RU2727635C1 - Optical-mechanical device for protection of input element of optical system - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: optical-mechanical systems.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to optical-mechanical systems with protective devices. It can be used, in particular, in observation instruments and for optical sensors, for example, on vehicles, in military science. Optical-mechanical protection device of the input element of the optical system comprises screen (4) which is movable on guides (3) with an opening (S) in front of input element (1) of optical system (2). Screen (4) has a plurality of optically transparent windows (5) or sections (5) with the possibility of selective installation thereof with complete coverage of optical system (2) visibility zone and protection of input element (1) against contamination and damage under the effect of the external environment. There is also a screen heating device. One of windows (5) or, respectively, one of sections (5) of screen (4) is substituted (replaced) through hole (6). In particular, screen (4) is made in the form of rotary disc (4) on the roller from the drive. At that, disc (4) can be made with star-shaped metal base enclosing optically transparent windows (5) or sections (5) and having heat-conducting connection with roller (7), which is also metal and connected, in its turn, with heat source (Q), for example drive (8) of disc (4).EFFECT: use of the invention improves technical and operational characteristics of the protective device.7 cl, 4 dwg

Description

The invention relates to optical-mechanical systems with protective devices preventing partial or complete loss of optical transparency under the influence of such external factors as precipitation, temperature, mechanical stress, dyes, radiation, etc. It can be applied, in particular, in observation devices and for optical sensors, for example, in vehicles, in military affairs.

Optical systems, especially those used on vehicles (primarily military and unmanned robots) and in "dirty" technological processes, are subject to harmful external influences (mechanical, thermal, polluting, etc.), which sometimes has a very significant negative effect on their performance, reliability, durability.

Technical means of combating and preventing this phenomenon can be divided into two large groups:

- based on the concept of cleaning the input optical element of the system;

- based on the concept of quick replacement of a transparent optical screen in front of the input optical element of the system.

The most complete range of devices of the second group, applied mainly to optical-mechanical observation systems, is collected and described in the author's monograph [1. Alexander Semyonov. Protection and restoration of the optical properties of surveillance equipment. - LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing.Saarbrucken - Berlin - Leipzig, Deutschland. 05/08/2013. ISBN 978-3-659-37406-7].

Here there are disk, drum, tape, and other protective devices, mainly patented in the Russian Federation.

Nevertheless, such devices are characterized by the constant presence of optical impedance of protective (shielding) transparent elements in the total optical impedance of the entire system. In addition, little attention has been paid to screen heating.

The closest analogue (prototype) to the claimed device for its intended purpose and a set of essential design features is an optomechanical device for protecting the input element of the optical sensor, containing a rotary disk installed with a gap in front of the input optical element of the sensor, on guides, with a plurality of optically transparent windows or sections with the possibility of selectively installing them with complete overlap of the optical sensor's visibility zone and protecting the said input element from pollution and damage under the influence of the external environment, while a screen heating device is also provided [2. RU 2018127418, IPC B60R 1/00, 31.01.2020, Bul. No. 4 (for additional see FR 1757133].

In it, all windows or sections of the screen are made of the same solid optically transparent material, and the disk-screen is heated by heat-conductor threads or resistors, including transparent ones, built into the disk and diverging radially into the visibility zone of the sensor's optics. The originality of the prototype (as a difference from the analogue array described above) lies in the organization of the disk drive in the form of an electromagnetic induction device.

However, for all its novelty and usefulness, the prototype is not perfect enough due to the following disadvantages.

Firstly, in the absence of harmful external influences (and, consequently, in the temporary absence of the need for a protective device at all), the transparent substance of the protective window or part of the disk somewhat worsens the optical properties of the optical system as a whole, reducing the quality of its operation.

Secondly, limiting the execution of the screen to disk narrows the options for the arrangements of such devices in specific applications.

Thirdly, the poorly developed system of heat pipelines does not meet the needs of devices operating in the harsh climatic conditions characteristic of northern latitudes.

All this together determines the insufficiently high technical and operational characteristics (TEH) of the prototype as a protective device.

The task (problem) to be solved by the claimed invention is to improve the TEH of the protective device due to:

- ensuring the possibility of temporary zeroing of the optical resistance of the protective device for the period of absence of harmful external influences;

- increasing the efficiency of forced heating of transparent windows or areas of the screen;

- increasing the layout capabilities and expanding the scope of the protective device.

