SPATIAL DISCRIMINATION SYSTEM FOR USE WITH PULSED OPTICAL ENERGY AND TELEVISION PICK-UP TUBES

• Main Authors: CANTELLA M,US, STEWICH M,US
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 08.05.1973
• Subjects: AIMING; BLASTING; HEATING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; WEAPON SIGHTS; WEAPONS

A spatial discrimination system for use with pulsed optical energy which allows a television viewer or aircraft terminal guidance system to distinguish between steady and pulsed sources of light. Video electronic spatial discrimination takes advantage of the spatial characteristics of a point source to distinguish it from extended spatial objects. Basic spatial discrimination performance is extended to permit rejection of all signals except the desired point source pulse. Laser energy is reflected from a target and detected by the television camera or terminal guidance system in an approaching aircraft. The detected signal is coupled through an image tube, providing a video frequency output for indicating the position of the target. The image section of the tube is surrounded by a modulating coil for displacing the image along the direction of the raster scan lines, producing an elongated charge pattern on the storage surface of the tube. An elongated charge pattern does not fulfill the spatial discriminator requirements for acceptance and thereby allows original point source signals such as continuous waves to be eliminated from the video. For a point source, as the reflected pulse of laser energy having a time duration less than the displacement dwell time on each resolution element, the spatial properties are preserved, thus providing a signal for directing aircraft flight toward the target.