Optical target detection systems
AssigneeThe Marconi Company Limited
InventorMalcolm G. Cross
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Abstract
The invention provides an infra-red target detection system in which an array of infra-red detectors is scanned vertically in swathes and horizontal scanning is effected by sampling the output of each detector in turn. Addresses of target detections in the vertical and horizontal are stored and read out into an X and Y co-ordinate target position store if a detection resulting from scanning in the vertical corresponds to a detection resulting from scanning in the horizontal.
Claims11
An optical target detection system comprising means for causing a linear array of optical detectors to scan in one coordinate direction across a field of view in swathes extending in said one coordinate direction with said detectors being arranged so that each scans a different part of a swath, means connected to said detectors for scanning said field of view during each of said swath in another coordinate direction, first means for evaluating the output signal from said detectors and for producing signals representing target responses resulting from said scanning in said one coordinate direction, first storage means for storing a digital address code related to the position in said one coordinate direction at which a target response signal occurs, second means for evaluating the output signals from said detectors and for producing signals representing target responses resulting from said scanning in the other coordinate direction, second storage means for storing a digital address code related to the position in said other coordinate direction at which a target response signal occurs, and means for reading out and utilizing the content of said first and second storage means only if target response signals result from said scanning in both said coordinate directions from the same position in said field of view.
An optical target detection system comprising a linear array of optical detectors each arranged to receive radiation from parts of a field of view spaced in an x coordinate direction;
- scanning means for causing said array to scan the field of view in swaths, each swath extending in a y direction which is transverse to said x direction;
- first target detecting means for detecting a variation in the output signals of said optical detectors during said scanning, which variation is characteristic of the existence of a target;
- second target detecting means connected to receive the output signals of the detectors of said array during said scanning and for detecting differences in said output signals of said detectors of said array which differences are characteristic of the existence of a target;
- and output means for producing an output signal in response to detection, by both said first and second target detecting means, of a target at the same instantaneous field of view along a swath.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.