WO2009136224A1 - Apparatus for security operation management - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for security operation management, wherein a gunsight (1) for image vision sends a corresponding video signal to a remote operative control station (3; 50); the apparatus provides bidirectional communication between the gunsight (1) and the operative control station (3; 50) through respective luminous emitters.

Description

APPARATUS FOR SECURITY OPERATION MANAGEMENT

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus for managing security operations which are normally carried out in the field by specially trained military forces or the like.

As known, many national police or military forces include special corps trained to operate in critical situations, e.g. freeing hostages, seizing terrorists, and the like.

These special corps comprise a number of men (generally just a few, but sometimes they may include 10 or more men) who move in the field and respond to the orders sent them remotely from an operative control station; the latter may be located in the field close to the areas where the operations are taking place, or else it may be located in protected areas.

Due to the risks often related to the above-mentioned security operations, it becomes absolutely necessary to be able to properly coordinate the men involved: this coordination must take place quickly and effectively in any environmental and weather conditions.

To this end, security operation management systems have been known for a long time which are based on images taken in the field by the special corps' men, which images are sent remotely to the operative station, from which appropriate instructions can then be returned, typically by radio.

A paradigmatical example of such security operation management systems is described in

French patent application FR 2 671 397 by Cine-Panavionic, where the weapons (light machine-guns or the like) used by agents belonging to special corps are equipped with video cameras which send images taken during the operations to an operative station installed in a van; orders are then sent by radio from this operative station to the men in the field.

A limitation of this system described in the aforementioned French document lies in the fact that it requires modifications to the weapons used by the men; in fact, images are taken by using a CCD (Charge Couple Device) detector arranged on the gunsight and connected through a cable to a signal processing unit housed in a cavity obtained in the butt of the light machine-gun.

The very same cavity also houses the remote image transmitter; the entire assembly is powered by batteries carried by the special agents.

As can be easily understood, if the latter must act as sharpshooter, it is apparent that this solution does not appear to be satisfactory, since the weapons must be modified for housing electronic components in the butt, thus losing the proper balance.

There are also reliability limitations, in that the weapons may be subject to shocks or be exposed to water, mud or other foreign matters that may compromize the proper operation of the electronic components.

This state of the art seems to have been improved by a similar system described in a later European patent application, published under no. EP 1 693 639 in the name of ITL Optronics.

In this system, the weapon is fitted with a gunsight that comprises, among other things, a miniaturized video camera and a short-range transmitter for sending the video signal to a homologous receiver installed in a knapsack-type portable unit carried by the men belonging to a special corp; from here, the video signal is then sent to a remote operative station. For this purpose, the mobile unit is equipped with a long-range video transmitter which sends the signal to the operative station; orders are then sent by radio from the operative station as previously described, or information may be sent to the mobile unit, which is provided with a suitable receiver.

The mobile unit also includes a short-range transmitter coupled to a homologous receiver that receives undefined data, arranged on the gunsight.

In practice, this solution is suitable for remote image transmission, which takes place in two modes: a short-range mode between the gunsight and the mobile unit carried by the men, and a long-range mode between the mobile unit and the operative station. This allows to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks relating to the presence of long- range image transmission components on the weapon, since in this case this task is performed by the mobile unit included in the men's equipment.

However, just like the preceding case of patent application FR 2 671 397, orders are sent by radio from the operative station to the men in the field and therefore, should any problems arise in the transmission/reception of radio waves (typically VHF/UHF ones), this system won't work.

Furthermore, the gunsight taken into consideration in European application EP 1 693 639 appears to be quite complex, since it includes other instruments in addition to those mentioned above, such as a digital compass and a GPS locator; it follows that it is de facto a special gunsight which cannot be used on weapons other than those for which it has been designed. The present invention aims at improving this state of the art: the object is to provide an apparatus for managing security operations of the aforementioned type, wherein the men in the field can communicate with the operative control station not only orally by radio: it is thus possible to provide a safer and more reliable operation management, in the event that voice communications are not possible or that it is preferable to act in the utmost silence. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which can be easily used with different supports, i.e. not only with a single type of weapon for which the gunsight has been specifically designed.

These and further objects of the invention are achieved by an apparatus having the features set out in the appended claims.

Said features, as well as the effects and advantages thereof, will become more apparent from the following description referring to a non-limiting preferred embodiment illustrated in the annexed drawings, wherein:

- Fig. 1 is a general view of the apparatus according to the invention;

- Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

- Figs. 3 and 4 show respective details of the apparatus of the preceding figures;

- Fig. 5 shows the inside of the operative control station that controls the apparatus of the preceding figures;

- Fig. 6 shows a variant of the apparatus according to the invention.

