US Patent 7336407 Scanner/pointer apparatus having super-hemispherical coverage

A scanner apparatus which has super-hemispherical coverage includes a receiver, a pair of counter-rotating prisms, and a rotating mirror aligned with the pair of counter-rotating prisms. The rotating mirror and the pair of counter-rotating prisms guide an observed optical signal in a field of regard greater than that which is achievable through the use of only the pair of counter-rotating prisms. The apparatus may also include a laser that generates an optical signal guided by the prisms and the mirror toward an object of interest in the field of regard.