External variable aperture and relay for infra-red cameras
US7816650B2 · kind B2 · utility
8Cited by
18References
17Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 14, 2008 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 16, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N23/75
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An external optical relay assembly to allow an infrared camera with a fixed aperture to be used with a variety of fore optics, including refractive compound lenses, reflective telescopes, and reflective/refractive lenses, by providing an external, cooled aperture, that can be adjusted to provide effective f-number matching to the fore optic, allowing any f-number fore optic to be used with the infrared camera. This allows users of large families of similar telescopes, for example, to use their inventory of infrared Ritchie-Chrétien telescopes with a single infrared camera, regardless of f-numbers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.