Patent ID: 9696405
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: G01S,H04R

Claim:
1. A system configured for mounting on an aerial vehicle for detecting an airborne projectile launched toward the vehicle; the system comprising: an annular housing including an annular central wall, a flat annular front surface and a flat annular back surface connected to the central wall, and a curved sidewall extending from an outer perimeter of the back surface, wherein the flat annular front surface defines an array of holes and the flat annular back surface is flush-mounted to the vehicle; an optical sensor housing including a cylindrical sidewall, a back wall, a flat side surface which angles forwardly and laterally from the back wall, wherein the optical sensor housing is attached to the annular housing; an acoustic sensor having an array of microphones disposed in the array of holes formed in the flat annular front surface of the annular housing such that the microphones of the array of microphones are recessed from the flat annular front surface and configured to sense when a shock wave associated with the firing of the projectile reaches the vehicle; an optical sensor mounted in the optical sensor housing configured to take images of the projectile in an ultraviolet light spectrum; and processor logic configured to calculate a trajectory of the projectile based on the images and data collected by the acoustic sensor associated with the shock wave, wherein the processor logic is configured to generate at least one warning signal to warn an operator of the vehicle about the projectile.