Patent ID: 8330646

Claim:
Apparatus for at least one of sensing and emitting energy along a desired apparatus line of sight (LOS) with respect to the apparatus, comprising: an assembly rotatably mounted on a base with respect to a switching axis, the assembly comprising at least two sensing/emitting units, each sensing/emitting unit configured for at least one of sensing and emitting energy along a respective sensing/emitting unit line of sight (ULOS), each sensing/emitting unit having an operative state, wherein the respective ULOS is pointed along the apparatus LOS for at least one of sensing and emitting energy along the LOS, and a corresponding inoperative state, where the respective ULOS is pointed along a direction different from the apparatus LOS; a switching mechanism for rotatably switching between the sensing/emitting units with respect to the switching axis to selectively bring a desired sensing/emitting unit exclusively into its respective operative state while concurrently bringing a remainder of the sensing/emitting units each to a respective non-operative state, the assembly being configured for being accommodated within a predefined envelope having a maximum width dimension located generally coaxial with said switching axis, wherein the at least two sensing/emitting units are configured for being enclosed within the envelope in a compact arrangement wherein the respective ULOS are arranged to each point in different directions one from another, and wherein at least one the sensing/emitting unit comprises a respective sensing/emitting unit aperture having an aperture width in a direction parallel to said switching axis, said aperture width being configured to provide optimal operation with respect to the maximum width dimension when the respective sensing/emitting unit is in its operative state while substantially avoiding interference with operation of each one of a remainder of the sensing/emitting units when the latter is in its respective operative state.