Method of constructing a gaseous laser
Granted: March 15, 1983
Patent Number:
4376328
A method of making a gaseous laser is disclosed using a thin-walled, ceramic tube such as alumina. Heat conducting members are assembled and aligned in a spaced-apart relationship within the tube. Coaxially aligned cylindrical shields are affixed to the heat-conducting members to control gas pumping within the tube. Bore-defining aperatures in the heat-conducting members, or in sputter-resistant discs affixed to the heat-conducting members, are aligned by a mandrel under tension at which…
Method and apparatus for laser scribing and cutting
Granted: June 22, 1982
Patent Number:
4336439
A laser system adapted for a high power laser beam thermally reacting with a target of a rigid material to remove a portion of the rigid material, has a laser generating a high power beam of electromagnetic coherent radiation. The beam is aligned to impinge the material and is controlled by a controlling means such that the portion removed is symmetrically shaped.
Heat treating using a laser
Granted: December 8, 1981
Patent Number:
4304978
A method and apparatus are disclosed utilizing a laser for heat treating a transformation hardenable workpiece. Sufficiently high laser power densities are provided at the workpiece surface to cause an incandescent reaction with the workpiece, but incandescent reaction is limited to a sufficiently short period of time to prevent any substantial melting of the workpiece. Pre-conditioning the workpiece prior to heat treatment, squelching the workpiece with a gaseous jet, and techniques for…
Broadband optical diode for a ring laser
Granted: June 9, 1981
Patent Number:
4272158
A broadband optical diode consists of a Faraday element within a magnetic field and an optically active element. The materials and dimensions of the Faraday element and the optically active element are chosen so that their polarization rotations approximately match over a broad wavelength span, with the rotation angles and the mismatch between them specified by the conditions that the forward wave insertion loss does not exceed a maximum specified value, and the differential loss between…
Vertex-mounted tipping Brewster plate for a ring laser
Granted: May 19, 1981
Patent Number:
4268800
A tipping Brewster plate, used for fine tuning a tunable ring laser, such as a dye laser, is located close to a flat mirror comprising one of the optical elements of the ring optical resonator, so that both the incident and reflected beam from the flat mirror pass through the tipping Brewster plate. When the ring laser is tuned by tipping the Brewster plate, no lateral displacement of the ring laser beam takes place.
Automated kinetic perimetry apparatus and method
Granted: April 7, 1981
Patent Number:
4260227
A Goldmann-type perimeter is provided which automatically performs kinetic perimetry without the need for manual intervention.
Apparatus and method for cutting and heat sealing woven thermoplastic material
Granted: June 19, 1979
Patent Number:
4158762
A method and apparatus for cutting and heat sealing the ends of lengths of woven thermoplastic material is disclosed with the apparatus including selectively activated means for feeding predetermined lengths of a material from a supply across the supporting surface. Means releasably clamp the material lengths against the supporting surface, with a gap extending transversely of the material lengths to expose portions of the material through the gap. A laser beam is directed against the…
Method and apparatus for automatically reacquiring a predetermined output radiation frequency in a tunable laser system despite momentary perturbations of laser oscillation
Granted: April 17, 1979
Patent Number:
4150342
Method and apparatus are disclosed in a frequency controlled tunable laser system which may be tuned selectively by an operator to any predetermined output radiation frequency within its operating range and servo-locked to maintain that output frequency, for rapidly and automatically maintaining and reacquiring a predetermined output radiation frequency despite momentary interruptions or perturbations of laser oscillation.
Adjustable etalon laser mode selector and method of adjustment
Granted: June 27, 1978
Patent Number:
4097818
An adjustable etalon mode selector is mounted within the optical cavity of a laser and includes a pair of spaced prisms mounted along the optical axis of the cavity with the laser beam passing therethrough and means for selectively adjusting the spacing between the prisms in a manner such that the resonant frequency of the laser cavity and etalon combination remains constant during the adjustment of the prism spacing in order that a particular mode of the operating wavelength spectrum of…
Feedback loop control system employing method and apparatus for stabilizing total loop gain and bandwidth
Granted: May 30, 1978
Patent Number:
4092530
A feedback loop control system is disclosed for controlling an element which has variable gain and which includes means for stabilizing the total loop gain and bandwidth of the control loop despite variations in the gain of the controlled element.
