Thomson-csf

Sextant Avionique

Thales

Jean-Pierre Gerbe

Jean-Noel Perbet

Denis Plantier

Siegfried Rouzes

Laurent Potin

Jean-Blaise Migozzi

Emmanuel Monvoisin

Johanna Dominici

Laurent Monnier

Jean-Michel Francois

Francois H Gauthier

Patrick Lacroux

Christian Cantabloube

Jean-Pierre Cursolle

Jean-Francedillaois David

Claude Boyer

The general field of the invention is that of methods of three-dimensional synthetic representation of a terrain. These methods are implemented in a vehicle piloting and navigation aid system. The method according to the invention comprises the following steps:

Method of three-dimensional representation of a scene

The general field of the invention is that of optical position/orientation devices for a helmet and more particularly those whose helmet comprises neither emitters, nor receivers but solely passive optical components, detection of which is ensured by fixed opto-electronic means outside the helmet. The optical component for the optical device for detecting position/orientation of a helmet according to the invention comprises a particular 'optical cube corner'. It comprises a prism in the form of a trirectangular trihedron, each of the three plane surfaces of the trihedron comprising a blade with plane and mutually parallel faces, the first face being coincident with the plane surface on which it rests, the interface between this first face and said surface comprising a semi-reflecting treatment.

Optical reflector having semi-reflective blades for a position detection device for a helmet, and helmet comprising such a device

The invention relates to a pilot's helmet with a tinted visor that can be locked in raised position during nighttime use by a device using spring-loaded balls, and that can be lowered manually, or automatically when the pilot ejects thanks to a spring-loaded system tending to close the visor.

Helmet with night-vision device providing optimized safety and ergonomy

A device for putting away a holographic mirror includes at least one curved slideway, a carriage for moving on the slideway from an operational position to a position where the mirror is put away, the carriage being fixedly joined to the mirror, and a holder holding the mirror in a position where it is put away. The device is used for stowing of a holographic mirror in an aircraft.

Device for stowing away a holographic mirror, notably for aircraft

To servocontrol the direction and the position of a collimation mirror of a head-up visor, holographic elements are used. These holographic elements deflect a part of the light reflected by the mirror towards sensors located outside the field of view.

Device to check the position and orientation of a mirror

The system is designed to be mounted in a air pilot's helmet. It uses a confocal assembly with a first parabolic mirror and a second parabolic mirror, placed downline of a collimation objective which gives a collimated radiation. The first mirror is totally reflective and the second mirror is semi-transparent to simultaneously transmit, by reflection, the collimated radiation and, by transparency, for example the view of the external landscape. These two mirrors are integrated into the ends of a plate with two parallel faces. The collimated radiation penetrates the plate by one of the parallel faces, gets reflected on the first mirror, undergoes a succession of total reflections on the parallel faces and then gets reflected on the second mirror before leaving the plate, still doing so through one of the two faces.

Optical system of collimation notably for helmet display unit

The disclosed mixer comprises a rotating optical block with a symmetry of revolution. This block is axially sectioned into two, and one face of one of the half blocks has a semi-reflective coating. This block cooperates with a source, the images of which have to be always transmitted and with a source, the images of which have to be transmitted only in one case of use.

Optical mixer without disturbance of optical paths, notably for helmet

An optical mixer for use in a helmet visual display system including a light intensifier tube for night vision and a cathode-ray tube for the display of a synthetic image. The mixer includes a swinging glass plate with a spectrally reflective and angularly selective coating. When the angle of the swinging glass plate is changed, the amount of light transmitted through the mixer is changed.

Optical mixer for helmet visual display system

The device finds application, particularly, in the instrument panels of aircraft, where it comprises: three liquid crystal optical valves, controlled by three electrical signals respectively representing a red image, a green image and a blue image. Two holographic mirrors are utilized, as is a standard mirror and two dichroic strips to illuminate the three valves respectively by three beams, colored red, green and blue, from a single source of white light, while at the same time reducing the space occupied by the optical elements needed to guide the three beams to the minimum. A dichroic cube then superimposes the three beams coming respectively from the three valves and an optical system to form a trichromatic image on a diffusing screen. The optical system collimates the rays coming from the image formed on the diffusing screen to enable an observer to see an image collimated at long distance, with a wide field.

High definition color display device

A display device for an ergonomic helmet-mounted sight with a large field of observation, including a collimation and combination optical unit joined to an image generator located on the same side as an observation point relative to the optical unit. The optical unit includes a holographic or dichroic mirror and a semitransparent plane mirror included in a transparent plate with parallel faces.

Display device for ergonomic sights with a large field of observation

An airborne display system is provided for viewing a high-definition collimated video image or a high-resolution collimated synthetic image or a combination of both images in superimposed relation by means of head-down display devices mounted on an aircraft instrument panel. The display system comprises a first head-down collimating assembly constituted by a monochrome cathode-ray tube and an optical objective, and a second head-down collimating assembly constituted by a color cathode-ray tube and the same collimating objective. An optical relay device is associated with a partly transparent mirror for transmitting the monochrome image and deviating the intermediate color image formed by the optical relay device to the objective. The reflected image as well as the transmitted image are both located at a distance from the optical objective which is equal to the focal distance.

Airborne system for display of collimated images

Display adapted to the local configuration, so that it does not cause a mask during observation. It comprises an entirely transparent optical module grouping a spherical mirror, which is preferably a partly transparent diffractive optics used on the axis, and a partly transparent flat mirror inclined with respect to the axis. The mirrors are joined at the bottom by a bonded plate and assembled at the top by a thin part, whose faces pass through the centre of the spherical mirror. The electronic part is essentially located in a case, whose shape is such that it is located in the natural mask of a pillar of the cockpit. The display is also used for helmet displays.

Growing community of inventors

Pessac, France

Jean-Pierre Gerbe