Weapon training simulator system

• US 4,804,325 A
• Filed: 05/15/1986
• Issued: 02/14/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Spartanics, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Spartanics, Ltd.
• Inventors: Willits, Steven F., Willits, Samuel P., Kleeman, Thomas E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo P.
• Application Number:
  US06/863,465
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: 434/16-22
• US Class Current: 434/22
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/2661 in which the light beam is sent from the target to the weapon F41G3/2638 takes precedence

Abstract

A weapon training simulator employing a computer with associated memory and software. A simulated weapon with simulated recoil provides hammer fall signals to initiate computation. A quadrature sensor mounted on the weapon generates target position signal based on point sources located on simulated targets. The computer generates real time, video displays and replays and prints out displays of target aim, hit and other information while controlling recoil simulation, providing shot sound and generating speech directions and commands.

Claims

1. A weapon training simulator system for hand held weapons comprising

means for displaying one or more targets and generating digital output data indicative of target characteristics,

a weapon aimable at said displayed targets, said weapon including firing sensor means,

a weapon aim sensor system movable with said weapon having output signals indicative of the alignment of said weapon relative to said displayed target,

aim data converter means to convert said weapon aim sensor system output signals to digital x-y coordinate data,

computer means connected and responsive to the outputs of said firing sensor means and said aim data converter means and said target characteristics output signals to combine and store said outputs as digital data, and

display means connected to said computer means for generating a display of said digital information.

2. A weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1 wherein said firing sensor means comprises hammer fall sensor means.

3. A weapon training simulator system for hand held weapons in accord with claim 1 wherein said generated display is a real time replay of said stored digital information.

4. A weapon training simulator system for hand held weapons in accord with claim 1 wherein said generated display is a real time display of said digital information.

5. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer output signals indicative of cant angle and allowable cant angle and to initiate display thereof.

6. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

said targets each having one or more point radiation sources,

said aim sensor system comprising a quadrature detector array and an objective lens for imaging a defocussed image of one of said point radiation sources on said detector array, and

means for sequentially pulsing each of said point radiation sources to thereby simultaneously identify the aimed at target and provide weapon aiming point data for the target.

7. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 6, the improvement further comprising

a plurality of point illumination sources uniformly disposed about at least one of said targets,

and said objective lens means forming the defocussed image of said plurality of radiation sources associated with one target on said detector array, said defocussed images being substantially contiguous with each other and overlapping the image of said target.

8. A weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 7 wherein said objective lens means has a square aperture.

9. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

said targets each having one or more point radiation sources,

said aim sensor system comprising quadrature detector array

means and objective lens means for imaging a defocussed image of one of said point radiation sources on said detector array means to thereby provide aim point position data to said computer means, and

means in said computer means for sequentially pulsing each of said point radiation sources to enable its identification and the identification of said aim point position data.

10. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 9, the improvement further comprising

said objective lens means having a square aperture.

11. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 9, the improvement further comprising

said targets including one or more moving targets, and

location of said target associated point sources on said target offset from the target nominal center position by a distance that is a function of target velocity, target range and weapon ballistics.

12. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 9, the improvement further comprising

two point radiation sources on each of said moving targets, one of which is located to the left of target center and one to the right of target center, and

modulation of the intensity of said target associated point radiation sources to a brightness that is a function of target velocity, target range and weapon ballistics.

13. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means to generate and count computer signals indicative of the number of hits on said target, and

means for indicating a target kill after a predetermined number of hits greater than one.

14. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

said target comprising selectable simulated pop-up targets, and

means directing a computer generated target drop signal after a delay equal to projectile flight time after a hit on said target.

15. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer generation of signals indicative of weapon cant angle and controlling the display of weapon cant angle.

16. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer computations to add dispersion to hit point calculations, and display of the dispersed shot hit point.

17. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 16, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer computations of a dispersion ring and for additionally displaying said dispersion ring around each undispersed shot hit point.

18. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement comprising

means controlling computer calculations introducing hit probability into the scoring of each shot based on undispersed shot hit point and dispersion data selected under said computer means control.

19. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means directing said computer means to delay display of last shot hit point and to allow positioning on said display means of call shot position and to subsequently initiate simultaneous display and identification of call shot position and last shot hit point.

20. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

a rifle parallax position sensor and means to generate computer signals indicative of parallax correction and hit point position with parallax correction.

21. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

selectable training program means,

speech generating means, and

said computer means connected to said speech generating means and connected and responsive to said selectable training program means to initiate programmed trainer talk voice commands and instructions.

22. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

selectable training program means, and

said program means providing criteria for computer generated incorrect shot signals to suspend execution of the selected training program.

23. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 22, the improvement further comprising

means for automatically displaying a replay of said incorrect shot whenever said program execution is suspended.

24. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 22, the improvement further comprising

means for automatically displaying the shot group including said incorrect shot whenever said program execution is suspended.

25. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means to generate computer signals indicative of a miss if the shot hit point is outside a defined predetermined hit area inside said target.

26. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 1, the improvement further comprising

means controlling computer calculations of weapon cant angle, correction of hit point due to cant angle, and correction of aim point due to cant angle rotation of said weapon mounted aim sensor.

27. A weapon training simulator system comprising

a weapon having firing sensor means,

weapon aim sensor system means,

at least one target,

computer means interconnected with said firing sensor means and said aim sensor means and said target to provide weapon aiming and firing data,

means connected to said computer for displaying weapon sensors and target data,

means for generating speech and aim tone connected to said computer means, and

means directing generation of computer output signals indicative of hit point on said target area during weapon aiming and further directing generation of computer output signals which initiate aim tone when the computer hit point is within the outline of a predetermined hit area inside said target outline, and initiating speech commands directing the shooter to change the position of said weapon aim point when the hit point is outside the outline of said predetermined hit area inside said target.

28. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 27, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer generated signals initiating hit tone generator or miss tone generation after a delay equal to the time of flight of said weapon'"'"'s projectile.

29. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 27, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer generated signals to initiate voice commands indicating the position of a hit point outside said predetermined hit area.

30. In a weapon training simulator system in accord with claim 27, the improvement further comprising

means directing computer output signals indicative of cant angle and allowable cant angle and to initiate voice commands warning of excessive cant angle when measured cant angle exceeds predetermined allowable cant angle.

31. A weapon training simulator system comprising

a weapon having a weapon firing sensor means,

means for generating simulated recoil of said weapon,

selectable time delay means interposed between said firing sensor measns and said recoil force generating means to delay indication of weapon firing and generation of simulated recoil forces.

32. The method for providing a real time video display in a weapon training simulator system having means for displaying one or more targets, an aimable weapon with hammer fall sensor means, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon to provide output signals indicative of the alignment of said weapon relative to said displayed targets, computer means connected and responsive to the outputs of said hammer fall sensor means and said weapon aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

computer processing of said weapon aiming sensor systems output signal data and the output of said hammer fall sensor means to thereby generate aim point data,

computer generation of a delay in the output of said hammer fall sensor means,

utilizing said delayed hammer fall signal to generate a weapon fired signal,

flagging said aim point data at the times of said hammer fall and said weapon fired signal, and

displaying on said video mesans in real time said aim point relative to said displayed targets along with indications of hammer fall and weapon firing.

33. The method for providing a real time video display in a weapon training simulator system having means for displaying one or more targets, an aimable weapon with hammer fall sensor means, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon to provide output signals indicative of the alignment of said weapon relative to said displayed targets, computer means connected and responsive to the outputs of said hammer fall sensor means and said weapon aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

computer processing of said weapon aiming sensor systems output signal data and the output of said hammer fall sensor means to thereby generate hit point data,

computer generation of a delay in the output of said hammer fall sensor means,

utilizing said delayed hammer fall signal to generate a weapon fired signal,

flagging said hit point data at the times of said hammer fall and said weapon fired signal, and

displaying on said video means in real time said hit point relative to said displayed targets along with indications of hammer fall and weapon firing.

