GB1286419A - Radar antenna support and drive assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

1286419 Aerials WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORP 27 May 1971 [30 June 1970] 17522/71 Heading H4A A radar aerial support and drive assembly comprises a fixed pedestal part 13 which is adapted to be mounted atop a tower 35, a main-support ball bearing removably mounted on the top of the said fixed pedestal part, a bull-gear 16 mounted on said ball-bearing, a rotary pedestal part 5 having a removable central top cover member 6 removably secured to said bull gear, and a mounting frame 1, for a feed horn 2 and a reflector 3, which is secured to the rotary pedestal part so that removal of the cover 6 is not impeded. The assembly also comprises a pair of drive means, removably secured to the fixed pedestal, and including pinions engaging diametrically opposite points of the bull gear, and means for supporting and locking the rotary pedestal part during removal of its top cover member 6. The mounting frame 1 includes side members 8 spaced apart on opposite sides of the part 5, and attached by means allowing the attitude of the frame to be adjusted relative to the azimuthal axis 4, for determining the elevation angle of the beam (Fig. 1, not shown). A waveguide feed 10 for the horn 2 is disposed along the axis 4, and is provided with a rotary joint 26. The top cover member 6 of the rotary pedestal part 5 is secured by screws 7, and the bull gear 16, which also constitutes the outer race of the main support ball bearing, is secured to the said cover member by screws 23. The inner race 17 of the ball-bearing fits over a cylindrical surface 14 to an annular shoulder 12, which are provided in the fixed pedestal part 13, and it is secured by screws 20. Pinions 40 mesh with the gear 16 and are driven by electric motors 41 through speed reducing mechanisms 42 and self-aligning assemblies 46, which include universal joints 43, 44. An annular well is provided so that the gear 16 and the pinions 40 can be immersed in lubricating oil 62. The fixed pedestal part 13 has mounting brackets 32 by means of which it is bolted to the top of the tower 35. Studs 34, carrying nuts 36, 39, engage in threaded holes in the brackets 32 and are normally screwed down so that they clear the flange 31 of the rotary pedestal part 5. When it is desired to lock the part 5, holes 37 in the flange 31 are aligned with the studs 34, the nuts 36 are removed, the studs 34 are screwed up and through the flange 31, the nuts 36 are replaced and they, and the nuts 39, are tightened against the said flange.