The solution to the problem (removal of the problem) is achieved by the fact that in the optical-mechanical device for protecting the input element of the optical system, containing a movable screen installed with a gap in front of the input element of the optical system, on guides, with a multitude of optically transparent windows or sections with the possibility of their selective installation from complete overlap of the visibility zone of the optical system and protection of the said input element from contamination and damage under the influence of the external environment, and the screen heating device provided for this, according to the claimed invention, one of the windows or one of the screen sections is (are) replaced by a through hole.

A number of particular sets of essential features of the device within the framework of the main set of its features, formulated in the previous paragraph and further in the claims, are also aimed at solving the problem (to remove the problem), namely:

- the screen can be made in the form of a rotary, on a roller from a drive, a disk (this is the simplest and most reliable private device, in which it is most easy to provide effective heat exchange and which is highly technological in manufacturing, assembly and assembly / disassembly);

- with the previous set of features, the disk can be made with a star-shaped metal base, covering the mentioned optically transparent windows or areas and having a heat-conducting relationship with a roller, also made of metal and connected, in turn, with a heat source, in particular a disk drive (this allows to use the disk volume most fully to organize the supply of heat to the windows or areas located on its periphery, which are actually to be heated in the fight against possible icing and fogging, while at the same time the strength of the screen-disk increases, which is especially important in case of mechanical harmful influences from the outside);

- the screen can be made in the form of a drum (this additionally expands the scope of application and to the greatest extent meets the requirements of increasing the strength and resistance of the screen);

- the screen can be made in the form of a tape with ends fixed on two spaced coils with the said drive, with the possibility of rewinding it, in particular reversible (this additionally expands the scope of application and to the greatest extent meets the requirements of increasing the number of sections on the screen while minimizing the dimensions of the protective devices);

- an optical sensor can be used as an optical system (this maximally adapts the claimed private device to the prototype, creating "healthy" competition and conditions for selling a license to a competitor);

- an observation device, in particular a periscope, can be used as an optical system (this is the most adaptable of the claimed invention to military and special optical-mechanical devices).

For all its brevity of the wording, the set of distinctive essential features of the claimed device is not a simple sum of the known technical results of using separately known system components. There is a "supereffect" (in the patent meaning of this term), which was not obvious to a specialist from the state of the art achieved (of course, before considering the proposed technical solution). With a whole range of additional technical and operational capabilities. This convincingly demonstrates the inventive step of development as the second of the triad of qualifying features of the invention.

The third qualification feature - industrial applicability - is also indisputable and follows, first of all, from the same rich experience in the design, production and operation of optical-mechanical devices.

The essence of the invention is disclosed in more detail in the following examples of implementation (particular cases of the constructive implementation of the device) and illustrated by figures 1-4:

in fig. 1 shows the disc protection device, side view in section, where S is the gap between the protective shield and the input optical element of the optical system; Q is the heat flux from the heat source to the protective shield;

in fig. 2 - the same, front view, where ϕ is the angular pitch of the arrangement of transparent elements (windows or areas);

in fig. 3 - drum protective device (fragment), side view in section S - gap between the protective shield and the input optical element of the optical system; Q is the heat flux from the heat source to the protective shield;

in fig. 4 - tape protective device (fragment), top view.

In the illustrations, the positions indicate:

1 - input (optical) element of the optical system; 2 - optical system; 3 - guides of the protective screen; 4 - protective screen (disk, drum, tape, etc.); 5 - windows or optically transparent areas of the screen; 6 - through hole in the screen; 7 - roller; 8 - drive of rotation (step by step through the angle ϕ) of the roller; 9, 10 - drive tape reels.

The optomechanical device for protecting the input element of the optical system contains a protective shield 4 (disk, drum, tape, etc.) installed with a gap in front of the input (optical) element 1 of the optical system 2, on guides 3. On the screen 4, a plurality of optically transparent windows 5 or sections (5) are made with the possibility of their selective installation with complete overlap of the visibility zone of the optical system 2 and protection of its input element 1 from pollution and damage under the influence of the external environment (in Fig. 1-4 to the left of screen 4).

In this case, a screen heating device is also provided (see below for more details).

One of the windows 5 or one of the portions (5) of the screen 4 is (are) replaced by a through hole 6. In other words, there is no optically transparent or any other solid material in this place, the body of the screen 4 in general.

In the main private device (an example in Fig. 1, 2 of the implementation of the claimed device), the screen 4 is made in the form of a rotary (step by step at an angle ϕ), on the roller 7 from the drive 8, the disk (4). In this case, windows 5 or sections (5) are located on its periphery, with an equal angular step ϕ, which makes it possible to obtain their maximum number with the same dimensions of the disk 4.