Etalon laser mode selector
Granted: March 28, 1978
Patent Number:
4081760
A Fabry-Perot etalon is mounted within the optical cavity of a laser for selecting the wavelength of the output radiation of that laser from a plurality of discrete wavelengths closely distributed about a nominal wavelength. The etalon includes a pair of closely spaced prisms mounted along the optical axis of the laser cavity with the laser beam passing therethrough. Each of the prisms has a first surface facing outwardly of the etalon and inclined at a slight angle to a normal to the…
Method and apparatus for providing a calibrated scan for a scanning laser
Granted: March 28, 1978
Patent Number:
4081765
Apparatus and a method are disclosed for continuously varying the output radiation frequency of a scanning laser system about a selected nominal output radiation frequency with a calibrated scan. Apparatus is disclosed for continuously varying the resonant frequencies of both the laser cavity and the reference cavity, for controlling this scanning and for calibrating the scan width. A method for calibrating the scan width is also disclosed.
Apparatus for tracking moving workpiece by a laser beam
Granted: December 13, 1977
Patent Number:
4063064
Apparatus is disclosed in a system for drilling holes with a laser beam in a plurality of discrete moving workpieces carried by a support which moves each workpiece sequentially along a predetermined path at a predetermined velocity, the apparatus including means for sequentially tracking along a portion of such path each workpiece being drilled seriatim by the laser beam. This tracing apparatus includes means for directing the laser beam generally transversely of the direction of…
Soft power supply for pulsed laser
Granted: December 6, 1977
Patent Number:
4061986
A pulsed power supply for a gas discharge laser in which a main DC power supply is connected in series with a current limited DC power supply and a gas discharge laser and with diode means connected across the second power supply for bypassing the second power supply and conducting current from the main power supply to the laser after the laser ionizes.
System for decoding bar code
Granted: November 1, 1977
Patent Number:
4056710
A system for decoding encoded character information characterized by a plurality of bars of alternating light reflective characteristics of one or more widths in applications such as reader/scanner systems utilizing a decision tree technique that enables decoding to take place on line in real time.
Lightning rod mirror protection
Granted: April 19, 1977
Patent Number:
4019154
In order to prevent electrical discharges between the cathode electrode of a gas discharge laser and the closest metal resonator mirror, means are provided adjacent the optical path between the closest resonator mirror and the cathode electrode for conveying the electrical discharge from the cathode electrode to a reflectively inactive area of the mirror. In one preferred embodiment the electrically conducting means is a flanged tube coaxial with the optical path and having the flanged…
Optical scan pattern generator for code reading systems
Granted: November 30, 1976
Patent Number:
3995166
A reader-scanner system using a laser as a source of a narrow beam of light and having optical means for directing the light beam from the laser to a scan target area with the optical means generating a pattern comprising a series of intersecting diagonal and horizontal lines relative to the path of objects which pass through the scan target area, with sequential scan pattern sets in the scan target area displaced in the direction of oncoming objects from the previous scan pattern set,…
Laser having improved windows
Granted: November 23, 1976
Patent Number:
3993965
A discharge tube for a gaseous laser is terminated with windows made of crystalline quartz which do not fluoresce in the presence of high energy, visible and ultraviolet light radiation.
Tuning apparatus for an optical oscillator
Granted: January 20, 1976
Patent Number:
3934210
One or more birefringent plates are placed within the optical cavity of an optical oscillator such as a dye laser. Each of the plates is positioned at an angle, such as Brewster's angle with respect to the light reflected within the optical cavity of the optical resonator. The output wavelength from the optical resonator is tuned, or its bandwidth narrowed, by rotating the birefringent plates while maintaining the plates at the same angle.
Coherent digital frequency shift keying system
Granted: January 13, 1976
Patent Number:
3932704
A frequency shift generator comprises a single source of high frequency oscillations and a programmable frequency divider. Keyed mark and space input signals serve to select two predetermined divider ratios, one for the mark frequency and the other for the space frequency. The invention provides means for generating stable electrical signals of audio frequency range by means of a coherent technique, that is, one in which the phase relationship of subsequent pulses can be precisely…
