Method and apparatus for viewing target

• US 7,327,513 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Johnson, Richard W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pritchett; Joshua L
• Application Number:
  US10/856,695
• Publication Number:
  US 20050018279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 359/363, 359/422, 359/423, 359/431, 359/399, 359/368, 359379-381, 359/209, 359/211
• US Class Current: 359/363
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/06 Panoramic objectives; So-called "sky lenses" including panoramic objectives having reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/16 for use in conjunction with image converters or intensifiers , or for use with projectors, e.g. objectives for projection TV
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/08 Periscopes arrangements on floating structures of underwater viewing devices B63C11/49; arrangement of visual watch equipment on submarines B63G8/38

Abstract

Apparatus and method for viewing a target. A primary lens produces an image plane of the target, and an optical magnifier in an optical path of the primary lens magnifies a region of the image plane, providing a magnified image. A detector receives the magnified image.

Claims

1. An apparatus for viewing a target scene remote from the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a primary lens that produces an image of the target scene at the primary lens'"'"' image plane, the target scene being remote from and external to said housing;

at least one optical element located between an exit pupil of said primary lens and a focal plane of said primary lens, said at least one optical element being configured for providing image plane duplication at each of first and second image planes beyond an exit aperture of said at least one optical element;

an optical magnifier positioned for magnifying a region of an image at the first image plane while leaving at least another region of the image not magnified, thus producing a magnified image of a region of the target scene utilizing a high spatial frequency inherent in the primary lens'"'"' image plane;

at least one collimator pair disposed between said at least one optical element and said optical magnifier;

a first detector for receiving the magnified image;

a second detector for receiving an image at the second image plane;

wherein said primary lens is at least partially external to said housing, and wherein said at least one optical element, said optical magnifier, said at least one collimator pair, said first detector, and said second detector are internal to said housing.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a first prism positioned in an optical path of said at least one optical element, said first prism being configured to rotate to produce a rotated image using the image from the first image plane;

a second prism having a common optical centerline with said first prism, said second prism being configured to rotate to scan a selected diameter of the rotated image, providing a scanned image;

wherein said optical magnifier magnifies the scanned image.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a second optical splitter disposed in an optical path of at least one of said primary lens and said optical splitter to provide an additional image of the target scene;

a third detector for receiving the additional image.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein at least one of said second detector and said third detector detects and images the target scene at least partially using non-visible radiation.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said primary lens comprises at least one wide angle lens.

6. An apparatus for viewing a target scene, the apparatus comprising:

a primary lens that produces an image of the target scene at the primary lens'"'"' image plane;

an optical splitter positioned in an optical path between said primary lens and the primary lens'"'"' image plane, said splitter producing duplicate and substantially identical images at each of first and second image planes on an output side of said optical splitter;

a first prism disposed in an optical path of said optical splitter, said first prism being configured to rotate to produce a rotated image using the image at said second image plane;

a second prism disposed in an optical path of said first prism and configured to selectively rotate to scan a selected diameter of the rotated image, providing a scanned image;

an optical magnifier positioned in an optical path of said second prism for magnifying the scanned image , thus producing a magnified image utilizing a high spatial frequency inherent in the primary lens'"'"'image plane;

a detector for receiving the magnified image;

a second detector positioned to receive the image at the first image plane, providing a full image scene;

wherein a region of the image at the second image plane that produces the magnified image is selectable by operation of said first and second prisms.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said primary lens comprises at least one wide angle lens having a field of view (FOV) of at least 180 degrees.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising:

an input for selectively operating at least one of said first prism and said second prism, thus enabling selection of the region from the image at the second image plane.

9. An apparatus for viewing a target scene, the apparatus comprising:

a primary lens that produces an image of the target scene at the primary lens'"'"' image plane;

an optical magnifier positioned in an optical path of an exit pupil of said primary lens for magnifying a region of the image at the image plane while leaving at least another region of the image not magnified, thus producing a magnified image of a region of the scene utilizing a high spatial frequency inherent in the image plane;

a detector for receiving the magnified image;

an optical splitter positioned in an optical path between said primary lens and the primary lens'"'"'image plane, said splitter producing duplicate and substantially identical images at each of first and second image planes on an output side of said optical splitter;

a second detector positioned to receive the image at the first image plane, providing a full image scene;

wherein said optical magnifier receives and magnifies a region of the image at the second image plane;

further comprising a dove prism positioned in an optical path of said splitter that rotates to produce a rotated image at a third image plane that is a rotated version of the image at the second image plane, a region of the rotated image being received by said optical magnifier.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:

a first collimator lens positioned between said splitter and said dove prism to produce a collimated beam from the image at the second image plane, wherein the dove prism receives and rotates the collimated beam;

a second collimator lens positioned between said dove prism and said optical magnifier for producing said rotated image at the third image plane.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

at least one of a rotating TIR prism and a TIR prism pair between the second and third image plane for scanning a rotating flux bundle emerging from said dove prism, and producing a scanned image at the third image plane, wherein said optical magnifier receives the rotated and scanned image at the third image plane.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein rotation of said dove prism and said at least one of a rotating TIR prism and TIR prism pair are independently selectable.

13. A method for viewing an external target scene, the method comprising:

for each of a plurality of primary lenses;

producing an image of at least part of the target scene at an image plane using the primary lens;

optically scanning the produced image, providing an optically scanned image of a selected region of the produced image while leaving at least another region of the produced image not magnified;

optically magnifying the optically scanned image, producing a magnified image utilizing a high spatial frequency inherent in the image plane;

receiving the magnified image;

wherein the method further comprises;

at least partially combining said received magnified images;

wherein each of the plurality of primary lenses has a field of view that at least partially overlaps another of the plurality of primary lenses;

wherein said method provides a 4π

steridian acciuisition of the target scene.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising, for each of the plurality of primary lenses:

optically splitting the image at the image plane into at least images at first and second image planes;

receiving the image at the first image plane, wherein said optical scanning is performed on a region of the image at the second image plane;

displaying the received image at the first image plane;

simultaneously displaying the received magnified image.

15. A method for viewing a region of interest that is within a target scene, the method comprising:

producing an image of the target scene at an image plane;

optically magnifying a region of the image including the region of interest at the image plane while leaving at least another region of the image not magnified, producing a magnified image utilizing a high spatial frequency inherent in the image plane;

receiving the magnified image;

wherein the method further comprises optically splitting the image at the image plane into at least images at first and second image planes, and receiving the image at the first image plane, wherein said optically magnifying is performed on a region of the image at the second image plane;

further comprising, prior to said optically magnifying, producing a rotated image at a third image plane, the rotated image being a rotated version of the image at the second image plane;

wherein said optically magnifying is performed on a region of the rotated image at the third image plane.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

moving a field of view of an optical magnifier to the region of said rotated image at the third image plane, thus selecting a region to be magnified.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said moving is controlled by an operator.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said moving is controlled automatically.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

scanning the rotating image and producing a scanned and rotated image, wherein said optical magnifying is performed on the scanned and rotated image.