Multi-elevational antenna systems and methods of use
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
G01S-013/90
G01S-007/00
G01S-007/03
G01S-007/40
H01Q-001/30
H01Q-021/30
출원번호
US-0915422
(2013-06-11)
등록번호
US-9229103
(2016-01-05)
발명자
/ 주소
Duncan, William D.
Hyde, Roderick A.
Kare, Jordin T.
Wood, Jr., Lowell L.
출원인 / 주소
ELWHA LLC
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
1인용 특허 :
8
초록▼
The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with an antenna system comprising a tension member configured to be towed by an aerial platform and/or secured to an orbiting satellite. In some embodiments, a first end of the tension member may be secured to the aerial platform and the
The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with an antenna system comprising a tension member configured to be towed by an aerial platform and/or secured to an orbiting satellite. In some embodiments, a first end of the tension member may be secured to the aerial platform and the second end may extend unsecured from the aerial platform at a different elevation than the first end. A plurality of antenna assemblies, each comprising at least one antenna, may be secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member. Each of the plurality of antennas may be adapted for use with a particular frequency or frequency bandwidth. For example, each of the plurality of antennas may be adapted or tuned for one or more frequencies useful for synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In some embodiments, a receiving system, a communication link, and/or an antenna location system may be utilized.
대표청구항▼
1. A system for generating a three-dimensional mapping of a target surface using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data collected by a single pass of an aerial platform, comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit coherent electromagnetic radiation to a target surface;a tension member configured w
1. A system for generating a three-dimensional mapping of a target surface using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data collected by a single pass of an aerial platform, comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit coherent electromagnetic radiation to a target surface;a tension member configured with a first end and a second end defining a length of the tension member, the first end configured to be secured to an aerial platform and the second end configured to be unsecured to the aerial platform and extend from the aerial platform at a different elevation than the first end;a plurality of antenna assemblies secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member, each of the plurality of antenna assemblies comprising at least one antenna configured to receive the coherent electromagnetic radiation reflected by the target surface;an antenna location system configured to determine a relative location of each of the plurality of antennas;a receiving system configured to receive information associated with the received coherent electromagnetic radiation from each of the plurality of antennas;a communication link configured to communicatively connect each of the plurality of antennas to the receiving system, such that information may be conveyed from each of the plurality of antennas to the receiving system with the coherency preserved; anda processor configured to process the received information associated with the coherent electromagnetic radiation using a synthetic aperture radar technique to generate a three-dimensional mapping of at least a portion of the target surface. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas are configured to form a multistatic configuration with at least one external component. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of antenna assemblies is secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member at non-uniform intervals. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna assemblies are secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member at intervals that correspond to desired elevational spacings. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the information associated with the received electromagnetic energy received by the receiving system comprises phase information associated with the received electromagnetic energy received by each of the plurality of antennas. 6. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the transmission from each of the plurality of antennas to the receiving system preserves the time coherence of the received electromagnetic energy. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the length of the tension member is between 2 meters and 2000 meters. 8. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising at least one non-antenna component secured to the tension member. 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a control device configured to control a location of at least one of a plurality of points along the tension member relative to the aerial platform. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna location system comprises a curvature sensing optical fiber system configured to provide information indicating the curvature of the tension member at at least one location along the length of the tension member. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna location system is configured to utilize a local positioning system (LPS) to determine the relative location of each of the plurality of antennas. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a passive antenna. 13. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a flat antenna. 14. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a conformal antenna. 15. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises an electronically steerable antenna, configured such that the physical antenna remains in a fixed form while a beam angle of the physical antenna is electronically steerable. 16. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas is configured for use with a subset of frequencies between approximately 3 megahertz and 30 megahertz. 17. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas is configured for use with frequencies between approximately 30 megahertz and 300 megahertz. 18. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas is configured for use with frequencies between approximately 300 megahertz and 3 gigahertz. 19. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas includes multiple types of antennas. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the types of antennas are selected from the group of antenna types consisting of dipole antennas, Yagi-Uda antennas, horn antennas, planar waveguide antennas, bicone antennas, conformal antennas, and parabolic reflectors. 21. The system of claim 1, wherein a position of at least one of the plurality of antenna assemblies is configured to be dynamically adjusted along the length of the tension member while being towed by the aerial platform. 22. The system of claim 1, wherein an orientation of at least one of the plurality of antenna assemblies relative to the tension member is configured to be dynamically adjusted while being towed by the aerial platform. 23. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a second tension member configured with a first end and a second end defining a length of the tension member, the first end configured to be secured to the aerial platform and the second end configured to extend from the aerial platform unsecured to the aerial platform; anda second plurality of antenna assemblies secured to and spaced along the length of the second tension member, each of the second plurality of antennas comprising at least one antenna configured for use with electromagnetic radiation,wherein the antenna location system is configured to determine a relative location of each of the second plurality of antennas,wherein the receiving system is configured to receive information associated with the received coherent electromagnetic radiation from each of the second plurality of antennas, andwherein the communication link is configured to communicatively connect each of the second plurality of antennas to the receiving system, such that information may be transmitted from each of the second plurality of antennas to the receiving system. 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the first plurality of antennas associated with the first tension member are configured to focus on a first area of the surface and the second plurality of antennas associated with the second tension member are configured to focus on a second area of the surface. 25. A method for generating a three-dimensional mapping of a target surface using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data collected by a single pass of an aerial platform, comprising: transmitting coherent electromagnetic radiation to a target surface;securing a tension member from an aerial platform, the tension member configured with a first end and a second end defining a length of the tension member, the first end secured to the aerial platform and the second end unsecured to the aerial platform and extending from the aerial platform at a different elevation than the first end;receiving reflections of the coherent electromagnetic radiation from the target surface via each of a plurality of antennas associated with antenna assemblies secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member, each of the plurality of antennas configured to receive the coherent electromagnetic radiation;determining a relative location of each of the plurality of antennas using an antenna location system;connecting each of the plurality of antennas to a receiving system via a communication link;receiving, via the receiving system, information associated with the received coherent electromagnetic radiation from each of the plurality of antennas; andprocessing at least some of the received information associated with the coherent electromagnetic radiation using a synthetic aperture radar technique to generate a three-dimensional mapping of at least a portion of the target surface. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the synthetic aperture radar technique includes Doppler-beam sharpening. 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises a series of coherent spatially-overlapping electromagnetic pulses. 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the tension member comprises an electrically conductive material. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the tension member comprises a plurality of insulating members spaced along the length of the tension member, such that the tension member is divided into a plurality of segments of electrically conductive material separated from one another via an insulating member, and wherein each of the plurality of segments is non-resonant at a predetermined frequency bandwidth. 30. The method of claim 25, further comprising controlling a location of the second end of the tension member relative to the aerial platform using a control device. 31. The method of claim 25, wherein the antenna location system is configured to utilize a global positioning system (GPS) to determine the relative location of each of the plurality of antennas. 32. The method of claim 25, wherein the antenna location system is configured to utilize interferometry of a radio frequency (RF) signal to determine the relative location of each of the plurality of antennas. 33. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises an active antenna. 34. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a conformal antenna. 35. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises an electronically steerable antenna, configured such that the physical antenna remains in a fixed form while a beam angle of the physical antenna is electronically steerable. 36. The method of claim 25, further comprising a fixation device configured to control an orientation of at least one of the plurality of antennas. 37. The method of claim 25, wherein one of an orientation relative to the tension member and a position along the length of the tension members of one of the plurality of antennas is configured to be dynamically adjusted to improve reception of the coherent electromagnetic radiation while being towed by the aerial platform. 38. The method of claim 25, wherein the communication link comprises free-space optical transmission network configured to allow each of the plurality of antennas to transmit information to the receiving system. 39. The method of claim 25, wherein the communication link comprises an out-of-band wireless network configured to allow each of the plurality of antennas to transmit information to the receiving system, the out-of-band wireless network utilizing frequencies out of a predetermined range of the coherent electromagnetic radiation. 40. The method of claim 25, wherein the first end of the tension members is configured to be secured to an airplane. 41. The method of claim 25, wherein the first end of the tension members is configured to be secured to a lighter-than-air-vehicle. 42. The method of claim 25, wherein the first end of the tension members is configured to be secured to an orbiting satellite.
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