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Method for processing signals in a direction-finding systemMethod for processing signals in a direction-finding system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070222672, Method for processing signals in a direction-finding system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND [0001] The present invention discusses a novel method for processing signals in a direction-finder system for identifying and localising radio frequency emitters. [0002] Radio frequency emitters (radars, satellite uplink stations, cell-phone base stations, relay links) can be detected, analysed, and geo-referenced from a remote observation platform. This is achieved using a sensor with an antenna system for detecting the radiation, connected to a receiver and processing system. These systems can be deployed from satellites, aircraft, UAVs, ships vehicles or mounted in masts. [0003] Typical solutions employ radio receiver systems operating in the frequency bands 1 through 12 GHz. These systems employ multiple receiving antennas and multiple receivers to derive a course direction to the emitters. [0004] A direction-finder system installed in a ground observation platform will cover a large area, i.e. it will "see" a large part of the ground below. This means that the system will receive a large numbers of radio signals; up to several million signals may be received simultaneously. The signals originate from navigation radars, which are the main target for the direction-finding system, but may also originate from "false" sources, such as echo/reflection signals from the same radars, other radio transmitters, ground clutter, etc. The false signals will often overlap the desired signals. The large numbers of signals received poses a problem for the processing unit in the direction-finding system. The processing unit has the task of filtering out the wanted signals and find the true bearing to the sources. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for processing the signals received by a direction-finding system, which solves the problem outlined above. [0006] Thus, it is an object to provide a system and method as mentioned above, in which a target emitter appearing in a dense traffic scenario may be identified and its position determined with a high accuracy. [0007] Another object is to provide a system and method which may process a large number of signals simultaneously with low probability of collision in the signal pipe-line. [0008] These objects are achieved in a system and method as claimed in the appended patent claims. [0009] In particular the invention relates to a method for processing signals in a direction-finder, including detection of pulses in the received signals, estimation of characterizing pulse parameters, sorting the pulses according to the characterizing pulse parameters, de-interleaving the received pulses into pulses coming from at least one emitter, determining emitter parameters characterizing said emitter, and comparing said emitter parameters with emitter parameters from known emitters in order to recognize and identify the emitter. [0010] Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the following dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] The invention will now be described in detail in reference to the appended drawings, in which: [0012] FIG. 1 is a general overview of a direction-finder system according to the invention, [0013] FIG. 2 shows the architecture of a receiving system that may be used in the present invention, [0014] FIG. 3 illustrates the signal processing algorithm used in a processing unit of the invention, [0015] FIG. 4 is an example of a possible scenario where the invention is used to identify emitters. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0016] Initially, we will give an overview of the direction-finder system as a background for the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the direction-finder system includes an antenna unit 1 at left receiving RF signals from a number of emitter sources. The signals are delivered to an RF unit 2, center, where they are amplified, transposed down to baseband and demodulated. The demodulated signals are delivered to a processing unit 3 for processing and analysis. The antenna unit 1 is described in detail in co-pending patent application with title "An antenna arrangement", while the details of the RF unit are disclosed in co-pending patent application with title "Arrangements in a radio frequency receiver". [0017] Briefly, the antenna arrangement includes four antenna panels mounted in a 2.times.2 relationship, as well as an omni-directional guard antenna that may be mounted at the center of the antenna unit. [0018] FIG. 2 shows the receiver and processor section in a direction-finder system according to the invention. The receiver section comprises four phase channels and one guard channel. The figure shows the main components included in the receiver chains, i.e. amplifier 21, mixer 22 and bandpass filter 23. [0019] The signals from the receiver section are entered into the following processing unit, which includes a digitizer with two stacked A/D converters 24. The design of the A/D converters is further discussed in co-pending patent application with title "A digitizer". [0020] The Signal processing gate array 25 receives signal from the digitiser at a constant rate, and performs the crucial tasks of detection and data reduction in addition to basic pulse measurement. Continue reading about Method for processing signals in a direction-finding system... Full patent description for Method for processing signals in a direction-finding system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method for processing signals in a direction-finding 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. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Method for processing signals in a direction-finding system or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Millimeter wave image processor and millimeter wave image processing method Next Patent Application: System and method for evaluating the performance of a scan strategy Industry Class: Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g., radar, radio navigation) ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Method for processing signals in a direction-finding system patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.129 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Daimler Chrysler , DirecTV , Exxonmobil Chemical Company , Goodyear , Intel , Kyocera Wireless , 174 |
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