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Ground-based collision alerting and avoidance systemGround-based collision alerting and avoidance system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080055149, Ground-based collision alerting and avoidance system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to NonProvisional patent application Ser. No. 11/266,031, entitled "Collision Alerting and Avoidance System" filed on Nov. 2, 2005, which claims priority Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/624,982, entitled "Collision Avoidance System" filed on Nov. 3, 2004, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND [0002] In conditions of crowded air traffic and/or low visibility, it is necessary that the pilot of one aircraft be warned of the presence of a nearby aircraft so that he may maneuver his aircraft to avoid a disastrous collision. Systems known as TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System) employ an interrogator mounted on a commercial jet aircraft and transponders carried by each aircraft it is likely to encounter. In this way, an interrogation is communicated by secondary radar between the aircraft carrying TCAS and other threat aircraft in the vicinity. This is done so that an enhanced radar signal is returned to the TCAS-equipped aircraft to enable its pilot to avoid a collision. The transponder also encodes the returned radar signal with information unique to the threat aircraft on which it is installed. With TCAS, the burden is on the pilot of the TCAS-equipped aircraft to avoid a collision when an alert is received. [0003] These systems however are very complicated and very costly and are used primarily on large commercial aircraft and required on all aircraft with more than 31 seats operating in the United States. Because of their high cost, these systems are rarely incorporated on smaller, general aviation aircraft, even when they are flying under adverse weather and traffic conditions, a situation which often leads to a collision hazard. General aviation pilots primarily rely on the "see and avoid" practice for collision avoidance and are often even reluctant to incur the cost of installing a transponder without gaining a direct collision avoidance benefit. [0004] Presently, most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) rely on operations in military restricted airspace to avoid the potential of collision with civilian aircraft. Planned operations in unrestricted portions of the National Airspace System require the ability to "see and avoid" all other air traffic; the same as for manned aircraft. Present air traffic control and TCAS type airborne systems cannot protect UAVs from non-cooperative (i.e., non-transponder equipped) aircraft collision threats. Also there is no present capability for the operator to detect a potential hazard and correct for a potential collision except to keep it in sight from the ground or from a manned chase plane. A primary radar system could provide an equivalent or better "sense and avoid" capability for these aircraft. Further, marine vehicles could also benefit from a system that detects and avoids potential hazards both small (i.e., buoys, logs, etc.) and large (i.e., other ships). [0005] What is needed in the art is a low cost, reliable, collision avoidance system that is particularly useful to protect against a wide variety of non-cooperative vehicles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0006] Referring now to the figures, wherein like elements are numbered alike: [0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a large winged UAV having an exemplary antenna array of the present invention; [0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary antenna array of the present invention; [0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the individual horns of the exemplary antenna array of the present invention in FIG. 2; [0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a radome enclosing an exemplary antenna array of the present invention; [0011] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the system of the present invention; [0012] FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional small, tactical UAV having a patch antenna array of the present invention; [0013] FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a hybrid system of the present invention disposed on a marine vehicle; [0014] FIG. 8 is a side view of a ground-based collision avoidance and alerting system of the present invention; and [0015] FIG. 9 is a side view of another ground-based collision avoidance and alerting system of the present invention. SUMMARY [0016] The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the present disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the present disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the present disclosure or to delineate the scope of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the present disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented herein. [0017] The disclosure is directed toward a collision alerting and avoidance system. The system comprises at least one antenna array disposed on a structure on the ground and at least one transmitter/receiver probe coupled to the antenna array. The transmitter/receiver probe is configured to operate in a transmit mode to transmit electromagnetic waves and a receive mode to receive an echo signal reflected from an obstacle in the area of an aerial vehicle. The system also comprises at least one transmitter/receiver module coupled to the transmitter/receiver probe. The transmitter/receiver module is configured to operate in a transmit mode to produce electromagnetic waves for transmission and a receive mode to receive the echo signal. The system also comprises a processor coupled to the transmitter/receiver module. The processor is configured to control transmission of the electromagnetic waves from the antenna array and to process the echo signal to provide an output signal containing information regarding the obstacle. [0018] A method of using a collision alerting and avoidance system disposed on the ground is also disclosed. The method comprises disposing at least one antenna array on a structure on the ground and coupling at least one transmitter/receiver probe to the antenna array. The transmitter/receiver probe is configured to operate in a transmit mode and a receive mode. The method also comprises coupling at least one transmitter/receiver module to the transmitter/receiver probe. The transmitter/receiver module is configured to produce at least one electromagnetic wave in a transmit mode and to receive an echo signal in a receive mode. The method also comprises transmitting the electromagnetic wave from the transmitter/receiver probe and detecting the echo signal reflected from an obstacle in the area of an aerial vehicle in the transmitter/receiver probe and the transmitter/receiver module. The method also comprises transmitting another electromagnetic wave from the transmitter/receiver probe and the transmitter/receiver module upon receipt of the echo signal and processing the echo signal in a processor coupled to the transmitter/receiver module to provide an output signal containing information regarding the obstacle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0019] Persons of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following disclosure is illustrative only and not in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Continue reading about Ground-based collision alerting and avoidance system... Full patent description for Ground-based collision alerting and avoidance system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Ground-based collision alerting and avoidance system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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