EP0151053B1 - Picture generator for a fire simulator - Google Patents

Abstract

1. An image-generating means for a firing simulator on a weapon having a line of sight which can be moved by a marksman in a first and a second direction, comprising a mowable transparent reproduction of a landscape (7) and optical means (8, 9, 10) for producing a light beam and projecting a partial image of the transparent reproduction of a landscape on to a screen (3) for observation by the marksman, the means being characterized in that it comprises first devices (6) for moving the reproduction of a landscape in response to movement of the line of sight of the weapon in a first direction, so that the fraction of the reproduction projected on to the screen changes in relation to the movement of the line of sight of the weapon in the first direction, second means (19) for selecting a part of the changed fraction of landscape projected in response to the movement of the line of sight of the weapon in a second direction, the part alone constituting the image of a landscape visible on the screen, and third means (17, 16, 15) comprising a semi-transparent mirror (17) placed in the beam from the optical means so that a synthetic image of at least one target, one projectile and/or one impact is reflected in the semi-transparent mirror and superposed on the image of a landscape visible on the screen by projection through the semi-transparent mirror (17).

Description

The present invention relates to devices which, integrated into a shooting simulator, make it possible to make visible to the shooter images representing a field of sight.

It is not new to include image generating devices in a shooting simulator. However, the known devices are prone to numerous shortcomings for which we have not yet been able to find satisfactory remedies. The problem essentially concerns the figuration of a landscape on which the shooter directs the weapon of the simulator to point his line of sight relative to a target appearing on this landscape. Indeed, it is usual to seek to constitute the landscape seen by the shooter by images produced within the simulator itself or by images projected separately at the sight of the shooter, so as to allow in particular an indoor training on simulating images a real landscape. Thus the device known by the German patent DE-B-1 028 467 uses for this purpose a photographic reproduction projection of a real landscape which allows a projection of fixed view sufficiently wide by displacement in a direction of a transparent landscape reproduction in front of a projection light beam. Such a device has the drawback of not being able to present to the shooter a landscape which remains seen from it regardless of the movements which the latter makes the aiming axis undergo while aiming his weapon at the target. Other devices such as French patent FR-A-1 054 244 use visualization of images produced from a video signal, by television, the image itself is often entirely synthesized by a computer, they require very complex electronic installations, the investment of which is rarely justified, and this all the more so as with drifting images which make precise shooting settings impossible, it is added that synthetic images lack a lot of realism.

The present invention overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above through the use of an image generator device of simple and inexpensive design, easy to incorporate into a shooting simulator, of any type.

The subject of the invention is therefore an image generating device for firing simulator of a weapon having an aiming axis which can be moved by a shooter in a first and a second direction, comprising a reproduction of mobile landscape and means optics for producing a light beam and projecting on a screen of observation by the shooter, a partial landscape image of said transparent reproduction of landscape, characterized in that it comprises first means for controlling the displacement of the reproduction of landscape in response to a displacement of the aiming axis of the weapon in the first direction, so that the fraction of the reproduction projected onto the screen changes in relation to the displacement of the aiming axis of the weapon according to said first direction, second means for selecting a part of the changed fraction of the projected landscape in response to the displacement of the aiming axis of the weapon in the second direction, said part constituting only lad a landscape image visible on the screen, third means comprising a semi-transparent mirror placed in the beam of optical means for superimposing by reflection on the semi-transparent mirror, a synthetic image of at least one target, a projectile and / or an impact, with said landscape image visible on the screen by projection through the semi-transparent mirror.

It will be observed that the main thing is to be able to make a selection of said part or of said fraction by relative displacement with respect to the reproduction of the complete landscape and that the first direction and the second direction advantageously correspond to the displacements of the line of sight in deposit and site respectively.

For the compensation in deposit, it appeared particularly effective with regard to the goals which the invention gave itself, to mount the reproduction of landscape on a mobile support in the corresponding direction, therefore horizontally, by rectilinear translation, or by rotation around a vertical axis, and to illuminate only a fraction of this reproduction being in a fixed window to produce the image appearing at the sight of the shooter on the screen. In one example, particularly simple in its practical implementation, the support is constituted by a rotary drum and the image is produced by radial projection with respect to the axis of rotation of the drum, the landscape reproduction and its support being transparent. You can either project the finished remote image on a screen associated with the simulator, or produce an image at infinity.

