Flash detection and location system

Claim 1

A DETECTION SYSTEM COMPRISING A SCANNER UNIT WHICH TURNS ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS TO VIEW THE HORIZON AND WHICH INCLUDES A DETECTOR SENSITIVE TO INCOMING RADIANT ENERGY AND A RETICLE EFFECTIVELY DISPOSED IN FRONT OF SAID DETECTOR AND HAVING A VERITCAL SLIT AND AN ADJACENT TILTED SLIT WHEREBY ENERGY FROM A POINT SOURCE FIRST ENTERS SAID VERTICAL SLIT AND THEN SAID TILTED SLIT TO PRODUCE FIRST AND SECOND SIGNAL PULSES, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS GENERATED WHEN SAID UNIT IS IN ANGULAR ALIGNMENT WITH SAID POINT SOURCE AND THE SECOND OF WHICH IS SUBSEQUENTLY PRODUCED AT A TIME DEPENDENT ON THE ELEVATION OF SAID SOURCE RELATIVE TO SAID UNIT, MEANS TO GENERATE PERIODIC COUNTING PULSES AS SAID UNIT UNDERGOES INCREMENTAL CHANGES IN ANGULAR POSITION, MEANS TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF COUNTING PULSES GENERATED FROM A REFERENCE POSITION TO THE ANGULAR POINT AT WHICH SAID FIRST SIGNAL PULSE IS PRODUCED TO DETERMINE THE AZIMUTH OF SAID SOURCE, AND MEANS TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF COUNTING PULSES GENERATED IN THE INTERVAL BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND SIGNAL PULSES.