Abstract: In an image sensor, a light receptor has a shield film formed substantially centrally in a light receiving area on each of a plurality of light receiving devices, except those disposed at opposite ends of each sensor IC, for adjusting the quantity of light received by each light emitting device. The result is that fluctuation of sensitivity and resolution failure, which might occur during the production of sensor ICs to be used as the light receptor, can be eliminated.

Abstract: A cantilever displacement detection apparatus comprises a laser diode for emitting a laser beam functioning as detection beam for displacement detection based on an optical lever method, and a position sensor having two light receiving regions for outputting signals corresponding to the intensity of received light. The laser diode and the position sensor are arranged such that the light beam is passed through an objective lens and made incident slantingly on a mirror provided on a free-end portion of a cantilever and the laser beam reflected by the mirror is passed through the objective lens and made incident on the position sensor.

Abstract: In the first aspect, light reflected by an object upon projection of a beam on the object is received by a light-receiving section. A photocurrent corresponding to the irradiated position is detected by a photocurrent detection section and is compared with a predetermined level by a comparison/determination section. An ordinary photocurrent output from the photocurrent detection section prior to projection of the beam is digitally converted by a set/clear section of each bit of a digital value. The converted value is stored in a memory section. In projection of the beam, the ordinary photocurrent corresponding to the output from the memory section is extracted from the photocurrent output from the photocurrent detection section by an ordinary photocurrent extraction section without using a hold capacitor. In the second aspect, light is repeatedly projected from a projecting section on an object, and light reflected by the object is repeatedly received by a light-receiving section.

Abstract: A position detecting system for detecting the relative position of two objects is disclosed wherein: light is projected to the two objects so that the light from the two objects is received by a position detector; to an output signal from the detector is applied a weight coefficient corresponding to the position to determine a gravity center of the light incident; a region of the position detector is set on the basis of the determination; the gravity center of the light incident is determined again on the basis of the set region; and the relative position of the two objects is determined on the basis of the second determination.

Abstract: A smart sheet sensor control system and method compensating for degradation of an optical sensor. A reference voltage trigger level is periodically adjusted in a manner biased toward a null state indicating an absence of a sheet of paper or document in a paper location. The reference voltage trigger level is periodically adjusted by a microprocessor to always lie within a window range between the null state value and an activated state value indicating a presence of the sheet in the paper location. Since the adjustment is periodic, the microprocessor need not be a dedicated microprocessor and may be used to adjust the reference voltage trigger level corresponding to several sensors respectively sensing the presence or absence of a sheet of paper at several different locations.

Abstract: An optoelectronic device comprising: a plurality of light emitting elements; light receiving elements, each light receiving element facing a light emitting element; a lead made of a thin metal plate and having the light receiving elements fixed thereon, the lead being connected by wires to ground electrodes provided on the light receiving elements; a plurality of ground terminals common to the light receiving elements and integrated with the lead; an inner package, made of translucid resin, for separately sealing each pair of the facing light emitting elements and light receiving elements; and a package, made of resin having light interrupting properties, for sealing the entire inner package. Also, a metal mold that can simultaneously mold a plurality of the inner packages; and a manufacturing method of the optoelectronic device using the metal mold, comprising the steps of: molding the inner package; and then molding the package.

Abstract: A compact disk drive useful with a laptop computer comprises at least one glass disk, thin film read/write heads and a head actuator preferably made of magnesium material. The drive motor hub and hub flange are made of steel and the magnet housing for the actuator is made from an integral steel unit. A flexible cable assembly, which is connected to the read/write head circuits and to external circuitry for data processing and for providing control signals, is formed with two flexible sections. Each section is attached to the head actuator and to stationary posts of the disk drive housing thereby balancing the forces applied to the actuator when it is moved for head accessing. A clamp for holding the disk to the motor hub is designed to minimize distortion and to prevent shifting and misalignment of the disk relative to the center of the motor hub.

Abstract: A cassette tape player for use with a tape housed in a cassette for recording and/or reproducing the tape. The cassette is generally provided with two capstan insert holes, two guide holes formed between the two capstan insert holes, two pinch roller insert openings respectively contiguous to the two capstan insert holes, two openings respectively contiguous to the two guide holes, and a magnetic head insert opening formed between the two openings.

Abstract: An advanced infrared (IR) Sensor based on the present invention would add the following two elements to a basic staring IR sensor using a 2 dimensional array of detector elements to significantly enhance the detection sensitivity of the device. The added features are: (1) Additional optics or modification to the normal optics to scan the image over a small fraction of the array dimensions so that each point in the image is sampled by a number of different detector elements, and (2) signal processing to combine the multiple samples for each image point so as to exclude the effects of "dead", "weak" or excessively noisy detector elements and average out the element to element sensitivity variations and calibration/correction imperfections of the "normal" elements.

Abstract: A control system for vari-focal lens can keep a vari-focal lens in focus during magnification change, and can conduct quick focusing even if a distance measurement is not possible in a phase difference detection method. A focusing correction calculation circuit calculates two data, one of which is a focusing lens position datum obtained by a focusing lens position detection device and the other of which is a magnification changing lens group position datum obtained by a magnification changing lens position detection device, to obtain a correction amount datum and a correction focusing direction datum. Another calculation circuit obtains a phase difference datum based on a phase difference detection datum detected by a phase difference detector.

