3m Innovative Properties Company

Luis A Aguirre

Levent Biyikli

Daniel H Carlson

Alan B Campbell

Dale L Ehnes

Daniel S Wertz

Curtis L Shoemaker

Karl K Stensvad

Michael R Harms

Lance E Behymer

Lars A Smeenk

Justin W Wilhelm

Mark Hyland Smith

Wei Wang

Felix Bierbaum

Methods and systems for forming a displacement scale comprising TIR prisms on a substrate are described. A system for forming the displacement scale includes one or more rollers having a pattern of total internal reflection (TIR) prism features in negative relief. As the rollers are rotated, the scale is formed on the substrate. The rollers may also include pattern features in negative relief. Rotation of the rollers simultaneously forms the displacement scale and the pattern features on the substrate. The TIR prism features of the displacement scale may be oriented to provide measurement of one or more of lateral displacement, longitudinal displacement and angular displacement.

Systems and methods for fabricating displacement scales

Disclosed is an expandable envelope that comprises a light directing film this both transmits and reflects light. In its inflated form and along with a light source, the envelope forms a light balloon that due to the light directing film provides directed light to an area surrounding the balloon.

Light directing expandable envelope

Methods and systems for indicating the displacement of a flexible web are described. An elongated, flexible web includes an integral scale having scale features configured to modulate energy directed towards the web. A transport mechanism provides relative movement between the web relative to a transducer. The transducer detects energy modulated by the scale features and generates a signal indicting a continuous web displacement based on the modulated energy.

Systems and methods for indicating the position of a web

A calibration system for a rotary encoder comprises a rotary encoder disposed on a manufacturing substrate, the rotary encoder including an encoder pattern. The calibration system also includes a calibration pattern written onto a surface of the substrate, the calibration pattern comprising a ring that includes a grating pattern, where a radial position of the grating pattern corresponds to an error value of the position of the encoder pattern. A method of calibrating the errors of a rotary encoder and a method of fabricating a high resolution rotary encoder on a surface of a manufacturing substrate are also provided.

Method and system for calibrating a rotary encoder and making a high resolution rotary encoder

A Method and Apparatus for ablating features from a substrate, such as drilling holes in a polymer substrate for an ink jet printhead, by illuminating the substrate that has passed through a mask that is continuously orbited or moved in a two dimensional pattern. The mask is capable of following a trajectory perpendicular to the angle of the radiation.

Mask orbiting for laser ablated feature formation

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Luis A Aguirre