Raytheon Company

Colin N Sakamoto

Charles E Nourrcier

Julie L Bentley

Vikram D Desai

Jennifer L Ferrario

Stanley D Brown

Scott C Johnson

Karen D Wirtz

Angela K Martinez

The range of a threshold detection laser range finder is increased by adding a low cost Analog-to-Digital converter and sampling a portion of a reflected laser pulse. The slope of the sampled reflected laser pulse is calculated and the shape of the reflected laser pulse is inferred from known shapes. The center point of the inferred shape is approximated using a lookup table, and a correction value is calculated based on the center point of the inferred shape and the sampled portion. The correction value is applied to an uncorrected range estimate to arrive at an accurate estimate of the range of the object of interest.

Method for improved range accuracy in laser range finders

Portable, lightweight, compact, eye-safe, battery-operated laser range finder and digital compass assembly, mountable onto a personal weapon or aiming device, to accurately measure distance, azimuth and elevation angle of a target and increase the accuracy and probability of the hit. The laser range finder and digital compass assembly has a laser transmitter for transmitting an output laser beam having a wavelength in the range of 1.0 to 1.1 microns, an OPO converter for converting the output laser beam to an eye-safe range between 1.5 and 2.2 microns whose time of travel to and from an external target is measured to obtain the range, an expander for expanding the converted output laser beam, a detector for receiving a returned laser beam reflected from the external target and for producing a signal related to the time interval between the output pump beam and the returned pump beam, a digital compass assembly, a microprocessor, and a device for boresighting the expander with the external target, operatively connected to the laser transmitter. The device is placed in a housing adapted for mounting the device onto the personal weapon or aiming device. The laser transmitter is a flashlamp-pumped, battery-operated pump laser.

Portable laser range finder and digital compass assembly

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Redondo Beach, CA, United States of America

Colin N Sakamoto