In this case, the disk 4 is made, preferably, with a star-shaped metal base, covering the mentioned optically transparent windows 5 or sections (5), and having a heat-conducting relationship with the roller 7 (see arrows for the direction of the heat flow). And the roller 7 is also made of metal and is connected, in turn, with a heat source Q, in particular with a disk drive 8.

As the second particular device of the screen 4 (see Fig. 3), it is made in the form of a drum (4).

As the third particular device of the screen 4 (see Fig. 4), it is made in the form of a tape (4) with the ends fixed on two spaced (drive) coils - 9 and 10 with the said drive 8, with the possibility of it (tape 4) rewinding, in particular reversible (shown by arrows).

As an optical system 2, an optical sensor (2) can be used, as in the prototype (i.e. saved).

Alternatively, an observation device, in particular a periscope, as in analogs (see monograph [1]), can be used as an optical system 2.

The claimed device operates as follows.

In the "PROTECTION" mode, the screen 4 is installed, by means of the drive 8, in a position in which one of the windows 5 or one of the optically transparent sections (5) of the screen 4 is located opposite the protected element 1 (from among those not destroyed or not contaminated above the permissible level) ...

During the operation of the device, particles of dust, soil, water, dye, etc. do not hit element 1, bouncing off screen 4 or settling on it. In case of mechanical impact (hitting a bullet, fragment, stone, branch, etc. into the window 5, a mechanical shock is also perceived by the screen 4.

In case of deterioration of visibility due to the indicated reasons, remotely, by means of an operator's command or automatically (as a rule, at the modern level of technology development), the working window (section) 5 is replaced: by turning disk 4 (see Fig. 1, 2), drum 4 ( see Fig. 3) by an angle multiple of ϕ, or rewinding (displacement) of the tape 4 (see Fig. 4) by one or more steps (optionally). Accordingly, the damaged or dirty window (area) 5 is removed from the visibility zone of the device 2, with the restoration of visibility.

The described operation can be carried out many times - in accordance with the number of windows (areas) 5 in the screen 4. In this case, at least partial recovery (cleaning) of contaminated windows (areas) 5 outside the visibility zone of the optical device 2 can be organized.

In the "OTKP. PROTECTION ", which is additional to the prototype and other known analogs and is recommended here for use in the absence of the need to protect the element 1 - under favorable, safe conditions outside, in order to increase the optical transparency (reduce the optical resistance) in the visibility zone of the device 2 , a through hole 6 is introduced into the working area (opposite element 1) in the screen 4 (Figs. 1-4 show variants of the device in such a position (this operating mode). Then the optical resistance from the screen is practically zero (the optical properties of the environment are like usually atmosphere.

Now about forced heating, at least of windows (areas) 5.

From the heat-generating device, which can also be the drive 8 (for example, a stepper motor-reducer), the released heat Q (see Figs. 1-3) intensively flows through the developed front of the roller 7 and the metal star-shaped part of the disk (drum) 4, covering the windows (sections) 5. Part of the heat Q will inevitably flow through the gap S by convection to element 1. This prevents icing, snow cover, fogging of both windows (sections) 5 and element 1.

The use of the proposed device allows to improve the technical and operational characteristics of the protective device by providing the possibility of temporary zeroing of the optical resistance of the protective device for the period of absence of harmful external influences, increasing the efficiency of forced heating of transparent windows or screen sections and increasing the layout possibilities and expanding the scope.

Claims (7)

1. An optomechanical device for protecting the input element of the optical system, containing a movable screen installed with a gap in front of the input element of the optical system, on guides, with a plurality of optically transparent windows or sections with the possibility of their selective installation with complete overlap of the optical system visibility zone and protecting the said input element from pollution and damage under the influence of the external environment, while a screen heating device is also provided, characterized in that one of the windows or one of the screen sections is replaced by a through hole. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the screen is made in the form of a rotary disk on the roller from the drive. 3. The device according to claim. 2, characterized in that the disk is made with a star-shaped metal base, covering the mentioned optically transparent windows or areas and having a heat-conducting relationship with the roller, also made of metal and connected, in turn, with a heat source, in particular a drive disk. 4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the screen is made in the form of a drum. 5. The device according to claim. 1, characterized in that the screen is made in the form of a tape with the ends fixed on two spaced coils with said drive, with the possibility of rewinding, in particular reversible. 6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that an optical sensor is used as the optical system. 7. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that an observation device, in particular a periscope, is used as the optical system.

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