Apparatus for determining the angular position of a target illuminated by light pulses

Apparatus for determining the angular position of a target which is illuminated by light pulses, said apparatus including:

• objective lens means for concentrating light from the illuminated target onto a reception surface so as to form a light spot on said surface when the target is illuminated by a light pulse;
• a system for receiving said light spot, said system including a photoelectric receiver;
• and
• an electric circuit connected to the output of the photo-electric receiver to generate signals which are representative of the position of the light spot on the reception surface;
• the improvement wherein the receiving system includes:
• a group of n bundles of optical wave guides with the wave guides which form part of the same bundle being all of the same length, and said bundles being of different lengths so as to form a sequence of predetermined lengths, the input surfaces of the wave guides of each bundle being disposed side by side and facing n respective predetermined portions of the reception surface so that the wave guides of the n bundles transmit light pulses from said spot, the output surfaces of the wave guides being disposed so that the pulses caused by light from said spot act on the same photoelectric receiver in a time sequence which is representative of said sequence of predetermined lengths, whereby the photoelectric receiver delivers, in operation, successive electric pulses whose amplitudes are representative of the illumination of respective portions of the reception surface by the spot, and
• wherein said electric circuit includes:
• a separator circuit whose input is connected to the output of the photoelectric receiver, said separator circuit including n outputs to deliver respectives ones of said successive electric pulses corresponding to each light spot received on the reception surface;
• n measuring circuits respectively connected to the n outputs of the separator circuit to deliver measuring signals which are representative of the amplitudes of respective ones of the successive electric pulses;
• and
• a processing circuit connected to the outputs of the n measuring circuits to transform the measuring signals into signals which are representative of the position of the light spot on the reception surface.