Hughes Aircraft Company

Raytheon Company

Vikram D Desai

Peter E Phillips

Julie L Bentley

Colin N Sakamoto

Jennifer L Ferrario

Landon A Strattan

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

A unique pulse forming network assembly designed for use with a laser flashlamp. The inventive assembly includes a planar printed circuit board (14) to which a plurality of electrical energy storage elements (L1, C1) are mounted. The energy storage elements (L1, C1) are mounted on one side of the primed circuit board (14) so that the electrical contacts thereof extend therethrough. The contacts are wave soldered to complete the assembly. In a specific embodiment, the planar mounting of the energy storage elements (L1, C1) is enabled by the substitution of a conventional relay (K1) with a field effect transistor (Q1). The FET selectively connects the energy storage elements (L1, C1) to an output terminal of the network to activate the flashlamp. In a more specific embodiment, at least one of the energy storage elements is a capacitor (C1) which is connected to the housing (16) by a flange (18). The network is assembled by mounting a plurality of electrical components on one side of the printed circuit board (14) so that electrical terminals extend through the board. The terminals are then flow soldered to effect the electrical connection thereof.

Pulse forming network assembly

The impingement cooled laser apparatus including a laser rod (12) that is surrounded by an inner sleeve (24) and an outer sleeve (28). The space between the inner and outer sleeves (24, 28) forms a fluid channel. Coolant is introduced via input ports (32) and fills the fluid channel between the two sleeves. There are evenly distributed small jet holes (38) through the inner sleeve (24) to allow the coolant to spray through to the laser rod (12). After the coolant has impinged perpendicularly on the laser rod (12), it is drawn off through coolant outlet ports (36).

Growing community of inventors

Lake Forest, CA, United States of America

Vikram D Desai