminator arrangement provides for discrete lateral position control. Means are also shown for televising the ground display to a vehicle on the surface and for providing discrete information such as a STOP order, etc. | Arnold M. Levine (Chatsworth, CA) | International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (New York, NY) | 1975-01-27 | 1976-07-20 | G01S1/00, G01S13/87, G01S1/24, G01S13/00, G01S001/16, G01S001/18 | 05/544194 |
| 1256 | 3962703 | Airborne telemetering radar having variable width range gates | The present invention concerns an airborne radar receiver for acquisition and tracking of a target providing two range-gates displaced during a search phase and comprising means for locking the range gates onto an echo receiver which is then tracked during a tracking phase. The receiver also comprises means for supplying a third gate accompanying the first two range gates and adjacent to the latter in the direction of the greater distances, and means for bringing all the gates back to zero when the third range gate encounters an echo the width of which is greater than a predetermined value corresponding to a target. | Gerard Collot (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, FR), Jean Ferreol (Palaiseau, FR) | Societe Dite: Electronique Marcel Dassault (Paris, FR) | 1974-05-31 | 1976-06-08 | G01S1/00, G01S13/66, G01S13/70, G01S1/02, G01S13/18, G01S13/00, G01S7/292, G01S009/14 | 05/475026 |
| 1257 | 3954228 | Missile guidance system using an injection laser active missile seeker | A missile guidance system utilizing an integrated active missile infrared eker including an injection laser transmitter, a semiconductor detector and a conical scanning acquisition and guidance system. | William A. Davis, Jr. (Huntsville, AL) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1968-02-23 | 1976-05-04 | F41G7/20, G01S17/00, F41G7/22, G01S17/06, F41G007/00, G01J001/20 | 04/707888 |
| 1258 | 3950747 | Optical processing system for synthetic aperture radar | An optical processing system for a synthetic aperture radar moving target indicator or otherwise in which a graduated light filter provides minimum to a maximum transmission over a laser beam width. The laser beam then shines through the filter, an exposed film containing a phase history and through one or more field stop slits or a spatial filter to an unexposed film. The filter compensates for the lack of an infinitely long laser beam required for a Fourier transform of the phase history into what is not but is mostly indistinguishable from a photographic image of stationary and/or moving targets. The filter suppresses false images sometimes called side-lobes. | Ray O. Waddoups (Valencia, CA) | International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation (New York, NY) | 1975-02-28 | 1976-04-13 | G01S13/90, G01S13/00, G01S009/02 | 05/553969 |
| 1259 | 3947845 | Altitude coding for collision avoidance system | In a cooperative collision avoidance system for aircraft, an altitude encoding system serves as a discriminant to insure orderly sequence of data exchange between cooperative aircraft, particularly, in a dense traffic environment. The system includes means for generating pairs of pulse-interval coded signals spaced to represent altitude addresses from interrogator to responder aircraft. Responder aircraft reply with a single pulse to such an altitude address only if the responder aircraft is at the altitude corresponding to the address. | John Jeffrey Lyon (Canoga Park, CA) | Rca Corporation (New York, NY) | 1974-04-19 | 1976-03-30 | G01S13/93, G01S13/00, G01S13/79, G01S009/56 | 05/462491 |
| 1260 | 3946384 | Missile guidance by radar signals using surface acoustic wave correlator | A system for controlling the flight of a missile by the use of coded radar signals. A ground level radar transmits coded signals in the form of a phase modulated radar signal. Each coded signal represents a particular guidance command which is received by the missile and ''filtered'' out of the radar signal by a surface acoustic wave correlator. The correlator detects the code in the signal and in turn energizes a control circuit which operates a control surface on the missile. | Thomas A. Westaway (Provo, UT) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1971-01-21 | 1976-03-23 | G01S13/02, G01S13/00, F41G7/00, G01S009/02 | 05/108653 |
