Abstract: A rotation angle detector is provided with a spring to thrust a rotary body against protrusions formed on an inner wall of an opening via a detector body in a manner to keep the rotary body rotatable without any play in a linked motion with a steering shaft. As a result, the detector can detect rotation angles of the steering shaft with high accuracy.

Abstract: The levels of the power supply and the ground are kept constant against a parasitic resistance by keeping the constant current of an amplifier irrespective of the size of a pixel signal and the gain of the amplifier in this case in an image signal reading circuit system having the amplifier arranged to each column. The amplifier has a limiter at an output terminal thereof which limits an output voltage of the amplifier to a range for keeping the constant consumption-current.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device comprises pixels and output circuits. The pixels are arranged two-dimensionally with a vertical and a horizontal, with pixels vertically adjacent to each other forming a pair. The output circuits are provided so as to extend from the spacing part of a pair of pixels vertically adjacent to each other to the spacing part of a pair of pixels horizontally adjacent to the pair of pixels. The output circuits output information corresponding to the signal charge read from a selected one of the pair of pixels. A unit cell is composed of a pair of pixels vertically adjacent to each other and an output circuit corresponding to the pair of pixels. Such unit cells are arranged in a checkered pattern. One of the pair of pixels in a unit cell diagonally adjacent to the pair of pixels is arranged in the same horizontal line.

Abstract: An apparatus for and a method of operating an array of pixels of an image sensor, where each pixel includes at least a photosensor, an associated storage device and a floating diffusion region and the array of pixels is configured in a plurality of rows and columns. The photosensors associated with the pixels are reset and charges are accumulated in the photosensor. The accumulated charges are then globally transferred to storage devices associated with the pixels. A rolling double reset is used to reduce the deleterious effects on the accumulated charges stored in the storage devices. The accumulated charges stored in the storage devices are transferred to floating diffusion regions associated with the pixels and the charges residing in the floating diffusion region are read out. In a second embodiment the storage device is eliminated and the rolling double reset is used to reduce the deleterious effects on the accumulated charges stored in the floating diffusion region.

Abstract: The invention relates to a tactile sensor capable of obtaining information for a plurality of degrees of freedom at each point on a surface. An optical tactile sensor is provided with a sensing part and a photographing device, the sensing part comprising a transparent elastic body and a plurality of groups of markers provided inside the elastic body, each marker group being made up of a number of colored markers, with markers making up different marker groups having different colors for each group. The elastic body has an arbitrary curved surface. The behavior of the colored markers when an object touches the curved surface of the elastic body is obtained as image information of markers by photographing device. The sensor further comprises a force vector distribution reconstructing device for reconstructing forces applied to said surface from information as to the behavior of markers that is obtained from said image information of markers.

Abstract: A latch circuit includes first and second resonant tunneling diodes coupled in series, and a reset portion having a photodiode portion responsive to varying photonic energy for switching between first and second states which are different. When the photodiode portion is in its first state, the reset portion normalizes a voltage across each of the resonant tunneling diodes.

Abstract: A multi-spectrum image capturing device includes a multi-spectrum illuminating device comprising LED's for emitting lights of different wavelengths from one another, a plurality of optical rods for relaying the lights emitted from the LED's, an optical diffusion element for diffusively reflecting the lights from the optical rods by a white diffusion surface and an aluminum-coated reflecting surface to be irradiated at an angle of about 60° with respect to an image-capturing optical axis, and an optical sheet for further diffusing the lights from the optical diffusion element, and also includes an image-capturing optical system and a CCD for forming an image based on lights reflected from an irradiated surface under illumination by the multi-spectrum illuminating device to capture the formed image. An image output captured by the CCD is analyzed to measure color components of the irradiated surface.

Abstract: An incoming laser beam is relayed to a steering mirror and a phase correction device. The beam is relayed from the phase correction device to a focal plane array and to a wavefront sensor (WFS). Low order steering mirror tilt corrections can be based on data from the focal plane array. The WFS outputs data on multiple channels to a field programmable gate array (FPGA), with each of the WFS channels corresponding to a subaperture of the beam wavefront. The FPGA calculates phase corrections for each of the subapertures and forwards those corrections to the phase correction device. The FPGA also calculates tilts for the steering mirror based on the WFS output data, which tilts can be used instead of tilts based on focal plane array data. The phase corrections may be based on modulo 2? phase error calculations and/or modal phase error calculations.

Abstract: A light-sensing module and arrays of two or more light-sensing modules are described. Each light-sensing module comprises a mounting support structure that may include an air vehicle guidance section and an optical element adapted to direct incident light to a detector array that comprises an array of photodiodes and is attached to the mounting support structure. The detector array is adapted to receive the directed light and convert the received light to a set of electrical pulses via a plurality of photodetectors each of which is operatively coupled to an amplifier and a threshold circuit adapted to output a detection to a memory store adapted to associate a detection with a time-of-arrival. The light-sensing module may be adapted to output the associated detection and time-of-arrival. Air vehicles including the light-sensing modules are also disclosed.

