US 12,074,364 B2
Sensor waveguide system for a seeker antenna array
Julio A. Navarro, Kent, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Jan. 18, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/577,791.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/140,088, filed on Jan. 21, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0399637 A1, Dec. 15, 2022
Int. Cl. H01Q 1/28 (2006.01); F41G 7/22 (2006.01); H01Q 1/42 (2006.01); H01Q 13/02 (2006.01); H01Q 21/06 (2006.01); H01Q 21/20 (2006.01)
CPC H01Q 1/281 (2013.01) [F41G 7/2246 (2013.01); F41G 7/2253 (2013.01); F41G 7/2286 (2013.01); F41G 7/2293 (2013.01); H01Q 1/42 (2013.01); H01Q 13/02 (2013.01); H01Q 21/064 (2013.01); H01Q 21/20 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sensor waveguide system that is part of an air-breathing missile including a combustion system that employs outside air for combustion, the sensor waveguide system comprising:
a radome defining an outermost profile and an innermost surface, wherein the outermost profile of the radome is shaped based on a flow of the outside air that is supplied to the combustion system of the air-breathing missile;
a sensor waveguide including a main body defining a peak, a base, an axis of rotation, and a plurality of waveguide channels, wherein the main body converges from the base to the peak to create a predetermined tapered profile that includes a geometry that is shaped to correspond with the innermost surface of the radome and is established based on aerodynamic requirements of the air-breathing missile, and wherein the plurality of waveguide channels are oriented parallel to the axis of rotation of the main body of the sensor waveguide and each waveguide channel of the plurality of waveguide channels defines an exit disposed at the base of the main body, and wherein the radome covers the main body of the sensor waveguide; and
a plurality of sensors, wherein a sensor is disposed at the exit of each of the plurality of waveguide channels to create an equal number of sensors and waveguide channels that are part of the sensor waveguide system.