Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Atsushi Miyake

Katsuhiko Kitaya

Masaharu Okafuji

Junichi Noguchi

Ichiro Matsuo

Yoshinori Ochi

Kazuo Yamada

Takashi Fukuzawa

Hiroshi Miyajima

Junichi Nakano

Masahiro Oikawa

Seiichiro Honjo

Yoshimitsu Matsushita

Akimitsu Sato

Naohiro Iida

Takayuki Koyama

Mitsuo Kobayashi

Noriaki Nagahata

Akira Shirai

In an optical monitor for monitoring signal lights from a plurality of optical fibers, emission surfaces of the plurality of optical fibers are arranged along a straight line, and a photodetecting surface of a photodetecting element disposed so as to face the emission surfaces is moved in parallel to the straight line along which the emission surfaces are arranged in such manner that light from each of the emission surfaces is received by the photodetecting element, so that the plurality of signal lights are made incident on the photodetecting element successively. The present optical monitor thereby is capable of monitoring a large number of transmission paths while requiring a small number of components.

Optical device, optical path switching device and optical path switching method

A method of aligning a fiber collimator in a short time. Light emitted from a collimator is reflected by a mirror. Reflected light passes through the collimator, and is measured by a light intensity measuring device. Rotating bodies rotatably support the mirror about an X-axis and a Y-axis orthogonal to the optical axis. An aligner simultaneously drives the rotating bodies to scan an optimal angle for the mirror. With the mirror fixed at the optimal angle, the distance between a collimation lens of the collimator and the optical fiber is changed. Subsequently, the optimal angle of the mirror is again scanned.

Method and apparatus for aligning an optical device

When a predetermined region of a light-transmitting platelike member, such as a front windshield, is divided into a plurality of small parts to detect its optical distortion, and a target is sensed in turn through each small part of the region by image sensing means, according to one aspect of this invention, the target has at least three light emitting points capable of representing at least one angle, according to another aspect of this invention, the target represents at least two segments capable of forming at least one predetermined angle, and according to further aspect of this invention, a plurality of unit targets are arrayed in a predetermined direction, the image sensing means is swung along the above predetermined direction, and the platelike member is rotated in a direction across the predetermined direction.

System of detecting optical distortion of a light-transmitting

A local heater is arranged in a heating furnace in which glass plates are continuously conveyed, and a bending line on each glass plate is forcibly heated. The local heater is elongated, and positions of both ends of the local heater are independently and digitally controlled in a widthwise (X-axis) direction of the heating furnace. Control point data along the bending line is obtained by interpolating coordinate values of both ends of the bending line. X-axis velocity control is performed such that the local heater is located on the glass bending line in synchronism with conveyance of the glass plate. A heating locus is linear, and the operation of the local heater is not stepwise. An offset of the actual heating locus from the bending line can be minimized.

Glass plate heating apparatus

A method of correcting the attitude of an article being conveyed in a feed system including two second feed paths for receiving the article from a first feed path and feeding the article so that a first part and a second part, which are related to each other, of the article will reach a target position for each of the first and second parts. The attitude of the article is corrected until the target positions are reached by compensating for a relative shift beyond a predetermined distance in a feeding direction between the first part and the second part of the article on the first feed path. The method comprises the steps of determining the extent of the relative shift by detecting times when the first part and the second part of the article pass respectively through a first measuring point and a second measuring point in the first feed path, and controlling respective speeds of feed by the second feed paths based on the detected extent of the relative shift for thereby causing each of the first part and the second part to reach the target position at a prescribed time.

Method of correcting the attitude of an article being conveyed

A method and apparatus for pressing curved laminated glass having an adhesion interlayer between curved sheets of plate glass by passing the curved laminated glass through a pair of press rolls. A level of a contact position between said pair of press rolls and an inclination angle of a line connecting axes of said pair of press rolls with respect to a curved surface of the laminated glass are controlled to control a posture of said pair of press rolls upon movement of the laminated glass so as to correspond to controlled rotation of said pair of press rolls. A line of action of a press pressure is directed along a direction substantially normal to the curved surface of the laminated glass, and the location of application of the press pressure is level-shifted along the curved surface of the laminated glass. The posture of the press rolls is controlled in accordance with prestored data sampled along the curved surface of the laminated glass.

Method and apparatus for pressing laminated glass

A cutting unit and a grinding unit are aligned adjacently and adopt a common contour tracing means numerically controlled with respect to a X-Y plane coordinate system. A cutting tool and a grinding tool are provided on respective .theta.-axes along Z-direction and are commonly controlled about the .theta.-axes to direct in a tangential or a normal direction of the contour. The cutting and grinding tools are shiftable away from a reference point of the .theta.-axis to finely adjust a cutting line and a grinding edge outward/inward a reference contour.

Contour shaping apparatus

A method and apparatus of cleaning with a roll brush a three-dimensional surface of a curved glass sheet. Levels at both ends of a rotating shaft of the roll brush are independently controlled and an inclination angle of a support frame of the roll brush about the rotating shaft of said roll brush is controlled when the roll brush is moved along the three-dimensional surface. The posture of the roll brush is controlled in such a manner that the rotating shaft of the roll brush becomes substantially parallel to the three-dimensional surface and that a roll brush extended opening of the support frame surrounding said roll brush is directed in a direction substantially normal to the three-dimensional surface. The posture control of the roll brush is carried out in accordance with prestored data sampled along the curved surface of the glass sheet.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Atsushi Miyake