Weapon aim-training apparatus
First Claim
1. Weapon optical aim-training apparatus for a projectile firing type of weapon, said apparatus comprising(i) display means, including a screen, arranged to display an image of a target,(ii) a weapon means arranged to be directed at the screen and displaced therefrom at an operating position, said weapon including(a) sighting means defining a sight-line axis which extends to, and intersects, the screen to define an aim point,(b) photo-detection means having a field of view centred on a detection axis which extends to, and intersects, the screen at a detection point such that the detection point is displaced from the aim point in a known relationship, and(c) switching means operatively connected to a trigger of the weapon,(iii) control means responsive to operation of the switching means by actuation of the trigger to cause said display means to define on the screen, by the emission of optical radiation from a plurality of display element locations as a raster of lines of successively illuminated display element locations, a marker region smaller than the screen, but larger than the field of view of the photo-detection means, and displaced from the target image by said known relationship, and(iv) processing means responsive to the detection by the photo-detection means of optical radiation from said marker region of the screen to determine the position of the detection point with respect to the raster and thus the position of the aim point with respect to the position of the target image.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Optical aim-training apparatus 10 (FIG. 1) for a rifle 20, or the like comprises a CRT displaying a target image on a scanned line raster. The rifle is simulated and has photo-detection device 21 contained in a housing 22 located adjacent the barrel 19. The photodetection device has a detection axis 23, aligned parallel with the rifle bore axis, which 23 intersects the screen at detection point 34. The rifle sighting device has a sightline also parallel to the bore axis and detection axis intersecting the screen at aim point 33. The offset between aim and detection points is determined by a calibration procedure and when aim is taken at a target image and the trigger depressed a marker region of raster 29, displaced from the image by the calibration offset, is brightened temporarily. A series of light pulses due to scanning of the marker region raster is detected and the screen location of the center of the detector field of view i.e. detection point 34, found. With said calibration offset this enables the actual aim point to be found without masking the target image screen brightening necessary to enable photodetection. A further detection point (FIG. 5) may be defined and the relationship between the two detection points used to monitor the orientation of the rifle about the bore axis and its distance from the screen.
-
Citations
21 Claims
-
1. Weapon optical aim-training apparatus for a projectile firing type of weapon, said apparatus comprising
(i) display means, including a screen, arranged to display an image of a target, (ii) a weapon means arranged to be directed at the screen and displaced therefrom at an operating position, said weapon including (a) sighting means defining a sight-line axis which extends to, and intersects, the screen to define an aim point, (b) photo-detection means having a field of view centred on a detection axis which extends to, and intersects, the screen at a detection point such that the detection point is displaced from the aim point in a known relationship, and (c) switching means operatively connected to a trigger of the weapon, (iii) control means responsive to operation of the switching means by actuation of the trigger to cause said display means to define on the screen, by the emission of optical radiation from a plurality of display element locations as a raster of lines of successively illuminated display element locations, a marker region smaller than the screen, but larger than the field of view of the photo-detection means, and displaced from the target image by said known relationship, and (iv) processing means responsive to the detection by the photo-detection means of optical radiation from said marker region of the screen to determine the position of the detection point with respect to the raster and thus the position of the aim point with respect to the position of the target image.
Specification