Fully automated telescope system with distributed intelligence
US6304376A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 18, 2000 |
| Grant date | Oct 16, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 18, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B23/165
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A fully automated telescope system is able to be fully operable in both Alt-Az and polar configurations. In either configuration, the telescope aligns itself to be celestial coordinate system following a simplified initialization procedure during which the telescope tube is first pointed north and then pointed towards a user's horizon. A command processor, under application software program control orients the telescope system with respect to the celestial coordinate system given the initial directional inputs. The initial telescope orientation may be further refined by initially inputting a geographical location indicia, or by shooting one or two additional celestial objects. Once the telescope's orientation with respect to the celestial coordinate system is established, the telescope system will automatically move to and track any desired celestial object without further alignment invention by a user.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.