Optoelectronic surveillance system with variable optical field

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10033914-B2
Application number	US-201515300001-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 27, 2015
Priority date	Mar 28, 2014
Publication date	Jul 24, 2018
Grant date	Jul 24, 2018

Abstract

Optoelectronic surveillance system, comprising an acquisition unit including at least one sensor mounted behind a zoom having a group of movable lenses at the front and a group of fixed lenses at the rear, defining at least one first space in convergent rays, and a control unit connected to the acquisition unit and to a rotary optical element arranged so as to rotate about a first axis and secured to a drive member controlled by the control unit in order to modify a field perceived by the sensor independently of a movement of the acquisition unit about the first axis. The optical element is a first transparent plate mounted in the first space so as to rotate about the first axis, and the drive member is arranged so as to rotate the first plate in two opposite directions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optoelectronic surveillance system, comprising an acquisition unit including at least one sensor mounted behind a zoom having a group of movable lenses at the front and a group of fixed lenses at the rear, defining at least one first space with convergent rays, and a control unit connected to the acquisition unit and to a rotary optical element arranged so as to rotate about a first axis and secured to a drive member controlled by the control unit in order to modify a field perceived by the sensor independently of a movement of the acquisition unit about the first axis, wherein the optical element is a first transparent plate mounted in the first space so as to rotate about the first axis, and the drive member is arranged so as to rotate the first transparent plate in two opposite directions, the acquisition unit being mounted so as to turn about a second axis parallel to the first axis in a second rotation direction and the control unit is arranged so as to control the acquisition unit in order to capture images on the fly during the rotation of the acquisition unit about the second axis and the drive member in order to keep constant the field perceived by the sensor during a time of acquisition of at least one image.

2. The system according to claim 1 , in which the first and second axes are substantially vertical.

3. The system according to claim 1 , in which the group of fixed lenses delimits at least a second space with convergent rays in which at least one second transparent plate is mounted so as to turn about a third axis and is secured to a drive member arranged so as to rotate the second transparent plate in two opposite directions and controlled by the control unit so as to modify a field perceived by the sensor independent of a movement of the acquisition unit about the third axis, the third axis being substantially perpendicular to the second axis.

4. The system according to claim 1 , in which the control unit is arranged so as to control the rotation of the plate and the sensor in order to capture at least two successive images of the same scene portion and to add these images in order to obtain a reconstituted image with the same resolution as the successive images.

5. The system according to claim 1 , in which the control unit is arranged so as to control the rotation of the plate and the sensor in order to capture successive images of the same scene portion.

6. The system according to claim 2 , in which the group of fixed lenses delimits at least a second space with convergent rays in which at least one second transparent plate is mounted so as to turn about a third axis and is secured to a drive member arranged so as to rotate the second transparent plate in two opposite directions and controlled by the control unit so as to modify a field perceived by the sensor independent of a movement of the acquisition unit about the third axis, the third axis being substantially perpendicular to the second axis.

Assignees

• Safran Electronics & Defense

Inventors

• Boehm Bernard
• Echard Paul

Classifications

• H04N23/58 Primary

  Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors · CPC title

• G02B26/0875 Primary

  by means of one or more refracting elements · CPC title

• H04N23/698

  for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture · CPC title

• G02B15/14

  by axial movement of one or more lenses or groups of lenses relative to the image plane for continuously varying the equivalent focal length of the objective · CPC title

• G02B27/644

  compensating for large deviations, e.g. maintaining a fixed line of sight while a vehicle on which the system is mounted changes course · CPC title