Optical collimating alignment units

Claim 2

An optical collimating alignment unit comprising a main body, an optical viewing system associated with said body including a viewing window and a telescope and prisms directed to produce an image at a field lens of the telescope viewable through an eyepiece, support means supporting said optical viewing system on said main body to provide relative rotation therebetween, a beam splitting cube located in said optical viewing system near said window, a collimator on said main body optically directed towards said beam splitting cube, said collimator having an axis normal to the axis of the viewing system at the cube and said cube having a face opposite to the collimator which is reflective, said collimator including an illuminated graticule whereby said collimator produces, at the field lens a datum image of the graticule direction through the same optical viewing system as the image which is viewed through the said window.

Claim 3

An optical collimating system according to claim 1 wherein the collimator projects an image from the graticule outwards from the window which can be autocollimated from a mirror placed remotely from the window with its reflecting surface normal to the viewing axis whereby the reflected image passes through the said beam splitting cube to the field lens for registry with the datum image reflected to the field lens from the said reflective face of the said beam splitting cube.

Claim 4

An optical unit according to claim 1 wherein the main body is vertically disposed and supports said window, said beam splitting cube and said collimator, an elevation prism in said main body between said window and said beam splitting tube to project a scene from the window along the axis of said vertical body, said support means comprising a telescope support mounted on said body for rotation about the axis thereof, a telesope supported in said telescopic support, an Amici prism disposed in said telescope support with its reflecting surface disposed at the intersection of the axis of said telescope support and a derotation prism, and means supporting said derotation prism in said telescope support between the beam splitting cube and the telescope for rotation about its axis at half the speed of the rotation of the telescope support about the said body.

Claim 5

An optical unit according to claim 3 wherein the means supporting the derotation prism comprises at least one pinion for rotating said derotation prism, said pinion having teeth engaging on one side a gear fixed to said telescope support and on the other side a secondary gear driven by a further gear disposed on said body coaxially with the axis of said body.

Claim 6

An optical unit according to claim 3 wherein said derotation prism is disposed between the Amici prism and the telescope.

Claim 7

An optical collimating alignment unit wherein the bearing of a target is measured as the difference in azimuth angle between it and a known point and including an optical viewing system which comprises an objective lens and eye-piece, a beam splitting cube having a diagonal reflective surface directly through which the scene is viewed, a collimator which produces an illuminated reference image, the reference image being reflected by said beam splitting cube Outwardly along the line of viewing of the scene and also being back-reflected by a mirror surface on said cube to be projected oppositely along the viewing system to the eye-piece whereby both the outwardly projected reference image and the directly reflected image can be aligned when the outwardly projected reference image is back-reflected into the optical viewing system.

Claim 8

An optical collimating alignment unit wherein the bearing of a target is measured as the difference in azimuth angle between it and a known point and including an optical viewing system which comprises an objective lens and eye-piece, a beam splitting cube having a diagonal reflective surface directly through which the scene is viewed, a collimator which produces an illuminated reference image, the reference image being reflected by said beam splitting cube Outwardly along the line of viewing of the scene and also being back-reflected by a mirror surface on said cube to be projected oppositely along the viewing system to the eye-piece whereby both the outwardly projected reference image and the directly reflected image can be aligned when the outwardly projected reference image is back-reflected into the optical viewing system.

Claim 9

An optical collimating alignment unit wherein the bearing of a target is measured as the difference in azimuth angle between it and a known point which comprises a. a hollow body having its axis vertically disposed and adapted to be connected to a device such as a gun to be aimed, b. a window in said body to transmit light, c. an elevation prism at said window supported in the said body to reflect the scene from the window through said body along the axis of the said body, d. a telescope support carried by said body orientable about the said body axis and including a telescope comprising an objective lens, a field lens and an eye-piece, e. a prism in the telescope body reflecting the scene from the window into the said telescope, f. a derotational prism in said telescope support between said prism in the telescope body and the said telescope geared to rotate at half the orientation speed of the telescope support about the said body; g. a beam splitting cube arranged on the said axis between the said elevation prism and the said prism in the telescope body positioned to allow the scene to be projected through it, said beam splitting cube having a diagonal beam splitting surface and having one reflective mirror face disposed in a plane parallel to the body axis, h. a collimator comprising a lens, a split graticule and a light source mounted on said body and optically directed to the face of the said beam splitting cube opposite to the said mirror face, whereby said beam splitting surface in the said beam splitting cube directs the slit image from the collimator on the one hand to the elevation prism and out through the window and on the other hand through the said beam splitting surface int the beam splitter to the mirror surface of the beam splitter and back to the said beam splitting surface and thence to the prism in the telescope support and through the derotation prism and telescope to be visible in the eye-piece, and i. an autocollimating mirror positioned remotely from the window to be normal to the line of sight from the window whereby alignment of the unit occurs when the back reflected slit image from the autocomminating mirror is aligned with the directly produced slit image viewed in the said eye-piece.

Claim 10

An optical collimating alignment unit wherein the bearing of a target is measured as the difference in azimuth angle between it and a known point which comprises a. a hollow body having its axis vertically disposed and adapted to be connected to a device such as a gun to be aimed, b. a window in said body to transmit light, c. an elevation prism at said window supported in the said body to reflect the scene from the window through said body along the axis of the said body, d. a telescope support carried by said body orientable about the said body axis and including a telescope comprising an objective lens, a field lens and an eye-piece, e. a prism in the telescope body reflecting the scene from the window into the said telescope, f. a derotational prism in said telescope support between said prism in the telescope body and the said telescope geared to rotate at half the orientation speed of the telescope support about the said body; g. a beam splitting cube arranged on the said axis between the said elevation prism and the said prism in the telescope body positioned to allow the scene to be projected through it, said beam splitting cube having a diagonal beam splitting surface and having one reflective mirror face disposed in a plane parallel to the body axis, h. a collimator comprising a lens, a split graticule and a light source mounted on said body and optically directed to the face of the said beam splitting cube opposite to the said mirror face, whereby said beam splitting surface in the said beam splitting cube directs the slit image from the collimator on the one hand to the elevation prism and out through the window and on the other hand through the said beam splitting surface int the beam splitter to the mirror surface of the beam splitter and back to the said beam splitting surface and thence to the prism in the telescope support and through the derotation prism and telescope to be visible in the eye-piece, and i. an autocollimating mirror positioned remotely from the window to be normal to the line of sight from the window whereby alignment of the unit occurs when the back reflected slit image from the autocomminating mirror is aligned with the directly produced slit image viewed in the said eye-piece.