US 3,942,446 AGranted

Optical fuze and/or miss distance indicator

AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army

InventorOrval R. Cruzan

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Abstract

An optical miss distance detector and/or fuzing device for a missle. Four tical ring sensors are disposed around the missile body and the active sensing regions of the first and second sensors are disposed at an angle of 90.degree. to the missile axis thereby forming first and second cones of 90.degree. with respect to the axis while the active sensing regions of the third and fourth sensors are disposed at an angle of other than 90.degree. to the axis thereby forming cones of other than 90.degree. with respect to the axis. The third and fourth sensors are positioned along the axis so that the apices of the third and fourth cones coincide respectively with the apices of the first and second cones. The miss distance and relative velocity of the missile and the target are determined based on the times of interception of the cones and the azimuthal angles of interception. A fuzing arrangement is connected to the sensors which generates a detonation signal responsive to a predetermined order of interception of the cones indicating that the target is crossing the missile within a predetermined range.

Claims6

Dependent claims

An optical target detection system for a missile comprising, a missile having a missile body, and first, second, third and fourth optical ring sensors mounted around the circumference of said body at different longitudinal positions along its length so that the planes of all of the circles defined by said ring sensors are perpendicular to the missile axis, the active sensing regions of said first and second ring sensors being disposed at an angle of 90.degree. to said missile axis therefore forming first and second cones of 90.degree. with respect to said axis having respective apices at first and second points on said axis at the centers of the circles defined by said first and second rings respectively, said third and fourth ring sensors having sensing regions which are disposed at an angle of other than 90.degree. to said missile axis therefore forming third and fourth cones of other than 90.degree. with respect to said axis, said third and fourth sensors being longitudinally positioned along said axis so that the apices of said third and fourth cones coincide respectively with said first and second apices, said third ring sensor being positioned between said first and second ring sensors and said fourth sensor being longitudinally displaced along said axis from said second sensor the same distance that said third sensor is displaced from said first sensor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.