As regards the second control means, it is advantageous to use a mirror for deflecting the light beam ensuring the projection, this mirror being movable for vertically moving the center of the image actually projected, so that only the part selected to compensate the displacements of the line of sight in elevation is made visible to the shooter, which will be the case for example if the rest is outside the projection screen.

• - la figure 1 représente schématiquement un mode de réalisation d'un générateur d'images pour simulateur selon l'invention, dans deux de ses variantes,
• - les figures 2, 3 et 4 illustrent l'utilisation de ce générateur d'images dans un simulateur de tir selon trois variantes différentes.

We will now describe in more detail particular embodiments of the invention which will make them better understand the essential characteristics and the advantages, it being understood, however, that these embodiments are chosen by way of examples and that they are not in no way limiting. The description is illustrated by the appended drawings, in which:

• FIG. 1 schematically represents an embodiment of an image generator for a simulator according to the invention, in two of its variants,
• - Figures 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the use of this image generator in a shooting simulator according to three different variants.

Firstly, with reference to FIG. 1, the mechanical and optical elements of the image generator will be described. These elements are protected in a box 2. There is also shown a screen 3, outside the box 2, on which a landscape image is formed. The screen is arranged to be seen by the shooter training on the simulator. For this training, the shooter sets his weapon to aim at a target also appearing on screen 3, included in the landscape or superimposed on it. Inside the housing 2, we see a drum 4, rotatably mounted on a vertical axis. A servo motor 6 makes it possible to drive this drum in rotation about its axis 5, under the control of signals coming from an electronic computer associated with the simulator. This servo motor constitutes the piloting servo motor for field compensation.

The drum 4 constitutes a support for a landscape slide reproduction 7, mounted circularly all around the drum. This reproduction therefore covers a field of 360 degrees in the particular case considered. This reproduction is exploited by a transparency projection system which is illustrated in the figure by a projection lamp 8, a spherical mirror 9, and an optical condenser 10. The light beam is taken up in the axis of the drum 4 by two mirrors 12 and 13 to be returned to the translucent screen 3 through a lens 14 which is part of the projection system.

The example described assumes a finite distance projection on the screen 3. As a variant, the projection could be carried out in a parallel beam in order to be viewed by the optical system of a telescopic sight used by the shooter. Furthermore, the landscape image thus formed on the screen 3 can be combined, at the projection level, with a system generating a target image which is superimposed on the landscape. It is for such a case that there is illustrated in FIG. 1 in dashed lines, a tube 15 generating a synthetic target which returns the image of this target through the objective 14, for a fixed mirror 16 and a semi-transparent mirror 17, interposed between the mirror 13 and the objective 14 on the path of the projection beam of the landscape image.

The projection system uses only a fraction of the landscape reproduction 7, in an immaterial window which is delimited by the light beam. This fraction is that which, according to the orientation given to the drum around its axis, is facing the condenser 10, in the same radial direction with respect to the drum as the screen 3. It is therefore understood that by rotation of the drum 4 select this fraction on any area of the reproduction 7. It is therefore, on this reproduction, a horizontal displacement, in one direction or the other, of the fraction from which the landscape image projected on the screen.

On the path of the light beam, the mirror 12 is fixed, but the mirror 13 is on the contrary movable about a horizontal axis 18. Its rotation is controlled by a servo-motor 19 which receives control signals from the electronic computer associated with the simulator. This servo motor controls the compensation on site. It is understood, in fact, that it makes it possible to move, vertically, the center of the image part projected in the frame of the screen 3. The part being outside this screen will not be seen by the shooter. The height of the image fraction selected on the drum is sufficient so that the part then selected vertically, by means of the rotation of the mirror 13, can be moved relative to the screen over a distance corresponding, for example, to 30 degrees of travel on site.

