Microcomputer-controlled optical apparatus for surveying, rangefinding and trajectory-compensating functions

A rangefinding and aiming apparatus for firearms and the like having a housing supporting ocular and objective lenses at opposite ends thereof and having disposed between said lenses at least one image erecting lens axially movable to alter the degree of magnification of the target image with at least one radially movable lens element disposed between said image erecting lens and said objective lens, the radial movement of which causes said target image to shift radially of the optical axis for purposes of alignment of said image relative to a stationary reference disposed between said image erecting lens element and said ocular lens element whereupon an erect image of said target object is formed and observable comprising:

• microcomputer means with memory mounted on said firearm for receiving and storing permanent and temporary data and instructions pertinent to rangefinding and trajectory compensation operations for computing rangefinding and trajectory compensating parameters, and for generating a variety of signals resulting from computations on said data and instructions,
• data input means connected to said microcomputer means for receiving temporary data and instructions pertinent to said rangefinding and trajectory compensating computations from an operator and storing said temporary data and instructions in said memory for affecting computations performed by said microcomputer in a manner compensatory of changes in said data,
• display means for selectably displaying indicia indicative of said signals superimposed upon the field of view of said apparatus for observation and verification by an operator,
• rangefinding signal generating means controlled by said microcomputer means and connected to said display means comprising a plurality of closely spaced electronic indicator elements and at least one visible stationary reference indicator adjacent an endmost one of said electronic indicator elements, said electronic elements being selectively activatable so as to define a variable space between the image of said stationary reference indicator and said activated one of said activatable electronic indicator elements,
• said space being controllably variable by an operator to bracket the image of a target, said space subsequently being interpreted by said microcomputer means in terms of the distance from said apparatus to said target,
• one of said indicator elements being subsequently activated by said microcomputer means as a result of ballistic computations made thereby to form a trajectory compensating aiming reference,
• sensing means for communicating to said microcomputer means variations in a degree of magnification of said target image resulting from changes induced by the operator in the positioning of said image erecting lens element whereby said positional variations produce a signal indicative of said positional changes which, along with particular field programmed ballistic data and rangefinding indicator spacing, affects computations performed by said microcomputer means in a manner to maintain a proportional relationship between the size of the target image and the variable space defined by said activated one of the plurality of electronic indicator elements and said stationary reference indicator in order to assure the generation of an optimum aiming marker signal by said microcomputer means compensatory of all aforesaid variables, and
• signal input means in communication with said microcomputer means for affecting a value of the output of the microcomputer.