Abstract: A low-cost portable handheld still-frame thermal camera for capture of calibrated digital thermographic infrared images having a lens assembly, a slideable linear array of uncooled 8-12 um thermal IR sensors, a slider actuation mechanism, and associated digital processing capability for calibrating, displaying, and storing images captured by the camera. The sensors are preferably thermoelectric sensors. The lens passes infrared radiation, the array is contained in an evacuated chamber, and operates at room temperature. The thermographic images may be displayed immediately or remotely or may be printed by conventional techniques.

Abstract: A switch actuation mechanism is provided with a support structure that is shaped to hold two switches. Each switch is associated with a pivotable member that is rotatably attached to the support structure. The pivotable member can be moved into either a rest position or an actuating position. When in the rest position, an actuating surface of the pivotable member is placed in contact with a plunger of the associated switch. A resilient member, such as a spring, is used to urge the pivotable members into their rest positions. If an actuator, such as a plunger or latch, is move into contact with a protrusion extending from the pivotable member, the pivotable member is rotated clockwise and the actuating surface is moved out of contact with the plunger. This deactuates the switch. The two switches are arranged to provide a sequential deactuation as two actuators are moved into contact with their respective protrusions extending from the pivotable members.

Abstract: A switch is provided with the ability to diagnose its own operation and provide signals that represent the actuation of the switch and various diagnostic outputs that indicate fault conditions or potential fault conditions with regard to either the switch or related machinery. A magnetically sensitive component, such as a Hall element, is used to provide an analog output signal that is representative of the position of an actuator to which a magnet structure is rigidly attached. As the actuator moves in response to an external force, the magnet structure moves with respect to a stationary magnetically sensitive component. The analog output from the magnetically sensitive component can be used to determine the position of the switch. Based on this information, a microprocessor provides a binary output signal indicating whether the switch is actuated or deactuated.

Abstract: An angular position sensor is provided with a rotatable magnet and first and second ferromagnetic pole pieces. The first ends of the ferromagnetic pole pieces are disposed on opposite sides of the rotatable permanent magnet and the second ends of the ferromagnetic pole pieces are arranged in overlapping association with a magnetically sensitive component disposed therebetween. First and second ferromagnetic inserts are provided which are movable with respect gaps between the permanent magnet and the first ends of the first and second pole pieces. By changing the relative positions between the first and second inserts and their respective gaps, the gain and offset of an output signal from the magnetically sensitive component can be altered to achieve predetermined characteristics.

Abstract: A cable switch actuating mechanism is provided with a shaft and a cam structure that slides on the shaft. When the associated cable is pulled to exert an axial force on the shaft, the cam actuator is pushed by the shaft into a deactuating position that moves a switch operator plunger against a plunger of an associated electrical switch. If the cable breaks, the reduction enforced on the shaft causes an internal spring to move the shaft against the cam structure and, as a result, move the switch operator into its deactuating position. Appropriate gaps between the opposite ends of the cam structure and associated surfaces of the shaft allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the cable without adverse affects on the mechanism.

Abstract: A self adjusting switch mechanism is provided which permits the specific location of a switch to be determined during an initial operation that moves a mounting plate relative to a bracket portion of the mechanism. This initial movement sets the switch in its proper position and prevents further movement. Subsequent operations of the device depress a plunger of the switch but do not change the relative position of the switch housing relative to a stationary structure, such as the housing of an appliance. Certain embodiments of the mechanism further incorporate a locking mechanism that can be manually set to prevent any further movement of the mounting plate relative to the bracket portion in response to jarring forces, such as when the door of an appliance is slammed shut.

Abstract: A back-etch silicon-on-insulator SOI process that has a silicon handle wafer with an oxide layer bonded at room temperature to a silicon device wafer with an etch stop and silicon device layer. The surfaces that are bonded at room temperature are first conditioned to be hydrophilic. After bonding, the edges of the layers are sealed. The silicon device wafer, the etch-stop layer and the device layer are boron doped. Most of the silicon device wafer is ground away. Then, the remaining portion of the silicon device wafer and the etch stop layer are chemically etched away, thereby leaving a uniform layer of silicon device layer on the oxide layer of the silicon handle wafer.

Abstract: A sensor is provided for changing an operational characteristic of a circuit within a housing structure of the sensor to a preselected stimulus. The circuit within the housing structure is provided with magnetically sensitive components to change an operational parameter thereof. An object is provided to change the status of the magnetically sensitive component. The present invention incorporates a Hall effect element within the housing structure that is placed proximate a permanent magnet. Between the magnet and the Hall effect element a depression is formed to permit the insertion of a magnetically permeable object to change the magnetic field. The change in the magnetic field creates a change in the status of the Hall effect element and permits the circuit to change its operational characteristic.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display having pixels illuminated by field emitter arrays. The field emitter arrays may be utilized to illuminate each pixel individually or to be a backlight lamp to illuminate the whole display, whether monochrome or color. A field emitter array back-lighted liquid crystal displays, whether active matrix or passive, provide greater compactness, higher luminous efficiency, more brightness, and longer lifetime than a fluorescent lamp. Field-emitter arrays may also provide light in various colors for the liquid crystal display thereby eliminating the need for color filters which result in duller colors than that of field emitter arrays. Each color filter absorbs two-thirds of the light that it receives. A color filter liquid crystal color display exhibits colors that have diminished chromaticity and purity in comparison to those of a field emitter array liquid crystal display.

