US3944729A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Stabilized terrain optical position sensor
Assignee: United States Department of the Army
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Filing: 1975-03-25
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Granted: 1976-03-16
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Expires: 1995-03-25
Abstract
Abstract A system for providing a display of information to a helicopter pilot perting the pilot to hover over a fixed land position selected while in flight includes a television monitor upon whose screen the pilot sees the forward scene on the top portion of the screen and the scene beneath the helicopter on the bottom portion of the screen. The bottom portion of the monitor screen is provided with symbols whose position or length varies and which represent altitude, ascent or descent velocity, rate and direction of movement, acceleration and the position of the helicopter relative to a selected ground object. The system includes a mirror which may be positioned to reflect the ground into one-half of the viewing angle of the image camera, the mirror being stabilized against pitch and roll by a motor system controlled by a gyroscope system.
Inventors
- 👤 Christos Tsoubanos
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 22:22
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/18; H04N7/183; G; G01; G01C; G01C19/00; G01C19/02; G05; G05D; G05D1/00; G05D1/08; G05D1/0808; G05D1/0858
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for displaying information to enable a helicopter to hover over a selected location, said system including an image camera having an effective viewing angle and mounted on said helicopter so that said viewing angle is substantially forward looking; a mirror positionable within said viewing angle to reflect ground information to said camera when the helicopter is hovering; means to stabilize said mirror against the pitch and roll of said helicopter; a television monitor mounted within the helicopter; and means to transmit and invert the image from the image camera to the television monitor so that the image reflected from said mirror will appear in the bottom portion of said monitor screen and the images not reflected from said mirror will appear in the top portion of said monitor screen.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for displaying information to enable a helicopter to hover over a selected location, said system including an image camera having an effective viewing angle and mounted on said helicopter so that said viewing angle is substantially forward looking; a mirror positionable within said viewing angle to reflect ground information to said camera when the helicopter is hovering; means to stabilize said mirror against the pitch and roll of said helicopter; a television monitor mounted within the helicopter; and means to transmit and invert the image from the image camera to the television monitor so that the image reflected from said mirror will appear in the bottom portion of said monitor screen and the images not reflected from said mirror will appear in the top portion of said monitor screen.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
A system as in claim 1 wherein said image camera is a low light level television camera.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system as in claim 1 wherein said image camera is an infrared night sensor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
97 words
A system as in claim 1 wherein the means to stabilize the mirror includes a gimbal mounting fixed to said helicopter, a first and a second shaft perpendicular to each other and said first shaft being rotatable in relationship to said gimbal mounting, and a first motor and a second motor to respectively position said mirror relative to said first and second shafts, two motor control means each to control each of said motors, and a pitch and roll gyroscope connected to provide pitch and roll position information signals to respective ones of said motor control means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
A system as in claim 4 and further including a pair of shaft position sensing transducers and a pair of electronic amplifiers, one of said transducers and amplifiers connected to provide position feedback to the respective motor control means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
A system as in claim 1 and including mirror mounting means which mount said mirror so that, under operator control, it is positioned within said viewing angle or alternatively withdrawn therefrom.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
154 words
A system for displaying information to enable a helicopter to hover over a selected location, said system including an image camera having an effective viewing angle and mounted on said helicopter so that said viewing angle is substantially forward looking; a mirror positionable within said viewing angle to reflect ground information to said camera when the helicopter is hovering; means to stabilize said mirror against the pitch and roll of said helicopter; a television monitor mounted within the helicopter; means to transmit and invert the image from the image camera to the television monitor so that the image reflected from said mirror will appear in the bottom portion of said monitor screen and the image not reflected from said mirror will appear in the top portion of said monitor screen; and means to symbolically represent and display the position and direction of movement of the helicopter and said bottom portion of said monitor screen.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
154 words
A system for displaying information to enable a helicopter to hover over a selected location, said system including an image camera having an effective viewing angle and mounted on said helicopter so that said viewing angle is substantially forward looking; a mirror positionable within said viewing angle to reflect ground information to said camera when the helicopter is hovering; means to stabilize said mirror against the pitch and roll of said helicopter; a television monitor mounted within the helicopter; means to transmit and invert the image from the image camera to the television monitor so that the image reflected from said mirror will appear in the bottom portion of said monitor screen and the image not reflected from said mirror will appear in the top portion of said monitor screen; and means to symbolically represent and display the position and direction of movement of the helicopter and said bottom portion of said monitor screen.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
A system as in claim 7 and further including means to symbolically represent and display the acceleration and direction of movement of said helicopter on said bottom portion of said monitor screen.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
34 words
A system as in claim 7 and further including means to symbolically represent and display the altitude and rate of ascent or descent of the helicopter on said bottom portion of said monitor screen.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-03-16 | 1979-09-15 | 1980-03-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-03-16 | 1983-09-15 | 1984-03-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-03-16 | 1987-09-15 | 1988-03-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |