Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5546186 | Apparatus for holographic interferometry suitable for inspection of cylindrical optical surfaces A holographic interferometry apparatus for inspecting cylindrical optical surfaces. Laser light is split into regular reflection light and diffraction light by a holographic optical element. A reference reflector plate receives the regular reflection ligh... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5541729 | Measuring apparatus utilizing diffraction of reflected and transmitted light In measuring apparatus for detecting relative displacement of a diffraction grating, a light beam is separated in an optical unit such as polarizing beam splitter into a reflected light beam and a transmitted light beam which beams are projected onto the ... | 07/30/1996 |
| 5539519 | Compact, high resolution optical displacement detector The optical displacement detecting device utilizes an encoder plate 2 mounted displaceably along a given first plane and having thereon a periodic slit pattern 1. A light source 4 is disposed behind the encoder plate 2 to illuminate the slit pattern 1 to ... | 07/23/1996 |
| 5537210 | Rotation detecting apparatus and scale having a multi helix diffraction grating for the same A rotation detecting apparatus includes a grating portion provided on one of two objects for which relative rotation is to be detected, a light-emitting portion provided on the other of the two objects, and a light-receiving portion provided on the other ... | 07/16/1996 |
| 5534692 | Method for detecting origin point of position sensor A method for detecting the point of origin of a position sensor such as an optical linear scale by first displacing an object member whose position is to be determined until it butts against a mechanical stopper, then determining the position of the objec... | 07/09/1996 |
| 5534693 | Optical displacement detection apparatus employing diffraction gratings and a reference position sensor located on the scale In an optical displacement sensor for measuring a moving state of a moving object by projecting a light beam onto a diffraction grating provided on a surface of a scale connected to the moving object and utilizing diffracted light beams of specific orders... | 07/09/1996 |
| 5532819 | Rotary detector having an optical system for guiding two diffracted lights A rotary detector has a diffraction grating arranged circumferentially and a center at substantially the center of rotation. The rotary detector measures rotational information of a rotating object. The rotary detector is provided with a light source, an ... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5530543 | Detector array for use in interferometric metrology systems A detector is described, intended for use in metrology systems of the type which produce interference fringe patterns which contain a phase which is characteristic of the parameter under measurement, particularly displacement or position. The detector is ... | 06/25/1996 |
| 5526114 | Time multiplexed fringe counter A method and apparatus for making measurements on light fringes such as are produced by interferometers or gratings wherein such measurements can include measurements of position and velocity of an object such as a step and repeat carriage or microscope s... | 06/11/1996 |
| 5523838 | Optical wavemeter employing a length measuring machine with a white light source for achieving maximum interfering efficiency Each of beams originated from a light source to be measured and a white light source is branched by a beam splitter into two beams, which are reflected by a fixed and a movable mirrors respectively to meet each other again so as to generate interfering li... | 06/04/1996 |
| 5519492 | Optical arrangement for detecting the intensity modulation of partial ray beams An optical arrangement or length- or angle-measuring device comprising an illumination device for generating partial ray beams and an image lens to receive and transmit the partial ray beams, wherein each of the received partial ray beams defines an angle... | 05/21/1996 |
| 5517307 | Probe measurement apparatus using a curved grating displacement interferometer Apparatus for surface measurement has a grating interferometer with a curved diffraction grating carried on a pivotal support arm of a probe for contacting a surface. The probe is biased into contact with a surface by an electromagnetic coil acting on an ... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5506681 | Method for detecting a reference position and displacement detector using the same A displacement detector includes a light generation source for generating light, a scale to be irradiated by the generated light and displaceable relative to the irradiated light, a first detection device having a photo-sensing element for detecting light... | 04/09/1996 |
