Automatic telescope
First Claim
1. An automatic telescope operable to determine an orientation, the telescope comprising:
- a vision device operable to sense bright stars;
a base operable to support the vision device;
a cradle attached to the base and operable to movably support the vision device with respect to the base;
a drive mechanism operable to move the cradle with respect to the base; and
a processor operable to control the drive mechanism in order to determine the orientation of the vision device using a vision signal from the vision device.
4 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic telescope (10) capable of determining an orientation without requiring input from a user or any external source. The telescope (10) preferably includes a database (22) to store astronomical information, a processor (24) to control a drive mechanism (18), a vision device (30) to sense bright stars, and a motion sensor (32) to generate a motion signal. When the vision device (30) is slewed from alignment with a first bright star to a second bright star, the motion signal is preferably representative of a measured angle between the first and second bright stars. This process is preferably repeated for several bright stars to generate several measured angles. The processor (24) can then use the measured angles to identify the bright stars and determine the orientation of the telescope (10).
35 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An automatic telescope operable to determine an orientation, the telescope comprising:
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a vision device operable to sense bright stars;
a base operable to support the vision device;
a cradle attached to the base and operable to movably support the vision device with respect to the base;
a drive mechanism operable to move the cradle with respect to the base; and
a processor operable to control the drive mechanism in order to determine the orientation of the vision device using a vision signal from the vision device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of determining a telescope'"'"'s orientation, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing a first bright star using a vision device;
sensing a second bright star using the vision device;
detecting a first measured angle between the first bright star and the second bright star;
sensing a third bright star using the vision device;
detecting a second measured angle between the second bright star and the third bright star;
comparing the measured angles with central angles stored in a database, thereby identifying the bright stars; and
determining the orientation of the telescope by analyzing known locations of the bright stars. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of displaying a specified star through a telescope, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing a first bright star using a vision device;
aligning the telescope with the first bright star;
sensing a second bright star using the vision device;
monitoring motion as the telescope is slewed from alignment with the first bright star to the second bright star;
detecting a first measured angle between the first bright star and the second bright star;
sensing a third bright star using the vision device;
aligning the telescope with the second bright star;
monitoring motion as the telescope is slewed from alignment with the second bright star to the third bright star;
detecting a second measured angle between the second bright star and the third bright star;
monitoring motion as the telescope is slewed from alignment with the third bright star to the first bright star;
aligning the telescope with the first bright star;
detecting a third measured angle between the third bright star and the first bright star;
comparing the measured angles with central angles stored in a database, thereby identifying the bright stars;
determining the orientation of the telescope by analyzing known locations of the bright stars;
receiving indication of a specified star;
retrieving the specified star'"'"'s location from the database; and
aligning the telescope with the specified star.
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Specification