1. A radar system, comprising:
a transmission system, comprising a plurality of radiators, configured to transmit, simultaneously, a plurality of radar signals having different frequencies at a target and wherein each radiator is configured to transmit a radar signal that is unique with respect to other radar signals transmitted by other radiators of the plurality of radiators, and wherein the transmission system is further configured to permute the radar signals transmitted by each of the radiators over time; and
a receiver system, comprising a plurality of radiators, configured to receive at least a portion of the plurality of radar signals being reflected from the target, and to combine the at least a portion of the plurality of radar signals into a composite waveform representing an image of the target.
2. The radar system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmission system and the receiver system are phased-locked to a common reference oscillator signal.
3. A radar system, comprising:
a common reference oscillator signal;
a plurality of transmitreceive (TR) elements phased locked to the common reference oscillator signal, each configured to simultaneously transmit a radar signal with a frequency that is unique to the particular TR element and permuted over time, and simultaneously receive a conglomeration of the radar signals reflected from a target, including the radar signal with the frequency that is unique to the particular TR element and permuted over time; and
a processing system, configured to correlate each of the unique radar signals reflected from the target to each of the TR elements that transmitted the radar signal, and based on the correlation, combine the radar signals to form an image of the target.
4. The radar system as recited in claim 3, further comprising a reference oscillator configured to generate the common reference oscillator signal.
5. The radar system as recited in claim 3, wherein each of the TR elements includes a transmission unit and a receiver unit.
6. The radar system as recited in claim 3, wherein each of the TR elements includes a transmission unit, a receiver unit, and a processing unit.
7. The radar system as recited in claim 3, wherein the processing system includes a plurality of processing units each corresponding to the plurality of TR elements.
8. A method for transmitting and receiving radar signals, comprising:
transmitting a pattern comprising a plurality of unique radar signals having different, time permuted frequencies from a plurality of radiators simultaneously; and
receiving a reflection of the pattern; and
combining the plurality of unique radar signals having different, time permuted frequencies into a composite waveform to form an image of a target.
9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein a transmission system transmits the pattern and a receiver system receives the reflection and combines the plurality of radar signals.
10. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising generating a common reference oscillator signal.
11. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising generating a common reference oscillator signal, and phase locking the plurality of radar signals when transmitting and combining the radar signals.
12. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising transmitting a radar signal that is unique with respect to other radar signals.
13. A radar system, comprising:
means, having a plurality of transmit elements, for transmitting a pattern comprising a plurality of unique radar signals having different, time permuted frequencies simultaneously; and
means having a plurality of receive elements for receiving a reflection of the pattern, and combining the plurality of unique radar signals having different, time permuted frequencies into a composite waveform to form an image of a target.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An outfeed rail assembly as an interface between a first area of a production line and a second area of a production line, said outfeed rail assembly comprising:
a rail arm; and
a pivoting abutment assembly including
a support arm attached to said rail arm, and
a pivoting abutment arm pivotally attached to said support arm.
2. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1, wherein the pivoting abutment assembly further comprises a spring mechanism.
3. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 2, wherein the pivoting abutment assembly further comprises means for adjusting the degree of movement of said pivoting abutment arm and said spring mechanism.
4. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 2, wherein the spring applies a spring force to the pivoting abutment arm such that the pivoting abutment arm holds a first article in place in a stopped position when the only force propelling the article along the outfeed rail is a momentum of the article and the article comes into contact with the pivoting abutment arm, and the pivoting abutment arm pivots to a release position when a counter force greater than the spring force is applied to the pivoting abutment arm triggered by the article driven by a second article propelled by a conveying mechanism.
5. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1, wherein the pivoting abutment stops a momentum of an article as the article travels along the outfeed rail, and holds the article in a stopped position.
6. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 5, wherein the pivoting abutment releases the article when a force greater than the momentum of the article is applied to the article in a forwardly direction which translates to a corresponding tangential force against the pivoting abutment, to cause the pivoting abutment to pivot from a holding position to a release position.
7. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1, further comprising a roller attached to said pivoting abutment arm.
8. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 7, wherein said roller includes an inner race and an outer race rotatably secured together by a bearing.
9. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1, further comprising a guide rail attached to said rail arm.
10. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one roller attached to said rail arm.
11. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 10, wherein said at least one roller allows an article sliding onto the outfeed rail to maintain its momentum until the article abuts the pivoting abutment.
12. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1 wherein the outfeed rail assembly accommodates packaging for optical discs.
13. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 1, wherein the rail arm is L-shaped.
14. An outfeed rail assembly as an interface between a first area of a production line and a second area of a production line, said outfeed rail assembly comprising:
a rail arm;
a support arm attached to said rail arm; and
a spring-loaded lever pivotally attached to said support arm.
15. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 14, wherein the spring-loaded lever holds a first article in place in a stopped position when the only force propelling the first article along the outfeed rail is a momentum of the first article and the first article comes into contact with the spring-loaded lever, and the spring-loaded lever pivots to a release position when a counter force greater than the spring force is applied to the spring-loaded lever triggered by the first article driven by a second article propelled by a conveying mechanism.
16. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 14, wherein the spring-loaded lever stops a momentum of an article as the article travels along the outfeed rail, and holds the article in a stopped position.
17. The outfeed rail assembly of claim 16, wherein the spring-loaded lever releases the article when a force greater than the momentum of the article is applied to the article in a forwardly direction which translates to a corresponding tangential force against the spring-loaded lever, to cause the spring-loaded lever to pivot from a holding position to a release position.
18. A method for transporting an article between first and second areas of a production line and, said method comprising the steps of:
transporting a first article to an outfeed rail by utilizing a conveyor mechanism;
stopping at a stopping position a momentum of the first article by utilizing a spring-loaded lever pivotally attached to a support arm of the outfeed rail; and
releasing the first article from the stopped position when another article sent via the conveyor displaces the first article at the stopping position.