| 5500734 | Photoelectric position measuring system with integral optical circuit having phase shifted interference gratings An integrated optical interferometer is provided having a substrate located on one object and a measuring reflector or measuring diffraction grating located on another object. A beam impinging upon the substrate is split into two partial beams by a coupli... | 03/19/1996 |
| 5498870 | Rotation information detection apparatus An apparatus for detecting information as for the rotation of a scale having a diffraction grating arranged thereon along a direction of detection of the rotation is constituted by a light source portion for irradiating a light beam onto a first point on ... | 03/12/1996 |
| 5493399 | Position measuring system with compensation for variable distance between light source and index disk A position measuring system with compensation for variable distance between the light source and the index disk. The index disk has a plurality of index lines separated by masked areas. The light source emits beams of light that impinge upon the plane of ... | 02/20/1996 |
| 5493397 | Multi-coordinate measuring system using a cross grating to create a plurality of diffraction beams emanating from two or more coordinate directions A multi-coordinate measuring system having a diffraction element that receives light emitted by a light source and diffracts the light into at least a first, second, third and fourth partial beam bundles where the first, second, third and fourth partial b... | 02/20/1996 |
| 5491551 | Apparatus and method for FTIR spectrometer without compensator A Fourier-transform (FT) infrared (IR) spectrometer includes a Michelson interferometer without an IR beam compensator. An input IR beam is directed through a substrate and a beamsplitter attached to the substrate for support, with the input IR beam divid... | 02/13/1996 |
| 5486918 | Optical wavelength meter with an up-down counter which measures the amounts of the overshoot and the back-shift of the moving mirror The purpose of the present invention is to provide a highly accurate optical wavelength meter in which the accurate starting and stop points of the measurement are detected. In accordance with the present invention, a detector which detects the back-shift... | 01/23/1996 |
| 5486923 | Apparatus for detecting relative movement wherein a detecting means is positioned in the region of natural interference The apparatus disclosed herein employs a grating (13) which concentrates light at a preselected wavelength into the positive (33) and negative (35) first orders while minimizing the zeroth order (31). The grating (13) is illuminated with monochromatic lig... | 01/23/1996 |
| 5483377 | Displacement detection apparatus A displacement detection apparatus comprises a light source 1, a first diffraction grating including a blazed grating for diffracting and splitting light from the light source to irradiate a 0-order diffraction light and a +1-order diffraction light to a ... | 01/09/1996 |
| 5483059 | Signal processing method using comparator level adjustment in a displacement measuring device There are disclosed a signal processing method, and a displacement information measuring apparatus utilizing such method, capable of providing highly reliable binary signals even in the presence of a time-dependent variation in the light emission intensit... | 01/09/1996 |
| 5483058 | High angular sensitivity, absolute rotary encoding device with polygonal mirror and stand-alone diffraction gratings A device for position encoding of a rotating shaft in which a polygonal mirror having a number of facets is mounted to the shaft and a monochromatic light beam is directed towards the facets. The facets of the polygonal mirror direct the light beam to a s... | 01/09/1996 |
| 5481106 | Encoder with an optical scale and interference of zero and first order diffraction beams An encoder capable of detecting movement information on a moving body with high accuracy without being affected by environmental changes, wherein movement information on a moving body is detected by causing a luminous flux to impinge upon a first scale se... | 01/02/1996 |
| 5471308 | Phase shifting device The invention provides a device for shifting the phase of a projected grating by use of a plurality of transparent plates, each disposed at a different angle with respect to the angle of the grate, which plates may be selectively placed between the gratin... | 11/28/1995 |
| 5471054 | Encoder for providing calibrated measurement capability of rotation or linear movement of an object, label medium and an optical identification system A scale comprising a regular arrangement of optically or magnetically different response characteristics such as light reflection and light diffusion portions or light reflection and absorption portions is attached to a moving object either directly or by... | 11/28/1995 |
