US 4,012,989 A · Inertial free-sight system

Abstract

An inertial sighting system for slaving the axis of a craft mounted movable member such as an armament system, camera, spotlight or the like to the axis of a hand held sight including two sets of inertial sensors in the form of a pair of gyroscopes for each set. One pair of gyroscopes, fixed to the craft and responsive to changes in craft attitude, provides pitch, azimuth, and roll information regarding craft attitude. The other pair of gyroscopes, fixed to the sighting device and responsive to changes in sighting device attitude, provides pitch and azimuth information regarding sight device attitude. The spin axes of the gyroscopes are initially aligned by a caging mechanism provided on a sight stowing bracket mounted on the craft and a cooperating caging mechanism on the sight. Alignment of the axes establishes a reference system, and when the sight is removed from the bracket, at the start of a tracking mission, the gyroscopes are uncaged to provide azimuth and elevation information to slave the axis of the movable member to the sight member.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An inertial hand-held sight system for slaving the axis of an aircraft mounted movable member to the axis of a hand-held sight comprising:

hand-held sight means adapted to be positioned on a line of sight to a target,
a first and second set of inertial sensors one of which is mounted on said hand-held sight means and the other of which is mountable on an aircraft,
said one set of inertial sensors providing information regarding the pitch and azimuth orientation of the sight means,
the other set of inertial sensors providing information regarding the pitch, azimuth and roll orientation of the aircraft on which said sensors are mounted, and
means cooperating with each set of inertial sensors to receive the information regarding the orientation of the sight means and the orientation of the aircraft and to provide control information of the pitch and azimuth orientation needed to maintain the axis of the movable member in parallel relation to the axis of the hand-held sight means.

2 more elements

An inertial hand-held sight system for slaving the axis of craft mounted armament means in parallel relation to a sighting device comprising:

a free independently movable sighting device adapted to be positioned on a line of sight to a target,
first and second inertial sensor means one of which provides information regarding the orientation of the craft, the other of which provides information regarding orientation of the sighting device, and
means to compare the information regarding craft orientation with the information regarding sighting device orientation to provide control information for maintaining the axis of said armament aligned with the axis of said sighting device independently of any changing orientation of the craft.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Inertial free-sight system

Life of this patent

Inertial free-sight system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11