Multi-elevational antenna systems and methods of use
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
H01Q-001/30
H01Q-001/28
출원번호
US-0915418
(2013-06-11)
등록번호
US-9231296
(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 :
2인용 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. 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 th
The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with an antenna system comprising a tension member configured to be towed by an aerial platform. 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. An antenna system for use with an aerial platform, comprising: 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 a
1. An antenna system for use with an aerial platform, comprising: 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 antenna assembly comprising an antenna for use with electromagnetic energy; andan antenna location system configured to determine a relative location of each of the plurality of antennas. 2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas are configured to form a multistatic configuration with at least one external component. 3. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna assemblies are secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member at non-uniform intervals. 4. The antenna 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 antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas is configured to receive electromagnetic energy. 6. The antenna system of claim 5, further comprising a receiving system configured to receive information associated with the received electromagnetic energy from each of the plurality of antennas. 7. The antenna system of claim 6, further comprising a communication link configured to communicatively connect each of the plurality of antennas to the receiving system, such that information may be transmitted from each of the plurality of antennas to the receiving system. 8. The antenna system of claim 6, wherein the receiving system is configured to receive information associated with the received electromagnetic energy from one or more of the plurality of antennas independently via sub-receiving systems, such that information from each of the plurality of antennas is received by at least one sub-receiving system so as to preserve phase coherency. 9. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the tension member is further configured to be deployed while the aerial platform is in motion. 10. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the tension member is further configured to be retracted while the aerial platform is in motion. 11. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising at least one non-antenna component secured to the tension member. 12. The antenna system of claim 11, 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. 13. The antenna 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. 14. The antenna 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. 15. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna location system is configured to determine a relative location of a phase center for each of the plurality of antennas. 16. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a passive antenna. 17. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a flat antenna. 18. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a conformal antenna. 19. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas includes multiple types of antennas. 20. The antenna 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, and parabolic reflectors. 21. A method for receiving data from multiple elevations, comprising: transmitting electromagnetic energy at a predetermined frequency bandwidth toward a target surface;towing 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 the electromagnetic energy reflected by the target surface via each of a plurality of antenna assemblies secured to and spaced along the length of the tension member, each of the plurality of antenna assemblies comprising an antenna configured for use with electromagnetic energy;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; andreceiving, via the receiving system, information associated with the received electromagnetic energy from each of the plurality of antennas. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the length of the tension member is between 2 meters and 2000 meters. 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the tension member comprises a dielectric. 24. The method of claim 21, further comprising controlling a location of the second end of the tension member relative to the aerial platform using a control device. 25. The method of claim 21, 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. 26. The method of claim 21, 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. 27. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises an active antenna. 28. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a planar waveguide antenna. 29. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas is based on a metamaterial surface antenna technology (MSA-T). 30. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the plurality of antennas comprises a steerable, flat antenna. 31. The method of claim 21, 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. 32. The method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of antennas includes multiple types of antennas. 33. The method of claim 32, 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, and parabolic reflectors. 34. The method of claim 21, further comprising a fixation device configured to control an orientation of each of the plurality of antennas. 35. The method of claim 21, 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. 36. The method of claim 21, 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 electromagnetic energy while being towed by the aerial platform. 37. The method of claim 21, 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 antenna assemblies comprising at least one antenna configured for use with electromagnetic energy,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 electromagnetic energy 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. 38. The method of claim 21, further comprising: causing the aerial platform to pass over the target surface at a plurality of different elevations;transmitting the electromagnetic energy at the predetermined frequency bandwidth at each of the plurality of different elevations; andreceiving the electromagnetic energy reflected by the target surface via each of the plurality of antennas at each of the plurality of different elevations.
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