US3781552A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Self-calibrating multiple field of view telescope for remote atmospheric electromagnetic probing and data acquisition
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1972-08-02
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Granted: 1973-12-25
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Expires: 1992-08-02
Abstract
Abstract The invention is a transmitting and receiving telescope for use in generalized electromagnetic radiation communication systems, including atmospheric probing systems. The telescope optics, electromagnetic radiation source laser and receiver are coaxially aligned along the telscope axis. The telescope can be constructed with one received field of view or with a plurality of received fields of view. The telescope mirrors have apertures along the telescope axis to allow alignment laser pulse or CW radiation to travel along the telescope axis without being reflected. The preferred electromagnetic radiation source is a laser which can operate in both TEM00 and TEM01 modes. The TEM00 mode is employed for alignment purposes since the energy of this mode is concentrated along the axis. The TEM01 mode is used for data acquisition because the energy of this mode is concentrated in a donut shaped region having its hole centered on the axis. Constant intensity illumination is produced in the viewed area during data acquisition by separating the donut into inner and outer annuli along the line of maximum intensity and imaging the two beams to provide 100 percent overlay at the range of interest. A preferred use for this telescope is in atmospheric probing LIDAR systems for measurements of the motion and concentration of the atmospheric environment, particularly pollution measurements. This LIDAR system uses a real time data processing system employing 800 megabit analog to digital converters and a correlation system to transform the acquired data into useable form in real time.
Inventors
- 👤 K Kadrmas
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 10:55
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B17/00; G02B17/02; G02B17/06; G02B17/0605; G02B17/061; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/17; G01N21/47; G01N21/49; G01N21/53; G01N21/538; G01S; G01S17/00; G01S17/88; G01S7/00; G01S7/48; G01S7/481; G01S7/4811; G01S7/4812; G02B17/0694
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
72 words
A transmitting and receiving telescope system comprising: electromagnetic radiation source means for producing a donut output beam; transmission optics means for separating the donut output beam into separate beams directed toward a common target area, and; receiver optics means for focusing radiation received from the target area onto photosensor means, said photosensor means producing an electrical output which is a function of the instantaneous intensity of the radiation striking the photosensor means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
72 words
A transmitting and receiving telescope system comprising: electromagnetic radiation source means for producing a donut output beam; transmission optics means for separating the donut output beam into separate beams directed toward a common target area, and; receiver optics means for focusing radiation received from the target area onto photosensor means, said photosensor means producing an electrical output which is a function of the instantaneous intensity of the radiation striking the photosensor means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the receiver optics means separates the received radiation into a plurality of received beams and wherein the photosensor means comprises a separate photosensor for each received beam, whereby the telescope has a plurality of received fields of view.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
74 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transmission optics means comprises: first and second primary mirrors and a first secondary mirror; said first secondary mirror intercepting and reflecting the donut output beam toward the primary mirrors; said first primary mirror intercepting an inner annulus of the donut beam and reflecting it toward the target area; said second primary mirror intercepting an outer annulus of the donut beam and reflecting it toward the target area.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the first and second primary mirrors reflect the respective portions of the donut beam so that they overlap at the target area whereby substantially uniform illumination of the target area is produced.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the inner annular beam ranges in intensity from a minimum value to the maximum intensity of the original beam and the outer annular beam ranges in intensity from a minimum value to the maximum intensity of the original beam.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein each mirror has an aperture centered on the telescope axis whereby radiation may traverse the telescope along its axis without obstruction.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
68 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein a portion of the second primary mirror receives radiation from the target area and reflects it onto a second secondary mirror; said second secondary mirror reflecting the received radiation onto a primary receiver mirror in the receiver optics means; said primary receiver mirror reflecting the received radiation onto a secondary receiver mirror which reflects and focuses the radiation onto the photosensor means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the receiver secondary mirror is multi-sectional and focuses different portions of the received beam onto different individual photosensors of the photosensor means, whereby the telescope has multiple received fields of view within the target area.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
83 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein both the transmitted and received beaMs are focused to a point at a common focal point, said common focal point being within a gas tight housing charged with sufficient luminescent gas for the transmitted beam to cause the gas to exhibit luminescence in the vacinity of the common focal point, whereby the response of the photosensor means to the luminescence provides a measure of the power of the transmitted beam and may initiate a data reception cycle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein each mirror has an aperture centered on the telescope axis to allow radiation to traverse the telescope along its axis without obstruction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
101 words
A transmitting and receiving telescope comprising: electromagnetic radiation source means for producing a donut output beam, said radiation source means being coaxial with the telescope; transmission mirror optics means for receiving the output pulse and directing it toward a target area; receiver mirror optics means for receiving radiation from the target area and focusing it on photosensor means, said photosensor means producing an electrical output signal which is a function of the instantaneous intensity of the radiation striking the photosensor means; each mirror having an aperture along the telescope axis whereby radiation may traverse the telescope along its axis without obstruction.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
101 words
A transmitting and receiving telescope comprising: electromagnetic radiation source means for producing a donut output beam, said radiation source means being coaxial with the telescope; transmission mirror optics means for receiving the output pulse and directing it toward a target area; receiver mirror optics means for receiving radiation from the target area and focusing it on photosensor means, said photosensor means producing an electrical output signal which is a function of the instantaneous intensity of the radiation striking the photosensor means; each mirror having an aperture along the telescope axis whereby radiation may traverse the telescope along its axis without obstruction.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
76 words
The apparatus of claim 11 wherein both the transmitted donut beam and the received beam are focused to a point at a common focal point and the common focal point is within a gas tight housing which is charged with sufficient luminescent gas whereby the transmitted beam causes the gas to exhibit luminescence and the photosensor means is struck by the luminescence and produces an output signal which is a function of the transmitted pulse intensity.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
141 words
A LIDAR atmospheric probe system comprising: a pulse transmission electromagnetic radiation source for illuminating a target area; a plurality of photosensors each responsive to radiation received from a different viewed area within the target area, each photosensor producing an electrical output signal which is a function of the instantaneous intensity of the radiation striking it; data reception means comprising a separate channel connected to the output of each photosensor; each channel comprising analog to digital converter means for sampling the photosensor output signal and producing a digital representation of the output signal amplitude; each channel being connected to memory means for storing the digital values and; data reduction means connected to the memory means for receiving the digital values, said data reduction means including correlation means for obtaining the phase and peak correlation values between the responses of the different photosensors.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
141 words
A LIDAR atmospheric probe system comprising: a pulse transmission electromagnetic radiation source for illuminating a target area; a plurality of photosensors each responsive to radiation received from a different viewed area within the target area, each photosensor producing an electrical output signal which is a function of the instantaneous intensity of the radiation striking it; data reception means comprising a separate channel connected to the output of each photosensor; each channel comprising analog to digital converter means for sampling the photosensor output signal and producing a digital representation of the output signal amplitude; each channel being connected to memory means for storing the digital values and; data reduction means connected to the memory means for receiving the digital values, said data reduction means including correlation means for obtaining the phase and peak correlation values between the responses of the different photosensors.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-12-24 | 1977-06-25 | 1977-12-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-12-24 | 1981-06-25 | 1981-12-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-12-24 | 1985-06-25 | 1985-12-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |