Back to results
US 6,473,118 B1Granted
Imaging systems
AssigneeBarr & Stroud Limited
InventorJames Morrow
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An imaging system comprises an image-data collection station (1) having a platform (2) which is rotatable about an azimuthal axis. Several image sensors (3) are mounted on and rotate with the platform (2). A static monitoring station (7) includes a computerized sensor control system (10) for selectably and independently turning the sensors (3) ON and OFF during the rotation of the platform (2). Station (7) additionally monitors the data output from the sensors (3) and delivers a visible output at a VDU (8).
Claims6
An imaging system comprising:
- an image-data collection station (1) which is rotatable about an azimuthal axis, the image-data collection station (1) comprising at least two circumferentially spaced-apart image sensors (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) arranged for rotation with the station (1) so as to include a common field of view (4), each sensor comprising a single column of vertically aligned sensing elements, and
- a static image-monitoring station (7) comprising a video display unit (8) for displaying image data received from the collection station (1), and control means (9, 10, 11) for selectively and independently turning the sensors on and off during rotation of the data collection station (1),
- wherein image data from each image sensor (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) is delivered to an image frame-store (13) via an associated gate device (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) which is on/off controlled in synchrony with the sensors (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) by said control means (9,10,11), and data from the image frame-store (13) is clocked out at a TV raster-scan compatible rate to the video display unit (8).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.