PERISCOPE

EPISCOPE

English Abstract

The invention relates to a periscope for an armored vehicle, comprising a housing having a view in front of a viewing prism and a sight in front of a sighting prism and a prism core, wherein information such as vehicle data, camera images or other information can be shown directly in the view of the periscope and at the same time the terrain located in front of a vehicle can be observed through the sight, which is achieved in that in a viewing direction behind the viewing prism (3) a light-emitting display (7) is arranged and a medium having a lower refractive index than the material of a reflection surface of the viewing prism (3) adjoins the reflection surface of the viewing prism (3) and that a total reflection at the reflection surface takes places at a first viewing angle region into the view (2), and that light shining in through the sight (4) is visible and the light of the display (7) is visible under a second viewing angle region into the view (2).

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un épiscope pour un véhicule blindé composé d'un boîtier avec une vue de l'intérieur devant un prisme d'observation de l'intérieur et avec une vue de l'extérieur devant un prisme d'observation de l'extérieur ainsi qu'avec un noyau de prisme dans lequel des informations telles que par exemple des données relatives au véhicule, des images de caméra ou d'autres informations sont directement intégrées dans la vue de l'intérieur de l'épiscope et le terrain se trouvant devant un véhicule peut être même temps observé grâce à la vue de l'extérieur. On obtient de ce fait qu'un affichage (7) émettant de la lumière soit disposé dans une direction d'observation derrière le prisme d'observation de l'intérieur (3) et qu'un milieu avec un indice de réfraction minime tel que celui présenté par le matériau d'une surface réfléchissante du prisme d'observation de l'intérieur (3) soit adjacent à la surface réfléchissante du prisme d'observation de l'intérieur (3) et qu'une réflexion totale sur la surface réfléchissante ait lieu dans une première plage angulaire d'observation dans la vue de l'intérieur et que la lumière incidente soit visible par la vue de l'extérieur (4) et que la lumière de l'affichage (7) soit visible dans une deuxième plage angulaire d'observation dans la vue de l'intérieur (2).

Claims

5
CLAIMS:
1. A periscope comprising a housing having a region extending into a
vehicle with a view in front of a viewing prism, and having a region extending
out of a
vehicle with a sight in front of a sighting prism, and of a prism core made of
a
transparent material, wherein a light-emitting display is disposed behind the
viewing
prism in a viewing direction and a medium having a lower refractive index than
the
material of a reflection surface of the viewing prism adjoins the reflection
surface of
the viewing prism, and total reflection at the reflection surface takes place
at a first
viewing angle region with respect to the reflection surface into the view and
light
shining in through the sight is visible, and the light of the display is
visible under a
second viewing angle region into the view.
2. The periscope according to claim 1, wherein the medium behind the
reflection surface of the viewing prism is air.
3. The periscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, to compensate for a
barrel distortion, an optical wedge is disposed between the display and the
viewing
prism, and an air gap is created between the surface of the optical wedge and
the
reflection surface of the viewing prism.
4. The periscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
display emits polarized light, and a polarization filter with light emitted at
a 900 angle
relative to the polarization direction of the light emitted by the display is
disposed in
the beam path between the view and the sight.
5. The periscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
display illumination has a certain refresh rate, and a shutter is integrated
in the beam
path between the view and the sight, which shifts or releases the beam path
such
that it is phase-shifted by 180 relative to the refresh rate.
6. The periscope according to claim 5, wherein the display illumination of
the display is operated at a refresh rate greater than 20 Hz.

6
7. The
periscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6 being for an
armored vehicle.

Description

CA 02792937 2015-09-15
30486-7.
1
Periscope
The present invention relates to a periscope according to the preamble of the
main
claim.
A periscope system is made known in DE 36 27 716 Al, which comprises a housing
having a region extending into a vehicle with a view in front of a viewing
prism, and
having a region extending out of a vehicle with a sight in front of a sighting
prism, and
which comprises a prism core made of a transparent material, and the side of
the
prism core facing away from the view comprises a display field of a display
unit with
information that can be adjusted in the view.
The disadvantage of this system is that only a very narrow display field can
be
shown.
The problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a periscope,
wherein
further information such as vehicle data, camera images or other information
from the
vehicle surroundings can be shown directly in the view of the periscope and at
the
same time the terrain located in front of the vehicle can be observed through
the
sight.
In some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a periscope comprising
a
housing having a region extending into a vehicle with a view in front of a
viewing
prism, and having a region extending out of a vehicle with a sight in front of
a sighting
prism, and of a prism core made of a transparent material, wherein a light-
emitting
display is disposed behind the viewing prism in a viewing direction and a
medium
having a lower refractive index than the material of a reflection surface of
the viewing
prism adjoins the reflection surface of the viewing prism, and total
reflection at the
reflection surface takes place at a first viewing angle region with respect to
the
reflection surface into the view and light shining in through the sight is
visible, and the
light of the display is visible under a second viewing angle region into the
view.

CA 02792937 2014-08-22
30486-7
2
Given that a light-emitting display is disposed behind the viewing prism in a
viewing
direction, and a medium having a lower refractive index than the material of a
reflection surface of the viewing prism adjoins the back side the viewing
prism, total
reflection at the reflection surface takes places at a first viewing angle
region into the
view, and light shining in through the sight is visible and the light of the
display is
visible under a second viewing angle region into the view. The angle between
the
reflecting boundary surface and the optical viewing axis is selected such that
the
observer is able, by changing the head position only slightly in the vertical
direction,
to either see through the reflective surface in a straight line and without
reflection, or
to look out of the sight of the periscope with total reflection.
If the optical path straight through the reflective surface has been selected,
the
display is visible in this optical axis; however, if the head position is
moved, the sight
of the periscope can be seen out.
A particular advantage of this periscope according to the invention is that it
functions
without mechanically moving components and displays, in the view, either the
light
beams entering through the sight, in a large area, or shows the information on
the
display, likewise in a large area, wherein only a slight change in the viewing
direction
is required. The periscope according to the invention therefore makes it
easier for a
user or vehicle driver to simultaneously control his vehicle and the state
thereof to a
very substantial extent since he need not switch permanently between the
spatially
interspaced vehicle displays and the view of the periscope because all of the
data
that he requires can be displayed in the periscope.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the subject matter of the
invention, the medium adjoining the back side of the viewing prism is composed
simply of air, which greatly simplifies the technical embodiment of the
periscope.
A further embodiment of the subject matter of the invention is also
advantageous, in
which an optical wedge is disposed between the display and the viewing prism
to
compensate for a barrel distortion which occurs through the viewing prism,
wherein

CA 02792937 2014-08-22
30486-7
2a
the air gap must be maintained between the optical wedge and the back side of
the
viewing prism in order to maintain the principle of total reflection on the
optical
boundary surface of the viewing prism. The optical wedge makes it possible to
reduce, distortions occurring without this in the view entirely or to a
substantial extent.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the periscope according to
the
invention, it is equipped with components which prevent the light coming from
the
display from escaping from the periscope via the sight, wherein no additional
mechanically
=

CA 02792937 2012-09-12
3
moving components are required to achieve this. In a preferred technical
solution, a
display is used which emits polarized light, such as an LCD screen, and a
polarization
filter having a configuration oriented 900 relative to the direction of
polarization of the light
from the display is used in the beam path between the view and the sight.
In a second technical solution, the display is illuminated with a
predetermined refresh rate,
wherein a so-called shutter is integrated in the beam path between the view
and the sight,
which prevents light passage with this refresh rate, wherein this frequency is
greater than
20 Hz. This switching back and forther between display illumination and
shutter, which is
149 referred to as "chopping", makes it possible to prevent light from
escaping through the
sight of the periscope. At the same time, however, the eye of an observer will
not perceive
the image in the display as flashing because the frequency at which the
illumination
switches on and off is faster than the perceptual inertia of the eye.
is The two embodiments of the invention are described in the following with
reference to
figures. They show:
Fig. 1. a spatial view of a periscope with an additional display,
Fig. 2. a cut view of a periscope comprising a polarization filter and a
polarized light-
20 emitting display, and
Fig. 3. a periscope comprising a shutter built into the beam path.
The periscope is composed mainly of a housing 1 having a region extending into
a vehicle
with a view 2 in front of a viewing prism 3, and having a region extending out
of a vehicle
25 with a sight 4 in front of a sighting prism 5, and of a prism core 6
made of a transparent
material such as plastic or glass.
A light-emitting display 7 is disposed behind the viewing prism 3 in the
viewing direction,
wherein to compensate for a barrel distortion therebetween, an optical wedge
10 is
30 disposed such that an air gap 8 is maintained between optical wedge 10
and the back
side of viewing prism 3, and so the air situated therebetween is the medium
having the
lower refractive index than that of the material of the reflection surface of
the viewing
prism 3.

CA 02792937 2012-09-12
4
It is also feasible to use another liquid, solid, or gaseous material instead
of air, provided it
has a lower refractive index and physically enables total reflection on the
reflection
surface of the viewing prism 3, which is provided here by a cover pane 13
disposed on a
side of the viewing prism 3 facing away from the view 2.
In a periscope of the type depicted in Fig. 2, display 7 is composed of an LCD
screen
which emits polarized light which is prevented from escaping from the
periscope by a
polarization filter situated at an angle of 90 in front of sight 4, wherein
polarization filter 11
is designed in this case as a film on sight 4 of the periscope, which is in
the form of a
cover glass 13.
As shown in Fig. 3, another embodiment of the periscope according to the
invention is
equipped with a display 7, the display illumination of which has a refresh
rate greater than
Hz, and a shutter 9 is integrated in the beam path between view 2 and sight 4
in core 6
15 of the periscope, which prevents light from passing at precisely this
refresh rate, thereby
ensuring that no light coming from the display can escape from the periscope
via the
sight. The light entry and exit surfaces of core 6 comprising viewing prism 3
and sighting
prism 5 are each provided with cover glasses 13, wherein a laser filter 14 is
also disposed
between cover glass 13 in front of the view 2. The reflection surface of
sighting prism 5 is
20 equipped with a deflection mirror 12. The individual glasses are
connected by transparent
film or adhesive.

Representative Drawing