Mirror stabilizer having space referenced motion

Claim 2

An optical instrument for stabilizing an image when said optical instrument is subjected to angular vibrational orientation, said optical instrument comprising: an objective lens having an optical path terminating at an imaging plane; a mirror disposed within said optical path for receiving incident rays from said objective and directing reflected rays to said imaging plane; a fluid tight chamber about said mirror and attached to said instrument; a transparent fluid surrounding and at least partially supporting said mirror and contained within said chamber; a transparent portion in said chamber in said optical path; means biasing said mirror to a neutral reflecting position with respect to said optical path; and coupling means including a surface movable with said chamber and a surface movable with said mirror for coupling said mirror to said chamber through said fluid to act on said biasing means through said mirror and also to act on the inertia of said fluid and mirror; said surface movable with said chamber acting upon and moving said fluid; and said surface movable with said mirror being movable in response to said movement of said fluid to produce changing angular orientation of said mirror with respect to space at a rate proportional to but different from the vibrational angular orientation of the instrument with respect to space.

Claim 3

The invention of claim 1 and wherein said fluid neutrally bouyantly supports said mirror.

Claim 4

The invention of claim 1 and wherein said imaging plane is within said instrument.

Claim 5

The invention of claim 1 and wherein said chamber is cylindrical and contained within said instrument.

Claim 6

The invention of claim 4 and wherein said cylindrical chamber is closed by a wall at either end to contain said fluid.

Claim 7

An optical stabilizer for use in combination with an optical instrument for stabilizing vibrational angular orientations including: a fluid tight chamber; a mirror within said chamber; said chamber having a transparent portion in a wall of said chamber; means for biasing said mirror to a preselected neutral position in said chamber for reflecting incident light through said transparent pOrtion; a transparent fluid interior of said chamber and surrounding said mirror to at least partially bouyantly support said mirror; and, coupling means including a surface movable with said chamber and a surface movable with said mirror for coupling said mirror to said chamber through said fluid to act on said biasing means through said mirror and also to act on the inertia of said fluid and mirror; said chamber surface acting upon and moving said fluid; and said surface on said mirror being movable in response to said movement of said fluid to produce space referenced angular orientation of said mirror at a rate proportional to but different from the vibrational angular orientation of the instrument.

Claim 8

An optical stabilizer for use in combination with an optical instrument for stabilizing vibrational angular orientations including: a fluid tight chamber; a mirror within said chamber; said chamber having a transparent portion in a wall of said chamber; means for biasing said mirror to a preselected neutral position in said chamber for reflecting incident light through said transparent pOrtion; a transparent fluid interior of said chamber and surrounding said mirror to at least partially bouyantly support said mirror; and, coupling means including a surface movable with said chamber and a surface movable with said mirror for coupling said mirror to said chamber through said fluid to act on said biasing means through said mirror and also to act on the inertia of said fluid and mirror; said chamber surface acting upon and moving said fluid; and said surface on said mirror being movable in response to said movement of said fluid to produce space referenced angular orientation of said mirror at a rate proportional to but different from the vibrational angular orientation of the instrument.

Claim 9

The optical stabilizer of claim 6 and wherein said chamber includes a second transparent portion in a wall of said chamber and said neutral position of said mirror is chosen to receive incident light through said second transparent portion and to direct reflected light through said first transparent portion.

Claim 10

The optical stabilizer of claim 6 and wherein said mirror is pivotally mounted in said chamber for rotation about an axis.

Claim 11

The optical stabilizer of claim 6 and wherein said biasing means includes an elastic member affixed to a wall of said chamber at one portion and affixed to said mirror at another portion.

Claim 12

An optical stabilizer for use in combination with an optical instrument for stabilizing vibrational angular orientations including: a fluid-tight chamber having cylindrical sidewalls and two end walls; a mirror within said chamber having a cross section less than the cross section of said cylindrical sidewalls; said chamber having a transparent portion defined through one of said end walls of said chamber; means for biasing a reflecting surface of said mirror to a preselected neutral position towards said transparent portion defined through one of said end walls of said chamber for reflecting incident light upon said mirror through said transparent portion; a transparent fluid interior of said chamber and surrounding said mirror to at least partially support said mirror; and coupling means including a surface movable with said stabilizer and a surface movable with said mirror for coupling said mirror to said stabilizer through said fluid to act on said biasing means through said mirror and also to act on the inertia of said fluid and mirror; said stabilizer surface acting upon and moving said fluid; and said surface on said mirror being movable in response to said movement of said fluid to produce changing angular orientation of said mirror with respect to space at a rate proportional to but different from the vibrational angular orientation of the stabilizer with respect to space.

Claim 13

An optical stabilizer for use in combination with an optical instrument for stabilizing vibrational angular orientations including: a fluid-tight chamber having cylindrical sidewalls and two end walls; a mirror within said chamber having a cross section less than the cross section of said cylindrical sidewalls; said chamber having a transparent portion defined through one of said end walls of said chamber; means for biasing a reflecting surface of said mirror to a preselected neutral position towards said transparent portion defined through one of said end walls of said chamber for reflecting incident light upon said mirror through said transparent portion; a transparent fluid interior of said chamber and surrounding said mirror to at least partially support said mirror; and coupling means including a surface movable with said stabilizer and a surface movable with said mirror for coupling said mirror to said stabilizer through said fluid to act on said biasing means through said mirror and also to act on the inertia of said fluid and mirror; said stabilizer surface acting upon and moving said fluid; and said surface on said mirror being movable in response to said movement of said fluid to produce changing angular orientation of said mirror with respect to space at a rate proportional to but different from the vibrational angular orientation of the stabilizer with respect to space.

Claim 14

The invention of claim 10 wherein the distance between the end walls of said chamber is less than the diameter of said cylindrical sidewalls.

Claim 15

The invention of claim 10 and wherein the distance between the end walls of said chamber is greater than the diameter of the cylindrical sidewalls of said chamber.

Claim 16

The invention of claim 10 and wherein said biasing means includes an elastic member extending from one of said two end walls of said chamber and means for affixing said mirror to said elastic member.