Hardware Safety Circuit for Radar Threat Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic self-protection systems (AWiSS) face challenges in ensuring system security, requiring complex software verification and frequent qualification efforts, which complicates the approval process and increases development and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A safety device that utilizes a hardware-based security circuit to evaluate radar Doppler signals independently of the fire control system, ensuring that firing circuits are only activated when a real threat is detected, thereby separating system security from fire control tasks and reducing reliance on safety-critical software.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If system security is implemented through safety-critical software in the fire control system, then the system can differentiate between real and false targets, but the development effort and qualification complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two independent parts: a safety circuit that handles security-critical functions (evaluating radar Doppler signals to detect threats) and a fire control system that handles non-critical functions (direction and timing of shots). This segmentation allows the safety circuit to be implemented in hardware with simpler verification, while the fire control system can use more complex software without requiring full safety-critical qualification.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety function is extracted from the fire control software and implemented as a separate hardware circuit. The safety circuit independently evaluates radar Doppler signals to determine whether an object with threat-like speed is present, and only releases the firing circuits when a threat is detected. This extraction eliminates the need for complex safety-critical software qualification.
2Reliability
If safety-critical software is used for system security, then target classification can be achieved, but every software change requires repeated qualification effort
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the safety function into an independent hardware circuit, the patent enables the fire control software to be updated and modified without affecting the safety-critical safety circuit. The safety circuit maintains its fixed, verified functionality while the fire control system gains flexibility for software updates and adaptations.
3Reliability
If the entire fire control software is made safety-critical, then system security is ensured, but development and maintenance costs increase by factors greater than one
Solution Approach 1:
The safety function is extracted from the fire control software and implemented as a separate hardware circuit with simplified verification requirements. This extraction reduces the amount of safety-critical software needed, thereby reducing development and qualification costs while maintaining system security.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies the verification of system safety, reduces the need for extensive software qualification, and enhances the reliability of the system by ensuring that only genuine threats trigger countermeasures, thus lowering overall development and maintenance efforts while ensuring system security independently of the fire control system.
Implementation Method 1
radar Doppler signals are a reliable way of classifying target objects with regard to their relative speed
Data Source
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AI summary
A safety device (10) for an automatic self-protection system is described, comprising a radar receiver (12) connected via a radar signal processing device (14) to a distance-effective protection system (AWiSS) (16), which in turn is connected to an ignition and safety device (18). A radar Doppler signal-evaluating safety circuit (20) is connected in parallel between the radar receiver (12) and the ignition and safety device (18), wherein the output (22) of the safety circuit (20) and the output (24) of the AWiSS (16) are connected to the inputs (26, 28) of an AND gate (30), the output (32) of which is connected to the ignition and safety device (18).