Method and apparatus for measurement of direction
US5339088A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 19, 1993 |
| Grant date | Aug 16, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 19, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S3/787
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention provides a method and a corresponding instrument for measuring the direction of a remote source of radiation, the instrument comprising a support, a detector head rotatably mounted thereon for rotation about a fixed axis, and a position-indicator means which provides an output signal indicating the rotational position of the detector head, the detector head being provided with a detector sensitive to radiation emitted by the remote source and with optics for forming an image of the source which transits across the detector as the detector head rotates, the image-forming optics being such that the image comprises two line-image components which extend transversely to the transit direction and which are oppositely inclined to that direction, and the detector being arranged, in response to the transit across it of each line-image component, to cause the instantaneous angular position of the detector head as indicated by the position indicator to be recorded, there being further provided computer which derives two component measurements of the direction of the source from, respectively, the mean of the two recorded angular positions and the difference between them.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.