Other

Spectra-physics Gmbh

Dexter C Tight, Jr

Paul S Turin

Hideki Kasa

James B Ross

Georg Teslawski

Charles W Tinsley

The invention provides a system and method for joining plastic members including induction heaters fabricated from a conductive wire coated with a ferromagnetic material and providing ratios of at least 4 to 1 between the areas over the spaces between wires and the area of the wires surrounding the open spaces; the heaters being located preferably between plastic members to be joined. The heaters may be located adjacent the two ends of a plastic connector adapted to receive a pipe in at least one and probably two ends with the heaters being activated preferably by induction heating to produce welding of the plastics to one another. One form of heater is fabricated on a hollow cylindrical mandrel having helical grooves in which the wire is wound and having radial holes arranged in axially extending rows spaced circumferentially about the mandrel so the axially extending wires may be spot welded to the wires in the helical grooves at each hole. Rings of wire may also be held together by axially extending grooves. Saddle fittings and patches may also be applied to pipes or other plastic members employing such heaters. Induction coils in the form of clamshell and jaw-like structures may be employed as appropriate to energize such heaters and flexible coil structures may also be employed.

System and method for joining plastic materials

An articulated joint of changing the direction of a light beam passing through the joint has an inlet for the incoming light beam, an outlet for the outgoing light beam, two turning mirrors and three precision bearing units associated with the turning mirrors for permitting rotation of the mirrors with a minimum amount of error of angular displacement of the redirected beam. An apparatus providing movement of at least a portion of a beam delivery system and directing an outlet beam to a desired location includes the articulated joint, a motion delivery device operatively associated with the joint and connecting means disposed between the joint and the motion delivery device. The connecting means are adapted to provide relative motion between an attachment of the connecting means to the joint and an attachment of the connecting means to the motion delivery device. The precision bearings are associated with the turning mirrors and the outlet so as to decouple the articulated joint from the axis of the actuator mechanism, such as, for example, a robot arm. The precision bearing units incorporate two tapered roller bearings opposed to each other. Each tapered roller bearing has an inner race and an outer race. A preload arrangement preloads the bearings by exerting a force on the inner races which tends to squeeze the inner races together and by exerting a force on the outer races which tends to push the inner races apart.

Apparatus for changing the direction of a light beam passing through an

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Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Dexter C Tight, Jr