Patent Document ID: 4787739
Application ID: 06936796
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A range finder for determining distances to objects, comprising: a housing through which an object is viewed; means associated with the housing for storing multiple images of said object, said multiple images being substantially identical in shape or configuration to the actual shape of the object and having different sizes representative of the object at different distances from the observer; means for comparing all or part of the viewed object with all or part of the stored images and correlating the viewed object with the images to determine the distance of the object from the observer based on the correlation, said means including a photodiode array in said housing, upon which light rays reflected from the object impinge to energize one or more of the photodiodes and produce an electrical impulse representative of the shape and size of the viewed object, said photodiode array being arranged to perceive the intensity of light reflected from the object; means connected to receive the electrical impulse to provide a comparison between the viewed object and the stored image, including a microprocessor connected to receive signals from the photodiode indicative of the reflected light from the object; a memory means connected to receive information from the microprocessor based on the signals from the photodiodes, said memory means having stored images of the object therein, and being operative to compare the stored images with the information received from the microprocessor and compute the distance to the object; and a liquid crystal display connected to receive data from the memory resulting from the comparison made in the memory means and to display an image of the object along with a display of the distance to the object.