Harris Corporation

Flash Comm, Inc.

David C Bailey

Cherilyn M Beaudreau

Lee Martin Burberry

Donald K Belcher

Jon E Holmes

Andrew M Bardos

Robert E Klein

Barry G Grossman

Warren H Miller

Donald E Trimble

Robert E Dragoo

James R Teague

Roland D McCollum

Richard K Krebs, Jr

William I Stewart

Floyd F Keesler

Allen E Dukes

Philip M Perry

A container and a method of using the container for storing sheets of material, such as photosensitive materials, enables individual sheets to be transported from the container to an imaging unit by a feed mechanism of the imaging unit. The container fits within the imaging unit to provide a light-tight environment for the photosensitive material. The container includes a clamping component to allow for the removal of a light-tight bag which encloses the photosensitive materials.

Imaging unit container including bag clamping member

A sheet feeder may include a feed roller for compelling a sheet from a stack of sheets into a sheet path and a pair of separation rollers rotating in the same direction for urging sheets along the sheet path. The separation rollers may be selectively and separately disengaged from their motive source in coordination with operation of a motor for the feed roller to provide multiple checks for sheet multifeeds. At each check, extra sheets are returned to the stack of sheets. The separation rollers may each include plural annular spaced-apart sheet contact surfaces that are interleaved with the contact surfaces of the other roller.

Sheet feeder

A sheet feeder may include a feed roller for compelling a sheet from a stack of sheets into a sheet path and a pair of separation rollers rotating in the same direction for urging sheets along the sheet path. The separation rollers may be selectively and separately disengaged from their motive source in coordination with operation of a motor for the feed roller to provide multiple checks for sheet multifeeds. At each check, extra sheets are returned to the stack of sheets.

Sheet feeder system and method

An automatic antenna tuner which conjugately matches the impedance of an electrically small antenna to the impedance of a transmit amplifier output stage by using a pi-type impedance matching network with adjustable capacitive circuit components which are preferably implemented using a low cost escapement mechanism. During an initial set up tuning procedure, a resistive Wheatstone bridge detector is disposed between the output of the power amplifier and the input to the pi network, to feedback a measure a degree of match of the pi network to a controller. The capacitive elements in the legs of the pi network are then electromechanically adjusted under the operator of the controller until an optimum setting is found. These initial impedance values are determined for each frequency in an operating range and then stored in a non-volatile memory. As a second step in the tuning procedure, a fine adjustment is made to the stored optimum impedance values just prior to transmission, to accommodate changing environmental conditions and the like.

Automatic antenna tuner for low-cost mobile radio

A variable capacitor and method of varying capacitance in which two pressurally engaged plates having electrically conductive patterns on facing surfaces are separated by a low friction polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon.TM.) dielectric disk so that the plates may be rotated relative to one another to vary capacitance. Each of the facing surfaces of the plates include two spaced semicircular patterns, one that is electrically connected to the capacitor and one that is not, for maintaining the separation of the plates from the disk. The dielectric disk may be ten to twenty times thicker than the semicircular patterns.

Variable capacitor and method

A hardware packaging assembly for a galvanometer optical beam scanning apparatus includes an optical component-containing portion having a light source aperture through which the output beam from the ILD that carries the to be recorded data passes. This aperture is disposed in a wall defining a boundary of the interior of the housing. Light from the ILD is reflected off a fixed mirror disposed adjacent to an opposite wall and is directed to a galvanometer scanning mirror. As the mirror is rotated about a longitudinal axis, it scans the ILD output beam across an output (image correction) lens mounted in the housing. A second opening disposed in the rear wall of the housing interior receives a start-of-scan photodetector element, which is positioned to detect light that is back-reflected off the inner face of the lens at a prescribed angle of sweep of the beam by the galvanometer mirror.

Resonant galvanometer scanner assembly

A wavelength division multiplexed fiber-optic communication system employs a pair of terminal stations, at opposite ends of the fiber-optic link, with the base configuration of each terminal station being the same. In each station a selective coupling arrangement is provided between the source or transmitter devices as well as the receiver devices and the single optical fiber over which the transmission are to take place so as to effectively make the terminals interchangeable. For achieving this purpose, each terminal station is comprised of a transmitter or source arrangement that is capable of generating a plurality of wavelengths. Similarly, each terminal station includes a receiver or detector which is capable of detecting the plurality of wavelengths that are selectively available for transmission or generated by the transmitter or source. The transmitter or source may comprise a single multiwavelength source such as a dual semiconductor laser generator the control and bias connections for which provide the selectivity for the wavelength of interest. Similarly, a multiple wavelength sensitive receiver, constituting a single unit, is associated with the multiple wavelength source. The multiple wavelength transmitter device may also be comprised of a plurality of individual transmitter or source devices the activation of which is selected by controllably switching or engaging the desired source.

