Spotlight mapping radar system
First Claim
1. A spotlight mapping radar system provided on a moving radar platform to obtain the picture of a stationary object to be observed comprising:
- a transmission means for transmitting a radio wave toward said object;
a reception means for receiving said radio wave reflected from said object as an echo signal;
a pulse compression means for enhancing the range resolution of said received echo signal;
an azimuth compression means for enhancing the crossrange resolution of said received echo signal;
a reference signal generating means for generating a reference signal required for the azimuth compression;
a display buffer means for storing said received echo signal which has been processed by said compression means and said azimuth compression means, as the signal representing the picture information of said object;
a display means for displaying the picture of said object to be observed in accordance with the signal representing the picture information output from said display buffer means; and
an inertial navigation system for measuring the movement of said radar platform to control said transmission means and said reference signal generating means, characterized in that;
said reception means includes a digital beam forming antenna means which has a plurality of antenna elements, and which is capable of converting the echo signals received by said plurality of antenna elements into corresponding digital signals and digitally processing them to form and output a plurality of reception beams oriented in different directions at the same time;
said pulse compression means, said azimuth compression means, said display buffer means and said reference signal generating means are provided respectively for each of the outputs of said digital beam forming antenna means at which said plurality of reception beams are output; and
an output picture synthesizing means for synthesizing the signals representing the picture information output from said respective display buffer means and outputting said synthesized signals to said display means is provided.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The receiving apparatus of a spotlight mapping radar system is provided with a digital beamforming antenna capable of converting the echo signals received by a plurality of antenna elements into corresponding digital signals and processing them by DFT and forming a plurality of reception beams oriented in different directions at the same time to enhance the cross-range resolution without reducing the distance measurement capability and the measurable range. Pulse compressors, azimuth compressors, display buffers and reference signal generators are provided respectively for each of the outputs of the digital beamforming antenna for outputting the plurality of reception beams. An output picture synthesizing apparatus synthesizes signals representing the picture information from the respective display buffers and outputs the synthesized signals to a display to display thereon the synthesized picture of an object to be observed.
-
Citations
8 Claims
-
1. A spotlight mapping radar system provided on a moving radar platform to obtain the picture of a stationary object to be observed comprising:
-
a transmission means for transmitting a radio wave toward said object; a reception means for receiving said radio wave reflected from said object as an echo signal; a pulse compression means for enhancing the range resolution of said received echo signal; an azimuth compression means for enhancing the crossrange resolution of said received echo signal; a reference signal generating means for generating a reference signal required for the azimuth compression; a display buffer means for storing said received echo signal which has been processed by said compression means and said azimuth compression means, as the signal representing the picture information of said object; a display means for displaying the picture of said object to be observed in accordance with the signal representing the picture information output from said display buffer means; and an inertial navigation system for measuring the movement of said radar platform to control said transmission means and said reference signal generating means, characterized in that; said reception means includes a digital beam forming antenna means which has a plurality of antenna elements, and which is capable of converting the echo signals received by said plurality of antenna elements into corresponding digital signals and digitally processing them to form and output a plurality of reception beams oriented in different directions at the same time; said pulse compression means, said azimuth compression means, said display buffer means and said reference signal generating means are provided respectively for each of the outputs of said digital beam forming antenna means at which said plurality of reception beams are output; and an output picture synthesizing means for synthesizing the signals representing the picture information output from said respective display buffer means and outputting said synthesized signals to said display means is provided. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
-
-
4. A spotlight mapping radar system provided on a moving radar platform to obtain the picture of a stationary object to be observed comprising:
-
a transmission means for transmitting a radio wave toward said object; a reception means for receiving said radio wave reflected from said object as an echo signal; a pulse compression means for enhancing the range resolution of said received echo signal; an azimuth compression means for enhancing the cross-range resolution of said received echo signal; a reference signal generating means for generating a reference signal required for the azimuth compression; a display means for displaying the picture of said object to be observed in accordance with said received echo signal which has been processed by said compression means and said azimuth compression means and which represents the picture information of said object; and an inertial navigation system for measuring the movement of said radar platform to control said transmission means and said reference signal generating means, characterized in that; said reception means comprises beam forming means, having a plurality of outputs, for processing said received echo signal and for producing a plurality of reception beams oriented in different directions at the same time; and said pulse compression means, said azimuth compression means, and said reference signal generating means are provided respectively for each of the outputs of said beam forming means at which said plurality of reception beams are present. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
-
Specification