Optical: systems and elements – Compound lens system – Telescope
Patent
1998-10-30
2000-09-26
Henry, Jon
Optical: systems and elements
Compound lens system
Telescope
359404, 359402, G02B 2308, G02B 2322
Patent
active
061249688
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a panoramic periscope of the type comprising: a body to be mounted on a vehicle; a head-piece attached to said body and rotating with respect thereto and provided with a window for observing the external scenery; inside said headpiece, a mirror for deflecting the incoming beam from said window towards detection means.
Periscopes of this type are commonly used on various types of vehicles, for example on tanks used in armed combat.
BACKGROUND ART
Examples of panoramic periscopes of this type are described in GB-B-1,272,742, U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,757, U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,250, U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,231 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,551.
Depending on the type of use and configuration, the periscope may be provided with an optical path in the visible spectrum, or with an infrared optical path with an associated infrared sensor, or with a laser telemeter, or with a combination of these elements.
The space available in the vehicle where the periscope is installed is restricted and this results in the need for a compact structure. Arranging two or three optical paths (visible, infrared and laser) in a panoramic periscope is difficult since it requires a large amount of space.
Moreover, assembly of the various optical components is complex and delicate, since said components must be mounted and aligned with great precision. This is made difficult owing to the fact that the various components frequently have to be assembled and disassembled. It is required, moreover, to reduce the number of optical components in order to simplify the structure and increase the optical efficiency of the apparatus.
The general object of the present invention is to provide a periscope of the type mentioned above which overcomes the drawbacks of conventional periscopes. In particular, the object of the invention is to provide a periscope which is compact even when two or more optical paths are combined in it. It must also be easy and reliable as regards assembly and adjustment of all its components.
In some configurations of the periscope an infrared viewing module with an I.R. sensor is provided. At present, various types of arrangements of the infrared sensor, or so-called heat chamber, exist in panoramic periscopes. In particular, there exist solutions in which the entire heat chamber and the associated optics are arranged inside the central body of the periscope. This allows perfect alignment of the optics during assembly and avoids risks of misalignment. However, this solution has considerable drawbacks since the periscope body assumes notable proportions with consequent problems of installation and limitations as regards the possibility of combining, with the same periscope, an optical path in the visible spectrum.
When the periscope has a heat chamber for night-time viewing in the infrared range, the present invention has the object of providing a periscope in which joining of the heat chamber to the periscope body can be performed in a particularly simple manner and does not give rise to positioning and alignment problems and which, moreover, is particularly compact and easy to install.
In this context, a further particular object of the present invention is to provide a periscope of the type mentioned above, in which the optical elements along the path of the infrared beam are reduced, so that it is possible to have a more powerful signal.
In some periscopes, a laser telemeter is also provided. In this case a separator element inside the periscope body separates the laser path from the optical path in the visible and/or infrared range. A type of periscope currently known has a separator prism with a dichroic surface oriented so as to deviate the visible beam and allow the laser beam to pass through. The deviated visible beam is reflected onto a side surface of the prism and from here is redirected to a facing side surface from where it emerges so as to be directed towards the viewing module. This separator system has large dimensions and occupies a considerable amount of space inside t
REFERENCES:
patent: 4848886 (1989-07-01), Pratt
Cecchi Mario
Magnani Mauro
Pieri Silvano
Finmeccanica S.P.A.
Henry Jon
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