Wavelength division multiplexed fiber-optic cable system with non-unique

A high resolution scanning system, employing non-linearly driven galvanometer deflection optics, compensates for both the non-linear rate of travel of the information pixel beam and for pixel position offset introduced by an optical subsystem (a flat field lens) that equalize pixel size and quality across the recording medium. The system employs a single high speed reference clock the output pulses of which are counted and used to address a compensation data-containing PROM (programmable read only memory). The contents of successive addresses of the PROM contain pixel location codes identifying the position on the recording medium where a pixel of interest is to be recorded. These codes are derived in accordance with the periodic non-linear rate of travel of the scanning optics across the recording medium and the measured parameters of a flat field lens disposed in the path of the scanning beam. For a sinusoidal scan, the successive PROM addresses contain pixel location defining codes that are effectively compensate for the non-linearity of the sinusoidal scan rate of the galvanometer deflection drive and the image position offset introduced by the flat field lens optical subsystem. Because of this complementary action, the spacing between pixels can be made constant along a recorded line of pixel data.

Resonant galvanometer scanner system employing precision linear pixel

A fluid bearing platen for a film gate structure contains a pair of cavities to which pressurized fluid, such as air, to be applied against the opposing surfaces of a photographic film, is supplied. Between each respective cavity and one side of the film there is disposed a thermodynamically non-throttling material, such as porous stainless steel, through which the pressurized fluid from the cavities passes, to be directed against the opposite sides of the film. The non-throttling material effectively creates an adiabatic transfer from the cavities to the film's opposing surfaces, thereby eliminating temperature loss and avoiding the wrinkling or warpage of the film.

Air-platen bearing

A system synchronously controls the advance of a recording medium or may be employed in a facsimile recording apparatus in which a modulated optical information beam is caused to scan or be swept across the recording medium as the medium is advanced in a stepwise manner. For this purpose, digital control circuitry including a programmable read only memory responds to a galvanometer synchronization signal, indicative of the beginning of a scan line, and selectively generates stepping motor advance signals in accordance with a look-up table stored in the memory as the beam scans the recording medium. By this action, the location in each successively recorded line at which the recording medium is stepwise-advanced is aligned in the direction of movement of the recording medium with a corresponding advance location for every other line irrespective of the rate of advance of the medium. As a result, banding, which would otherwise contribute to degradation in the recorded image copy, is effectively eliminated.

Synchronized, variable speed capstan motor drive system for facsimile

A film loader (16), loads a planar film sheet (58), such as a microfiche, onto a vacuum head (54) associated with an X/Y positioner (56). The film sheet is edge supported between slots (106) in two side plates (36, 38), and is transported along the path defined by these slots by driven rollers (40, 110). The vacuum head (54) is positioned at a location transversely adjacent and partially intruding into this film path. Stop pins (62) block the movement of the film sheet beyond this location so that the film sheet comes to stop with an edge (68) resting on the vacuum head. Guide pins (64) are inserted into the film path upstream of this location, and are moved downstream so as to confine the film sheet to a well defined position between the guide pins (64) and the stop pins (62). An actuator (70) forces the film sheet transversely against locator pins (66) which protrude from the vacuum head (54), thus precisely aligning the film sheet (58) onto the vacuum head (54). A plate (154) flattens the film sheet against the vacuum head (54) as a vacuum is applied thereto so that the film sheet is captured by the vacuum head. The stop pins (62) and actuator (70) are then disengaged from the film sheet to permit the film sheet (58) to be positioned by the positioner (56).

System for automatically loading planar film sheets onto a film

A system (10) is disclosed for storing and selectively retrieving planar film records, such as microfiche (25). The microfiche are stored in a carousel assembly (12) and are retrieved from the carousel by a positioning assembly (18). The carousel assembly (12) includes several carousels (22, 24), each defined by two slot plates (26, 30; 28, 32). The slot plates have a plurality of slots (37) formed therein, and the microfiche are held by their edges in these slots. Each microfiche is stored in a known slot location in the carousel, and is retrieved through reference to this slot location. The positioning assembly (18) moves an extractor head (16) in two dimensions for retrieval and reading of the microfiche. Movement in both dimensions is entirely accomplished by binary linear actuators (FIG. 6).

Apparatus for storing and randomly accessing planar film records

A film supporting and positioning system includes a film holding or gripping head for engaging an edge portion of the film and supporting the same in a cantilever fashion. The gripping head may include a frictional contact gripping arrangement or a vacuum head by which the film is held along one edge thereof. The gripping head is displaceable in a plurality of orthogonal directions so that the film may be inserted into and oriented relative to the image plane of an optical recording/reproducing system. In the vicinity of this image plane, a film support bearing is provided, in order that a prescribed region of the film, in which information may be recorded may be properly irradiated by a light beam. Preferably, the film support bearing is provided by a fluid bearing platen which is thermodynamically non-throttling.

Growing community of inventors

Cocoa Beach, FL, United States of America

David C Bailey