Sensor head

• US 10,082,572 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2017
• Issued: 09/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: L3harris Fuzing and Ordnance Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: L-3 Communications Security & Detection Systems, Inc. (Leidos Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Duvoisin, III, Herbert, Torres-Rosario, Juan Antonio, Sentelle, Christopher Gary, Carlson, Douglas O., Holman, Glen A., Trishaun, Marquette
• Primary Examiner(s): Barker, Matthew M
• Application Number:
  US15/691,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20180003814A1
• Time in Patent Office: 390 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0209 Systems with very large relative bandwidth, i.e. larger than 10 %, e.g. baseband, pulse, carrier-free, ultrawideband
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/347 using more than one modulation frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/885 for ground probing prospecting or detecting using electromagnetic waves G01V3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/354 Extracting wanted echo-signals Doppler systems G01S13/50
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/412 based on a comparison between measured values and known or stored values
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/12 operating with electromagnetic waves operating with millimetre waves G01V8/005

Abstract

An apparatus includes an extendable wand, and a sensor head coupled to the wand. The sensor head includes a continuous wave metal detector (CWMD) and a radar. When the wand is collapsed, the wand and the sensor head collapse to fill a volume that is smaller than a volume filled by the sensor head and the wand when the wand is extended. Frequency-domain data from a sensor configured to sense a region is accessed, the frequency-domain data is transformed to generate a time-domain representation of the region, a first model is determined based on the accessed frequency-domain data, a second model is determined based on the generated time-domain representation, the second model being associated with a particular region within the sensed region, and a background model that represents a background of the region is determined based on the first model and the second model.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an extendable wand;

a grip coupled to a portion of the wand such that the handle is able to be rotated about the wand; and

a sensor head coupled to the wand, the sensor head comprising a continuous wave metal detector (CWMD) and a radar, wherein the apparatus is configured to be converted into a storage configuration in which the wand is collapsed and the grip is rotated to lie adjacent to a top surface of the sensor head.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a platform coupled to the wand by a hinged joint, wherein the platform is configured to fold, at the hinged joint, alongside the wand into the storage configuration.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radar comprises one receive antenna configured to detect electromagnetic radiation and one transmit antenna configured to transmit electromagnetic radiation.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a transceiver electrically coupled to the receive antenna and the transmit antenna, wherein the transceiver, the receive antenna, the transmit antenna, and the CWMD are located in the sensor head.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a processor and electronic storage electrically coupled to the transceiver by a universal serial bus (USB) wire or a coiled wire.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor head is coupled to the wand by a hinged joint arranged such that, in the storage configuration, the wand folds over the sensor head at the hinged joint.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when the wand and sensor head are in a collapsed orientation, the apparatus fills a volume no larger than about 36 centimeters (cm) by 26 cm by 11 cm.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a housing coupled to the wand by a hinged joint, the housing comprising a processor and electronic storage in communication with the sensor head, the electronic storage comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:

access data from the CWMD and from the radar,

determine a signature of an object detected by one or more of the CWMD or the radar based on the accessed data, and

wherein the housing is configured to fold, at the hinged joint, alongside the wand when in the storage configuration.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grip is coupled to the portion of the wand by a hinged joint that permits the grip to fold alongside the wand.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an output device configured to provide an indication of a detection of an object made by one or more of the CWMD or the radar.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the CWMD transmits and receives radiation at one or more different frequencies depending on a target of interest.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the CWMD comprises:

a first coil configured to transmit an electromagnetic field; and

a second coil configured to detect an electromagnetic field generated by currents induced in an object in response to being irradiated by the transmitted electromagnetic field.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the CWMD is positioned at an outer edge of the sensor head.