Back to results
US 7,276,681 B2Granted
On-board light source based gain correction for semi-active laser seekers
AssigneeBAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
InventorsWilliam C. Alexander, David Schorr
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides a method and apparatus for correcting for gain changes in detectors in a guided vehicle. In one version of the invention, an on board light source is used to generate a reference set of detector gains, which are stored in computer memory. The on board light source is then pulsed at subsequent times and the signals generated by the detectors are compared to the reference set of detector gains to determine whether any gains have changed.
Claims14
A vehicle guidance system comprising:
- a calibration light source on board the vehicle;
- a plurality of detectors that receive light from the calibration light source and from light reflected by a target and generate electrical signals responsive to the amount of light received;
- a memory on board the vehicle containing reference data representing an initial set of gains for the plurality of detectors;
- pulse circuitry that causes the calibration light source to generate a calibration light pulse, which is transmitted to the plurality of detectors;
- and
- a computer processor that compares the electrical signals generated in response to the calibration light pulse with the reference data to determine whether there has been a change in the gain for any of the plurality of detectors.
3 more elements
A method for guiding a vehicle to a target comprising:
- pulsing light onto a plurality of detectors from an on-board light source;
- generating an electrical signal from each of the plurality of detectors that is proportional to the amount of light that the detector received;
- comparing the electrical signals to reference values corresponding to each of the detectors to determine ratios between each electrical signal and each corresponding reference value;
- receiving light reflected from a target;
- transmitting the received light to the plurality of detectors and generating a received electrical signal for each of the plurality of detectors;
- compensating the received electrical signals proportional to the ratios;
- and determining the direction to the target from the compensated electrical signals.
4 more elements
A method for guiding a missile to a target comprising:
- transmitting a first light pulse from a calibration light source located on board the missile to a plurality of detectors, wherein each detector generates an electrical signal that is proportional to the amount of light it received from the first light pulse;
- transmitting the electrical signals from the detectors in response to the first light pulse to a guidance system computer having a memory;
- storing a plurality of reference values in memory representative of the electrical signals each detector generated in response to the transmission of the first light pulse;
- transmitting a second light pulse from the calibration light source to the plurality of detectors;
- transmitting the electrical signals generated by the detectors in response to the second light pulse to the guidance system computer;
- comparing the electrical signals generated by the second light pulse to the reference values in memory to determine any changes in gain among the detectors;
- receiving a reflected light pulse from a target and transmitting the reflected light pulse to the detectors, wherein each detector generates an electrical signal that is proportional to the amount of light received from the reflected light pulse;
- transmitting the electrical signals generated by the reflected light pulse to the guidance system computer, which corrects the electrical signals for any changes in gain among the detectors;
- and
- determining the direction to the target based on the corrected electrical signals generated in response to the reflected light pulse.
7 more elements
A laser guided missile comprising:
- a detector board having a plurality of detectors mounted thereon;
- an on-board light source that can transmit light to the detectors;
- a lens plate having at least one lens for converging light received from an external light source onto the plurality of detectors;
- analog to digital conversion circuitry that converts analog electrical signals received from the detectors into digital data;
- and
- an electronic memory that stores reference data generated by pulsing the on-board light source onto the detectors.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.