Abstract: A Brillouin ring laser gyro has a fiber ring resonator, which exhibits a sequence of resonance frequencies, neighboring resonance frequencies differ by a free spectral range. Two pump laser waves of opposite directions are generated. The frequency difference of these pump laser waves is an integral multiple of the free spectral range of the fiber ring resonator. The frequencies of the pump laser waves coincide with resonance frequencies of the fiber ring resonator. Due to stimulated Brillouin scattering, two Brillouin ring lasers having opposite directions of propagation are excited. Frequency fluctuations occur with such two-color ring laser gyros. The invention is based on the discovery of the causes of such frequency fluctuations and, consequently, provides means for the damping of feedback components of the laser light originating outside the fiber ring resonator. Various examples of such means are disclosed.

Abstract: A structure for the shielding of electronic components from outside electromagnetic fields is to be designed in such a way tha a single printed circuit board serves both to separate a "polluted" space from a "clean" space and to accommodate the components of the device to be shielded itself. To this end, the printed circuit board has a first region which is provided with an internal, grounded conductive coating, and a second region which carries the electronic components to be shielded. A housing forms a shielding partition which extends to the printed circuit board and has an end face engaging the printed circuit board between the first and second regions. The first chamber is limited by the first region of the printed circuit board. Shielding for blocking electromagnetic fields are provided in the printed circuit board adjacent partition. These shielding extend transversely to the surfaces of the printed circuit board.

Abstract: Apparatus for measuring the color of glass, particularly pieces of broken glass relies upon simultaneously measuring the glass transmission in different spectral regions. The glass pieces travel along a conveying path between a light source and a light sensor containing a plural number of optical filters and groups of photoelectric detectors. The groups of photoelectric detectors are disposed at an end face of respective substantially cylindrical tubes. Tube axes enclose an angle and intersect in a conveying plane defined by the conveying path. The optical filters have different spectral transmission regions. Optical lens systems are retained intermediate the respective groups of photoelectric detectors and an opposite end face of the respective tubes. Each optical lens system images the conveying plane at the associated group of photoelectric detectors.

Abstract: The invention provides a low cost apparatus assembly of an electrotechnical apparatus. The housing walls consist of plate-shaped elements. The dimensions and weight of the plate-shaped elements are considerably reduced as compared to the existing elements. The assembly has a housing wall with plate-shaped elements. At least part of the plate-shaped elements are synthetic plastic plates, which are metal-coated over a continuous surface area on one side. The metal-coated surfaces are interconnected electrically conductively. One or several of the metal-coated synthetic plastic plates are designed as printed circuit boards. They are provided with electrical and/or mechanical elements on the side which is not metal-coated. As the case may be, they are provided with strip conductors. The plate-shaped elements of metal, if present, are electrically conductively connected to the metal-coated surface of the synthetic plastic plates.

Abstract: A connecting assembly serves for connecting a dome covering a seeker head with the structure of a missile. A holding ring extends over the rim of said dome, positively holding this dome and connected with the structure of the missile. An annular recess is provided underneath the holding ring along the rim of the dome. This recess contains a flexible sealing substance for establishing a seal between the holding ring and the dome. It is important, that no additional material bonding such as cementing or soldering is provided between the dome and the holding ring.

Abstract: In a sensor assembly, a cooled sensor is arranged in the vacuum chamber of a Dewar vessel. The Dewar vessel has an inner housing element and an outer housing element. Both housing elements are made of metal and are pot-shaped. The outer housing element extends around the inner housing element. The two housing elements define the vacuum chamber of the Dewar vessel. The inner housing element carries the sensor on its end face within the vacuum chamber. A cooler is arranged in the cavity formed by the inner housing element. A tubular support body made of multi-layer glass-ceramic material is arranged in the vacuum chamber and surrounds the inner housing element. The support body supports the inner housing element through radial projections and contains conductors for connecting the sensor.

