Weapon training systems

• US 4,737,106 A
• Filed: 03/21/1986
• Issued: 04/12/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Loral Europe Limited (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Schlumberger Electronics UK Limited (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Laciny, Richard W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo P.
• Application Number:
  US06/842,649
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 434/22, 434/21
• US Class Current: 434/22
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/265 with means for selecting or varying the shape or the direction of the emitted beam

Abstract

In a weapons training simulator, laser radiation is output via optics (28) to simulate the firing of a round, and reflected radiation received via a conjugate path to assess the effectiveness of the shot. In the event of a miss a scan of the target area is required to provide fall of shot information. The scan is performed by controlled movement of the output faces of fibre optics (23, 24, 25) flexibly coupling to fixed sources (20, 21, 22) and of the input face of a fibre optic (200) flexibly coupling to a fixed detector (201). The problem of the bulk and inertia of prior art systems is improved by the remote location of lasers, drive and control, which may be conveniently separated for service or replacement without disturbing the optically aligned input and output faces. A further improvement is that vertically aligned multiple sources may be employed without undue weight penalty, yielding elevation information from a lateral scan.

Claims

1. A weapon training simulator including:

source means for producing electromagnetic radiation,

output means for forming said radiation into a directable beam,

input means for receiving reflected radiation, and

detector means for sensing received radiation intensity;

wherein the output means and the input means are fixed with respect to each other and are movable together with respect to the weapon, the movement being such as to permit a scan of a target area, and

the source means and the detector means are fixed on the weapon; and

further including

flexible guidance means for conveying radiation from the source means to the output means and the input means to the detector, said flexible guidance means being arranged to accommodate said movement.

2. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the flexible guidance is provided by fibre optics.

3. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 1 and including a plurality of sources and output fibres arranged to provide spaced apart beams.

4. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 3 and including a receptor fibre of larger optical diameter than the output fibres.

5. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 1 and including control means to provide control signals to output means movement acutators such that the scan is established by movement firstly in azimuth to establish a first scan line, then in elevation a distance less than one beam width, and thirdly in reverse azimuth to establish a second scan line.

6. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 1 and including means for computing a cumulative average of received radiation intensity.

7. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 5 and including means for computing a cumulative average of received radiation intensity due to each scan line to provide elevation in formation.

8. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 7 and including means for performing a further elevation scan to provide increased resolution.

9. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the source means includes a laser.

10. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the moveable parts and the fixed parts are separable at the coupling means.

11. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 10 and wherein the coupling means is adapted to receive radiation from alternative sources of eye-safe radiation to produce a display for alignment.

12. A weapons training simulator as claimed in claim 11 and wherein the input means also received eye safe radiation to act as an output means.