Abstract: A system for monitoring strain in structural joints has one or more optical ibers embedded in the joint between the structural members. The joint may be fastened using fasteners such as rivets or bonded using an adhesive. Strain on the joined members is transmitted to the fiber, deforming it. An optical reflectometer connected to one end of the fiber injects an optical signal into the fiber and detects the reflection of the signal. The time period between injection of the signal and detection of the reflection is used to localize the area of stress along the fiber.

Abstract: A disk drive for use with a flexible magnetic disk having a sheet metal hub having a central hole and an eccentric slot formed therein. The disk drive has a turntable on which the disk is to be placed for joint rotation therewith. The turntable has a spindle disposed centrally for centering engagement in the central hole in the disk, and a drive pin disposed eccentrically on the turntable for driving engagement in the eccentric slot. Erected on the free end of a lever pivotally mounted to the turntable, the drive pin is movable substantially radially of the turntable. A magnetic member is also mounted to the free end of the lever for magnetically biasing the drive pin radially outwardly of the turntable so that the disk may be engaged by the spindle and the drive pin without looseness. For magnetically biasing the drive pin there is utilized a permanent magnet rotor which constitutes a part of a disk drive motor and which is mounted to the turntable for joint rotation therewith.

Abstract: A cryogenic signal coupling apparatus includes a laser which launches optical power into an integrated optical waveguide (IOW) within a cryogenic region via an imaging lens. This optical power is then equally split by a passive optical splitter, and fed to one or more 1.times.2 IOW devices. Within the cryogenic region, a plurality of infrared sensing photodiodes provide electrical signal outputs in response to optical stimuli, which signal outputs are amplified and selected by a multiplexing arrangement for application as the modulating signal to one of the 1.times.2 IOW's. Control electronics also within the cryogenic region supply timing and control information to the other electronics therein. The IOW's modulate their input optical power in accordance with their respective modulating electrical input signals, and provide differential optical outputs which are directed across the thermal barrier to individual differential optical receivers.

Abstract: An object to be inspected is, for example, a medical capsule having differently colored surface areas. A beam splitter divides light reflected by the surface of the object into two parts. Each of the divided parts of the light is passed through an optical filter whose transmission wavelength range is set according to the colors of the object, to adjust the quantity of transmitted light from a high-brightness part of the object surface and the quantity of transmitted light from a low-brightness part of the object surface to a reference level. Image pick-up elements pick up images of the object surface according to the divided parts of the light and provide image signals. One of the image signals is selected and provided outside. Unlike a prior art that adjusts levels of signals by amplifying the signals according to brightness of an inspected object, the method and apparatus of the invention do not involve amplification.

Abstract: A multiple beam optical system includes a housing which contains a pair of laser diodes and a pair of optical detectors. The lasers produce overlapping beams of light. The housing includes a beam directing and reflecting member which selectively focuses light from one of the lasers to a corresponding optical detector located in the housing and selectively focuses light from the other laser to its corresponding optical detector located within the housing. The individual power of each of the overlapping laser beams is thereby monitored by the separate detectors.

Abstract: An information scanning apparatus for scanning and marking parts of a written text comprises two viewing elements (14,16) for forwarding information concerning scanned text to a linescan camera (42) so as to provide two physically displaced digital images of the relevant parts of the text. A highlighter pen (34) located adjacent the viewing elements (14,16) marks the scanned text as well as providing control feedback to the scanning operation such that the apparatus can deal with variations in speed, text quality and attitude of the scanning head 10.

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 method for electronically scanning a photodiode array that is sequentially illuminated by individual light beams by way of a shutter mechanism that has opening and closing transition times during which each light beam is only partially projected onto the array. An integrating light projected on the respective photodiodes of the photodiode array by each light beam over a predetermined period of time beginning after the opening transition time when the shutter mechanism is fully open and ending prior to initiation of the closing transition time while the shutter mechanism is still fully open and producing electrical signals corresponding to the light integrated by the respective photodiodes over the predetermined period of time and storing the electrical signals for subsequent use.

Abstract: In a focus detecting optical system wherein a beam transmitted through an objective optical system is divided to thereby effect focus detection, a beam reflected by an optical disk is transmitted through an objective lens and a half mirror and is condensed by a condensing lens. The light beam from this condensing lens is divided by a dividing member comprising a pair of obliquely disposed plane parallel plates and becomes divided beams parallel to each other, and these divided beams arrive at a four-division detector. The dividing lines of this detector are on the meridional plane of the objective optical system.

Abstract: A readhead 10 traverses along a scale 12, producing square wave signals in quadrature on lines 24,26. These are counted by an external counter 28 to indicate the position along the scale. The square waves cannot be used to monitor the orientation and stand-off of the readhead 10 relative to the scale 12. To achieve this, therefore, circuitry within the readhead 10 monitors the sinusoidal quadrature signals from which the square waves are produced, and gives a simple go/no-go indication on a LED 62 when these signals have an acceptable amplitude and are in an acceptable quadrature relationship.

