Visibility expander

The method of expanding the visibility of certain elements of a view comprising the steps of:

• converting the view to a sequence of signals having amplitudes varying as a function of various elements of the view,
• conversion being effected by scanning the picture with a beam of energy to form a series of frames comprised of a series of lines, scanning occurring at a frame rate such that flicker is substantially undetectable by the human eye upon subsequent conversion of the signals to a picture, the beam of energy having a transverse size such that signals indicative of an object having a minimum predetermined size in the view may be detected for subsequent viewing upon conversion of the signals, the transverse size of the beam of energy being further such that at a scan and line rate that produces signals at a specified frequency all elements of the view are interrogated by the beam of energy;
• substantially eliminating signals above said specified frequency;
• processing the signals below said specified frequency to increase the amplitude differences of the signals lying in a predeterminable amplitude range;
• and
• displaying a picture indicative of the processed signals.

The method of expanding the visibility of certain elements of a view comprising the steps of

• converting the view to a sequence of signals having amplitudes varying as a function of the variations in the objects in the view,
• conversion being effected by scanning the view with a beam of energy at a frame rate to prevent substantial flicker detectable by the human eye,
• adjusting the transverse dimensions of the beam of energy such that signals indicative of an object having a minimum predetermined size in the view may be detected for subsequent viewing,
• scanning the view with a number of lines that are a function of the size of the view and the transverse size of the beam of energy,
• deflecting the beam at a rate determined as a function of the number of lines and the frame rate per second,
• deflecting the beam transverse to its line scan path such that contiguous scan lines are substantially in abutment,
• selectively substantially eliminating signals above a specified frequency that is a function of the number of scan lines per second and the number of scan lines per frame,
• processing the signals below the specified frequency to increase the amplitude differences of the signals lying in a predeterminable amplitude range, and
• displaying a picture indicative of the processed signal.

A visibility expander system comprising a viewing device for producing electrical signals indicative of a scene viewed thereby,

• said viewing device having means for sequentially and successively scanning the scene by means of a beam of energy,
• means for adjusting the size of said beam of energy to produce electrical signals indicative of objects only of a specified minimum size and larger,
• said means for scanning having means for establishing a frame rate sufficient to substantially prevent flicker detectable by the human eye,
• said means for scanning having further means for establishing a number of scan lines per frame that is a function of the size of the scene to be viewed and the size of the beam of energy,
• said means for scanning having still further means for deflecting the beam of energy at a rate which is a function of the number of lines per frame and the frame rate,
• said means for scanning deflecting said beam of energy such that contiguous lines substantially abut one another,
• a non-peaking, roll-off, low-pass filter passing signals up to a predeterminable frequency that is a function of scan lines per second and scan lines per frame,
• a window amplifier for selectively increasing the amplitude differences between signals lying in a predeterminable range of amplitudes, and
• means for displaying the signals produced by said window amplifier.

The method of expanding the visibility of certain elements of a view comprising the steps of:

• converting the view to a sequence of signals having a parameter varying as a function of the intensity of light representing various elements of the view,
• conversion being effected by scanning the picture with a beam of energy to form a series of frames comprised of a series of lines, scanning occuring at a frame rate such that flicker is substantially undetectable by the human eye upon subsequent conversion of the signals to a picture, the beam of energy having a transverse size such that signals indicative of an object having a minimum predetermined size in the view may be detected for subsequent viewing upon conversion of the signals, the transverse size of the beam of energy being further such that at a scan and line rate that produces signals at a specified frequency all elements of the view are interrogated by the beam of energy;
• substantially eliminating signals above said specified frequency;
• processing the signals below said specified frequency to increase the differences between said parameter of the signals lying in a predeterminable range of parameters;
• and
• displaying a picture indicative of the processed signals.