Abstract: A film retrieval system comprises a light source for illuminating a film having marks applied thereon, a photo-detector for detecting light intensity transmitted from the illuminated film, a device for determining a reference in accordance with the light intensity detected by the photo-detector, a discriminator for determining the presence or absence of the mark by comparing the reference determined by the reference device and an output of the photo-detector and, a setting device for setting a detection point of the transmitted light intensity by the photo-detector at any point spaced from a leading edge of the film.

Abstract: The present invention provides a long range LADAR (Laser Detection and Ranging), that employs in combination a 1.32 micron, Q-switched, diode-pumped Nd:YLF laser whose output beam is linearly polarized. A quarter-wave plate is positioned in front of the laser such that the laser's (e.g. vertical)polarized light is converted to right circular polarization. Reflection from a specular surface returns left circular polarized light. A second quarter-wave plate transforms the left circular polarized light to horizontally polarized light which is then propagated through a beam splitter to two Gallium Arsenide Avalanche Photo-Diode detectors. This invention provides both substantial reduction in eye injury potential and good transmission in the atmosphere while improving scattering performance.

Abstract: A method of using measurements of the dc photocurrent produced by a photodetector to determine the wavelength or color of incident light, or to characterize certain properties of a semiconductor device or material. The intrinsic wavelength filtering ability of the photodetector is used as the basis for determining the wavelength of incident light by relating measurements of the dc photocurrent versus reverse bias voltage to the absorption coefficient of the semiconductor material from which the detector is fabricated. Color detection is accomplished by expressing the measured photocurrent as a linear combination of the photocurrents due to detection of each of the three primary colors. The coefficients of each of the terms of the linear combination are then varied to obtain the best fit to the measured photocurrent. This allows a determination of the color of the detected light based on the respective contributions of each of the primary colors to its actual color.

Abstract: An improved photocathode for use in a night vision system, comprising a glass face plate, an AlInAs window layer having an anti-reflection and protective coating bonded to the face plate, an InGaAs active layer epitaxially grown to the window layer, and a chrome electrode bonded to the face plate, the window layer, and the active layer providing an electrical contact between the photocathode and the night vision system, whereby an optical image illuminated into the face plate results in a corresponding electron pattern emitted from the active layer.

Abstract: A digitizing control device which is inexpensive and capable of generating a normal vector representing the direction of a normal line to a model surface on a real-time basis by a light-section method, wherein a table (31), on which a model (6) is placed, is horizontally moved relative to a tracer head (4) to which a light source (5a) and a camera (5b) are mounted, and a processor (11) of a control device (1) periodically samples measurement data representing two detection points, at which a received-light pattern on the camera crosses two one-dimensional optical sensors arranged at a light-receiving face of the camera, and table/camera movement control data, generates tracing data in accordance with the coordinates of two points on the model surface obtained from the sampled data, calculates a normal vector of the model surface on the basis of the coordinates of the two points and the coordinates of a point on the model surface obtained at a previous sampling time, and positions the tracer head at a rotation

Abstract: A method for detecting both separated and non-separated edge cracks on a travelling product, such as a continuous paper web, and the like, and an apparatus for performing the invented method. The method includes directing air onto a travelling product with sufficient force to separate non-separated edge cracks and utilizing an optical signal device to detect edge cracks in the travelling product. A preferred embodiment of the method includes directing two streams of air toward opposite surfaces of the travelling product to effectively separate the non-separated edge cracks and orienting the optical device so that the direction of emitted optical signals forms an angle other than a right angle with the direction in which the product is travelling. The air used to separate the non-separated cracks is also directed across the optical signal device to prevent the build-up of foreign particles, thus improving the integrity of the method.

Abstract: A novel laser beam scanning system which stores fundamental components in an optical unit by way of including a laser light source, a photosensor for detecting image-writing starting point per scanning, a lens for focusing a laser beam from the laser light source, and a lens for condensing a laser beam reflected by a polygon mirror on the photosensor. The laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror sequentially scans the photosensor, the laser light source, and a recording medium. When the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror scans the laser light source, the laser light source ceases light-emitting operation. Furthermore, the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror is condensed on an edge of a photoreceptive surface of the photosensor.

Abstract: A scanning microscope comprises a sample supporting member on which a sample is supported, a light source which produces a light beam, a light projecting optical device with which an image of the light beam is formed as a small beam spot on the sample, and a light receiving optical device with which the light radiated out of the sample is condensed and an image of the condensed light is formed as a point image. A photodetector detects the point image. A movable member supports at least part of the light projecting optical device and at least part of the light receiving optical device together. The movable member is reciprocally moved such that the beam spot may scan the sample in a one-dimensional scanning direction. The light source is located on the side outward from the movable member.

Abstract: A fiber optic loop temperature sensor employs a fiber optic loop (90) having a predetermined fixed radius where a light source (96) supplies light to the signal optical fiber (92) with the loop and a second reference optical fiber (100) receives light from the light source (96) for providing a reference light intensity. The light intensities from both optical fibers are measured and the temperature is determined from differences therein. Advantageously, the fiber optic loop temperature sensor is employed in a temperature compensated, self-referenced fiber optic microbend pressure transducer to compensate for thermal offset of the microbend sensor output. In the preferred embodiment, time division multiplexing provides at least two bi-cell photodetectors (82) with output and source signals for generating a log ratio output for determining the sensed parameter independent of cable and connector offsets and light source fluctuations in addition to compensation for thermal offset.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improving photoconductor signal output is provided in which a photon collection aperture receives photons. Charge carriers are generated in response to the photons in a charge generation region. These charge carriers are conducted through a confinement region coupled to the charge generation region. The cross-sectional area of the confinement region is less than that of the charge generation region.