Patents Examined by P. Ryan
  • Patent number: 5098176
    Abstract: A control arrangement for a galvanometer driven mirror whereby the angle of incidence of a beam on a holographic recording material is controlled includes a laser source and associated detector. The detector responds to a reflected position sensing beam incident thereon to generate electric currents. A ratio network forms the ratio of the sum and difference of the currents to generate an actual mirror position signal that is independent of the power output of the source of the sensing beam. An integrator is responsive to the error between the signal representative of the actual mirror position and a reference signal representative of a predetermined position of the mirror for forming a galvanometer position signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: William E. Wolf
  • Patent number: 5094519
    Abstract: A adaptive flow-control regulator is disclosed for use in controlling the circulation of cooling fluid through in a cooled laser mirror. The adaptive flow-control regulator utilizes a temperature-sensitive spring to control the movement of a plunger with respect to an orifice through which cooling fluid flows. Elongation of the spring is controlled by the temperature of the cooling fluid circulating around the spring. As the temperature of the coolant fluid increases from heating of the laser mirror, the spring contracts moving the plunger away from the orifice and allowing a greater volume of coolant to circulate through the mirror, thereby absorbing a greater amount of heat from the mirror structure. As the mirror is cooled by the circulating cooling fluid, the spring moves the plunger toward the orifice, thereby reducing the volume of cooling fluid circulating through the mirror's structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: Litton System, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark A. Ealey, John A. Wellman
  • Patent number: 5091804
    Abstract: Disclosed is an outside rear-view mirror for a vehicle, having a mirror base and a mirror housing which is adapted to assume a normal position for use relative to said mirror base and to rock forwardly and rearwardly and which is coupled to said mirror base by a rocker. To reduce the danger of injuries particularly of fingers, caused by a back-swinging mirror housing between said mirror and said mirror base, at least one spreading spring is provided one end of which abuts said mirror housing and the other end of which abuts said mirror base, and which urges said housing to a fully backward tilted position relative to said mirror base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1992
    Assignee: Hohe KG
    Inventor: Edwin Seitz
  • Patent number: 5089912
    Abstract: A retractable antiglare shield for an exterior rear view mirror that is mounted in a vehicle door and includes a flexible shield which can be stored in the door when not in use. This shield is supported on a roller mechanism and has its upper end formed with a support member which is insertable between the window and the door frame for maintaining the shield in the operative raised position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1992
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Gerald L. Simin
  • Patent number: 5089915
    Abstract: An aspheric mirror, for example in the form of an off-axis parabolic mirror or a toric mirror, that includes a first element having a front surface which defines a spherical reflector and a spaced apart rear surface. The spherical reflector includes a constant radius of curvature, an X-axis with an X-axis radius of curvature and a Y-axis with a Y-axis radius of curvature. The first element possesses a first rigidity factor. A second element includes a front surface sized to mate with the rear surface of the first element along an interface zone. The second element possesses a second rigidity factor. An interface contour device produces a differential contour within the interface zone between the first and second elements. The interface contour device is aligned to modify the X-axis radius of curvature of the shperical reflector without significantly modifying the Y-axis radius of curvature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1992
    Assignee: Chromex, Inc.
