The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 19, 1979
Filed:
Sep. 30, 1977
N Balasubramanian, Acton, MA (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A heterodyne optical correlator allows a correlation function to be computed for plural portions of a stereo pair of transparencies which is normalized to thus reduce the possibility of false correlation peaks. To obtain the correlation function, a pair of stereo transparencies are illuminated by an intense monochromatic light source producing an image at a common image plane in which a detector array is located. The relative path length, between source and transparencies, is periodically modulated producing at plural locations of the detector array plural alternating current signals representing the correlation between the amplitude transmittances at various corresponding locations on the transparencies for a given relative displacement between the transparencies. To normalize this correlation coefficient a second signal is produced by illuminating only one transparency and a corresponding third signal is produced by illuminating only the other transparency. The ratio between the correlation coefficient and twice the square root of the product of the second and third signals is a normalized correlation coefficient. Plotting the normalized correlation coefficient at each of the plurality of points in the transparencies as the relative positioning of the transparencies is shifted allows the correlation function and its peak to be determined. The relative positioning between the transparencies at the correlation peak is a measure of parallax.