34. The method for providing a real-time video replay of weapon aim point prior to weapon firing in a weapon training simulator system comprising means for displaying one or more targets, an aimable weapon having a hammer fall sensor means therein, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon to generate aim point output signal data, computer means connected and responsive to the outputs of said hammer fall sensor means and said aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

computer processing of the output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system and said hammer fall sensor to thereby generate aim point data and store same as digital data,

flagging said aim point data at the time of hammer fall,

sequentially storing said aim point and flagged aim point digital data in memory, and

displaying on said video means said sequentially stored aim point and flagged aim point digital data relative to said displayed targets.

35. The method for providing a real-time video replay of weapon hit point prior to weapon firing in a weapon training simulator system comprising means for displaying one or more targets, an aimable weapon having a hammer fall sensor means therein, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon to generate aim point output signal date, computer means connected and responsive to the outputs of said hammer fall sensor means and said aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

computer processing of the output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system and said hammer fall sensor to thereby generate hit point data,

computer delay of said hammer fall signal to generate a weapon fired signal a predetermined time after said hammer fall signal,

flagging said hit point data at the time of hammer fall and said weapon fired signal,

sequentially storing said hit point and flagged hit point data in memory and

displaying on said video means said sequentially stored hit point and flagged hit point data relative to said displayed targets.

36. The method for providing simultaneous real-time video display of weapon aim and hit point prior to weapon firing in a weapon training simulator system comprising means for displaying one or more targets, an aimable weapon having a hammer fall sensor means therein, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon to generate aim point output signal data, computer means connected and responsive to the signal outputs of said hammer fall sensor means and said aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

computer processing of the output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system and said hammer fall sensor to thereby generate aim point and hit point data and store same as digital data,

flagging said aim point and hit point data at the time of hammer fall,

sequentially storing said aim point and flagged aim point digital data in memory,

sequentially storing said hit point and flagged hit point digital data in memory, and

simultaneously displaying on said video means said sequentially stored aim point and flagged aim point digital data and said sequentially stored hit point and flagged hit point digital data relative to said displayed targets.

37. The method for providing a real-time video display of weapon aim point relative to one or more targets prior to weapon firing in a weapon training simulator system comprising one or more targets, an aimable weapon having a hammer fall sensor means therein, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon, computer means connected and responsive to the signal outputs of said hammer fall sensor means and said weapon aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

displaying one or more targets and generating digital output data indicative of target characteristics,

generating aim point output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system as said weapon is aimed,

generating a hammer fall output signal from said hammer fall sensor means at the time of weapon firing,

computer processing of the output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system and said hammer fall sensor to thereby generate digital x-y coordinate aim point data, and

displaying on said video means said digital aim point data relative to said displayed one or more targets until the time of hammer fall.

38. The method for providing a real-time video display of weapon hit point relative to one or more targets prior to weapon firing in a weapon training simulator system comprising one or more targets, an aimable weapon having a hammer fall sensor means therein, a weapon aiming sensing system movable with said weapon, computer means including memory means connected and responsive to the signal outputs of said hammer fail sensor means and said weapon aiming sensing system, and video display means, the improvement comprising the steps of

displaying one or more targets and generating digital output data indicative of target characteristics,

generating aim point output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system as said weapon is aimed,

storing weapon characteristics tables in said computer memory means,

generating a hammer fall output signal from said hammer fall sensor means at the time of weapon firing,

computer processing of the output signal data from said weapon aiming sensing system and said hammer fall sensor means to thereby generate digital x-y coordinate aim point data,

computer processing of said aim point data, said target characteristics data and said stored weapon characteristic tables to thereby generate hit point relative to said one or more targets,

delaying of said hammer fall signal to generate a weapon fired signal a predetermined time after said hammer fall signal, and

displaying on said video means said hit point data relative to said displayed one or more targets until the time of said delayed hammer fall signal.

39. The method for providing cant angle and cant angle corrected aim point and hit point in a weapon training simulator system comprising at least one target with two spaced apart point illumination sources thereon, an aimable simulated weapon including a weapon aiming sensing system thereon to generate output signals as a function of the position of said point sources with respect thereto and a computer, connected to said sensing system for receiving said output signals, the steps of

sequentially pulsing each of said point radiation sources to thereby simultaneously identify the aimed at point source and provide aiming point data therefore,

computer processing of said aiming point data for each of said sources to determine weapon cant angle and cant angle corrected aim point and hit point.