    Inventor: Garth W. Gobeli
  • Patent number: 5087117
    Abstract: A side member of a spectacles frame comprises an elongate rod and a wider ear part extending rearwardly from the rod. The ear part comprises at least two spars extending substantially parallel in spaced apart relationship to form an opening therebetween. Rear ends of the spars are interconnected. The ear part can be deformed when heated, while providing the wearer with the comfort associated with a wide part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 11, 1992
    Inventor: Peter Steinwachs
  • Patent number: 5086357
    Abstract: An external mirror for a motor vehicle is provided. The mirror includes parts that are pivotable to a limited extent between two end positions. An electric motor serves to pivot these parts, with a slip coupling being interposed between the electric motor and the pivotable parts. To be able to automatically establish a synchronization between the pivotable parts and the electric motor, supply of power to the motor is effected via contact strips having an effective length that is greater than the pivot path of the pivotable parts such that even in the end positions of these parts, power can still be supplied to the electric motor. A loop that is associated with the contact strips is connected to the electric motor in such a way as to move therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1992
    Assignee: Bernhard Mittelhauser
    Inventors: Bernhard Mittelhauser, Jan Schubert
  • Patent number: 5085504
    Abstract: The invention concerns a control system for adjusting the rear view mirror of a vehicle in response to the position of the steering gear. This object is achieved in that the apparatus the controlling parts, viz. a magnet and a reed contact are simple and inexpensive elements which can be so positioned without difficulty as to sense the movements of the steering gear, and their function is quite unaffected by the rough conditions by way of road dirt, water and oil to which they may be subjected when placed below the front end of a vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1992
    Assignees: Kaj-Berg Jensen, Benita Berg Jensen, Bent Pedersen, Inge Pedersen
    Inventor: Kaj B. Jensen
  • Patent number: 5085496
    Abstract: An optical element comprises a polarization diffraction element that is provided with diffraction gratings that are respectively mounted on different faces of a transparent substrate of a flat plate shape, which grating pitches are equal to each other and approximately equal to the wavelength of an incident light, and which grating lines are parallel. The thickness of the substrate is set such that the difference that occurs between the phases of the P and S polarizations of a light due to the grating, and the difference that occurs between the phases of the two polarizations when the light propagates through the substrate cancel out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1992
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshio Yoshida, Takahiro Miyake, Yasuo Nakata, Yukio Kurata, Nobuo Ogata, Tetsuo Ueyama, Hideaki Sato
  • Patent number: 5083222
    Abstract: An ultra-black film is disclosed, which essentially consists of a base, a Ni-P alloy layers formed on said base and a phosphate layer formed on said Ni-P layer, the spectral reflectance of said ultra-black film being 0.04 to 0.4%. The claimed invention provides an optical calorimeter optical receiver having an inner surface provided with an ultra-black film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 21, 1992
    Assignee: Anritsu Corporation
    Inventors: Masao Horiuti, Shunichi Kodama, Kenji Kuroda
  • Patent number: 5083219
    Abstract: An apparatus for recording Lippman holographic mirrors comprises an exposing volume optically coupled on one side with an index-matching fluid to the holographic material to be recorded. The volume is exposed on an adjacent side to a light beam expanded in one direction into a plane of light whose projection on the volume is a line. The line of light and the holographic material are moved relative to each other on an interrupted or a continuous basis to expose the holographic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 21, 1992
    Assignee: Physical Optics Corporation
    Inventors: Tomasz P. Jannson, Joanna L. Jannson, Christopher C. Rich
  • Patent number: 5080477
    Abstract: A computer assisted optical instrument analyzes a differential wave front developed by subtracting the wave front due to a circular grating reticle only in the optical path, from the wave front due to a reflecting surface being analyzed in the optical path including the reticle, to obtain a Foucault shadow fringe pattern indicating the surface curvature. The differential wave front is analyzed by the circular grating and a CCD camera, in polar coordinates, to obtain polynomial coefficients defining the wave front. The polynomial is then plotted and displayed as the topographic shadow fringe pattern of the reflected surface. Dedicated lens and reflector combinations adapt the instrument to specific embodiments in ophthalmology and metrology.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Inventor: Yoshi Adachi
  • Patent number: 5080455
