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US 4,014,482 AGranted
Missile director
AssigneeMcDonnell Douglas Corporation
InventorsAndrew T. Esker, John L. Manche, Robert M. Siler
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AssigneeMcDonnell Douglas Corporation
InventorsAndrew T. Esker, John L. Manche, Robert M. Siler
Estimating the term…
A line of sight guidance system is provided in which the radiated output of a pulsed laser is spatially modulated to produce a beam radiated from an optical projector containing all informational requirements to enable a missile launched into the beam to determine its position with respect to beam center. The guidance system includes a single beam projector at a launch site, and a single beam receiver and signal decoder carried by the missile. The beam projector includes a laser diode source, laser pulse driver circuits, beam encoder, optic means for projecting the encoded beam, and electronic circuits for controlling the optic means operation. The beam encoder includes a reticle having a plurality of spokes formed in it, an opto-interrupter for sensing reticle center rotation rate, and drive motor control electronics. The reticle has a center mounted for rotation about the generated beam so that at least a portion of the reticle intersects the beam in all positions of the reticle. The laser diode source is pulsed at two different rates, which rates are coordinated with the angular position of the reticle. The laser beam is encoded by rotating the center of the reticle about an axis of the optical system in conjunction with the variation of the pulse repetition rate of the laser source, to produce a spatial modulation of the radiated beam. The projected beam, consequently, is a binary coded coordinate grid and reference data pattern which contains in itself all of the magnitude and phase components necessary for a properly equipped missile to define its location with respect to the beam coordinate center, once the missile is launched into the beam pattern. The receiver and decoder are utilized to derive signals for positioning the missile along the beam center by separating the incoming pulse train into an information channel and a phase reference channel. The optic means for projecting the beam includes a zoom optic system designed to permit use of a low power beam, the beam radiation being spread over a large angle at missile launch. The beam angle is decreased as the missile flies towards a target, thus maintaining approximately constant beam power density at the missile throughout flight, while minimizing the beam power density at the target.
A guidance system for directing the maneuvers of a guided device, comprising:
A guidance system, comprising:
In a guidance system for providing guidance information to a missile for directing the missile toward a target, the improvement which comprises means for projecting a binary coded beam of electromagnetic energy along an axis, said beam containing information signals enabling said missile to align itself with said axis, said projecting means including means for generating a single laser beam, means for projecting said generated beam along a predetermined line of sight, reticle means having a center, said reticle means being mounted for rotation with respect to said beam so that all beam energy transmitted from said projecting means passes through said reticle, means for rotating said reticle about its center, means for orbitally rotating said reticle, the orbital speed of rotation of said reticle being different than the speed of rotation of said reticle about its center, and means for pulsing said single laser beam generating means at a first rate for approximately half of one orbital revolution, and at a second rate for the other half of an orbital revolution of the reticle.
In a guidance system for providing guidance information to a missile for directing the missile toward a target, including single means for generating and projecting a laser beam along a predetermined field of view, said field of view having a central axis, and means for coding said beam so as to provide both distance and direction of any point in the field of view to the central axis, the improvement which comprises:
A method for providing information in a laser beam for guiding a missile, comprising:
A guidance system for directing the maneuvers of a guided device, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.