With reference to the drawings, the apparatus according to the invention comprises a first part generally consisting of a gunsight 1 of a weapon, a second part consisting of a portable auxiliary unit 2, and a third part consisting of an operative control station 3, which in this example is arranged in a van.

Although from a macroscopic point of view this configuration is similar to the one described in the aforementioned document EP 1 693 639, the details of the present invention differ significantly from this state of the art.

For ease of comprehension, reference will be made to the block diagram of Fig. 2, which highlights the relationships between some main components of the apparatus.

As can be seen, portable auxiliary unit 2 communicates with gunsight 1 for receiving and transmitting a series of signals.

These signals include a signal sent to auxiliary unit 2 by a GPS locator 20, which is advantageously integrated into a carrying case, which represents the preferred configuration of the portable unit, though it may also have a different shape (knapsack or the like).

Unit 2 also receives signals from the men engaged in security operations, both through a tactile signalling device 21 comprising one or more push-buttons, which will be described later on, and by radio through a headset 24 with a microphone and an earphone, included in the men's equipment; radio communications preferably take place over VHF/UHF channels.

Gunsight 1 installed on weapon 11, visible in Figs. 1 and 3, comprises a known telescope 4 to the rear end of which an optical assembly 5 according to the invention is mounted.

The latter comprises a semi-reflecting mirror lens 6 which allows only a fraction of the luminous radiation to travel to a person's eye along the axis of telescope 4, while deflecting the other fraction perpendicularly thereto.

The deflected luminous beams are then reflected by a mirror 8 (dashed line in Fig. 3), which directs them towards a miniaturized video camera 10 of a per se known type: advantageously, mirror 8 allows the image to be turned over in the opposite direction to that determined by the semi-reflecting lens 6, so that camera 10 can shoot an image that corresponds to the real one.

The video signal of the image shot by camera 10 is sent by radio to portable unit 2, where it is displayed on a screen or monitor 13.

In accordance with the invention, gunsight 1 also comprises luminous emitters 15, preferably LEDs, which are activated accordingly by auxiliary unit 2 in response to orders received from the operative control station 3.

The colours of emitters 15', 15" and 15'" are preferably green, yellow and red (i.e. the traffic light colours) in order to define different operative levels for the men in the field: in fact, the luminous emitters are visible to the man looking into the telescope, and are positioned adjacent to lens 6, as shown in Fig. 4.

Luminous emitters 15', 15" and 15'" may however be more or even less than three, and have different colors from green, yellow and red; what counts it that these luminous emitters can be activated remotely upon orders given from the operative control station.

Advantageously, optical assembly 5 is also fitted with an adapter ring nut 17, through which it can be mounted to different telescopes or other supports, such as frames for infrared viewers commonly used by special corps.

Referring now more in detail to portable auxiliary unit 2, shown in Fig. 1, as aforementioned it is preferably provided in the form of a carrying case or another transportable container which can be easily dissimulated, such as a bag, a knapsack or the like.

It is fitted with all means 25 required for the above-listed functions of gunsight 1, as well as for providing a connecting bridge to operative control station 3.

To this end, portable auxiliary unit 2 comprises audio and video communication means designated as a whole by reference number 26, which comprise a microphone, an antenna, a loudspeaker, a radio transceiver, etc., for transmitting and receiving audio and video communications to/from gunsight 1 and operative station 3; additionally, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, unit 2 is also equipped with an analog/digital converter 27 and any other electronic components (CPU, data interface, audio and video interfaces) for transmitting and receiving data and for processing it in coded form in order to prevent interception and external disturbance.

The video information received from gunsight 1 or from station 3 can be displayed on screen 13 of auxiliary unit 2 and examined by the men in the field.

In the example shown in Fig. 1, operative control station 3 is installed in a van 30, which is equipped with all the antennas and apparatuses required for controlling the operations carried out in the field.

According to a preferred embodiment, antennas 31 and 32 can be hidden when not in use; for this purpose, bigger antenna 31 is a telescopic one, whereas smaller antenna 32 can be folded onto the roof of van 30; of course, the antennas may be dissimulated and kept out of sight in different manners as well.

Inside, van 30 is equipped with a direction desk 35 that includes an electronic computer 36

(a PC or the like), and large screens 37 for displaying selected images taken by means of gunsights 1 associated with the various men in the field.

For this purpose, the images taken by all men engaged in security operations are also displayed on a series of small screens 38 (eight in the example shown, but their number may be different), thus providing a general view of the situation, while large screens 37 display the same images that are being displayed on selected small screens 38.

Near the latter there are also some luminous emitters 40, which are homologous to those provided on gunsights 1 (i.e. green, yellow and red lights): it is thus possible to know the exact operative condition of each men in the field.

