System for operating an astronomical observatory in real time using http
First Claim
1. A system for operating an astronomical observatory, the observatory being located at an observatory site, via requests made by a user interactively or as a script, and located either remotely or at the observatory site, and independent of on site support personnel, wherein results and status of the requests are displayed to the user in real time, the system comprising:
- a web browser, said web browser providing means for the user to be able to send requests to the observatory, and receive the status and results of these requests by utilizing an http protocol, said web browser further providing a rich graphical interface for the user which may include displays of the status and results of the requests made by the user to various components of the system as they occur in real time;
a set of astronomical hardware, said set of astronomical hardware being located at the observatory site and supplying means for making celestial observations, said set of astronomical hardware including;
a telescope, said telescope being composed of a telescopic optics system allowing magnified observation of the sky to take place, and a telescope mount capable of controlling the position of the telescopic optics system for the purpose of pointing to and tracking on celestial objects; and
an imaging camera, said imaging camera being located at said telescope, said imaging camera being positioned so as to be able to capture an image of a celestial object at which said telescope is aimed, said imaging camera further capturing said image of the celestial object in a digital format; and
a web server, said web server providing means for transmitting and receiving communications to and from said web browser utilizing an http protocol, said web server further including the capability of controlling said set of astronomical hardware according to requests sent to said web server via said web browser from the user, said web server being made up of;
a request manager, said request manager being responsible for listening for, and responding to requests sent to said web server by said web browser, said request manager further being relied upon to queue requests from said web browser in order to permit said set of astronomical hardware to execute the requests in an orderly fashion, said request manager also providing the means by which information is sent back to said web browser utilizing an http protocol;
a power manager, said power manager providing said web server the means for, at the request of said web browser, being able to power on or off any or components of said set of astronomical hardware;
a user database, said user database containing a list of user account information for use in determining if and when a user should be allowed to control the observatory;
a user manager, said user manager accessing said user database and using the information contained therein to serve as a gate by which the user must gain entrance if he/she wishes to control the observatory, said user manager further controlling the scheduling of users for control of the observatory at specific times;
a telescope manager, said telescope manager being the means for said web server to generate and send specific directions to said telescope based on requests made by the user, said telescope manager further being able to receive and process information sent to said web server by said telescope;
a telescope driver, said telescope driver being capable of translating communications between said telescope and said telescope manager;
an imaging camera manager, said imaging camera manager being the means for said web server to generate and send specific directions to said imaging camera, said imaging camera manager further serving to process information from said imaging camera as well as acting as an image reducer for images generated by said imaging camera; and
an imaging camera driver, said imaging camera driver being capable of translating communications between said imaging camera and said imaging camera manager.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for operating an astronomical observatory made up of astronomical hardware, utilizing a web browser operated by a user, and a web server connected to the observatory, wherein both the control to, and feedback from the observatory are displayed to the user in real time independent of personnel support at the observatory site. The user submits a request to the observatory via the web browser, which displays the status and results of the request. A web server, coupled to the various astronomical hardware, processes the request on behalf of the user and responds with the status and results of the request. The status and/or results ae then displayed by the web browser to the user. Requests may be made by the user interactively, or in the form of a script. The system may be used over wide area networks, like the Internet, or any other type of network.
20 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for operating an astronomical observatory, the observatory being located at an observatory site, via requests made by a user interactively or as a script, and located either remotely or at the observatory site, and independent of on site support personnel, wherein results and status of the requests are displayed to the user in real time, the system comprising:
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a web browser, said web browser providing means for the user to be able to send requests to the observatory, and receive the status and results of these requests by utilizing an http protocol, said web browser further providing a rich graphical interface for the user which may include displays of the status and results of the requests made by the user to various components of the system as they occur in real time; a set of astronomical hardware, said set of astronomical hardware being located at the observatory site and supplying means for making celestial observations, said set of astronomical hardware including; a telescope, said telescope being composed of a telescopic optics system allowing magnified observation of the sky to take place, and a telescope mount capable of controlling the position of the telescopic optics system for the purpose of pointing to and tracking on celestial objects; and an imaging camera, said imaging camera being located at said telescope, said imaging camera being positioned so as to be able to capture an image of a celestial object at which said telescope is aimed, said imaging camera further capturing said image of the celestial object in a digital format; and a web server, said web server providing means for transmitting and receiving communications to and from said web browser utilizing an http protocol, said web server further including the capability of controlling said set of astronomical hardware according to requests sent to said web server via said web browser from the user, said web server being made up of; a request manager, said request manager being responsible for listening for, and responding to requests sent to said web server by said web browser, said request manager further being relied upon to queue requests from said web browser in order to permit said set of astronomical hardware to execute the requests in an orderly fashion, said request manager also providing the means by which information is sent back to said web browser