Projectile tracking system
US5796474A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 21, 1996 |
| Grant date | Aug 18, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 21, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S7/4817
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention provides a projectile tracking system for acquiring and precisely tracking a projectile in flight in order to reveal the source from which the projectile was fired. The source is revealed by the back projection of a 3-dimensional track file. The system is particularly suited for tracking a bullet fired by a sniper and identifying the location of the sniper. Projectiles of interest are typically traveling at a substantial fraction of the speed of sound or even faster than the speed of sound and therefore become hot due to aerodynamic heating. A telescope focuses infrared light from a relatively large field of view on to an infrared focal plane array. In a projectile detection mode, the system searches for the infrared signature of the fast moving projectile. The telescope's field of view is steered in the azimuth by a step and stare mirror which is driven by an azimuth drive motor mounted on the frame. When a projectile is detected the system switches to a tracking mode and the mirror is steered by the azimuth drive motor and a pivot motor to track the projectile. A short pulse high repetition rate laser in a laser radar system provides a pulsed laser beam whic…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.