On-board meteorological radar having a rotating antenna

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9377529-B2
Application number	US-201414252209-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 14, 2014
Priority date	Apr 16, 2013
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

A meteorological radar installed on board an aircraft, including a mechanical support fixed to a bulkhead of a nose of the aircraft, wherein an antenna is mounted on the mechanical support to enable turning mobility around an axis of rotation. The antenna includes a pedestal, on which at least one blade, extending radially along the axis of rotation, is installed. A free side of the blade, along which a plurality of radiating elements is distributed, perceptibly has the shape of a portion of conic in a plane including the axis of rotation. Because the blade is mobile only in rotation along the axis of rotation, and the selection of the emission/reception direction is performed electronically, not mechanically, the space and length requirements of the meteorological radar are fixed, whether the meteorological radar is in operation or not, and are determined based on the eccentricity and parameter of the conic.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A meteorological radar, to be installed on board an aircraft, comprising:
an antenna including a pedestal, rotationally mounted relative to the mechanical support around an axis of rotation;
a mechanical support;
an electronic scanning system;
at least one blade fixed to the pedestal and extending radially along the axis of rotation; and
a plurality of radiating elements distributed along a free side of the blade not contiguous to the pedestal, the free side perceptibly having the shape of a portion of a conic with a focal axis merged with the axis of rotation in a plane including the axis of rotation, each radiating element being configured to radiate along a radiation axis included in the plane and being connected to the electronic scanning system.

2. The meteorological radar as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, in utilization, the electronic scanning system is configured to transmit a radar wave only to a plurality of adjacent radiating elements fewer than all of the radiating elements.

3. The meteorological radar as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each radiating element includes a parabolic reflector with a parabolic section in a plane orthogonal to the plane including the axis of rotation and fixed to the free side of the blade.

4. The meteorological radar as claimed in claim 3 , wherein each radiating element includes a wire part situated at a center of the parabolic reflector and aligned along a focal axis of the parabolic reflector.

5. The meteorological radar as claimed in claim 3 , wherein each radiating element furthermore includes a secondary reflector having a hyperbolic section in a plane orthogonal to the plane including the axis of rotation, the secondary reflector having a center coinciding with a center of the parabolic reflector of the radiating element.

6. The meteorological radar as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the antenna includes at least two blades, wherein each blade is provided with a plurality of radiating elements and wherein the at least two blades have the axis of rotation as their common intersection.

7. The meteorological radar as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electronic scanning system is fitted in the pedestal.

8. An aircraft comprising:
a fuselage;
a radome fixed to the fuselage,
the radome defining a housing, and the fuselage including a bulkhead closing the housing; and
a meteorological radar installed in the housing and having
an antenna including a pedestal, rotationally mounted relative to the mechanical support around an axis of rotation;
a mechanical support;
an electronic scanning system;
at least one blade fixed to the pedestal and extending radially along the axis of rotation; and
a plurality of radiating elements being distributed along a free side of the blade not contiguous to the pedestal, the free side perceptibly having the shape of a portion of a conic with a focal axis merged with the axis of rotation in a plane including the axis of rotation, each radiating element being capable of radiating along an axis included in the plane and being connected to the electronic scanning system,
the mechanical support being fixed to the bulkhead, and the axis of rotation of the meteorological radar being perceptibly aligned with a longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Sas

Inventors

• Lieven Patrick

Classifications

• G01S13/95 Primary

  for meteorological use · CPC title

• H01Q1/281

  Nose antennas · CPC title

• G01S13/953 Primary

  mounted on aircraft · CPC title

• G01S13/882

  for altimeters (measuring height using barometric means G01C5/06) · CPC title

• H01Q19/17

  the primary radiating source comprising two or more radiating elements (H01Q19/15, H01Q25/00 take precedence) · CPC title