Abstract: A HIGFET having a gate pad situated over a non conducting portion of the channel layer of the heterostructure wafer. The method of producing this device involves application of a very thin layer of gate metal on the wafer to protect the wafer surface during further processing. A photoresist coating is formed over the active area of the channel layer of the FET. An ion isolation implantation is applied to the wafer resulting in a non conducting portion of the channel layer that is not covered by the photoresist layer. The photoresist layer is removed and a thick layer of gate metal is applied on the thin layer of gate metal. The gate layers are fashioned into a pad over the non conducting portion of the channel layer and at least one finger over the conducting portion of the channel layer, resulting in the gate having minimized parasitic gate capacitance.

Abstract: An interferometric fiber optic gyroscope having an intensity servo electronics feedback loop that monitors the intensity of the counterpropagating beams relative to each other, and provides a signal to a modulator to intensity modulate at least one of the signals so as to equalize the intensities or power of the beams to virtually eliminate the Kerr effect.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing error voltage compensation in a flat panel display. Voltage errors in a column driver for a flat panel display are compensated for by first measuring the voltage level at each column during a known signal level period and comparing it against a known or reference value. This voltage error signal is then stored in an error memory according to column location. During normal operation of the flat panel display, the memory is accessed every time a particular column is scanned. The error voltage is retrieved and added to the raw video signal in order to remove any voltage offset which is introduced in the column driver electronics. This error voltage compensation substance eliminates any streaking which may appear on a display screen.

Abstract: A fiber optic gyroscope having at least one forty-five degree splice connected to a polarization maintaining sensing coil. The splice is an alignment of forty-five or so degrees between a major axis of a state of polarization of light or an axis of birefringence at a port of a splitter/combiner, which may be an IOC or a coupler, and an axis of birefringence at an end of a fiber of a fiber optic coil loop. The gyroscope is rendered significantly more insensitive to ambient magnetic fields which cause non-rotation errors in the gyroscope's indication of rotation of its sensing loop or coil. The polarization amplitude errors of the present depolarized gyroscope are no greater than those of a similar but non-depolarized gyroscope. The present gyroscope may use an integrated optic circuit or an optical fiber coupler for splitting the light into two beams that counterpropagate in the sensing coil, for combining the beams when they exit the sensing coil.

Abstract: A color projector for forming a high resolution image through a plurality of stacked display panels. The projector employs subtractive color technology to project a real or virtual color image. In order to provide a highly focused image free from parallax effects, a dichroic mirror assembly is provided to reflect the light exiting the display panels and compensate for differences in optical path lengths between display panels while maintaining high resolution focusing capability. Light output averaging means are provided to eliminate additional parallax effects. High resolution optics are provided between the dichroic mirror assembly and the projection screen in order to provide focus for the image.

Abstract: An elongated inertial measurement unit having a plurality of gyros, none of which is aligned with the cardinal longitudinal axis of the elongated housing. At least one gyro has its input sensing axis aligned at an angle between 35 and 55 degrees, preferably at 45 degrees, relative to the cardinal longitudinal axis. This results in effective dithering by each of the enclosed gyros. All of the gyros are situated such that the centers of their masses or configurations are aligned with or approximately located in a row along the longitudinal axis of the elongated housing. The housing may be of various cross-sectional shapes, but the preferred shape of such housing is a right circular cylinder.

Abstract: A method of multiple replication of a diffractive optical glass surface relief profiles into other glass-type substrates. For example, a malleable but hardenable layer formed on a glass substrate is embossed with a stamper having a reverse image of the optical glass surface relief profile, to result in a high quality copy of the original diffractive glass surface relief profile. The embossed layer is hardened and separated from the stamper. The hardened layer having the embossed surface relief profile is, for instance, etched down such that the surface relief profile is etched in to the surface of the glass substrate. The result of this method is a readily producible and very durable glass or like-material accurate replica, having high fidelity and being capable of providing high quality images, of another diffractive optical element.

Abstract: A GHz-range frequency-modulated laser based on manufacturable vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and arrays. The present invention exploits a saturable absorber contained within the VCSELs distributed Bragg reflector which may itself be adjusted during fabrication or in operation. Under controllable operating conditions, the saturable absorber, strategically sized and placed, will force the VCSEL to self-pulsate (in the GHz-regime) at rates related to the local intensity, absorption, lifetime, and carrier density of the saturable absorber. These conditions can be controlled in real time in one of three ways; first, by adjusting the injection current into the VCSEL itself; second, for a fixed VCSEL bias and the use of a third terminal, by modifying the carrier density within the saturable absorber via additional current injection; or third, the saturable absorber can be reverse-biased by simultaneously altering its absorption and carrier lifetime and thus carrier density.

Abstract: A process control system which includes at least one manipulated variable and at least one controlled variable, provides a method for robust control of a process. Predetermined constraints of the manipulated variables and the controlled variables, and the present values of the manipulated variables are obtained. The controller is loaded with parameters which define an optimal controller, the parameters being calculated off-line. To determine the parameters a single min-max statement is defined for a worst case model of the process which operates in conjunction with a best case controller. The single min-max statement is converted to a corresponding canonical expression in the form of a minimization problem, the resultant solution of the minimization problem being the parameter.

Abstract: A full color stereoscopic display having polarizers for color multiplexing and effecting three-dimensional full color viewing from a single direct view display. Color polarization of color images provides the basis for discriminating the different perspectives of three-dimensional images. Polarization may be linear or circular. The viewer may perceive three-dimensional images with merely the aid of polarized glasses.

Abstract: An interferometric fiber optic gyroscope having a wavelength-sensitive splitter which has a splitting ratio that changes according to light wavelength. A feedback circuit indicates any difference that there might be in the intensities of counterpropagating beams in the sensing loop of the gyroscope, and provides a signal to the light source to change the light wavelength in a direction to cause the splitter ratio to change so as to equalize the beams' intensities for eliminating the Kerr effect.