초록 ▼

An imaging self-referencing target tracker (10) for a laser weapon (12). The weapon generates a first beam of radiation (14) that engages a target (16) to form a beam hit spot (20) thereon. In a first embodiment, a target illuminator (22) (variant 1) illuminates the target with a second beam of radi

An imaging self-referencing target tracker (10) for a laser weapon (12). The weapon generates a first beam of radiation (14) that engages a target (16) to form a beam hit spot (20) thereon. In a first embodiment, a target illuminator (22) (variant 1) illuminates the target with a second beam of radiation (23a). An optics subsystem (30) receives and separately images the first and second beams (23b, 24) of radiation. In a second embodiment, a blocking filter (40) is implemented rather than an illumination laser to pass only radiation at the target wavelength, thereby ensuring that the first and second beams of radiation are separately imaged. A controller (32) is programmed to steer the first and second beams of radiation to the desired target aim point (18) in response to information from the imaged first and second beams of radiation. The tracker of the present invention tracks the laser hit spot relative to the actual target image in a closed loop manner, thereby increasing the probability of accurate target engagement and resulting in a target kill.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. An optical system for a target tracker comprising:a first detector for imaging radiation at a first frequency;a second detector for imaging radiation at a second frequency;a shared aperture element for transmitting radiation at said first frequency and reflecting radiat

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. An optical system for a target tracker comprising:a first detector for imaging radiation at a first frequency;a second detector for imaging radiation at a second frequency;a shared aperture element for transmitting radiation at said first frequency and reflecting radiation at said second frequency; said shared aperture element being positioned at a location relative to said first and second detectors so as to direct radiation at said first frequency to said first detector and radiation at said second frequency to said second detector said shared aperture element including a hole selected to correspond to an annular occlusion region of a predetermined high energy laser;means for gathering said reflected radiation and directing said reflective radiation to said hole; anda mirror, optically aligned to receive reflected radiation at said second frequency, wherein said mirror is rotatable about a predetermined axis between a first position relative to said detector where said detector is able to image a laser beam hit spot plus background radiation and a second position relative to said detector where said detector is able to image only background radiation.