utilizing an http protocol; a power manager, said power manager providing said web server the means for, at the request of said web browser, being able to power on or off any or components of said set of astronomical hardware; a user database, said user database containing a list of user account information for use in determining if and when a user should be allowed to control the observatory; a user manager, said user manager accessing said user database and using the information contained therein to serve as a gate by which the user must gain entrance if he/she wishes to control the observatory, said user manager further controlling the scheduling of users for control of the observatory at specific times; a telescope manager, said telescope manager being the means for said web server to generate and send specific directions to said telescope based on requests made by the user, said telescope manager further being able to receive and process information sent to said web server by said telescope; a telescope driver, said telescope driver being capable of translating communications between said telescope and said telescope manager; an imaging camera manager, said imaging camera manager being the means for said web server to generate and send specific directions to said imaging camera, said imaging camera manager further serving to process information from said imaging camera as well as acting as an image reducer for images generated by said imaging camera; and an imaging camera driver, said imaging camera driver being capable of translating communications between said imaging camera and said imaging camera manager. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for operating an astronomical observatory, the observatory being located at an observatory site, via requests made by a user interactively or as a script, and located either remotely or at the observatory site, and independent of on site support personnel, wherein results and status of the requests are displayed to the user in real time, the system comprising:
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a web browser, said web browser providing means for the user to be able to send requests to the observatory, and receive the status and results of these requests by utilizing an http protocol, said web browser further providing a rich graphical interface for the user which may include displays of the status and results of the requests made by the user to various components of the system as they occur in real time; a set of astronomical hardware, said set of astronomical hardware being located at the observatory site and supplying the means for making celestial observations, said set of astronomical hardware including; a telescope, said telescope being composed of a telescopic optics system allowing magnified observation of the sky to take place, and a telescope mount capable of controlling the position of the telescopic optics system for the purpose of pointing to and tracking on celestial objects; an imaging camera, said imaging camera being located at said telescope, said imaging camera being positioned so as to be able to capture an image of a celestial object at which said telescope is aimed, said imaging camera further capturing said image of the celestial object in a digital format; a web server, said web server providing means for transmitting and receiving communications to and from said web browser utilizing an http protocol, said web server further including the capability of controlling said set of astronomical hardware according to requests sent to said web server via said web browser from the user, said web server being made up of; a request manager, said request manager being responsible for listening for, and responding to requests sent to said web server by said web browser, said request manager further being relied upon to queue requests from said web browser in order to permit said set of astronomical hardware to execute the requests in an orderly fashion, said request manager also providing the means by which information is sent back to said web browser utilizing an http protocol; a power manager, said power manager providing said web server the means for, at the request of said web browser, being able to power on or off any or components of said set of astronomical hardware; a user database, said user database containing a list of user account information for use in determining if and when a user should be allowed to control the observatory; a user manager, said user manager accessing said user database and using the information contained therein to serve as a gate by which the user must gain entrance if he/she wishes to control the observatory, said user manager further controlling the scheduling of users for control of the observatory at specific times; a celestial object database, said celestial object database containing both ephemeris and graphical data for celestial objects including but not limited to galaxies, minor planets, planets, satellites and stars for any field of view, for any date and time; a celestial object database manager, said celestial object database manager providing the means for said web server to be able to access said celestial object database to obtain any information contained therein that has been requested by the user; a celestial image database, said celestial image database containing a set of reference images that cover the entire night sky, these images being essential for certain types of discovery work like supernova and minor planet discovery; a celestial image database manager, said celestial image database manager providing the means for said web server to be able to access said celestial image database to obtain any information contained therein that has been requested by the user, said celestial image database manager further being able to automatically produce and transmit to said web browser a reference image of any object captured in an image by said telescope and said imaging camera; a telescope manager, said telescope manager being the means for said web server to generate and send specific directions to said telescope based on requests made by the user, said telescope manager further being able to receive and process information sent to said web server by said telescope; a telescope driver, said telescope driver being capable of translating communications between said telescope and said telescope manager; a telescope model manager, said telescope model manager being responsible for quantifying systematic errors inherent in said telescope, these errors include but are not limited to offset or bias errors, polar misalignment, refraction, non-perpendicular axis, gear errors, tube flexure, and fork flexure, said telescope model manager quantifying these errors by using a mapping process to create a model coordinate system which is then translated into the coordinate system of said telescope; an imaging camera manager, said imaging camera manager being the means for said web server to generate and send specific directions to said imaging camera, said imaging camera manager further serving to process information from said imaging camera as well as acting as an image reducer for images generated by said imaging camera; and an imaging camera driver, said imaging camera driver being capable of translating communications between said imaging camera and said imaging camera manager. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification