Raytheon Company

Thomas J Wetherell

Byron B Taylor

Ronald L Roncone

Brian S Scott

A seeker/receiver system for a moving body, such as for guiding the moving body to a target, includes an optics/receiver portion that tilts as a unit relative to other parts of the moving body. The optics/receiver portion includes a window which may be used to enclose and protect one or both of a pair of receivers or detectors, such as a laser energy detector or receiver, and an infrared energy detector or receiver. By moving the window and the receivers as a unit a set positional relationship is maintained between all of the elements of the optics/receiver portion. This simplifies the optics by obviating the need for all aspects of the window to present the same properties to energy detectors that tilt relative to it. The optics/receiver portion may be tilted using a tilt mechanism such as a gimbal.

Multi-band seeker with tiltable optical/receiver portion

An optical system includes actuators in a coupling between a detector, such as a focal plane array, and a frame (mount) that supports the detector. The actuators may be actuated piezoelectric shims that can have their thickness adjusted by applying a voltage to them. The adjustment of the thickness of the actuators (shims) may be used to control tilt and focus (axial position) of the detector relative to the frame (and other parts of the optical system). The optical system may be part of a flying vehicle, such as a spacecraft or aircraft, for instance a missile. The system may include a temperature sensor, and a control system that adjusts the thickness the actuated shims based on temperature, for example using a lookup table.

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Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America

Thomas J Wetherell