| 1261 | 3936797 | Radar-barometric altitude indicator | An aircraft instrumentation having inherent self-checking features. Radar and barometric altitude information are displayed on the dial face of a single instrument. A cooperating dial and first pointer displays barometric altitude. A manually settable indicator ''bug'' cooperates with the dial to provide a presentation of the height of the airstrip relative to sea level. A second indicator ''bug'' of a different shape from the landing field bug is servo-driven from both radar and barometric altitude signal inputs to provide a presentation of aircraft altitude relative to the terrain beneath the aircraft. The angle between the barometric altitude pointer and servoed radar altitude ''bug,'' measured counterclockwise, constitutes the distance of the aircraft above the airstrip or other terrain which the aircraft is passing over. Upon touchdown both ''bugs'' should be in exact coincidence, thereby serving as a self-check upon accuracy of the instrumentation. | John H. Andresen, Jr. (Georgetown, WI) | Intercontinental Dynamics Corporation (Englewood, NJ) | 1974-05-28 | 1976-02-03 | G01C5/00, G01C23/00, G01S13/86, G01S13/00, B64D043/00 | 05/473514 |
| 1262 | 3935818 | Combined fuze and guidance system for a missile | An active optical fuze for detonating a missile warhead at a prescribed re is disclosed in combination with an optical guidance system target sensing head for a missile which incorporates an assembly of optical elements for receiving radiant energy from a target and wherein the optical axis of the receiving assembly is automatically rotated by guidance controlled means in response to received guidance radiation so as to track the target. A lasing diode is utilized as the fuze radiation transmitting device, the lasing diode being coupled to the receiving optical assembly and disposed coaxially therewith for emitting radiation outwardly along the optical axis of the receiving assembly such that the fuze radiation is automatically emitted in the target direction when the receiving assembly is rotated to track the target. The receiving assembly optics is utilized not only to receive the guidance radiation from the target, but also to receive the fuze transmitter radiations scattered by the target, these two signals being recovered by a signal processing means within the optical receiving assembly. | Peter B. Johnson (Washington, DC), Edward A. Brown (Silver Spring, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 1974-08-26 | 1976-02-03 | F42C13/00, F41G7/22, F42C13/02, G01S17/00, G01S17/66, F41G7/20, F42C013/02, F42B015/02 | 05/500840 |
| 1263 | 3934251 | Automatic t.sub.0 control for use in airborne DME system | In distance measuring equipment (DME) for use in aircraft an interrogation is transmitted from a local airborne DME, generally to a ground station. The transmitted signal is also sampled and transformed by a local oscillator means to the frequency of the expected response and applied to the front end of the DME receiver. The sampled and transformed signal thereafter traverses the receiver circuits and is applied to start a range clock at the rear end of the receiver. Simultaneously, the signal traversing the receiver circuits is sampled and memorized in a sample and hold circuit. A response to the interrogation, when received, is also applied to the front end of the receiver and traverses the receiver circuits and applied to stop the range clock, the resulting change of state of the range clock being related to the range between the interrogating and responding stations. The response signal traversing the receiver circuits is sampled and memorized in a second sample and hold circuit, with the contents of both sample and hold circuits being compared against one another. The results of the comparison are applied to the local oscillator means to control the amplitude of the output signal thereof. | Brendan J. Spratt (Boca Raton, FL) | The Bendix Corporation (Southfield, MI) | 1974-11-07 | 1976-01-20 | G01S13/78, G01S13/00, G01S009/56 | 05/521593 |
| 1264 | 3934250 | Helicopter blind landing and hover system | A precision hover and landing system for use in a helicopter is provided. A elevision camera system, an infra-red scanner and a passive radar antenna array are located on a three-axis gimbal mounted on the helicopter. An airborne radar angle tracking receiver and a ground-based transponder provide azimuth and elevation angle error signals for pointing the gimbal along the true line-of-sight to the desired landing area. A ranger unit provides range and range rate of change information. | Oscar M. Martin, Jr. (Bethesda, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 1974-06-07 | 1976-01-20 | G01S13/86, G01S13/00, G01S13/91, G01S009/56 | 05/477374 |
