Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed wherein a linear array of electromagnetic radiation emitting devices are arranged in association with a moving workpiece. Electromagnetic radiation emitted by the array is received by two or more receivers. Several non-contact measurements may be obtained on a workpiece using the present apparatus and methods.

Abstract: A small hole detection system which detects small holes in fast moving sheets of material. An array of LEDs is pulsed from an emitter which is aligned with an array of photocells positioned to detect light emitting from the emitter. The receiver sends a signal to a processing unit when light is detected. The small hole detection system may include an auto-shuttering mechanism which automatically adjusts the system according to the width of the material being scanned.

Abstract: A motor vehicle fuel pump including an electric motor, a high pressure pump, and a low pressure pump having a side channel pumping stage for pumping fuel from a fuel tank to a reservoir and a regenerative turbine pumping stage for pumping fuel from the reservoir to the high pressure pump. A pair of radial vapor ports are disposed between an inside diameter of a pump channel of the turbine pumping stage and an outside diameter of a concentric, radially inboard pump channel of the side channel pumping stage at a discharge port of the pump channel of the side channel pumping stage. Liquid fuel with entrained vapor near the inside diameter of the pump channel of the turbine pumping stage is aspirated through the radial vapor ports into the discharge port of the pump channel of the side channel pumping stage by liquid fuel flowing in the pump channel of the side channel pumping stage.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed wherein a linear array of electromagnetic radiation emitting devices are arranged in association with a moving workpiece. Electromagnetic radiation emitted by the array is received by two or more receivers. Several non-contact measurements may be obtained on a workpiece using the present apparatus and methods.

Abstract: An open-vane regenerative turbine pump in an electric fuel pump operating submerged in fuel in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle. The regenerative turbine pump includes an open-vane impeller having paddle-like vanes extending radially out from a ring-shaped body of the impeller, an annular groove in a housing of the pump defining a pump channel around the periphery of the impeller and the vanes, a stripper on the pump housing fitting close around the impeller between an inlet port of the pump channel and a discharge port of the pump channel, a pair of radial vapor ports on opposite sides of the impeller at an inside diameter of the annular pump channel, and a pair of steps on opposite sidewalls of the pump channel sweeping downstream from an outside diameter of the pump channel to the inside diameter thereof at downstream sides of corresponding ones of the radial vapor ports.

Abstract: A system for creating a position correcting error signal indicative of the lateral displacement of the center of a strip from a control position for the center of a nearly flat strip having a width and first and second generally parallel edges, as the generally flat strip moves along a given feed line past a given location, where the error signal creating device including means for detecting the orthogonally projectable, one dimensional lateral position of the first edge of said moving strip at said given location, means for detecting the orthogonally projectable, one dimensional lateral position of the second edge of said moving strip at said given location.

Abstract: An open-vane regenerative turbine pump includes a housing, an impeller rotatably supported on the housing having a plurality of paddle-like open-vane type vanes thereon, an annular pump channel in the housing around the periphery of the impeller and around the vanes, a stripper in the pump channel between an inlet port of the latter and a discharge port thereof, and a pair of bosses on the housing in the pump channel on opposite sides of the impeller about midway between the inlet and discharge ports. The bosses each have an edge obstructing a radially inner fraction of the pump channel to intercept inertially separated vapor in the inner fraction having a velocity component in the direction of rotation of the impeller. A pair of notches are formed in the housing adjacent respective ones of the bosses in flow communication with a vapor collection chamber and with a radially innermost extremity of the pump channel.

Abstract: An improved edge detection and location system of a variety wherein a linear array of radiation emitting devices are selected to emit in the infrared region of the visible spectrum. The emitter array component is employed in conjunction with a silicon photovoltaic receiver and the combination permits greatly expanded spacing between the emitter component and receiver component of the system. A system highly immune to environmental radiation noise is provided which includes an array of IR region emitters performing in conjunction with the same form of IR emitting devices but configured within a photoreceptor circuit. Enhanced edge detection accuracy is achieved through the utilization of multiple rows of emitting devices arranged in parallel and mutually offset by an amount less than the center-to-center spacing of adjacent such devices.

Abstract: Method and apparatus are provided of a variety wherein a linear array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are positioned at one side of a material having an edge to be detected. A photoresponsive receiver is positioned on the opposite side of the material at a predetermined stand-off distance from the LED array. The visual LEDs of the array are energized by a drive current which is pre-selected such that light emitting from each exhibits substantially uniform intensity at the photodetecting receiver when non-attenuated by the material. Additionally, the photodetector at the receiver is configured having a length of at least 6 cm to substantially improve edge related data collection. The improvements provide for substantially enhanced measurement accuracy and permit the detection of edges of transparent and semi-transparent materials.

Abstract: In a communication system wherein multiple radio stations communicate with one another over a single channel, an arrangement for indicating to a first user who is transmitting over the channel that there is a simultaneous transmission occurring on the channel by another user, possibly blocking or interferring with transmission by the first user. The arrangement includes means for periodically causing the transmitting first radio station to reduce its transmitting power, listen for a simultaneous transmission on the channel by another station, and then resume full transmitting power. The detection of a simultaneous transmission is annunciated to alert the first user that his transmissions may have been interferred with. Interruption of the first user's transmission may occur either periodically or at detected pauses between the first user's spoken words. The arrangement operates in conjunction with the conventional automatic gain control circuit of the first user's station.

Abstract: An optical gauging device wherein a laser beam is deflected to produce a bidirectional scan; a measuring portion of the split beam scans an object being inspected while the other portion scans a calibration reticle having alternating opaque and transparent bands. The alternating transmission and occultation of the beam through the reticle is used to generate calibration pulses, each representing a predetermined increment of movement of the calibration beam. The measuring portion of the beam is converted into parallel light beams which in turn are occulted by the workpiece being measured. A series of high and low square wave pulses are generated that are operative to start and stop the count of the calibration pulses. The count of the calibration pulses is directly related to the dimension of the workpiece being measured. A detector pulse enhancement circuit converts the measured signals to an accurate set of timing pulses independent of scan velocity, part size, part composition and interfering noise.

Abstract: An optical triangulation gauging system utilizing the position of a scanned laser beam to determine the position of an unknown surface or material thickness by optical triangulation. The scanned laser beam is split into two components by a beam splitter, one component, the reference beam, is passed through a calibration reticle having alternate opaque and transparent bands. The alternate transmission and occultation of the beam viewed through the reticle is used to generate calibration pulses that accurately describe the location of the gauging beam. The gauging component of the scanned beam is projected on to the surface to be measured. The back scattered light from this surface is viewed at a given angle, through a lens system that focuses the light onto a split photo detector. The position of the reference beam is interrogated as the scan beam image passes from one side of the split detector to the other.

Abstract: A non-contact optical gauging device in which a laser beam is deflected to produce a bidirectional scan. The beam is split; a measuring portion scans an object being inspected while the other portion scans a calibration reticle having alternating opaque and transparent bands. The alternating transmission and ocultation of the beam through the reticle is used to generate calibration pulses, each representing a predetermined increment of movement of the calibration beam. Ocultation of the measuring beam by the object being measured generates a signal which is used to control counting of the calibration pulses as an indication of the dimension being measured. Bidirectional averaging is employed to minimize errors due to object motion in the direction of beam scanning. Variations are disclosed in which two measuring beams and one or two calibration beams, are employed for measuring large objects or for dual axis measurement, the latter by orthogonal projection onto the object being measured.