Patent Document ID: 6088055
Application ID: 09163088
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An electro-optical camera system with electronic image motion compensation, said camera system suitable for installation in a reconnaissance aircraft having a navigation system determining the velocity, height, and pitch information of said aircraft during a reconnaissance maneuver, said pitch information comprising a pitch angle of said aircraft relative to a horizontal frame of reference and a rate of change of said pitch angle, comprising, in combination, an array of photosensitive cells arranged in rows and columns, said cells storing pixel information representing a scene of interest, said array of cells having a drive circuit supplying pulses to said array to transfer pixel information stored in said cells from one row to an adjacent row; a camera control computer responsive to said navigation system for computing a pixel information transfer rate for said array of cells based on said velocity, height, pitch angle and rate of change of said pitch angle; said camera control computer further determining from information supplied by said navigation system a pixel information transfer rate for said array of cells during a period of time in which said aircraft is experiencing a substantial non-zero rate of change of the pitch of said aircraft and said array is oriented in a forward oblique orientation relative to said aircraft; said camera control computer and control circuitry adjusting the charge transfer rate of said array to substantially match the rate of image motion of said terrain of interest during a series of successive exposures of said array to said terrain of interest during said period of time in which said aircraft is experiencing said substantial non-zero rate of change in the pitch of said aircraft; wherein said array may generate a series of images of said terrain of interest while compensating for said substantial non-zero rate of chance of the pitch angle of said aircraft during the successive exposures of said array and wherein the resolution of said images may be preserved.