METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING PERSONNEL AND MATERIEL FROM RF-BASED THREATS USING ULTRA-WIDEBAND (UWB) TRANSMISSION

• US 20080191924A1
• Filed: 01/25/2006
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vectrus Systems Corp.
• Original Assignee: Sentel Corporation (Vectrus Systems Corp.)
• Inventors: Harwood, Theodore L., Smith, John P., Light, Arthur, Duff, William G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,423,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/14
• 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 7/38 Jamming means, e.g. producing false echoes
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/16 for telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/24 for communication related to weapons
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/42 characterized by the control of the jamming frequency or wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/43 characterized by the control of the jamming power, signal-to-noise ratio or geographic coverage area
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/44 characterized by the control of the jamming waveform or modulation type
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/45 characterized by including monitoring of the target or target signal, e.g. in reactive jammers or follower jammers for example by means of an alternation of jamming phases and monitoring phases, called "look-through mode"
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/65 using deceptive jamming or spoofing, e.g. transmission of false signals for premature triggering of RCIED, for forced connection or disconnection to/from a network or for generation of dummy target signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/88 related to allowing or preventing alarm transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/92 related to allowing or preventing remote control

Abstract

An ultra wideband (UWB) jamming system comprises a processor, a memory, a pulse generator, one or more UWB transmitters, and one or more UWB antennas. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the RF signals of a threat transmission or an RF-triggered explosive device (RTED) are evaluated and a set of interference parameters defined for the RF signal of that device. The interference parameters are predetermined to interfere with the reception or transmission of the RF signal. The interference parameters are sent to a pulse generator that drives one or more UWB transmitters to generate a signal has a statistically high probability of jamming or introducing an error in the threatening transmission.

Claims

1. A method of protecting personnel and materiel from radio frequency (RF)-triggered explosive devices (RTEDs) comprising:

associating predetermined interference parameters with a RTED transmission signal, wherein the RTED transmission signal comprises a bit stream;

creating one or more ultra-wideband (UWB) signals using the predetermined interference parameters; and

transmitting the one or more UWB signals to thereby interfere with the reception of the bit stream by a RTED receiver.

2. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1, wherein the RTED transmission signal is selected from the group consisting of a garage door opener signal, a car alarm signal, a remote keyless entry device signal, a wireless door bell signal, a toy remote control signal, a family radio service (FRS) signal, a general mobile radio service (GMRS) signal, cellular telephone ringing signal, and a pager signal.

3. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1, wherein the interference parameters are selected from the group consisting of a rise time, a pulse width, a pulse modulation, and pulse repetition rate.

4. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises varying the pulse repetition rate randomly over time.

5. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises varying the pulse repetition rate predictably over time.

6. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1 further comprising amplifying the one or more UWB signals prior to transmitting the one or more UWB signals to the RTED receiver.

7. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 6 further comprising, before amplifying the one or more UWB signals, filtering the one or more UWB signals.

8. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1 further comprising:

substituting an alternate set of predetermined interference parameters for the predetermined interference parameters;

creating one or more alternate UWB signals using the alternate predetermined interference parameters; and

transmitting the one or more alternate UWB signals.

9. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the one or more UWB signals with one or more broadband antennas imbedded in one or more armored vest.

10. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1, wherein the predetermined interference parameter is selected to mimic a detonation signal and the UWB signals are transmitted at a sufficient standoff distance to neutralize the RTED by premature detonation.

11. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 10, further comprising transmitting the one or more UWB signals from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

12. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 1, wherein the RTED is selected from the group consisting of a manufactured RTED and an improvised RTED.

13. The method of protecting personnel and materiel from RTEDs of claim 3, wherein the modulation is selected from the group consisting of Amplitude Modulation (AM), Frequency Modulation (FM), On-Off-Keying (OOK) modulation, and Frequency-Shift-Keying (FSK) modulation.

14. A system for protecting personnel and materiel from radio RF-triggered explosive devices (RTEDs) comprising:

one or more UWB transmitters;

a pulse generator connected to the one or more UWB transmitters;

a processor connected to the pulse generator and comprising instructions for;

sending receiving predetermined interference parameters associated with an RTED transmission signal to the pulse generator, wherein the RTED transmission signal comprises a bit stream; and

the one or more UWB transmitters comprising means for producing one or more UWB signals in response to the pulse generator; and

one or more wideband antennas comprising means for receiving the one or more UWB signals and broadcasting the one or more UWB signals.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the RTED transmission signal is selected from the group consisting of a garage door opener signal, a car alarm signal, a remote keyless entry device signal, a wireless door bell signal, a toy remote control signal, a public mobile radio (PMR) signal, a family radio service (FRS) signal, a general mobile radio service (GMRS) signal, cellular telephone ringing signal, and a pager signal.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the interference parameters are selected from the group consisting of a rise time, a pulse width, a pulse modulation and pulse repetition rate.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor further comprises instructions for varying the pulse repetition rate of the pulse generator randomly over time.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor further comprises instructions for varying the pulse repetition rate of the pulse generator predictably over time.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the system further comprises:

a memory, wherein the memory comprises a library of sets of predetermined interference parameters;

wherein the processor comprises instructions for;

retrieving a set of the predetermined interference parameters from the library to send to the pulse generator.

