USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Paul S Catano

Larry B Stotts

Keith Bromley

William E Martin

Michael A Monahan

William E Richards

Robert L Law

Malvyn C McDonald

A submarine's mast and its protective closure are prevented from inadvertly damaging each other while deploying or retrieving the mast and while securing the closure. Interconnected logic circuitry electronically prevents an improper actuation sequence so that the mast and closure do not collide. Mechanical linkages and fail-safes susceptible to corrosion and damage are eliminated thereby permitting more reliable operation from circuitry safely stowed inside the submarine.

Position interlock system for submarine masts and closure

Light energy data is generated in sequential interlaced field raster format y a sensor driven in azimuth to detect a panoramic scene. The light energy data is sequentially recorded together with an azimuth rate signal which is a function of the rate that the sensor is driven in azimuth. Because the sensor has been driven in azimuth, however, there is a delay in the sequential detection between first and second interlaced fields of any selected frame of the panoramic scene; consequently, when it is desired to retrieve and playback a 'stop-action' image comprised of a selected frame, compensation must be made for the delay. The recorded azimuth rate signal is used to develop a commensurate delay between the two sequential first and second interlaced fields of light energy data comprising the selected frame of light energy data which is desired to playback in 'stop-action' form. The delay period thus developed is applied to correct the delay between the first and second interlaced fields so that visual display means, such as cathode ray tube monitor, may display the 'stop-action' playback of the selected frame in a corrected form, eliminating the 'jitter' that otherwise would be visually present between first and second interlaced fields due to the sequential field rate of the raster format in which the light energy data is recorded relative to the azimuthal rate at which the sensor was driven.

Image stabilizer system for stop-action playback

An improved optical element is provided by an arrangement of optical wavedes disposed with two photoconductive paths and a plurality of electrodes arranged to impress an electric field across the optical waveguide configuration and the photoconductive paths. Optical energy is fed into an input optical waveguide and, dependent upon the optical inputs to the first and second photoconductive paths, an output is produced by the optical waveguide configuration in the manner of a logic gate. Variant configuration of the optical waveguide assembly can be made to perform in the manner of an AND gate, and OR gate, an exclusive OR gate, a NOR gate, or a NAND gate; alternatively, combination configurations can simultaneously perform multiple logic functions.

Optical logic elements

An aspect ratio and scan converter system adapts signal information derived rom optical scanning of a rectangular field of view having an aspect ratio of the order of 60 to 1. The signal information is converted to digital form and serially stored in a bulk storage memory which may be addressed for reading out selected sequences of the serially stored digital signals. The selected sequences are stored in a random access memory having a two dimensional format and then read out by repetitive scan in a direction orthogonally related to the direction in which the sequences were stored. The digital signals thus read out are converted to analog form and applied to a suitable display means such as a TV type monitor CRT, providing a visual display of the selected portion of the elongate field of view.

Aspect ratio and scan converter system

An optical waveguide of photoconductive material is positioned parallel to t least one other optical waveguide of electrooptical material. A first electrode is positioned between the two optical waveguides and second and third electrodes are positioned contiguous to the optical waveguides and opposite the first electrode. A constant amplitude electrical source is connected to the second and third electrodes and when light energy signals representative of a column vector function are propagated along the photoconductive optical waveguide, a commensurate change of conductivity between the first and second electrodes is caused to occur with a consequent change in electrical potential across the second and third electrodes embracing the optical waveguide of electrooptic material. When light energy signals representative of a row vector function are propagated along the second optical waveguide, a polarizatin modulated output signal is developed by the second optical waveguide. A polarization analyzer of the filter or polarization discriminator type intercepts the polarization modulated output light signals of the second optical waveguide and an integrating storage detector responds to the output light signals for generating commensurate electrical signals which are representative of the multiplication of the column vector function and the row vector function as represented by the light energy signals propagating along the photoconductive optical waveguide and the electrooptical waveguide, respectively. By adding several electrooptical waveguide, analyzer, and detector sections in electrical parallel to the first electrooptical subsystem, the row-column vector multiplier is made to function as a matrix vector multiplier.

Integrated optical matrix multiplier

An all-weather, maximum resolution system visually presents a multi-color mposite image of plural selected spectral ranges of energy received from a common field of view. First, second, and third images of a selected common field of view are developed and respective, first, second and third sensors (each responsive to a different spectral range of energy) develop first, second, and third sets of electrical signals commensurate with the energy emanating from the selected common field of view. In a typical preferred embodiment the selected spectral ranges may comprise the visual range of light energy, the middle infrared range comprising light energy in the 3 to 5 micron region, and the far infrared range comprising light energy in the 8 to 10 micron region. A multi-color cathode ray tube receives the three different sets of electrical signals thus developed and produces a multi-color composite image in three different primary colors representing the common field of view in the three discrete selected spectral ranges of energy which emanate from it. All-weather detection of objects within a field of view is then enabled such as during clear visibility, fog conditions, and rain conditions, in both daytime and nightime.

All-weather multi-spectral imaging system

A electronic system develops a rotating raster scan in synchronism with a tating image enabling a stationary image sensor to generate video signals for producing an erect, non-rotating image at a remote location. Sine and cosine signals are synchronously developed with the rotation of the image as a function of the instantaneous angle of the rotation. The sine and cosine signals are combined with linear vertical and horizontal sawtooth deflection signals and applied to the deflection means of the stationary image sensor to produce an erect, non-rotating video image on the face of a remote cathode ray tube display.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Paul S Catano