Miniature celestial direction detection system
First Claim
1. A target location system comprised of:
- A) a telescopic range finder comprising a telescopic instrument bore-sighted with a range finder,B) a miniature celestial direction detection system comprising;
C) at least one camera for viewing a large portion of sky, said camera comprising;
1) a wide angle lens and2) a sensor having a focal plane array of at least about 350,000 pixels; and
D) a MEMS inclinometer andE) a microprocessor programmed with;
1) an astronomical algorithm for defining locations of celestial objects based on known time,2) coordinate transformation software for converting pixel image software into astronomical coordinates,3) software to synchronize the processor with an Internet time source accurate to within 3 seconds and to provide system GPS location of the system accurate to within 5 meters or less corresponding to precision needed for identification of a target location;
4) software adapted to compute location of the target based on the system location and direction and range information provided by components of the system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A celestial direction finding system. The system includes an inclinometer, at least one camera for imaging both the daytime sky and the nighttime sky and a computer programmed with a sun, moon and star catalog and algorithms for automatically determining directions based on positions of celestial bodies imaged by at least one camera and incline positions measured by the inclinometer. In a preferred embodiment all of the above features are combined in a single battery operated miniature celestial direction finding module. Geographical positions of nearby objects can be determined with the addition of a rangefinder and knowledge of the geographical position of the camera. The geographical position of the system in preferred embodiments can be determined with the addition of a GPS unit.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A target location system comprised of:
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A) a telescopic range finder comprising a telescopic instrument bore-sighted with a range finder, B) a miniature celestial direction detection system comprising; C) at least one camera for viewing a large portion of sky, said camera comprising; 1) a wide angle lens and 2) a sensor having a focal plane array of at least about 350,000 pixels; and D) a MEMS inclinometer and E) a microprocessor programmed with; 1) an astronomical algorithm for defining locations of celestial objects based on known time, 2) coordinate transformation software for converting pixel image software into astronomical coordinates, 3) software to synchronize the processor with an Internet time source accurate to within 3 seconds and to provide system GPS location of the system accurate to within 5 meters or less corresponding to precision needed for identification of a target location; 4) software adapted to compute location of the target based on the system location and direction and range information provided by components of the system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification