Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
359429000 | With line of sight adjustment | 24 |
20080212175 | Telescope Mount - A mounting and adjustment device for an optical observation system includes at least one optical observation instrument and a pedestal, and at least one element integrally associable with said optical observation instrument and at least one element integrally associable with the pedestal. The at least one element is also integrally associable with the optical observation instrument and the at least one element integrally associable with the pedestal is operatively connected in a pivoting manner to at least one pivoting fulcrum and is pivotable around pivoting axes positioned transversely with respect to one another. The device additionally comprising adjustment bodies for the operation of the pivoting. | 09-04-2008 |
20080212176 | SELF-ALIGNING TELESCOPE - Embodiments of the present disclosure include self-aligning telescope control systems and self-alignment methods. In an embodiment, a telescope control system orients a telescope with respect to the celestial sphere by pointing the telescope in the direction of an alignment star or alignment area of the sky. The telescope control system images a field of view in the alignment area, and processes the images to determine the celestial coordinates of a center of the filed a field of view the alignment area. The telescope control system then maps the telescope's coordinate system to the celestial coordinate system. Once mapped, the telescope control system can advantageously slew the telescope to any desired celestial object in the viewable sky based on, for example, user selection, system recommendations, combinations of the same, or the like. | 09-04-2008 |
20080278802 | Side Aperture telescope mount - A telescope mount with a fixed vertical axis of rotation, a fixed horizontal axis of rotation, and a variable axis of rotation. The mount allows a side aperture telescope to simultaneously rotate horizontally and vertically while also allowing the telescope to be tilted up and down. | 11-13-2008 |
20090231695 | DISTRIBUTED IMAGING ARRAY SYSTEM - A system, apparatus, and method for astronomical activity monitoring and imaging using a plurality of distributed remotely-reprogrammable observing devices communicating with a server, and providing astronomical activity monitoring and imaging information. In one embodiment the observing devices may also have sensors coupled to provide atmospheric data that further characterizes the astronomical activity monitoring and imaging information. Furthermore, remote reprogramming of observing device by broadcast data transmitted by a satellite is provided. | 09-17-2009 |
20100165457 | FACILITATING THE MORE NATURAL AIMING OF TELESCOPES - The illustrative embodiments provide for a computer implemented method, computer readable medium, and data processing system for adjusting a perceived image seen through an optical observation device. The azimuth-elevation-rotation of the optical observation device is measured relative to an observer. The field of view observed through the observation device appears with at least one of rotated and inverted optical translation relative to observation of the object with an unaided eye of the observer. Based on the celestial coordinate system inherent in the design of the mounting of the optical observation device, moving optical observation device in the optical translation direction, wherein the field of view moves in the optical view direction, and wherein the celestial coordinate system is selected from a group consisting of an equatorial coordinate system and an azimuth-elevation coordinate system. | 07-01-2010 |
20100182684 | Altazimuth mount variable rate tracking control - An altazimuth and elevation tracking control for adjusting the azimuth and elevation on an altazimuth telescope mount is provided. The tracking control has an azimuth motor drive assembly which includes a tension mounting plate, a wire spring member, and at least two capstan driving motors for rotating a circumferential edge of the ground board of the telescope mount. As elevation tracking control assembly may be provided which includes a motor drive assembly having a horizontal mounting bracket for attachment to a vertical sidewall of the telescope mount including outwardly extending flanges, each including a plain bearing, a longitudinally extending spiral drive bar has a first end rotatably connected to the first flange plain bearing and a second end, and a drive motor having a coupling shaft. The drive motor is connected to the mounting bracket so that the coupling shaft extends inwardly through the second flange plain bearing in axial alignment with the drive bar. An adjustable slider is interference fit to the drive bar so that the slider is engaged for travel along the extent between the first and second ends of the drive bar as the drive bar rotates when operated by the drive motor. A connecting rod has a slider connecting end and a cranking end. The connecting end is rotatably connected to the slider. A clutch assembly has a clutch plate which includes an inner and an outer surface. The inner surface is designed for attachment to the elevation hub, and the outer surface has a threaded lug positioned at a centroid of the clutch plate for connecting the cranking end to the clutch plate with a lug nut. A variable speed control and power source operates the drive motors. | 07-22-2010 |
20100220390 | High accuracy optical pointing apparatus - In the subject three-axis pointing system, the elevation and tip mirror axes are permanently mounted with their rotation axes orthogonal to each other to eliminate gimbal lock over the hemisphere, to avoid high accelerations as the zenith or nadir pointing directions are approached, and to provide optimal two-axis beam pointing control. | 09-02-2010 |
20120069434 | ALTITUDE-AZIMUTHAL MOUNT FOR OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS - An alt-az mount for supporting and orienting optical instruments comprises: a generally horizontally extending arm coupleable to a level surface by an azimuthal pivot joint which permits pivotal movement of the horizontally extending arm with respect to the level surface about a vertical azimuthal axis; a generally vertically extending arm pivotally coupled to the horizontally extending arm by an inter-arm pivot joint which permits pivotal movement of the vertically extending arm with respect to the horizontally extending arm about a vertical inter-arm axis; and an instrument coupling mechanism for coupling the mount to an optical instrument, the instrument coupling mechanism comprising an altitude pivot joint which permits pivotal movement of the optical instrument with respect to the vertically extending arm about a horizontal altitude axis. The inter-arm pivot joint permits the mount to be adjusted between an inside configuration where the optical instrument and the azimuthal axis are located on the same side of the vertically oriented arm and the inter-arm axis and an outside configuration where the optical instrument and azimuthal axis are located on opposing sides of the vertically oriented arm and the inter-arm axis. The inter-arm pivot joint permits the mount to be adjusted between an inside configuration where a center of the optical instrument (as measured along the altitude axis) is separated from the azimuthal axis by an inside distance and an outside configuration where the center of the optical instrument is separated from the azimuthal axis by an outside distance, the outside distance greater than the inside distance—i.e. in the inside configuration the center of the optical instrument is located relatively close to the azimuthal axis and in the outside configuration the center of the optical instrument is located relatively far from the azimuthal axis. | 03-22-2012 |
20130077161 | T3 Module Architecture - This disclosure is directed to apparatuses, systems, and methods associated with an improved optical architecture. An optical telescope having a longitudinal axis is configured to allow a beam having a first wavelength to laterally transverse a telescope barrel along a first axis. An optical module directs and corrects the beam from the first axis to a second and third axis, and to a beam expander. The beam expander transmits a beam having a second wavelength through the optical telescope along the longitudinal axis. The optical architecture may be incorporated onto an on-gimbal component that is side-mounted to a gimbaled system, as a method of minimizing the operational burdens on the gimbaled system. | 03-28-2013 |
20140085717 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CLOSED-LOOP TELESCOPE CONTROL - A closed-loop telescope control system is disclosed that greatly improves the accuracy of telescope operation. Using image information collected by sensors mounted on the telescope, a control system can improve pointing accuracy by observing the actual position of a selected object and making minute pointing corrections. Tracking accuracy is greatly improved using image information to directly control servo motor operation by a telescope control. Additional automated features are possible by the closed-loop capacity of the disclosure to improve the efficiency of a telescope system. | 03-27-2014 |
20150146289 | ADJUSTMENT TURRET - The invention relates to an adjustment turret comprising a base, a rotary control element, which can be rotated relative to the base about an axis of rotation, a display element, which can be rotated about the axis of rotation, and a mechanical coupling mechanism coupling the rotary control element together with the display element, the mechanical coupling mechanism being configured such that the display element can be rotated about the axis of rotation by the rotary control element into at least one rotational position of the rotary control element, wherein the coupling mechanism is configured such that during a full rotation of the rotary control element about the axis of rotation the display element can be rotated by the rotary control element relative to the base only about an angle of rotation which corresponds to part of a full rotation. | 05-28-2015 |
359430000 | Equatorial mount | 13 |
20080291535 | Structure for supporting an optical telescope - An apparatus for the focusing of incident light includes a base assembly that is adapted to support a primary mirror. The primary mirror includes an outside circumference and an inside aperture. An upright member is attached to the base assembly at a first end thereof at a first location that is disposed inside the aperture and at a second location that is disposed outside the primary mirror. The upright member includes a second end that is distally disposed with respect to the first end. The second end is adapted to receive a turret that includes a secondary mirror and is adapted to pivot between two positions. An IMU is attached to the base assembly proximate the primary mirror. | 11-27-2008 |
20090161211 | Portable astronomical telescope - A portable astronomical telescope includes the cylinder body, on which three telescopic legs are hinged through a joint to form a tripod stand. The bottom of aforementioned cylinder body is fixed by means of connection element and mounted with part box. On the bottom end of this part box, a bottom cover is insert-mounted. On the upper end of the part box, limit connection elements of the connected telescopic leg are hinged. Within the aforementioned cylinder body, a guide bush is fixed and installed, inside of which machine base is mounted. On the side of this machine base; a guide pin is established. On the side of the guide sleeve, an L-shaped feed-through slot is established to accommodate the guide sleeve. On the tail end of the above feed-through slot, one guide pin residence slot is connected. The aforementioned machine base is activated by the lug and mounted with bellows. This product can be used without need for separate assembly, and eliminates the need for a separate package. With small volume and light-weight features, it can hide the bellows within the cylinder body, in order to provide protection, which facilitates the product carrying and movement, particularly suitable for astronomy enthusiasts at the time of outdoor observation activities. | 06-25-2009 |
20090237784 | Pointable Optical System With Coude Optics Having A Short On-Gimbal Path Length - A coude gimbal structure includes a two-axis gimbal system having an outer gimbal pivotable about a first rotational axis, and an inner gimbal supported on the outer gimbal and pivotable about a second rotational axis which intersects the first rotational axis at an intersection point. A folded afocal three-mirror anastigmat has a positive-optical-power primary mirror, a negative-optical-power secondary mirror, and a positive-optical-power tertiary mirror, and a first flat fold mirror, and a second flat fold mirror. A beam path incident upon the primary mirror is reflected from the primary mirror to the secondary mirror. The tertiary mirror lies on the second rotational axis, the first flat fold mirror redirects the beam path reflected from the secondary mirror to the tertiary mirror, and the second flat fold mirror lies at the intersection point and redirects the beam path reflected from the tertiary mirror along the first rotational axis. | 09-24-2009 |
20090244700 | TELESCOPE SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USE - The present invention provides a telescope system having enhanced capabilities for configuring and calibrating a telescope, operation and control of the telescope, and viewing of imagines from the telescope. The present invention employs a control system for controlling the position and orientation of the telescope. In one embodiment, the system uses GPS systems and the like to determine the position of the telescope. The system may use either the light detected by the telescope or measurements of stars within the field of view to determine the orientation of the telescope. Following calibration, the user may operate a control system to reorient the telescope to the desired field of view. Further, the user may operate software that allows the user to select stars, constellations, or other objects of interest. Based on this selection, the system operates the telescope to alter its field of view to view the selected object. | 10-01-2009 |
20100020394 | CELESTIAL TRACKING DEVICE - A celestial tracking device ( | 01-28-2010 |
20100085638 | Equatorial Support for Telescope - The present invention relates to a mount for telescopes, particularly of a portable type for amateur or semi-amateur telescopes, though it can be also applied to fixed telescopes and professional telescopes. | 04-08-2010 |
20100277795 | SYSTEM FOR A POLAR POSITION OF A TELESCOPE - A first aspect of the invention relates to a mount ( | 11-04-2010 |
20100302633 | APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INTRODUCING CELESTIAL OBJECT, TERMINAL DEVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE - A terminal device of an apparatus to automatically introduce a target celestial object includes an input operation section executing a command operation on the apparatus. An image display section indicates a star map image in accordance with a display scale factor. The input operation section includes a rotation command means that executes a rotational driving of the astronomical telescope in a telescope control mode. A scale factor input means executes an input specification of the display scale factor for the displayed star map image, which corresponds to a position on a celestial sphere toward which the astronomical telescope is headed, while a speed of rotation of the astronomical telescope controlled by the rotation command means changes in accordance with a decreasing function of the display scale factor. | 12-02-2010 |
20110249328 | DOBSONIAN TELESCOPE APPARATUS, AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING SAME - A Dobsonian telescope apparatus having a first motor for rotating the telescope about a first axis, a second motor for rotating the optical tube assembly about a second axis, and a handheld control device. The first and second axes are perpendicular to each other. The apparatus avoids the erratic manual nudging by the user needed to align a conventional Dobsonian telescope. | 10-13-2011 |
20120320456 | APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INTRODUCING CELESTIAL OBJECT, TERMINAL DEVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE - A terminal device of an apparatus to automatically introduce a target celestial object includes an input operation section executing a command operation on the apparatus. An image display section indicates a star map image in accordance with a display scale factor. The input operation section includes a rotation command means that executes a rotational driving of the astronomical telescope in a telescope control mode. A scale factor input means executes an input specification of the display scale factor for the displayed star map image, which corresponds to a position on a celestial sphere toward which the astronomical telescope is headed, while a speed of rotation of the astronomical telescope controlled by the rotation command means changes in accordance with a decreasing function of the display scale factor. | 12-20-2012 |
20130265639 | Accurate Telescope Tracking System with a Calibrated Rotary Encoder - A system with a calibrated rotary encoder can be used for accurate telescope tracking along the Right Ascension (RA) rotation axis. The system includes an incremental quadrature optical encoder, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a timer, an electronic memory, and a control interface. The rotor of the encoder is coaxially attached to the RA drive shaft of the telescope mount in order to send angular position data for the RA drive shaft to the MCU. The MCU evaluates the angular position data for errors and send corrections to the control mechanism of the RA drive shaft. The electronic memory stores calibrated reference data, which is compared to the angular position data by the MCU. The calibrated reference data can be found by measuring the movement of a reference star across an image. The system can also calculate an accurate visible speed for the Earth's rotation in a desired direction. | 10-10-2013 |
20140111853 | BALANCED EQUATORIAL MOUNT TECHNIQUE FOR TELESCOPE - A technique for equatorially mounting a telescope includes a right ascension support having a first end coupled to a counterweight assembly and a second end coupled to a declination support. The right ascension support is coupled to a base and extends downwardly and backwardly from the first end to the second end. The resulting arrangement causes the act of balancing the telescope about its right ascension axis also substantially to balance the telescope about its base. | 04-24-2014 |
20150338634 | BALANCED EQUATORIAL MOUNT TECHNIQUE FOR TELESCOPE - A technique for equatorially mounting a telescope includes a right ascension support having a first end coupled to a counterweight assembly and a second end coupled to a declination support. The right ascension support is coupled to a base and extends downwardly and backwardly from the first end to the second end. The resulting arrangement causes the act of balancing the telescope about its right ascension axis also substantially to balance the telescope about its base. | 11-26-2015 |