    Abstract: Surface treatment of a substrate by ion beam sputtering (IBS). The sputtered material impacts on the substrate with a kinetic energy which may be several orders of magnitude higher than in conventional sputter deposition techniques, and material is deposited along a path with high energy directed substantially normal to the target surface, allowing precise control of deposition conditions.Novel treatment processes with IBS sputtering include coating or activating of circuit board holes, alloying or transformation of surface chemistry, and the deposition of metallic, crystalline or large-molecule coatings which are intimately bonded to a crystalline or amorphous substrate. Special homologous and graded coatings allow the repair of lattice damage in crystalline substrates, and permit the formation of stress free and crystalling layers, and other coatings with diverse electrical, optical, chemical or other physical surface properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1991
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: William James King
    Inventors: William J. King, William J. King
  • Patent number: 5081540
    Abstract: A holographic apparatus of the type comprising a conoscopic system including a birefringent crystal inserted between two polarizers, wherein the apparatus also includes an aperture angle limiter inserted on the path of the light rays and wherein one of the birefringent crystal and the aperture angle limiter is disposed off the optical axis of the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: Etat Francais, represente par le Ministre des Postes, Telecommunications et de l'Espace (Centre National d'Etudes des Telecommunications)
    Inventors: Eric Dufresne, Pierre Chavel, Gabriel Sirat
  • Patent number: 5080478
    Abstract: Apparatus for testing dark adaptation comprises a test panel. Four test stimuli, comprising arrays of light emitting diodes, are arranged on the test panel around a fixation light emitting diode. Translucent covers are mounted over the arrays of light emitting diodes. Four switches to enable a subject to input the identity of a visible test stimulus are provided, each switch is operated by a button formed by a respective cover of the test stimuli. A test stimulus is randomly selected and switched on at a predetermined level of luminance. On a correct identification, another test stimulus is selected and switched on at a reduced level of luminance. The times from the commencement of the test until the various correct identifications are recorded, as are the corresponding level of luminance of the test stimuli.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: Optometrics Limited
    Inventors: David M. O'Brien, Thomas P. Grennan, Peter A. Davison
  • Patent number: 5081541
    Abstract: A holographic method of the type implementing a conoscopic system including a birefrigent crystal inserted between two polarizers and a photosensitive element, wherein the method includes a step consisting in inserting one-dimensional optical means on the path of the light rays such that the conoscopic system only collects light that is parallel or quasi-parallel to a plane including the axis of the conoscopic system. The invention also provides apparatus for implementing the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: Etat Francais, represente par le Ministre des Postes, Telecommunication et de l'Espace (Centre National d'Etudes des Telecommunications)
    Inventors: Gabriel Sirat, Henri Maitre
  • Patent number: 5079643
    Abstract: An ultra-black film is disclosed, which essentially consists of a base, a Ni-P alloy layer formed on said base and a phosphate layer formed on said Ni-P layer, the spectral reflectance of said ultra-black film being 0.04 to 0.4%. The invention provides a no reflection optical terminator comprising a cap having a recessed formed in one end surface and containing an ultra-black film on the surface of said recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 7, 1992
    Assignee: Anritsu Corporation
    Inventors: Masao Horiuti, Shunichi Kodama, Kenji Kuroda
  • Patent number: 5076700
    Abstract: A lightweight mirror is disclosed in which the core and backsheet of the mirror are constructed from a single piece of glass. The core is lightweighted by drilling or otherwise forming a series of pockets in the core with the machining process proceeding from the front of the core toward the backsheet. A plurality of walls left between each of the adjacent machined-out areas to provide the core with rigidity and to aid in supporting a facesheet on which a reflecting surface is formed. The facesheet is fastened to the rim of the core and to the walls which remain between the adjacent pockets in the core using a frit bonding process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 31, 1991
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Alfred R. DeCaprio
  • Patent number: 5074654
    Abstract: Hydraulic actuators are disclosed which are useful for controlling the reflecting surface of deformable mirrors or positioning the segments a segmented reflecting mirror. In one embodiment electrodistortive actuators are used to control movement of a piston into or out of a reservoir containing a fluid. The fluid controls movement of a second, smaller piston whose movement may be coupled to a surface whose shape or position it is desired to influence. In a second preferred embodiment two sets of actuators are used to permit the disclosed mechanism to impart movement in two directions to the reflecting surface or optical element whose shape or position it is desired to control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1991
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Frank Alden, John D. Genova
  • Patent number: 5075797
    Abstract: A process and resulting structure for a window typically used on weapons with infrared sensors. The window has a plurality of transparent blocks connected in a mosaic pattern. Between the blocks are slots, that allow a coolant to flow through and cool the window, such that the window does not have a thermal signature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1991
    Assignee: McDonnell Douglas Corporation
    Inventor: Nelson E. Jones