Steerable wide-angle imaging system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A reconnaissance system, for mounting in an aircraft, comprising:
- a wide-angle lens positioned to image ground-level surface onto a fixed focal plane; and
an electro-optic imager having a substantially one-dimensional imaging area, and movable within the focal plane defined by said lens and having its long dimension oriented substantially normal to the vector within the image of the ground-level surface which corresponds to the flight track of the aircraft; and
one or more mechanical linkages which move said imager within said focal plane to point to a desired strip which is either forward or aft of the nadir of the aircraft.
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Abstract
An electro-optic system which is advantageous for low altitude, high speed aerial reconnaissance. A linear imager is movably positioned in the focal plane of a fixedly mounted wide-angle lens system. The fore-aft motion capability of the imager can be used to select an optimal viewing angle for recognition, for image motion compensation (to reduce smear), or for other functions.
54 Citations
96 Claims
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1. A reconnaissance system, for mounting in an aircraft, comprising:
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a wide-angle lens positioned to image ground-level surface onto a fixed focal plane; and an electro-optic imager having a substantially one-dimensional imaging area, and movable within the focal plane defined by said lens and having its long dimension oriented substantially normal to the vector within the image of the ground-level surface which corresponds to the flight track of the aircraft; and one or more mechanical linkages which move said imager within said focal plane to point to a desired strip which is either forward or aft of the nadir of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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7. The system of claim wherein said imager comprises a charge-coupled device.
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17. An imaging system for producing an image with substantially high resolution and low distortion throughout, the imaging system comprising:
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(a) a wide-angle lens positioned substantially fixedly, the lens imaging equal areas onto substantially equal areas; (b) an electro-optic imager having an imaging area which is elongated in one dimension; and (c) one or more mechanical linkages which controllably move said imager (1) within the focal plane defined by said lens, (2) in a direction substantially normal to the long dimension of said imager, (3) to image a desired portion of the field of view of said lens which can selectably be either (i) entirely on one side of the center of the field of view of said lens, or (ii) entirely on the other side of the center of the field of view of said lens, wherein the electro-optic imager contributes to the formation of the image having substantially high resolution and low distortion throughout. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A reconnaissance system, for mounting in an aerial platform, comprising:
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a wide-angle lens positioned substantially fixedly; an electro-optic imager having an imaging area which is elongated in one dimension; and one or more mechanical linkages which controllably move said imager within the focal plane defined by said lens, in a direction substantially normal to the long dimension of said imager, to image a desired portion of the field of view of said lens which can selectably be either entirely on one side of the center of the field of view of said lens or entirely on the other side of the center of the field of view of said lens. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method for providing images of a ground-mounted object using high-speed low-level overflight, comprising the steps of:
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flying an air vehicle near the ground-mounted object, wherein said air vehicle includes a wide-angle lens mounted to image ground-level objects onto a substantially fixed focal plane, and includes an electro-optic imager, having a substantially one-dimensional imaging area, movably mounted within the focal plane defined by said lens, said imager having its long dimension oriented normal to the vector within the image of the ground-level surface which corresponds to the flight track of the aircraft; moving said imager within said focal plane, normal to the principal axis of said imaging area thereof, until the strip of ground imaged onto said imager is at a viewing angle, with reference to said air vehicle, which is substantially optimal for image understanding under the actual and expected environmental conditions and features to be recognized; and outputting image data from said imager. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method for providing images of a ground-mounted object using high-speed low-level overflight, comprising the steps of:
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flying an air vehicle near the ground-mounted object, wherein said air vehicle includes a wide-angle lens mounted to image ground-level objects onto a substantially fixed focal plane, and includes an electro-optic imager, having a substantially one-dimensional imaging area, movably mounted within the focal plane defined by said lens, said imager having its long dimension oriented normal to the vector within the image of the ground-level surface which corresponds to the flight track of the aircraft; moving said imager within said focal plane, normal to the principal axis of said imaging area thereof, in the same direction as the apparent image motion on said focal plane; and outputting image data from said imager. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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77. A method for providing images of a ground-mounted object using high-speed low-level overflight, comprising the steps of:
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flying an air vehicle near the ground-mounted obJect, wherein said air vehicle includes a wide-angle lens mounted to image ground-level objects onto a substantially fixed focal plane, and includes an electro-optic imager, having a substantially one-dimensional imaging area, movably mounted within the focal plane defined by said lens, said imager having its long dimension oriented normal to the vector within the image of the ground-level surface which corresponds to the flight track of the aircraft; moving said imager within said focal plane, normal to the principal axis of said imaging area thereof, in a direction opposite to the apparent image motion on said focal plane; and outputting image data from said imager. - View Dependent Claims (78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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88. A method for providing three-dimensional images of a ground-mounted object, comprising the steps of:
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flying an air vehicle near the ground-mounted object, wherein said air vehicle includes a wide-angle lens mounted to image ground-level obJects onto a substantially fixed focal plane, and includes an electro-optic imager, having a substantially one-dimensional imaging area, movably mounted within the focal plane defined by said lens, said imager having its long dimension oriented normal to the vector within the image of the ground-level surface which corresponds to the flight track of the aircraft; moving said imager within said focal plane to image the ground-mounted object at a first relative position while the object is ahead of said aircraft; and moving said imager within said focal plane to image the ground-mounted object at a second relative position while the object is less far ahead of said aircraft; and deriving three-dimensional information regarding the object from correlation of data provided by said imager at said first position and at said second position. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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Specification