The controls available on direction desk 35 allow to activate or deactivate remotely emitters

15', 15" and 15'" associated with each gunsight 1 through radio signals sent to portable auxiliary unit 2, which works as a radio bridge to the gunsight itself.

Likewise, audio communications take place by radio (UHF/VHF) between the control station and headsets 24 worn by the men in the field: to this end, desk 35 includes microphones 41 and loudspeakers (not shown in the drawings).

According to a preferred embodiment, station 3 is also equipped with a multichannel video recording system 43 through which it is possible to record the images shot in the field; advantageously, control station 3 is prearranged for a cable connection to data transmission networks 45.

The above-described apparatus operates as follows.

Because optical assembly 5 can be easily installed on any telescope 4, the apparatus can be used for operations wherein the men in the field have to use weapons of various types, as well as in different situations; in fact, as explained above, optical device 5 may also be applied to a man's helmet or to special frames such as those used for viewers, among which infrared viewers for night vision.

Thanks to the radio bridge established by portable auxiliary unit 2, the images seen by the men through gunsight 1 are the same as those displayed remotely by operative control station 3.

In return, operative control station 3 can give orders to the men in the field by communicating with them by radio (VHF/UHF) or by video (by sending images to portable unit 2), or else by turning on/off luminous emitters 15', 15", 15'" of each gunsight.

As can be easily understood, in the apparatus according to the invention operative station 3 can therefore communicate with the men in the field in different modes, i.e. voice and luminous or acoustic signals; in response, the men can communicate with station 3 in the same way, since they can talk by radio or send signals by pressing push-buttons 21 according to the status of luminous emitters 15', 15" e 15'" (signalled by station's indicator lights 40).

It follows that the apparatus according to the invention can operate in a bidirectional manner not only through voice communications, but also through visual and acoustic communications.

In this frame, luminous emitters 15', 15" and 15'" are visual communication means which may be used in addition or as an alternative to radio voice transmissions.

It should be noted that the communication taking place through the luminous emitters and the signals emitted by push-buttons 21 represents an additional safety factor for the apparatus according to the invention, in that it allows information to be exchanged even when VHF/UHF radio communications are cut off or cannot be used because the utmost silence is required.

It is important to underline that the aforementioned results are attained without any disadvantage for the men in the field, since the functionality of telescope 4 remains unchanged when optical assembly 5 is applied to it.

In other words, nothing is placed between the man and the target that could impair the man's performance in the security operations, because what the man sees in gunsight 1 is exactly the image that can be seen with telescope 4; said image is also visible remotely on portable unit 2 and on the screens of the control station.

Furthermore, the installation adaptability of optical assembly 5 allows the invention to be applied to any type of weapon fitted with a telescope or another similar support, thus being functionally flexible and finding easier application than the known systems described in the aforementioned patent documents; it should also be pointed out that both the gunsight and the weapon or other mounting support require no particular modification or adaptation, resulting in evident advantages in terms of implementation costs.

A contribution to this result is also given by the fact that no other intervention will be required once optical assembly 5 has been applied to telescope 4, since all the remaining functions can be carried out through auxiliary unit 2 and control station 3. The gunsight is therefore unchanged in its basic functions, and can work without requiring no other operations by the men who use the weapons on which it is mounted; the men's movements and the accuracy of aim are not affected by optical assembly 5, also due to the fact that the weapons are of the usual type, i.e. unchanged from the original configuration. In this frame, it should also be pointed out that the men can communicate by using pushbuttons 21; better final results can thus be obtained thanks to interactive operation management.

In fact, the signals transmitted through push-buttons 21 to portable unit 2 are then sent to operative control station 3, thus establishing a complete contact between the latter and the men in the field.

It should be noted that the communications obtained through luminous emitters 15 and 40 as well as those established with push-buttons 21 require no particular coding systems, since they are essentially binary-type signals: This significantly simplifies the required implementation means because gunsight 1 needs no electronic conversion system or the like, which would otherwise be necessary for processing more complex data.

The above description has clearly explained how the apparatus according to the invention achieves the expected object.

In the first place, it allows to manage security operations involving a plurality of men in the field without the latter having to use specially prearranged weapons, as is the case of French patent application FR-2 671 397.

This is due to optical assembly 5 which, as already mentioned, can be easily applied to the telescopes of common gunsights or even to helmet-mounted viewers.

It should also be underlined that the apparatus according to the invention can handle several men simultaneously and separately; this is due to the fact that all communications between operative control station 3 and each man's portable unit 2 and gunsight 1 fitted with an optical assembly 5 take place over respective channels having preset frequencies.

It should also be pointed out that, according to the invention, the various functions not pertaining to image shooting, such as the GPS locator and the transmission of signals from the men, are handled by portable unit 2 or push-buttons 21, which are separate from gunsight 1, so that the latter is not made any heavier to detriment of accuracy of aim.

A further important result attained by the apparatus according to the invention is that by using luminous signals which can be seen simultaneously on both gunsight 1 and control station 3 it is also possible to immediately understand if a man in the field can be reached through radio and video communications.

Of course, the invention may be subject to several variations with respect to the description provided so far.

First of all, it should be specified that, although the configuration shown in Fig. 1 is the most common one, it may however not be suitable for use in places which are inaccessible to van carrying operative control station 3: for example, impervious mountainous regions or roadless areas.

In these situations, it may be appropriate to use a portable operative station 50, like the one shown in Fig. 6, which is provided in the form of a carrying case or the like, just like unit 2.

This mobile control station 50 can substantially carry out the same functions as the one installed in van 3, for which purpose it is equipped with a series of screens 52 that display the images taken by gunsights 1 associated with the men in the field, as well as one set of green, red and yellow indicator lights 53 for each screen similar to those provided in van 30, designated by reference number 40.

As explained above, mobile control station 50 allows to select which image among those being displayed on the smaller screens is to be displayed on a larger screen 54 .

Portable operative station 50 is also fitted with a built-in microphone and antenna (not shown in the drawings) for communicating by radio (VHF/UHF) with the men in the field, plus an electronic computer 55 (PC) for processing the data received from or to be sent to the outside.

Portable operative station 50 can interact in a bidirectional manner with the men, by using both audio/video transmission and luminous emitters 53: it follows that, from this point of view, it behaves just like the example previously described and offers the same advantages; for clarity, reference should be made in this regard to the description of said previous example.

However, since this apparatus is a portable one, it offers the advantage that it does not require the presence of transportable unit 2, so that in this aspect the resulting apparatus is simpler than the one of Fig. 1.

All of these variants will still fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. Apparatus for security operation management, comprising a gunsight (1) for image vision adapted to transmit a corresponding video signal, and an operative control station (3; 50) operationally connected to the gunsight, characterized in that the communication between the gunsight (1) and the operative station (3; 50) is a bidirectional communication wherein the operative station (3; 50) sends signals to the gunsight (1) and vice versa.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gunsight (1) comprises luminous means (15', 15", 15'") which change their state according to signals sent from the operative control station (3; 50).

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operative control station (3; 50) comprises luminous means (40) corresponding to those of the gunsight (1).

4. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the luminous means (15', 15", 15'"; 40) of the gunsight and of the operative station comprise luminous emitters.

5. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the gunsight (1) sends video signals relating to images taken by it.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the gunsight (1) comprises a removable optical assembly (5) applied to a support (4), which assembly includes the luminous means (15', 15", 15'") and a camera (10) for shooting images.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the optical assembly (5) comprises optical means (6) which allow only a fraction of the luminous radiation to travel to a person's eye looking into the gunsight (1), while the other fraction is deflected towards the video camera (10).

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the deflected fraction of the luminous radiation is reflected before being directed towards the video camera (10).

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the optical assembly (5) is applied to a telescope

(4).

10. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of gunsights (1), wherein the operative control station (3; 50) comprises a plurality of screens (38; 52) for displaying respective images received from the gunsights (1).

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the operative control station (3; 50) comprises means (43) for recording the images received from the gunsights (1).

12. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a portable auxiliary unit (2) which is operationally connected to a respective gunsight (1) and to the control station (3).

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the communication between the portable auxiliary unit (2) and the respective gunsight (1) is a bidirectional communication wherein the auxiliary unit (2) sends signals to the gunsight (1) and vice versa.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gunsight (1) sends signals to the auxiliary unit (2) relating to the luminous means (15', 15", 15'") and to the images taken by the camera (10) associated with the gunsight (1).

15. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the auxiliary unit (2) comprises means (20) for detecting its position and/or the position of the gunsight (1).

16. Apparatus according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the auxiliary unit (2) sends and receives communications to/from the operative control station (3; 50) through VHF/UHF radio waves.

17. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the operative control station (3; 50) is installed in a motor vehicle.

18. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the operative control station (3; 50) is installed in a carrying case or a similar portable container.

19. Optical assembly for an apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a semi-reflecting lens (6) which allows only a fraction of the luminous radiation to travel axially with respect to its direction of incidence, while the other fraction is deflected transversally; luminous emitters (15', 15", 15"') arranged at the semi-reflecting lens; an adapter ring nut 17 for mounting it to supports such as telescopes (4), frames of infrared viewers or the like.