TWO-CAMERA REMOTE DRONE CONTROL

• US 3,564,134 A
• Filed: 07/03/1968
• Issued: 02/16/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Richard O. Rue, Vance L. Hansen
• Original Assignee: Richard O. Rue, Vance L. Hansen
• Inventors: Rue, Richard O., Hansen, Vance L.
• Application Number:
  US04/742,389
• Time in Patent Office: 958 Days
• US Class Current: 348/39
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0038 by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/48 a model being viewed and manoeuvred from a remote point

Abstract

A system for flying a drone aircraft by remote control wherein a first television camera, with an ultrawide angle lens mounted thereon, is placed in the cockpit of the drone aircraft where the head of the pilot is normally

Claims

1. A system for flying drone aircraft from the ground entirely by remote control comprising:

a drone aircraft;

a first television camera mounted in said drone aircraft, an ultrawide angle lens mounted on said television camera;

a second television camera mounted in said drone aircraft, a zoom lens mounted on said second television camera;

means for transmitting signals from said first and second television cameras;

means for receiving said signals from the first and second television cameras;

means for producing and displaying a picture from said signals including a kinescope projector and a hemisphere with a treated surface to display the pictures received by said kinescope projector, wherein said kinescope projector projects onto the convex surface of sAid hemisphere for viewing from the concave side of said hemisphere;

means to alternatively select the picture from either the first or second kinescope projector for showing upon said hemisphere;

means to superpose the picture from the zoom lens television camera upon the image from said wide angle television camera such that the central area of the hemisphere displays the image scanned by the zoom lens television camera and the remainder of the hemisphere displays the image scanned by the wide-angle lens television camera; and

a set of remote controls operatively connected to the flight controls of the drone aircraft for flying said drone aircraft;

so that a ground controller may view said picture and operate said remote flight controls in response to the pictures received from the first and second television cameras.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said ultrawide-angle lens has a 180* field of view.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the kinescope is a conventional cathode ray tube with a flat faceplate.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein two television projectors are used:

the first television projector receives signals from a first television camera equipped with wide-angle lens;

the second television projector receives signals from a second television camera equipped with a zoom lens; and

means are provided for superposing the picture from said second television projector upon the picture from the first television projector.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein one of said television cameras is mounted on a cockpit seat with ejection means for recovery of said television camera.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein one of said television cameras is mounted on the outside fuselage of the drone aircraft.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein:

one of said television cameras has provision for two lenses which are turret mounted;

the first lens is a zoom lens; and

the second lens is an ultrawide angle lens.