| 5459578 | Method and apparatus for measuring two dimensional plane displacement by moire fringes of concentric circle gratings The present invention provides an apparatus and method for measuring two- dimensional displacement by moire fringes of concentric circle gratings which two-dimensional displacement can be precisely measured by a pair of grating and the measurement resolut... | 10/17/1995 |
| 5456021 | Apparatus and method for measuring linear and angular displacements An apparatus and method for measuring displacement by determining the relative speed between a scale and a scanning plate from reading out a first track twice at different times. From this, correction values for the other tracks are calculated, which repr... | 10/10/1995 |
| 5453839 | Optoelectronic measuring scale An optoelectronic measuring scale for determining and indicating position of light emitted from a beam source is provided. The measuring scale comprises a composite unit including a profiled body, a number of discrete photoelements fixedly mounted on a ci... | 09/26/1995 |
| 5450199 | Photoelectric position indicator with a light-directing phase grating A photoelectric position indicator comprises a scale phase grating, and a scanning unit movable along a measuring direction and comprising a scanning phase grating, which is movable relative to the scale phase grating, a light source, a collimator, and ph... | 09/12/1995 |
| 5448060 | Measuring system for determining transverse deflection of a rotary shaft A known method of measuring angular displacement of a shaft (11) using an optical grating mounted for rotation with the shaft is applied at two or more angularly spaced locations (16, 17 and 18) and the resulting measurements are process to produce a meas... | 09/05/1995 |
| 5448355 | System for measuring tilt of image plane of optical system using diffracted light A system used for measuring the tilt of an image formed by a lens. The measuring system has a light source, a diffraction grating, a reflection surface and a detector for detecting an interference pattern that is formed by the light after passing through ... | 09/05/1995 |
| 5448356 | Detecting device using a semiconductor light source emitting at least one laser beam in at least one predetermined direction A device for detecting the displacement of an object is provided with a semiconductor laser having an active layer for emitting laser beams in two directions, mirrors for directing the laser beams toward a diffraction grating provided on the object, and a... | 09/05/1995 |
| 5444240 | Position detecting apparatus employing an estimating function A position detecting apparatus with a sampling function, comprises a waveform generator for generating repetitive periodic waveforms in relation to a moving object to be measured. A processor samples the output of the waveform generator and, after digitiz... | 08/22/1995 |
| 5442166 | Linear absolute position sensor A position sensor includes a linear scale (14) that is translated along a translation axis of linear motion between at least two optical radiation source/receiver pairs (10/16 and 12/18). The optical transmissivity (or the optical reflectance) varies from... | 08/15/1995 |
| 5442172 | Wavefront reconstruction optics for use in a disk drive position measurement system An optical measurement system for use in a data recording disk drive includes wavefront reconstruction optics which correct and compensate for aberrations in laser beams reflected from radial and linear diffraction gratings. The reconstruction optics incl... | 08/15/1995 |
| 5440427 | Optical pick-up device having an optical diffraction grating element An optical pick-up device comprising an optical system including a light source and an optical diffraction grating element and a light receiving element, wherein the optical diffraction grating element guides the 0th-order diffracted lights of a light bea... | 08/08/1995 |
| 5438193 | Absolute rotary encoder with slit patterns having bit-coded tracks ranging from higher to lower order An absolute encoder is comprised of a movable member formed thereon with a plurality of slit patterns to define a plurality of tracks (T1, T2) which are bit-coded according to a digital code system such as a binary coded quaternary s... | 08/01/1995 |
| 5436724 | Apparatus for measuring relative movement using a diffraction grating having an orthogonally polarized input beam An apparatus for measuring relative movement by the use of a diffraction grating includes a light beam generating portion generating a light beam including light wave components having planes of polarization orthogonal to each other, an interference optic... | 07/25/1995 |
| 5430546 | Optical device for measuring relative position of or angle between two objects An optical device for measuring length or an angle between two objects has at least one recombination grid which receives partial beams of light, previously diffracted by a diffraction grid. The recombination grid contains two or more grid changes within ... | 07/04/1995 |
