Horizon detection and scanning system

Claim 1

A HORIZON MEASURING DEVICE COMPRISING MEANS FOR SENSING RADIATING ENERGY FROM AN OBJECT, MEANS FOR STORING A SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR SYMMETRIC IMAGE OF SAID RADIATING ENERGY IN THE FORM OF A STORED CIRCULAR PATTERN SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE CENTERMOST PORTION OF A THERMAL-SENSITIVE STORING SURFACE, MEANS FOR SCANNING SAID SURFACE ALONG A PLURALITY OF PATHS EACH DEFINING A DIAMETER OF SAID SURFACE, MEANS FOR ANGULARLY DISPLACING EACH OF SAID DIAMETERS FROM EACH OTHER FOR SCANNING SAID ENTIRE SURFACE, MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SCANNING MEANS FOR GENERATING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL FOR EACH SCAN IN RESPONSE TO SAID STORED IMAGE, MEANS FOR GENERATING A CONTINUOUS SIGNAL VARYING AS THE TIME DURATION OF SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL VARIES WHERE BY SAID SIGNAL REPRESENTS THE CONTINUOUS MEASURE OF DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID OBJECT AND SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL RELATIVE TO FOR DETECTING THE POSITION OF SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL RELATIVE TO EACH SCAN, EACH OF SAID OUTPUT SIGNALS BEING INDICATIVE OF THE EXACT LOCATION OF SAID STORED CIRCULAR PATTERN WITH RESPECT TO THE CENTER OF SAID IMAGE STORING SURFAE, AND MEANS FOR GENERATING CONTINUOUS SIGNALS VARYING AS THE POSITION OF THE OUTPUT SIGNAL VARIES WITH RESPECT TO EACH SCAN TO THEREBY INDICASTE ROLL AND PITCH INFORMATION OF SAID STORING SURFACE WITH RESPECT TO SAID OBJECT.