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:
Aug. 30, 1994
Filed:
Oct. 22, 1992
R Norris Keeler, McLean, VA (US);
Bobby L Ulich, Tucson, AZ (US);
Kaman Aerospace Corporation, Bloomfield, CT (US);
Abstract
An imaging lidar system is presented which is adapted to decrease the backscattering at the receiver when a target is viewed in reflection and to increase the backscattered reflection when the target is viewed in obscuration by operating the airborne lidar imaging system bistatically in the former case, and monostatically in the latter case. In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a retractible prism and remote reflecting mirror are used to direct the laser transmitter beam downward. The reflecting mirror is offset so that there is a finite angle between the transmitter optical path and the path of the light reflected back into the CCD framing camera. The angle can be varied by moving the reflecting mirror along a track or rail with the appropriate adjustment to the mirror so that the transmitter beam is completely captured and directed downward to illuminate the area viewed by the camera. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the camera is placed on runners and displaced from the transmitter beam. A control is inserted so that the transmitter optics are directed to the area imaged by the camera.