FIBEROPTIC WIDE-ANGLE UNITY-POWER PERISCOPE

AN NOVEL INVESTIGATION IS PROPOSED FOR THE POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE ARMY'S COMBAT VEHICLE UNITY PERISCOPE. THE NEW DESIGN COULD BE BETTER DESCRIBED AS "ALL ANGLE" INSTEAD OF A WIDE ANGLE; HOWEVER, THIS PROPOSAL USES WIDE ANGLE IN THE SENSE OF EVENTUALLY BEING ABLE TO SEE 180, 270, OR 360 DEGREES WITHOUT POTENTIAL "BLIND SPOTS" OR ABERRATIONS. THE NEW DESIGN WOULD UTILIZE COHERENT FIBEROPTICS WITH COUPLED OBJECTIVE LENSES TO PRODUCE A FOCAL PLANE THAT WOULD GIVE THE VIEWER A REALISM SIMILAR TO AN ACTUAL VIEW OUTSIDE THE COMBAT VEHICLE WHILE KEEPING UNITY VISION. THE PROPOSED FIBEROPTIC PERISCOPE INITIALLY COULD BE DESIGNED TO HAVE THE DIMENIONAL MOUNTING CHARACTERISTICS OF ONE OF THE CURRENTLY USED MIRROR/PRISM PERISCOPES. DUE TO THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM, THE INITIAL FIBEROPTIC PERISCOPE WOULD BE LIMITED TO THE DESIGN OF TWO OR THREE SECTIONS. THESE SECTIONS COULD BE TESTED AND COMPARED WITH THE MIRROR/PRISM PERISCOPES NOW USED BY THE DRIVER OF THE M-1 TANK. THE PROPOSED PERISCOPE POTENTIALLY COULD INCREASE THE DRIVER'S VIEW FROM 110 TO 180 DEGREES. THE FIVE-DEGREE "BLIND SPOTS" BETWEEN THE CURRENT THREE PERISCOPES MAY THUS BE ELIMINATED AND ABERRATIONS HELD TO A MINIMUM.