Creating and processing universal radar waveforms
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A radar transmission system comprising:
- a transmitter system configured to generate one or more radar signals; and
an antenna system having spatially-separated elements and configured to radiate the one or more radar signals from the spatially-separated elements,wherein the transmitter system and/or the antenna system are configured such that the radiated radar signals include a pattern of spatially-separated radar pulses, each from a different one of the spatially-separated antenna elements, the pattern of pulses having;
at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is substantially unequal to the spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses;
a mainlobe radiation pattern with a width that is near or substantially equal to the minimum possible mainlobe width; and
sidelobe radiation patterns with substantially even energy distribution.
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Abstract
A new approach to radar imaging is described herein, in which radar pulses are transmitted wi th an uneven sampling scheme and subsequently processed with novel algorithms to produce images of equivalent resolution and quality as standard images produced using standard synthetic aperture radar (SAR) waveforms and processing techniques. The radar data collected with these waveforms can be used to create many other useful products such as moving target indication (MTI) and high resolution terrain information (HRTI). The waveform and the correction algorithms described herein allow the algorithms of these other radar products to take advantage of the quality Doppler resolution.
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Citations
68 Claims
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1. A radar transmission system comprising:
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a transmitter system configured to generate one or more radar signals; and an antenna system having spatially-separated elements and configured to radiate the one or more radar signals from the spatially-separated elements, wherein the transmitter system and/or the antenna system are configured such that the radiated radar signals include a pattern of spatially-separated radar pulses, each from a different one of the spatially-separated antenna elements, the pattern of pulses having; at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is substantially unequal to the spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses; a mainlobe radiation pattern with a width that is near or substantially equal to the minimum possible mainlobe width; and sidelobe radiation patterns with substantially even energy distribution. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. Non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage media containing programming code which, when executed by a computer system, causes an antenna system to radiate radar signals which include a pattern of pulses having:
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at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is substantially unequal to the spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses; and a mainlobe radiation pattern with a width that is near or substantially equal to the minimum possible mainlobe width; and sidelobe radiation patterns with substantially even energy distribution. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A radar reception system comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive a radar signal which includes a first data set having a plurality of values based on a radar waveform return from a set of transmitted radar pulses; and a processing system configured to create a second data set comprising the first data set minus at least one significant value from the first data set and its effects on other values within the first data set when the set of transmitted radar pulses was transmitted with; a spatial separation between at least two neighboring pulses that is substantially unequal to the spatial separation between at least two other neighboring pulses in the set; a mainlobe radiation pattern with a width that is near or substantially equal to the minimum possible width; and sidelobe radiation patterns with a substantially even distribution of energy. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. Non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage media containing programming code which, when executed by a computer system, creates a second data set comprising a first data set having a plurality of values based on a radar waveform return from a set of transmitted radar pulses minus at least one significant value from the first data set and its effects on other values within the first data set when the set of transmitted radar pulses has:
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a spatial separation between at least two neighboring pulses that is substantially unequal to the spatial separation between at least two other neighboring pulses in the set; a mainlobe radiation pattern with a width that is near or substantially equal to the minimum possible width; and sidelobe radiation patterns with a substantially even distribution of energy. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A radar transmission system comprising:
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a transmitter system configured to generate one or more radar signals; and an antenna system having spatially-separated elements and configured to radiate the one or more radar signals from the spatially-separated elements, wherein the transmitter system and/or the antenna system are configured such that the radiated radar signals include a pattern of spatially-separated radar pulses, each from a different one of the spatially-separated antenna elements, the pattern of radar pulses having at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is at least twice the shortest spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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- 43. Non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage media containing programming code which, when executed by a computer system, causes an antenna system to radiate radar signals which include a pattern of pulses having at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is at least twice the shortest spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses.
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49. A radar reception system comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive a radar signal which includes a first data set having a plurality of values based on a radar waveform return from a set of transmitted radar pulses; and a processing system configured to create a second data set comprising the first data set minus at least one significant value from the first data set and its effects on other values within the first data set when the set of transmitted radar pulses was transmitted with a pattern of radar pulses having at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is at least twice the shortest spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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- 59. Non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage media containing programming code which, when executed by a computer system, creates a second data set comprising a first data set having a plurality of values based on a radar waveform return from a set of transmitted radar pulses minus at least one significant value from the first data set and its effects on other values within the first data set when the set of transmitted radar pulses has at least two neighboring radar pulses that have a spatial separation that is at least twice the shortest spatial separation between at least two other neighboring radar pulses in the pattern of pulses.
Specification