20. The system of claim 14 further comprising one or more wideband amplifier, wherein the one or more wideband amplifier comprises:

means for receiving the one or more UWB signal from the one or more UWB transmitter;

means for amplifying the one or more UWB signal; and

means for providing the one or more amplified UWB signal to the one or more wideband antennas.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more wideband amplifier is selected from the group consisting of a linear amplifier, a nonlinear amplifier, and a programmable amplifier wherein a linearity characteristic of the amplifier is responsive to commands from the processor.

22. The system of claim 14 further comprising one or more filter and one or more wideband amplifier, wherein the one or more filter comprises:

means for receiving the one or more UWB signal from the one or more UWB transmitter;

means for passing a selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal; and

means for providing the selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal to the one or more wideband amplifier; and

wherein the one or more wideband amplifier comprises;

means for receiving the selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal from the one or more filter;

means for amplifying the selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal; and

means for providing the amplified selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal to the one or more wideband antenna.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more wideband amplifier is selected from the group consisting of a linear amplifier, a nonlinear amplifier, and a programmable amplifier wherein the linearity is responsive to commands from the processor.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more filter is selected from the group consisting of a band pass filter, a band blocking filter, and a programmable filter wherein a frequency response characteristic of the filter is responsive to commands from the processor.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein the RTED is selected from the group consisting of a manufactured RTED and an improvised RTED.

26. The system of claim 16, wherein the modulation is selected from the group consisting of Amplitude Modulation (AM), Frequency Modulation (FM), On-Off-Keying (OOK) modulation, and Frequency-Shift-Keying (FSK) modulation.

27. A method of protecting personnel and materiel from radio frequency (RF)-based threats comprising:

associating predetermined interference parameters with a transmission signal of an RF-based threat;

creating one or more ultra-wideband (UWB) signals using the predetermined interference parameters; and

transmitting the one or more UWB signals to thereby interfere with the transmission signal.

28. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 27, wherein the transmission signal is selected from the group consisting of radar transmissions and communications transmissions.

29. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 27, wherein the interference parameters are selected from the group consisting of a rise time, a pulse width, a pulse modulation, and pulse repetition rate.

30. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 29, wherein the method further comprises varying the pulse repetition rate randomly over time.

31. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 29, wherein the method further comprises varying the pulse repetition rate predictably over time.

32. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 27 further comprising amplifying the one or more UWB signals prior to transmitting the one or more UWB signals.

33. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 32 further comprising, before amplifying the one or more UWB signals, filtering the one or more UWB signals.

34. The method of protecting personnel and materiel of claim 27 further comprising:

substituting an alternate set of predetermined interference parameters for the predetermined interference parameters;

creating one or more alternate UWB signals using the alternate predetermined interference parameters; and

transmitting the one or more alternate UWB signals.

35. A system for protecting personnel and materiel from radio RF-based threats comprising:

one or more ultra-wideband (UWB) transmitters;

a pulse generator connected to the one or more UWB transmitters;

a processor connected to the pulse generator and comprising instructions for;

sending predetermined interference parameters associated with a transmission signal of an RF-based threat to the pulse generator; and

the one or more UWB transmitters comprising instructions for producing one or more UWB signals in response to the pulse generator; and

one or more wideband antennas comprising means for receiving the one or more UWB signals and broadcast the one or more UWB signals to interfere with the transmission signal.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the transmission signal is selected from the group consisting of radar transmissions and communications transmissions.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein the interference parameters are selected from the group consisting of a rise time, a pulse width, a pulse modulation and pulse repetition rate.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the processor further comprises instructions for varying the pulse repetition rate of the pulse generator randomly over time.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the processor further comprises instructions for varying the pulse repetition rate of the pulse generator predictably over time.

40. The system of claim 35, wherein the system further comprises:

a memory, wherein the memory comprises a library of sets of predetermined interference parameters;

wherein the processor comprises instructions for;

retrieving a set of the predetermined interference parameters from the library to send to the pulse generator.

41. The system of claim 35 further comprising one or more wideband amplifier, wherein the one or more wideband amplifier comprises:

means for receiving the one or more UWB signal from the one or more UWB transmitter;

means for amplifying the one or more UWB signal; and

means for providing the one or more amplified UWB signal to the one or more wideband antennas.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the one or more wideband amplifier is selected from the group consisting of a linear amplifier, a nonlinear amplifier, and a programmable amplifier wherein a linearity characteristic of the amplifier is responsive to commands from the processor.

43. The system of claim 35 further comprising one or more filter and one or more wideband amplifier, wherein the one or more comprises:

means for receiving the one or more UWB signal from the one or more UWB transmitter;

means for passing a selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal; and

means for providing the selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal to the one or more wideband amplifier; and

wherein the one or more wideband amplifier comprises;

means for receiving the selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal from the one or more filter;

means for amplifying the selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal; and

means for providing the amplified selected bandwidth of the one or more UWB signal to the one or more wideband antenna.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the one or more wideband amplifier is selected from the group consisting of a linear amplifier, a nonlinear amplifier, and a programmable amplifier wherein the linearity is responsive to commands from the processor.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein the one or more filter is selected from the group consisting of a band pass filter, a band blocking filter, and a programmable filter wherein a frequency response characteristic of the filter is responsive to commands from the processor.