Dual wavelength wide angle large reflective unobscured system
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorLacy G. Cook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wide angle large reflective unobscured system includes a primary reflective element for receiving a broad range of energy, a secondary reflective element for reflecting the energy from the primary reflective element to reimage a virtual entrance pupil at a real aperture stop. A beamsplitter element is provided for reflecting a first portion of the energy, such as visible energy, to a first tertiary reflective mirror, while transmitting a second portion of the energy, such as IR light, to a second tertiary reflector. Each tertiary reflector is capable of focusing the received energies to dual focal planes wherein a compact detector array assembly can convert the images to electronic signals.
Claims21
A wide angle large reflective unobscured system comprising:
- a primary reflective element adapted to receive energy;
- a secondary reflective element for receiving energy reflected from said primary reflective element, said primary and secondary reflective elements cooperating to reimage a virtual entrance pupil to a real aperture stop;
- a pair of tertiary reflective elements;
- and
- a beamsplitter element for reflecting a first portion of the energy to one tertiary reflector and for transmitting a second portion of energy to the other tertiary reflector.
A wide angle reflective unobscured system comprising:
- a primary mirror positioned to receive and reflect energy from a scene to be viewed;
- a secondary mirror positioned to receive energy from said primary mirror, said primary and secondary mirrors forming a real image of a virtual entrance pupil at an aperture stop;
- a pair of tertiary mirrors positioned to receive energy from said secondary mirror and reflecting and focusing energy to a viewing position;
- a beamsplitter element, positioned at an aperture stop for reflecting energy to one tertiary mirror and for transmitting through the beamsplitter element energy to the other tertiary mirror;
- and
- a detector array assembly at the viewing position for receiving the energy from each tertiary mirror.
An optical detection system comprising:
- a primary mirror;
- a secondary mirror in optical communication with said primary mirror;
- an aspherical beamsplitter element in optical communication with the secondary mirror;
- a pair of tertiary mirrors in optical communication with the beamsplitter element;
- and
- a detector unit in optical communication with at least one tertiary mirror.
An improved head-mounted viewing system comprising:
- a support member adapted to be mounted on the head of a user;
- a reflective optics system supported on the support member, including,
- a primary element adapted to receive energy;
- a secondary reflective element for receiving energy reflected from said primary reflective element, said primary and secondary reflective elements cooperating to reimage a virtual entrance pupil to a real aperture stop;
- a pair of tertiary reflective elements;
- and
- a beamsplitter element for reflecting a first portion of the energy to one tertiary reflector element and for transmitting a second portion of energy to the other tertiary reflector element;
- a first detector unit for receiving a first portion of energy from one tertiary reflector element supported on the support member;
- a second detector unit for receiving a second portion of energy from the other tertiary reflector element supported on the support member;
- and
- a display unit supported on the support member and connected to the first and second detector units for displaying the detected portions of energy to the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.