Abstract: The present invention is a system for optically sampling and electronically measuring the spectral intensity and integrated intensity and temporal characteristics of a repetitively or intermittently varying pulsed light source by using the electronic output of the system can be used to display the data about the characteristics of the light source, and it can also be used to insure proper synchronization between the source and a second system such as a spectroradiometer.

Abstract: A novel bridge type optoelectronic (OE) sample and hold circuit based upon current steering demonstrates a clear superiority in performance with respect to a direct OE sample and hold circuit. The bridge type OE sample and hold circuit permits a high-speed signal to be sampled with high accuracy to offer high charging capability, commanding signal isolation, reduced time jitter and reduced holding charge leakage which are distinct advantages over conventional electronic sample and hold circuits.

Abstract: Reliability of an automated storage library is improved by mounting at least one CCD cameras on a turret plate with two grippers, wherein the CCD camera provides video support for both grippers. The turret plate is rotatably mounted on the end of an anthropomorphic robot arm such that the camera and each gripper is rotated and angled into position as needed for viewing or gripping, respectively. The CCD camera is positioned to view a tape cartridge for capturing an image of the label attached thereto. While the captured image is being processed to verify the VOLSER, the first gripper is rotated into position and moved forward to grip the desired tape cartridge. The robot arm them moves the camera and gripper assembly to a tape drive and rotates the second gripper into position to remove another tape cartridge from the tape drive. The turret plate is again rotated to position the first gripper for inserting the verified tape cartridge into the tape drive.

Abstract: A computer storage unit usable with DAT cassettes. The unit has a tape drive, a carriage that is movable laterally relative to the tape drive opening, and a magazine having slots sized to releasably hold the cassettes therein. The magazine is releasable attachable to the carriage. A pair of gripper arms is rotatably mounted at the end of an arm attached to a traveler which moves the gripper arms between a selected magazine slot and the tape drive opening. The gripper arms are rotatable between a grasping position, a pushing position and an open position using a solenoid-driven actuator arm which linearly moves a head block to which the gripper arms are loosely connected at a position offset from their axis of rotation. A sensor is used in conjunction with the gripper arms to selectively move the cassettes during a test cycle to determine if cassettes are present in the magazine slots and whether the cassettes are in backwards.

Abstract: Atmospheric effects on sighting measurements are compensated for by adjusting any sighting measurements using a correction factor that does not depend on atmospheric state conditions such as temperature, pressure, density or turbulence. The correction factor is accurately determined using a precisely measured physical separation between two color components of a light beam (or beams) that has been generated using either a two-color laser or two lasers that project different colored beams. The physical separation is precisely measured by fixing the position of a short beam pulse and measuring the physical separation between the two fixed-in-position components of the beam.

Abstract: Monolithic optically bistable modulator arrays, such as an M.times.N array of S-SEEDs, are electrically addressed with a matrix of electrical row and column contacts. Connected to the center node of each S-SEED is an addressing means having elements, such as diodes, transistors, or capacitors, which are electrically enabled and disabled.

Abstract: A scanning probe microscope according to the present invention comprises a cantilever having a free end portion and a fixed end portion, the free end portion bearing a probe thereon, a semiconductor laser attached to the fixed end portion of the cantilever, an optical waveguide for guiding a laser beam, emitted from the semiconductor laser, to the free end portion, an optical element for dividing part of a center beam of the laser beam, guided through the optical waveguide, into laser beams in at least two perpendicular directions, a photoelectric transducer for receiving the divided laser beams and converting the laser beams into electrical output signals corresponding thereto, and a differential circuit for receiving the electrical signals and subjecting the signals to predetermined arithmetic processing, thereby detecting a three-dimensional displacement of the free end portion of the cantilever.

Abstract: A circuit arrangement includes a signal source having a high-ohmic complex output impedance, an amplifier having a low-ohmic input impedance for receiving a signal from the signal source, and a tuned quarter wavelength circuit for matching the signal source to the amplifier.

Abstract: A disk drive has a data recording medium disk, a head disposed facing a recording surface of the disk, for reading and writing data, a positioning mechanism for supporting and moving the head, a position detector for detecting the position of the head and outputting a position detection signal, and a control unit for processing the position detection signal and outputting a position control signal to the positioning mechanism.

Abstract: A converter circuit provides an output signal of polarity opposite that of an input signal having a DC component and a low frequency periodic component in response to presence of that input signal. Current is transferred from a first capacitor to a second to accomplish this conversion. The circuit has particular application in a flame sensing interface circuit using a sensor of the infrared radiation generated by the flame to change the impedance of the sensor. By use of the circuit, the output of an infrared sensing amplifier imitates the output of a conventional flame rod sensor, and provides an output signal compatible with the output of a flame rod to the input to a flame signal processor.