Radar processor

• US 4,488,154 A
• Filed: 03/25/1982
• Issued: 12/11/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Ward, Harold R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Krass, Errol A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tager, Clifford L.
• Application Number:
  US06/361,668
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 364/517, 364/582, 364/581, 364/724, 343/5 VQ, 343/7 A, 343/7 HL, 343/7.7, 343/5 DP, 343/17.2, 343/5 NQ, 343/5 CF, 343/17.1 R, 343/9 R, 455/303, 455/306, 455/307
• US Class Current: 342/162
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/5248 combining a coherent MTI processor with a zero Doppler processing channel and a clutter mapped memory, e.g. MTD (Moving target detector), area MTI G01S13/538
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/526 performing filtering on the whole spectrum without loss of range information, e.g. using delay line cancellers or comb filters G01S13/5244 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/532 using a bank of range gates or a memory matrix

Abstract

A moving target indicator system in which quadrature components of each range cell of returned target reflections are produced by phase comparison with the transmitted signals and compared by weighting three successive returns to obtain moving target differences for display.

Claims

1. A radar system processor for detecting signals in the presence of clutter comprising:

means for deriving signals from reflections of directively radiated groups of at least three radar pulses in which the interpulse periods in each group are equal;

detector means for extracting components of received signals phase related to said pulses;

means for sampling said components at intervals in time corresponding to ranges of reflections;

means for storing the sequences of samples generated by said sampling means during said interpulse periods;

a plurality of velocity filters;

said filters having means for weighting each sequence of stored samples with weighting coefficients;

at least some of said weighting coefficients being different for different velocity filters; and

means for normalizing the outputs of different ones of said velocity filters as a function of said clutter passing through said different filters.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said clutter normalizing means comprises:

means for integrating signals from said receiver for different ranges on successive pulses of an azimuth direction of a radar antenna and subtracting different amounts of said clutter from different filter outputs.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

samples of said clutter are stored as logarithmic functions of said samples.

4. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the outputs of said velocity filters are logarithmic functions of said samples.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein:

samples of both in-phase and quadrature phase components of said samples are stored and the sum of the squares of the velocity filtered in-phase and quadrature phase samples of each of said samples are produced.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein:

said means for storing said sequence of samples comprises means for digitizing said samples and storing summed outputs of said velocity filters during the final interpulse period of each group of three interpulse periods.

7. A radar system comprising:

means for directively radiating groups of three radar pulses in which the interpulse periods in each group are equal and for receiving reflections of said pulses;

means for extracting components of received signals phase related to said pulses;

means for sampling said components at intervals which are a function of range;

means for storing the sequences of said samples generated during sequential interpulse periods in said group;

a plurality of velocity filters;

each of said filters having means for weighting each sequence of stored samples with weighting coefficients;

at least some of said coefficients being different for different velocity filters; and

means for normalizing the outputs of said velocity filters as a function of signals passing through some of said filters.

8. A radar system comprising:

means for directively radiating groups of three radar pulses in which the interpulse periods in each group are equal and with each pulse in said group radiated substantially in the same direction;

means for extracting components of received signal phase related to said pulses in the presence of clutter;

means for sequentially sampling said components;

means for storing the sequences of said samples generated during sequential interpulse periods in said group;

a plurality of velocity filters;

means for weighting the outputs of said filters with different weighting coefficients; and

means for normalizing the outputs of different ones of said velocity filters as a function of said clutter passing through said different filters.

9. A radar system comprising:

means for deriving signals in the presence of clutter from directively radiated groups of three radar pulses in which the interpulse periods in each group are equal;

means for extracting components of received signals which are phase related to said radar pulses;

means for sampling said components at predetermined intervals;

means for storing the sequences of said samples generated during sequential interpulse periods in said group; and

a plurality of velocity filters;

each of said filters having means for weighting each sequence of stored samples with weighting coefficients, some of which are different for different velocity filters and for normalizing the outputs of different ones of said velocity filters as a function of the portions of said clutter which pass through said different filters; and

the outputs of said velocity filters being logarithmic functions of said samples.

10. A radar system processor comprising:

means for deriving reflected signals from groups of three radar pulses directively radiated substantially in the same direction;

means for extracting components of received signals phase related to said pulses and containing clutter;

means for sampling said components at predetermined intervals corresponding to predetermined ranges;

means for storing the sequences of said samples generated during sequential interpulse periods in each group;

a plurality of velocity filters;

each of said filters having means for weighting each sequence of stored samples with weighting coefficients;

means for normalizing the outputs of different ones of said velocity filters as a function of the portions of said clutter passing through said different filters;

means for integrating said signals on successive received pulses at different times from objects at different distances producing said reflected signals; and

means for subtracting different amounts of said stored clutter from different outputs of said filters.

11. A radar system comprising:

means for directively radiating a plurality of radar pulses;

means for receiving and processing reflected target and clutter echo signals of said radar pulses comprising a plurality of filters having different bandpass characteristics; and

means for normalizing the outputs of said filters as a function of a long term average of background clutter passing through one or more of said filters.

12. The radar system in accordance with claim 11 wherein:

said normalizing means comprises means for integrating said reflected echo signals for different ranges on successive pulses of an azimuth direction of the radiated pulses.

13. The radar system in accordance with claim 11 wherein:

said radiated pulses have substantially equal interpulse periods.

14. A radar system comprising:

means for deriving signals having a clutter portion from directively radiated groups of three or more radar pulses in which interpulse periods in each group are equal; and

means for extracting components of received signals which are phase related to said radar pulses through a plurality of different velocity filters each weighted with different coefficients and having outputs which are normalized as a function of a long term average of background clutter passing through one or more of said filters.

15. The radar system in accordance with claim 14 wherein:

the outputs of said filters are logarithmic functions of samples of said components.