GB1351908A - Optical systems including mechanism for compensating for random angular motion - Google Patents

Abstract

1351908 Stabilizing optical system DYNASCIENCES CORP 25 May 1972 24635/72 Headings G2A and G2J A stabilizer for an optical system, including an objective 12 Fig. 1, an image receiving member 24 remote from the objective and a mechanism for compensating random angular motion, comprises a rigid housing 30 containing the objective 12, means for angularly decoupling the housing from the objective to define a pivot plane 64 in the optical path and a mass 62 inertially counterbalancing the lens 12 about the pivot plane 64 to compensate for random angular motion of the image-receiving member relative to the initial line-of-sight by tending to maintain the axis of objective 12 parallel to the initial line-of-sight. The pivot plane 64 may lie between objective 12 and member 24 or may be coincident with member 24 e.g. with its forward principal plane where member 24 is an eye-piece. The decoupling means may consist of a gimbal 44 whereby the holder 28 of the objective is enabled to move about two orthogonal axes 58, 48 relative to the member 24. In one embodiment the member 24 is an erecting system coupled to an eye-piece 20 and is fixed to housing 30 by a holder 39 Fig. 2. The gimbal is freed for operation by a trigger 34 operating a lever 94-96 which moves a caging wedge 84 out of engagement with caging wedge 86. Springs 66, 68 on each axis of the gimbal serve to slowly restore the optical axis 60 of the objective and bring it into alignment with the rear optical axis 70. In an alternative embodiment the erecting system 24 may be coupled to the objective in which case the pivot plane 64 lies in the front principal plane of the eye-piece 20. In a further embodiment Fig. 5 (not shown) the optical system may be part of a camera. This consists of a main body portion (132) focal plane shutter (136) and film (138). An objective (148) is connected to the body (132) by a housing (144) through gimbal pins 150, 152 and flexible bellows (142). An annular counterweight (158) is disposed on housing (144). The gimbal plane is coincident with the plane of film (138).