EP0636901A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Area surveying apparatus and communication system
Assignee: Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd
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Filing: 1994-07-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-07-27
Abstract
Abstract A method of protecting a predetermined area, comprises the steps of: a) providing a base station positioned essentially at the center of the area to be protected, the said base station being provided with scanning laser beam generating and receiving means, image and signal processing units, memory means, voice receiving and transmitting means and image viewing means; b) causing a laser beam generated by the base station to be reflected from the surveyed area into the receiving means of the base station; c) processing the received reflected light to generate an image of the surveyed area; d) storing one or more scanned images in memory means, to be used as reference images; e) at any given time, comparing a real-time scanned image with one or more stored reference image(s), to determine changes which have occurred on the image, which exceed predetermined threshold values, and alerting the operator of the base station of any such changes; f) providing one or more moving station(s) comprising emitting/receiving laser generating means and signal processing means, and causing the said moving station to generate an emitted signal which identifies it; and g) providing recognition means within the signal processing means of the base station, to recognize the signal generated by the moving station as a friendly signal, and to alert the operator of the base station whether a change in the image of the scanned area belongs to a friendly or to an unfriendly force.
Inventors
- 👤 Izhak Saban
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 08:54
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S17/00; G01S17/88; G01S17/89; G01S17/02; G01S17/04; G01S17/74
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
207 words
A method of protecting a predetermined area, comprising the steps of: a) providing a base station positioned within the area to be protected, the said base station being provided with scanning laser beam generating means; b) causing a scanning light beam generated by the base station to be reflected from the surveyed area and received by the base station; c) processing the received reflected light to generate an image of the surveyed area; d) storing one or more scanned images to be used as reference images; e) comparing a real-time scanned image with one or more stored reference image(s), to determine whether changes which have occurred on the image exceed predetermined threshold values, and alerting the operator of the base station of any such changes; f) providing one or more moving station(s) with laser beam generating means and causing said moving station to generate an emitted signal which identifies it; g) providing recognition means within the signal processing means of the base station, to recognize the signal generated by the known moving station as a friendly signal, and to alert the operator of the base station as to whether any changes in the image of the scanned area belong to a friendly or to an unfriendly force.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to Claim 1, wherein said base station is positioned essentially at the centre of the area to be protected.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the base station is further provided with image and signal processing units, memory means, voice receiving and transmitting means and image viewing means.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
24 words
A method according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said moving station(s) comprise laser beam receiving means and signal processing means.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
69 words
A method according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 further comprising the steps of: h) generating a message to be transmitted in digital form and modulating the laser beam generated by the transmitting station, be it the base station or the moving station; and i) receiving in the receiving station the laser beam generated by the transmitting station and decoding the same to produce the transmitted message.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method according to Claim 5, wherein transmission between the base station and the moving station is effected in blocks, a part of the message being transmitted during a plurality of scanning cycles of the base station.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method according to Claim 5, wherein the scanning movement of the laser beam of the base station is stopped once line of sight contact is achieved, and the message is transmitted in its entirety before scanning is resumed.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
21 words
A method according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, wherein the message is transmitted via an intermediate mediating station.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
58 words
A method according to any one of Claims 5 to 8, wherein the transmitted message comprises the following data: - Identification number or code of the transmitting station; - Identification number or code of the receiving station for which the message is meant; - Relative position, including range and direction; - Message; - Synchronization signals between the transmitters/receivers.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
223 words
A system for protecting a predetermined area, comprising: a) a base station arranged to be positioned within the area to be protected, the said base station being provided with scanning laser beam generating means and memory means; b) receiving means positioned within the base station, for receiving light from a laser beam generated by the base station and reflected from the surveyed area; c) processing means for processing the received reflected light to generate an image of the surveyed area; d) memory means for storing one or more scanned images, to be used as reference images; e) comparing means for comparing, at any given time, a real-time scanned image with one or more stored reference image(s), to determine changes which have occurred on the image, which exceed predetermined threshold values, and alarm means for alerting the operator of the base station of any such changes; f) one or more moving station(s) comprising laser generating means and signal generating means provided with the said moving station, to generate an emitted signal which identifies it; g) recognition means provided within the signal processing means of the base station, to recognize the signal generated by the moving station as a friendly signal, and to alert the operator of the base station when a change in the image of the scanned area belongs to a friendly force.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
A system according to Claim 10, in which the base station comprises image and signal processing units; voice receiving and transmitting means, and image viewing means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
A system according to Claim 10 or 11, in which each moving station comprises laser beam receiving means and signal processing means.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
80 words
A system according to any one of Claims 10 to 12, further comprising: h) message generating means, to generate a message to be transmitted in digital form, and modulating means to modulate the laser beam generated by the transmitting station, be it the base station or the moving station; and i) receiving means provided in the receiving station, to receive the laser beam generated by the transmitting station, and decoding means to decode the same to produce the transmitted message.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
132 words
A system for surveying a predetermined area, comprising: a) a base station arranged to be positioned within the area to be protected, the said base station being provided with scanning laser beam generating means and image viewing means; b) receiving means positioned within the base station, for receiving light from a laser beam generated by the base station and reflected from the surveyed area; c) processing means for processing the received reflected light to generate an image of the surveyed area; d) memory means for storing one or more scanned images, to be used as reference images; and e) comparing means for comparing, at any given time, a real-time scanned image with one or more stored reference image(s), to determine changes which have occurred on the image, which exceed predetermined threshold values.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
29 words
A system according to any one of Claims 10 to 14, in which the base station is arranged to be positioned essentially at the centre of the predetermined area.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
26 words
A system according to any one of Claims 10 to 15, including alarm means for alerting the operator of the base station of any such changes.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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