Abstract: In a seeker head assembly in a guided missile, particularly a high-speed guided missile, the seeker head (22) is covered by a dome (28) which is rotatably mounted in the structure and is rotated. The dome (28) is circumferentially surrounded by the structure (10) of the guided missile except for a window section (14). A coolant is supplied to an interspace (46) formed between dome (28) and structure (10) of the guided missile.

Abstract: A tape-suspended meridian gyro has an outer housing, an intermediate housing movably mounted in the outer housing and a gyro having substantially horizontal spin axis. The gyro is suspended by means of a tape within the intermediate housing. A pick-off detects the deflection of a substantially vertical upward axis from its central position. The intermediate housing can be moved by servo motors transversely to the substantially vertical upward axis of the gyro. The servo motors are energized by the pick-off through a controller to damp pendulous oscillations of the tape-suspended gyro.

Abstract: The coolant supply to a cooler for the detector of an optical seeker in a missile is to be controlled; the missile is arranged in a launcher attached to an aircraft. A caging device for caging the movable seeker optical system of the seeker is provided in the seeker. For target tracking, this caging device is releasable, before operation of the missile, by a release signal through a control line extending from the cockpit of the aircraft to the launcher. This control line is simultaneously used for controlling the coolant supply by providing a bistable circuit on the missile side of the control line, activation of the coolant supply being effected by setting the bistable circuit, the setting and resetting of the bistable circuit being determined by the variation in time of the release signal.

Abstract: A sensor which makes use of a non-reciprocal optical effect, such as the Sagnac effect has a passive ring resonator defining a closed light path. Light from a broadband light source is coupled to the passive ring resonator by 2.times.2 couplers in a first direction of propagation and a second direction of propagation opposite thereto. The 2.times.2 couplers also couple light out of the passive ring resonator. A 3.times.3 optical coupler is provided, by which light having circulated in said ring resonator in the first direction of propagation is superimposed to light having circulated in the ring resonator in the second direction of propagation to provide interference. The detector is exposed to this interfering light.

Abstract: A body part such as a patient's head is positioned for treatment purposes by holding a treatment point defined relative to marks attached to the body part is held in a desired position. To this end, at least two picture signal generating sensors are aligned to observe the marks. A picture processing device for processing the pictures of the marks is provided to define marker points, which are determined by the marks and define the actual position of the body part. Furthermore, a signal processing and control device is provided for computing the actual position from the observed positions of the marker points, for comparing the actual position with a desired position and for generating actuating signals, which depend on the error between actual position and desired position. The actuating signals are applied to actuators, which engage the body part. Thereby the treatment point can be returned to the desired position, if it has deviated therefrom.

Abstract: A sensor is to measure a physical quantity which causes a non-reciprocal effect, such as the Sagnac-effect, in an optical ring resonator. This effect provides a difference of clockwise and counter-clockwise optical path lengths in the ring resonator. The difference is proportional to the physical quantity, such as rotation rate in the case of the Sagnac-effect. A semiconductor laser is coupled to the ring resonator and generates clockwise and counter-clockwise beams therein. The laser frequency is modulated by directly energizing the semiconductor laser such that sidebands of the frequency-modulated laser beams are in resonance with the ring resonator. A detector device responds to the difference of the clockwise and counter-clockwise light beams and generates a signal indicative of the measured physical quantity.

Abstract: In a cooling apparatus for cooling an object by means of expanding a pressurized gas which is precooled below its inversion temperature, the pressurized, precooled gas is passed through a depressurization outlet and thereby expanded in a manner such that a gas jet exits from the depressurization outlet and is directed towards a surface of the object to be cooled. This surface has a central impingement area which is impinged upon by the gas jet and which is surrounded by a plurality of spiral-shaped outwardly extending ribs. The heat transfer is thereby improved. The gas, which is in the saturated condition, forms a vortex and, as a result, droplets are separated from the gas. This enables utilizing the heat of vaporization of such droplets.

