MICROWAVE RADIOMETRIC AIRCRAFT LANDING ASSIST SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A guidance system for an airborne vehicle including:
- passive radiation emissive means placed in a particular ground location, said passive radiation emissive means including a multiplicity of separate metallic objects placed in a predetermined pattern on a particular ground location each having a generally horizontal and generally flat radiation face positioned to assume an apparent temperature (T) in accordance with the equation T Epsilon Ta + Rho Ts + Tau Tfb, where Epsilon , Rho and Tau are the emissivity, reflection and transmissivity coefficients respectively, and Ta, Ts and Tb are respectively the ambient temperature of the material, the reflected sky temperature and the background temperature;
radiometric microwave receiving means mounted in said vehicle for detecting radiations over an area including the generally horizontal faces of said metallic objects forming said passive radiation emissive means, said radiations being directly proportional to the aforesaid apparent temperature (T) of the radiation emissive means; and
display means coupled to said microwave radiometric receiving means for providing a display of said passive radiation emissive means to the pilot of the vehicle.
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Abstract
A microwave radiometric landing assist system is provided which serves as an aid for landing aircraft, for example, and which may complement the present practice of using visible light sources for runway guidance. The landing assist system of the present invention involves the use of passive metallic objects positioned on the ground in a predetermined pattern. These objects are detected by a microwave radiometric receiving system located in the aircraft, and which likewise may be considered passive in that it does not radiate energy from the aircraft. The microwave radiometric landing assist system of the invention provides a display for the pilot which is analogous to the display provided by visible light sources, for example, but which is available day and night and under all types of weather conditions. The information presented to the pilot is obtained at a rapid rate over an area which includes the metallic objects pattern. The area frame rate is fast enough to allow the pilot to react properly in flying the terminal approach.
29 Citations
5 Claims
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1. A guidance system for an airborne vehicle including:
- passive radiation emissive means placed in a particular ground location, said passive radiation emissive means including a multiplicity of separate metallic objects placed in a predetermined pattern on a particular ground location each having a generally horizontal and generally flat radiation face positioned to assume an apparent temperature (T) in accordance with the equation T Epsilon Ta + Rho Ts + Tau Tfb, where Epsilon , Rho and Tau are the emissivity, reflection and transmissivity coefficients respectively, and Ta, Ts and Tb are respectively the ambient temperature of the material, the reflected sky temperature and the background temperature;
radiometric microwave receiving means mounted in said vehicle for detecting radiations over an area including the generally horizontal faces of said metallic objects forming said passive radiation emissive means, said radiations being directly proportional to the aforesaid apparent temperature (T) of the radiation emissive means; and
display means coupled to said microwave radiometric receiving means for providing a display of said passive radiation emissive means to the pilot of the vehicle.
- passive radiation emissive means placed in a particular ground location, said passive radiation emissive means including a multiplicity of separate metallic objects placed in a predetermined pattern on a particular ground location each having a generally horizontal and generally flat radiation face positioned to assume an apparent temperature (T) in accordance with the equation T Epsilon Ta + Rho Ts + Tau Tfb, where Epsilon , Rho and Tau are the emissivity, reflection and transmissivity coefficients respectively, and Ta, Ts and Tb are respectively the ambient temperature of the material, the reflected sky temperature and the background temperature;
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2. The system defined in claim 1 in which said particular ground location constitutes a runway extension for landing the airborne vehicle, and in which said metallic objects are placed in adjacent rows.
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3. The guidance system defined in claim 1 in which said radiometric receiving means includes a lens type antenna, and at least one radiometric receiver positioned at the focal point of said lens antenna.
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4. The guidance system defined in claim 3 and which includes drive means mechanically coupled to said receiver for reciprocally moving said receiver angularly through a predetermined range effectively scanning said receiver over an area and through a predetermined antenna pattern.
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5. The guidance system defined in claim 3 and which includes a plurality of radiometric microwave receivers mounted at the focal point of said lens antenna.
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneePhilip J. Caruso Jr
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Original AssigneePhilip J. Caruso Jr
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InventorsCaruso, Philip J. Jr.
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Primary Examiner(s)Feinberg, Samuel
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Assistant Examiner(s)Berger, Richard E.
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Application NumberUS04/824,860Time in Patent Office1,419 DaysField of Search343/1ME,18RUS Class Current342/351CPC Class CodesG01S 1/02 using radio waves G01S19/00...
