LARGE AREA GROUND MONITORING
First Claim
1. A municipal infrastructure maintenance system that depends on a ground vehicle to move over large areas or distances, comprising:
- an antenna array comprising dozens of compartments of radio dipole antennas arranged laterally, shoulder-to-shoulder across its width;
a number of resistive cards arranged in parallel and as compartment separators between each of said compartmentalized radio dipole antennas;
an aluminum-on-aluminum honeycomb panel laterally scored to be folded around front, top, and back edges of all the resistive cards and interlock with them using slots in the panel and tabs on the respective edges of the resistive cards;
a printed circuit board (PCB) on which said compartmentalized radio dipole antennas are disposed and positioned to close the bottom end of each compartment; and
a rigid foam filling disposed inside and encapsulating each said compartment;
wherein said ground vehicle is configured to carry the antenna array for operation as a ground penetrating radar.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A municipal infrastructure maintenance system uses a ground vehicle to move an antenna array in back-and-forth sweeps over large areas or distances. The antenna array comprises dozens of compartmentalized radio dipole antennas arranged laterally, shoulder-to-shoulder across the width of each sweep. An antenna switch matrix is connected between the antenna array and a ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) set and provides electronic aperture switching and selection, and the ability to laterally register one sweep to the next. The antenna array is extended out in front of the ground vehicle on a pivotable boom, and the cantilevered weight is a primary concern. The antenna array is constructed with aluminum-on-aluminum honeycomb panels slotted and folded around dozens of resistive-card compartment separators. Printed circuit boards with matching baluns are also slotted to receive tabs on the resistive cards, and their dipole elements are resistive loaded to quench crosstalk and near field effects.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A municipal infrastructure maintenance system that depends on a ground vehicle to move over large areas or distances, comprising:
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an antenna array comprising dozens of compartments of radio dipole antennas arranged laterally, shoulder-to-shoulder across its width; a number of resistive cards arranged in parallel and as compartment separators between each of said compartmentalized radio dipole antennas; an aluminum-on-aluminum honeycomb panel laterally scored to be folded around front, top, and back edges of all the resistive cards and interlock with them using slots in the panel and tabs on the respective edges of the resistive cards; a printed circuit board (PCB) on which said compartmentalized radio dipole antennas are disposed and positioned to close the bottom end of each compartment; and a rigid foam filling disposed inside and encapsulating each said compartment; wherein said ground vehicle is configured to carry the antenna array for operation as a ground penetrating radar. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification