Patent ID: 8948591
Filing Date: 2015-02-03
Classification: F41H,G01S

Abstract:
1. A method for operating a pulsed interference laser in an eye-safe manner in a DIRCM system onboard an aircraft, comprising: receiving, by a reception apparatus, echoes from emitted pulses from the interference laser during an initial period of time Δt; evaluating, by the reception apparatus, the received echoes to determine whether an object is situated within an original laser safety distance for the DIRCM system in the laser beam; and separately enabling the emission of the laser beam for a second period of time Δt within a period of use of the interference laser, wherein the emission is enabled for the second period of time Δt only when no object has been found within the original laser safety distance within the initial period of time Δt, wherein the initial period of time Δt and the second period of time Δt are set so that the emission of the laser beam during the initial period of time Δt and the second period of time Δt is eye-safe at a reduced laser safety distance, which is shorter than the original laser safety distance, and wherein a radiation intensity of the emitted laser beam during the initial period of time Δt and the respective second period of time Δt is higher than infrared emissions from the aircraft.