Method of determining orientation of a telescope
US7518792B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 10, 2005 |
| Grant date | Apr 14, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 12, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S359/90
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An automatic telescope (10) capable of determining an orientation without requiring input from a user or any external source. The telescope (10) preferably includes a database (22) to store astronomical information, a processor (24) to control a drive mechanism (18), a vision device (30) to sense bright stars, and a motion sensor (32) to generate a motion signal. When the vision device (30) is slewed from alignment with a first bright star to a second bright star, the motion signal is preferably representative of a measured angle between the first and second bright stars. This process is preferably repeated for several bright stars to generate several measured angles. The processor (24) can then use the measured angles to identify the bright stars and determine the orientation of the telescope (10).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.