| Method and apparatus for identifying ownship threats -> Monitor Keywords |
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Method and apparatus for identifying ownship threatsMethod and apparatus for identifying ownship threats description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060290560, Method and apparatus for identifying ownship threats. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of Invention [0002] This invention relates to methods and apparatus for identifying ownship threats, such as weapon targeting systems used to track aircraft or other objects. [0003] 2. Related Art [0004] Aircraft, including airplanes, helicopters and other similar objects used in both military and civilian applications, may be equipped with threat identification systems that identify threats to the aircraft, such as surface-to-air missile systems or other weapon systems. Such weapon systems typically emit radar-based or other signals in an effort to track, identify and locate aircraft or other objects. By identifying the location and trajectory of an aircraft, a weapon system may deploy a missile or other device in an effort to destroy or disable the aircraft. Aircraft threat identification systems typically include a receiver that receives signals emitted by one or more threats and are capable of identifying a weapon system as a threat based on the signals emitted by the weapon system. Once a threat is identified, the aircraft may take evasive action, deploy countermeasures or employ other efforts to thwart the weapon's ability to engage the aircraft. SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0005] The inventors have appreciated that some existing threat identification systems require the dedication of receiver resources to a suspected threat in order to determine whether the threat is real, that is, to determine whether or not the threat is actually targeting the aircraft. For example, in some such systems, receiver resources must be dedicated to "looking" in a suspected threat's direction for a longer period of time than would otherwise be used in order to determine whether the threat is tracking the aircraft or not. Dedication of receiver resources frequently requires an adjustment in dwell time, i.e., an amount of time that a receiver devotes its attention to receiving signals from one or more directions. Adjustments in dwell time for the receiver resources may result in the receiver not looking in the direction of other threats, potentially preventing the system from identifying emerging threats in as timely a manner as it would otherwise. In addition, increased dwell times for suspected threats may reduce the total number of threats that the system can evaluate since the system may only be capable of devoting a certain total amount of time to threat assessment. [0006] In one aspect of the invention, a threat evaluation system may identify a particular threat as a real one, i.e., that the threat is actively tracking the aircraft or other object associated with the threat evaluation system, without effecting any dwell arrangement changes or other characteristics of the receiver operation. That is, in one aspect of the invention, a scan strategy used by a receiver to receive signals emitted by one or more threat sources need not be adjusted for the threat evaluation system to determine that a particular threat source is actively tracking the object. This capability to identify threats as real or not without changing the dwell time or other scan characteristics of the receiver may enable the system to assess a potentially larger number of threats since the receiver need not be required to spend "extra" time receiving signals in any particular direction or frequency band. Some embodiments in accordance with the invention may be capable of evaluating a theoretically infinite number of threats, limited only by the amount of processing power available to evaluate signals received by the receiver. [0007] In one aspect of the invention, a threat evaluation system includes a receiver associated with an object. The receiver is adapted to implement a scan strategy, including a dwell arrangement, and receive signals emitted by one or more sources to locate the object or similar items. A tracking system receives information from the receiver regarding received signals and analyzes these signals to provide an indication that the object is being actively tracked by one or more sources. The tracking system may provide the track indication based on its analysis and without adjusting the dwell arrangement of the scan strategy of the receiver. [0008] In another aspect of the invention, a threat evaluation system includes a receiver associated with an object. The receiver is adapted to receive signals emitted by one or more sources to locate the object or similar items and to provide an indication of at least one signal intercept from a source based on one or more signals received from the source. A tracking system may receive information from the receiver regarding signal intercepts and analyze at least one signal intercept from the source. Based on its analysis, the tracking system may provide an indication that the source is actively tracking the object when a sample count of signal intercepts from the source is greater than a track count during a window, and/or provide a break track indication that the source is not actively tracking the object when a number of signal intercepts from the source is less than a break track count during a window. [0009] In another aspect of the invention, a method of identifying one or more threats to an object includes implementing a scan strategy for a receiver, where the scan strategy includes a dwell arrangement defining one or more time periods during which the receiver is intended to receive signals from one or more directions. Signals emitted by one or more sources to locate an object, associated with a receiver, are received at the receiver. A track indication may be provided that indicates at least one source is actively tracking the object based on the received signals and without adjusting the dwell arrangement of the scan strategy for the receiver. [0010] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent and/or obvious from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0011] Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to the following drawings in which like numerals, reference like elements, and wherein: [0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an object, e.g., a helicopter, and a plurality of threat sources; [0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a threat evaluation system in accordance with the invention; [0014] FIG. 3 schematically shows a plurality of signal intercepts with their detected amplitude plotted as a function of time for a particular source; [0015] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing steps in a method for evaluating a threat source in accordance with an aspect of the invention; and [0016] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing steps in a method for conditioning an evaluated threat source in accordance with an aspect of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0017] This invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having," "containing," "involving," and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. [0018] Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to illustrative embodiments. It should be understood that reference to these illustrative embodiments is not made to limit aspects of the invention in any way. Instead, illustrative embodiments are used to aid in the description and understanding of various aspects of the invention. Therefore, the following description is intended to be illustrative, not limiting. [0019] In one aspect of the invention, a threat evaluation system can provide a track indication representing that a particular threat source is actively tracking an object without requiring any adjustment in the scan strategy of a receiver. That is, the receiver may passively receive signals from a plurality of different directions and/or different frequencies, e.g., to detect signals from one or more emitters associated with one or more threats. The receiver may receive these signals using a scan strategy, i.e., a predetermined dwelling sequence by which the receiver detects signals from each of a plurality of different directions and/or frequencies for a specified time period. For example, the receiver may detect signals in a first direction and frequency for a first time period, then detect signals in a second direction and frequency for a second time period, and so on until returning to detect signals in the first direction and frequency, then repeating the sequence again. By employing the scan strategy, the receiver may detect signals from different threat sources located in different directions and identify such information as the direction from which the signals were received, the signal amplitude, the time the signal was received, etc. The scan strategy may include a dwell arrangement, i.e., the set time periods during which the receiver "looks" at particular directions and/or frequencies. The different time periods used for each direction/frequency may be adjusted in any suitable way, as is known in the art. The receiver may categorize or otherwise identify signals as originating from a particular threat source, and provide signal intercept information for each threat source to a tracking system for analysis. The signal intercept information may indicate an identity of a threat source from which the signal(s) was received, an amplitude of the signal(s), a time of arrival of the signal(s) and/or other information. Using this signal intercept information, the tracking system may determine whether or not one or more threat sources are actively tracking the object, and provide a suitable indication. However, as is described in more detail below, although the receiver may adjust its scan strategy for other reasons, the receiver need not necessarily adjust the scan strategy to enable the tracking system to identify whether or not a particular threat source is actually tracking the object. [0020] Embodiments that do not require an adjustment in the scan strategy for the receiver may enable the tracking system to analyze the signals received from more threat sources than would otherwise be possible, e.g., as compared to systems that adjust a dwell time for the receiver when attempting to determine whether the threat source is actively tracking the object. That is, systems that require a receiver to adjust a dwell time so that signals are received for a longer period of time in the direction of a suspected threat reduce the amount of time that the receiver has for "looking" for or monitoring other threats. As a result, such systems may be limited in the number of threats that can be reliably identified and/or evaluated. Continue reading about Method and apparatus for identifying ownship threats... 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