Abstract: The levels of the power supply and the ground are kept constant against a parasitic resistance by keeping the constant current of an amplifier irrespective of the size of a pixel signal and the gain of the amplifier in this case in an image signal reading circuit system having the amplifier arranged to each column. The amplifier has a limiter at an output terminal thereof which limits an output voltage of the amplifier to a range for keeping the constant consumption-current.

Abstract: An imaging system, methodology, and various applications are provided to facilitate optical imaging performance. The system includes a sensor having one or more receptors and an image transfer medium to scale the sensor and receptors in accordance with resolvable characteristics of the medium. A computer, memory, and/or display associated with the sensor provides storage and/or display of information relating to output from the receptors to produce and/or process an image, wherein a plurality of illumination sources can also be utilized in conjunction with the image transfer medium. The image transfer medium can be configured as a k-space filter that correlates a pitch associated with the receptors to a diffraction-limited spot associated with the image transfer medium, wherein the pitch can be unit-mapped to about the size of the diffraction-limited spot.

Abstract: A photoelectric conversion device is provided, in which pixels are arranged in an array. Each of the pixels includes a light receiving region, transistors, and an insulation film. The insulation film is arranged on a surface of the light receiving region and under gate electrodes of the transistors. A reflection prevention film is arranged at least above the light receiving region, with the insulation film being arranged between the reflection prevention film and the light receiving region, and has a silicon nitride film. An interlayer insulation film is arranged on the reflection prevention film, and a second reflection prevention film is laminated between the reflection prevention film and the interlayer insulation film.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for imaging light are disclosed. Light is imaged by collecting light, converting the collected light into a electrical charge signal, multiplying the electrical charge signal to produce multiple electrical charge signals with associated levels of gain, converting the electrical charge signals to voltage signals, and developing an output signal from one or more of the voltage signals that represents the collected light. The electrical charge signal may be multiplied using an electron multiplication device associated with multiple taps to produce the electrical charge signal with different levels of gain.

Abstract: A light emitting unit which radiates auxiliary light to a subject to be imaged, said light emitting unit comprising: a plurality of light emitting elements disposed so as to have radiation areas different from each other, said light emitting elements being electrically connected in series; and a changing device which changes the number of light emitting elements in a light emitting state in said light emitting elements.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for detecting gas bubbles in a liquid adapted to a device comprising a light source, a light detector and a data controlling and processing unit connected to a client system comprising the following steps: emitting light from the light source, acquiring successive measurements of the light intensity sensed by the light detector and calculating a variation between two successive measurements of said light intensity. In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step which consists in comparing the variation between two successive measurements of light intensity to a threshold S. Advantageously, a warning counter is incremented by a value A when variation between two successive measurements is higher than the threshold S and decremented by a value B in the opposite case. A proportion of bubbles higher than a maximum authorized rate is detected when said warning counter exceeds a warning value C.

Abstract: The invention relates to an optoelectronic input device (10) in which the input is formed by detected movements of an object (M), the device comprising an optical module (11) comprising at least one laser (1,1?) with a cavity for the generation of a measuring radiation beam (S), optical means (2) for the guidance of the radiation beam (S) to a plane (V) close to the object (M) and conversion means (C) for the conversion of measuring beam radiation reflected and modulated by the object into an electrical signal, wherein the conversion means (C) are formed by a combination of the cavity of the laser (1) and measuring means (3) for measuring a change in the cavity during operation, which radiation is caused by reflected radiation entering the cavity.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of detecting a defect in an imager die package. The method comprises the steps of exposing the imager die package to light at a first angle, exposing the imager die package to light at a second angle, outputting electrical signals based on the exposures; and determining the level at which a defect is present based on the output electrical signals. An exemplary embodiment of the apparatus comprises a first light source positioned over an imager die package at a first angle, a second light source over the imager die package at a second angle, said first and second angles being different from each other; and a processor for determining a level of defection in the die package.

Abstract: A system is provided that includes an optical arrangement, an assembly of a plurality of detectors, and a signal processor. The optical arrangement is capable of viewing a scene that includes an object, where the scene is capable of moving through a field of view of the optical arrangement during each of a plurality of transit periods. The detectors of the assembly are arranged in a vertical scanning direction corresponding to a direction of movement of the scene, and are separately capable of producing an image of the object for each transit period in accordance with a time-delay integration technique. The signal processor, then, is capable of determining the angular position of the object for each transit period based upon the images produced by the detectors.

Abstract: An infrared momentary-contact switch for a control device of a domestic appliance, has a transmitter which emits infrared radiation and a receiver which receives infrared radiation. The transmitter and receiver are disposed behind a cover through which at least some of the infrared radiation passes. In order to achieve a good ratio of useful signal to interference signal for the momentary-contact switch, the transmitter has an associated first optical fiber element and the receiver has an associated second optical fiber element. The ends of these optical fiber elements which respectively face away from the transmitter and receiver are adjacent one another and adjoin the cover. A control device is also provided.

Abstract: An optical fiber measuring module is provided with an optical fiber cable (2) including an optical fiber core (2a), a cladding (2b) and a covering layer (2c), a base member (3) for holding the optical fiber cable (2), and an attachment member (4) for attaching the base member (3) to a structure (1).