Abstract: An integrated circuit demodulator component contains a demodulator circuit (90), a first input (12) and an output (30) connected to the demodulator circuit (90). Furthermore the demodulator component (10) has a second input (18) and a multiplexer (80), which is controlled by a selector signal at a selector input (110). The multiplexer optionally connects the first input (12) or the second input (18) to the demodulator circuit (90). This permits a test of the integrated circuit demodulator component (10) during operation with operational signals. To this end, a signal from a modulator component (148) is applied to the second input (18) through a test feedback loop (210). A processor (142) compares the output signal of the integrated circuit demodulator component (10) at a receiver (174) with a signal transmitted by a transmitter (178). In the case of non-identity, either the modulator component (148) or the demodulator component (10) is defective.

Abstract: A device for non-contacting measurement of the orientation in space of a movable measuring object, such as the end-effector of a robot, uses a retro-reflector having three mutually orthogonal reflecting surfaces. This retro-reflector is rigidly attached to the measuring object. Reference marks are provided on the retro-reflector. A laser emits a laser beam. A beam expander optical system in the path of the laser beam provides a collimated light beam of larger diameter than that of said laser beam. The light beam passes through a stationary section, where the path of rays of the light beam is stationary, to a beam directing device. The beam directing device directs collimated light beam onto the retro-reflector. The light beam is returned by the retro-reflector substantially into itself. The beam directing means has movable reflecting surfaces for tracking, with said light beam, the movable measuring object.

Abstract: A seeker, particularly for target seeking missiles, includes an imaging optical system which is universally movably supported with respect to a structure using a gimbal mount via an inner gimbal and an outer gimbal, and further includes a detector at which an image of the field of view can be produced by the optical system. In such seeker, the imaging optical system comprises optical members which are disposed at the inner gimbal on the side of the object and which define an optical axis of the imaging optical system. The optical system contains a deflecting mirror for folding a path of rays such that the deflected optical axis coincides with a gimbal axis of the inner gimbal. Image rotating reflecting means is arranged on the gimbal axis of the inner gimbal and reverses the deflected path of rays in order to direct the reversed, deflected path of rays to a detector which is retained at the outer gimbal, placed on the gimbal axis of the inner gimbal and designed as a detector array.

Abstract: A three-lens objective has the following characteristics: A front lens consists of a first material of relatively low dispersion, a median lens consists of a second material of relatively larger dispersion, and a rear lens consists of a material of relatively low dispersion. The front lens has positive power, the median lens has negative power, and the rear lens has positive power. The spacing between front lens and median lens is substantially smaller than the distance between median lens and rear lens. Each of the lenses has at least one aspherical surface.

Abstract: In a signal processing arrangement for classifying objects on the basis of signals from a plurality of different sensors each of the signals from the sensors is applied to a pair of neural networks. One neural network of each pair processes predetermined characteristics of the object and the other neural network processes movement or special data of the object such that these networks provide detection, identification and movement information specific for the sensors. Feature vectors formed from this information specific for the sensors are applied to a neural network for determining the associations of the identification and movement information. The information obtained by this network is applied together with the feature vectors to a network for identifying and classifying the object.

Abstract: Measuring signals are derived from a plurality of redundantly provided sensors, the sensor signals of which are sampled and digitized at a predetermined rate, and are processed by computers also provided redundantly. Each of the computers processes the sensor signals with a main program and a monitoring program. A first computer is arranged to process in each computing cycle (n) sensor signals sampled in a predetermined sampling cycle (n), which is preferably identical with the computing cycle. Further computers are provided. Each of the further computers processes in each computing cycle n the sensor signals which have been sampled in sampling cycles (n-1), (n-2), (n-3), respectively, which lead the computing cycle by predetermined time intervals. A fault logic serves to make decisions on program faults from the output data obtained with the main program and the monitoring program in the various computing cycles.

Abstract: A method of calibrating highly precise robots having a plurality of arms and axes comprises the method steps of: attaching an angular rate sensor (30) at an arm of the robot, adjusting the arm to a predetermined nominal position, generating an angular rate about an axis (40) of the robot, comparing the angular rate measured by the angular rate sensor (30) about its input axis (46, 48) with the nominal component of the angular rate generated about said axis (40), which nominal component results for the nominal position, and correcting the parameters of the robot according to the deviation of the measured angular rate and the nominal component.