ROTATING WINDOW AND RADOME FOR SURVEILLANCE POD

• US 20160223664A1
• Filed: 02/05/2014
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Goodrich Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Goodrich Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Colantonio, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 9,575,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/36 adapted to receive antennas or radomes
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 7/00 Arrangements of military equipment, e.g. armaments, armament accessories, or military shielding, in aircraft; Adaptations of armament mountings for aircraft dropping bombs or the like B64D1/00; armaments or mountings therefor per se F41
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/02 of systems according to group G01S13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/027 Constructional details of housings, e.g. form, type, material or ruggedness
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/006 Apparatus mounted on flying objects
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/28 Adaptation for use in or on aircraft, missiles, satellites, or balloons
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/22 RF wavebands combined with non-RF wavebands, e.g. infrared or optical

Abstract

A pod has a rotatable housing and a motor for driving the rotatable housing to rotate. The rotatable housing includes an image capture device for capturing an electromagnetic image and a radar transmitting and capturing device for capturing a radar image. The motor is operable to change an orientation of the rotatable housing relative to a pod housing, such that a desired one of the electromagnetic image capture device and the radar transmission and reception system faces an area that is to be studied. A method is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A pod comprising:

a movable housing and a motor for driving said movable housing, said movable housing including an image capture device for capturing an electromagnetic image, and a radar transmitting and capturing device for capturing a radar image; and

said motor being operable to change an orientation of said movable housing relative to a pod housing, such that at least a desired one of said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device faces an area of interest.

2. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein a controller receives image information from both said radar transmission and capture device and said electromagnetic image capture device.

3. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein said motor rotates said movable housing.

4. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein said movable housing includes a window positioned outwardly of said electromagnetic image capture device.

7. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pod housing is to be mounted on an aircraft.

8. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein only one of said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device faces the area of interest, and is capturing an image at any one time.

9. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein both of said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device are operated simultaneously to capture images.

10. The pod as set forth in claim 1, wherein said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device may capture images of different areas of interest.

5. The pod as set forth in claim 5, wherein a radome is positioned outwardly of said radar transmission and reception device.

6. The pod as set forth in claim 5, wherein said radome is formed of a composite material that transmits radar signals without changing those signals.

11. A method of operating a pod to study locations on the ground comprising the steps of:

mounting a pod to an aircraft and providing the pod with a movable housing, and a motor for driving said movable housing, said movable housing including an image capture device for capturing an electromagnetic image, and a radar transmitting and capturing device for capturing a radar image; and

said motor changing an orientation of said movable housing relative to a pod housing, such that at least a desired one of said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device faces an area of interest.

12. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein only one of said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device faces the area of interest, and is capturing an image at any one time.

13. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein both of said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device are operated simultaneously to capture images.

14. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said electromagnetic image capture device and said radar transmission and reception device may capture images of different areas of interest.

15. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein the controller initially positions the electromagnetic image capture device to face the area, but if conditions suggest a captured image may not be as clear as desired, the controller driving the movable housing such that the radar transmission and reception device faces the area.

16. A surveillance device for gathering images of an area, comprising:

a. A flight vehicle;

b. a pod attached to the flight vehicle;

c. a moveable housing within the pod and including an electromagnetic image capture device and a radar image capture device;

d. a motor connected to the moveable housing;

e. a motor controller connected to the motor, wherein the motor and motor controller are constructed and arranged to move the housing to a first orientation for at least one of the electromagnetic image capture device and the radar image capture device to capture a first image of the area while the vehicle is in flight, and additionally to move the housing to a second orientation for the other one of the electromagnetic image capture device and the radar image capture device to capture a second image of the area while the vehicle is in flight.

17. The surveillance device as set forth in claim 16, wherein the first image and the second image are of the same area.

18. The surveillance device as set forth in claim 16, wherein the first image and the second image are of different areas.

19. The surveillance device as set forth in claim 16, wherein the first and second orientations are the same orientation.