Low range altimeter antenna
First Claim
1. An altimeter, comprising:
- a transmitter coupled to a first antenna configured for transmitting a ranging signal to a surface, the first antenna including a driven element and at least one director element;
a receiver coupled to a second antenna configured for receiving at least a portion of the ranging signal reflected from the surface, the second antenna including a driven element and at least one director element;
a first enclosure containing the driven element and the at least one director element of the first antenna; and
a second enclosure containing the driven element and the at least one director element of the second antenna;
wherein the first enclosure and the second enclosure are configured to withstand critical weather conditions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to low range altimeter (LRA) antenna implementations that are resistant to signal degradation under critical weather conditions. An altimeter may include a first antenna communicatively coupled to a transmitter configured to transmit a ranging signal to a surface. The altimeter may further include a second antenna communicatively coupled to a receiver configured to receive at least a portion of the ranging signal reflected from the surface. Each of the first (transmitting) antenna and the second (receiving) antenna may include a driven element and at least one parasitic director element. In some embodiments, at least a portion of an aircraft surface may function as a parasitic reflector element in accordance with a Yagi-Uda array antenna topology.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. An altimeter, comprising:
-
a transmitter coupled to a first antenna configured for transmitting a ranging signal to a surface, the first antenna including a driven element and at least one director element; a receiver coupled to a second antenna configured for receiving at least a portion of the ranging signal reflected from the surface, the second antenna including a driven element and at least one director element; a first enclosure containing the driven element and the at least one director element of the first antenna; and a second enclosure containing the driven element and the at least one director element of the second antenna; wherein the first enclosure and the second enclosure are configured to withstand critical weather conditions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. An altimeter, comprising:
-
a transmitter coupled to a first antenna configured for transmitting a ranging signal to a surface, the first antenna including a driven element and at least one director element; a receiver coupled to a second antenna configured for receiving at least a portion of the ranging signal reflected from the surface, the second antenna including a driven element and at least one director element; and an enclosure containing the driven element and the at least one director element of the first antenna and the driven element and the at least one director element of the second antenna; wherein the enclosure is configured to withstand critical weather conditions. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A system for determining aircraft altitude, comprising:
-
an aircraft; an altimeter including a transmitter coupled to a first antenna configured for transmitting a ranging signal to a surface and a receiver coupled to a second antenna configured for receiving at least a portion of the ranging signal reflected from the surface, the first antenna and the second antenna each including a driven element and at least one director element; and at least one enclosure coupled to a surface of the aircraft, the at least one enclosure containing at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna; wherein the at least one enclosure is configured to withstand critical weather conditions. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification