Thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system for identifying and ranging thunderstorm cells by clustering single strike lightning observations
First Claim
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1. A thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system, comprising:
- means for acquiring lightning strike information relating to locations of respective lightning strikes; and
automated means for identifying and locating active thunderstorm cells including multiple lightning flashes based on said lightning strike information and a predetermined relationship among parameters associated with lightning strikes within a thunderstorm cell.
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Abstract
A thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system which includes means for acquiring lightning strike information relating to locations of respective lightning strikes, and means for identifying and locating active thunderstorm cells based on the lightning strike information.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system, comprising:
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means for acquiring lightning strike information relating to locations of respective lightning strikes; and automated means for identifying and locating active thunderstorm cells including multiple lightning flashes based on said lightning strike information and a predetermined relationship among parameters associated with lightning strikes within a thunderstorm cell. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system, comprising:
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means for acquiring lightning strike data relating to locations of respective lightning strikes; strike matrix means for grouping said lightning strikes into a plurality of groups based on said lightning strike data, and for each of said groups forming a strike matrix including strike matrix data representative of said lightning strikes included in said group; cell matrix means for forming a plurality of cell matrices, each cell matrix being representative of an active thunderstorm cell and including cell matrix data representative of lightning strikes associated with said active thunderstorm cell; matching means for attempting to match each of said strike matrices with one of said cell matrices according to a predetermined criteria, and if said match is successful, for associating said lightning strikes represented by said strike matrix with said matching cell matrix; and means for estimating locations for each of said active thunderstorm cells based on said cell matrix data included in said respective cell matrices. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system, comprising:
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means for receiving signals related to locations of lightning strikes; means for processing said signals to detect lightning flashes occurring among said lightning strikes; and automated means for estimating locations of different active thunderstorm cells including multiple lightning flashes based on said detected lightning flashes and a predetermined relationship among parameters associated with lightning flashes within a thunderstorm cell. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A system for identifying a merger of a plurality of active thunderstorm cells, comprising:
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means for acquiring lightning strike data representative of respective lightning strikes; automated means for processing said lightning strike data to obtain data representative of locations of respective active thunderstorm cells; means for comparing said data representative of said location of one of said active thunderstorm cells with said data representative of said location of another of said active thunderstorm cells according to a predetermined criteria; and automated means for identifying said one active thunderstorm cell and said another active thunderstorm cell as being part of a same active thunderstorm cell based on said comparison. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A thunderstorm cell detection and mapping system with invalid data rejection capabilities, comprising:
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means for receiving lightning strike data representative of a detected lightning strike; automated means for associating said detected lightning strike with an existing active thunderstorm cell in the event a first predetermined criteria is satisfied, said first predetermined criteria being based on a comparison of said lightning strike data representative of said detected lightning strike with other lightning strike data representative of lightning strikes previously associated with said active thunderstorm cell; automated means for associating said detected lightning strike with a new active thunderstorm cell in the event a second predetermined criteria is satisfied; and means for rejecting said lightning strike data representative of said detected lightning strike as being invalid in the event neither said first nor second criteria is satisfied.
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Specification