At the simulator, there are, in a conventional manner, signals translating the displacements of the aiming axis of the weapon, in deposit as in elevation. These signals are, in fact, used in the simulation itself, by the calculator of the simulator, to determine the characteristics of the shot and evaluate the quality of the aiming by comparison with a score estimated to be correct. In accordance with the invention, these signals, developed from weapon movement sensors, are also used at the level of the generation of the landscape image to control the servomotors 6 and 19. The displacements of the selected image on reproduction 7, for projection on the screen 3, the movements detected by the weapon are controlled in the opposite direction so as to compensate for the displacements in bearing by controlling the rotation of the servo-motor drum 6 and to compensate for the displacements in elevation by controlling the movements of the mirror 13 (servo-motor 19).

The same compensation would be obtained, in an equivalent manner, by replacing the rotary drum by a rectilinear support which can be moved in translation on itself in one direction and in the other, support which can also be illuminated by transparency with reference to a mirror. orientable arranged in the median axis of its displacements.

In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a simulator for shooting training by means of a gun on a turret is shown. In the case of FIGS. 2 and 3, the sight 21 is a real sight of the weapon. In the case of FIG. 3, it is a modified firing scope 22 integrating a system for generating synthetic targets, projectiles and fictitious impacts. In all three cases, we see in the figures a computer 23 which handles the processing of the information signals and the processing of the control signals. This is why it appears connected on the one hand to a control desk 26, on the other hand to sensors 24 and 25 which detect the displacements of the aiming axis given to the weapon, respectively in bearing and in site. It is also connected to the landscape image generator 1 as described above.

In the case of Figure 2, the landscape image generator is represented at 1, in front an optical unit 2 which is of conventional design and connected separately to the computer 23. The simulator, thus illustrated, can operate either for outdoor training, only the optical unit 2 then being operated, or also for indoor training when the landscape image generator 1 is used.

The same landscape image generator 1 is arranged, in the variant of FIG. 3, directly in front of the viewfinder 22, without an intermediate optical unit. It is assumed in this case that, for an outside drive without using generator 1, the landscape will be produced by simulation in the scope of the weapon under the control of the computer 23.

Finally, FIG. 4 illustrates the case where the landscape generator 27, placed in front of the real sight 21 of the weapon, allows both the generation of the landscape image and the superimposition of synthetic images for the targets, the projectiles and / or impacts. The landscape image generator corresponds, in this case, to the variant which has been described in connection with FIG. 1.

Claims (5)

1. An image-generating means for a firing simulator on a weapon having a line of sight which can be moved by a marksman in a first and a second direction, comprising a mowable transparent reproduction of a landscape (7) and optical means (8, 9, 10) for producing a light beam and projecting a partial image of the transparent reproduction of a landscape on to a screen (3) for observation by the marksman, the means being characterised in that it comprises first devices (6) for moving the reproduction of a landscape in response to movement of the line of sight of the weapon in a first direction, so that the fraction of the reproduction projected on to the screen changes in relation to the movement of the line of sight of the weapon in the first direction, second means (19) for selecting a part of the changed fraction of landscape projected in response to the movement of the line of sight of the weapon in a second direction, the part alone constituting the image of a landscape visible on the screen, and third means (17, 16, 15) comprising a semi-transparent mirror (17) placed in the beam from the optical means so that a synthetic image of at least one target, one projectile and/or one impact is reflected in the semi-transparent mirror and superposed on the image of a landscape visible on the screen by projection through the semi-transparent mirror (17).

2. An image-generating means according to claim 1, characterised in that the firing simulator in the weapon comprises an optical unit disposed adjacent the image-generating means and pickups (24, 25) for detecting movement of the line of sight of the weapon and for generating signals for actuating the first movement-control means (6) and the second selection means (19).

3. An image-generating means according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the reproduction of a landscape is mounted on a horizontally mowable support, the first direction corresponding to movement of the line of sight with regard to lateral deflection.

4. An image generating means according to claim 3, characterised in that the second direction of movement corresponds to movement of the line of sight with regard to angle of sight.

5. An imagegenerating means according to claim 4, characterised in that it comprises a mirror for reflecting the light beam used for projection, the mirror (13) being mowable so as vertically to move the centre of the image which is actually projected, so that only the part selected for compensating movements of the line of sight with respect to the angle of sight is shown on the screen to the marksman.

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