Synrad, Inc.

Other

Lidatek L.l.c.

Laser Color Marking, Incorporated

Peter Laakmann

Yong Fang Zhang

Katherine D Laakmann

Stanley R Byron

Keith L Hayes

Michael W Barrett

A disabling system for disabling a laser-based speed monitor of the type that transmits a monitor laser beam at a moving motor vehicle. The monitor laser beam transmitted by the speed monitor is detected when it arrives at the motor vehicle. In response to detecting the monitor laser beam, a warning is output by an annunciator to the motor vehicle driver and a jamming laser beam is transmitted toward the speed monitor. The jamming laser beam disables the speed monitor for a time period sufficient to allow the motor vehicle driver to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle. The jamming laser beam is transmitted by a laser transponder structured to be powered only by the vehicle battery. Plural laser transponders are coupled to a single annunciator to provide plural points of speed monitor detection and jamming without requiring plural annunciators.

Laser speed monitor disabling system

A laser transponder and method for disabling a laser-based speed monitor of the type that transmits a monitor laser beam at a moving motor vehicle. The monitor laser beam transmitted by the speed monitor is detected when it arrives at the motor vehicle. In response to detecting the monitor laser beam, a warning is output to the motor vehicle driver and a jamming laser beam is transmitted toward the speed monitor. The jamming laser beam includes a plurality of pulses separated from each other by a time period that is less than or equal to an amount of time needed for the monitor laser beam to travel from the speed monitor to the motor vehicle and back to the speed monitor. The jamming laser beam disables the speed monitor for a time period sufficient to allow the motor vehicle driver to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle.

Laser transponder and method for disabling laser speed monitors

A laser transponder for disabling a laser-based speed monitor of the type that transmits a monitor laser beam at a moving motor vehicle. In response to detecting the monitor laser beam, a warning is output to the motor vehicle driver and a jamming laser beam is transmitted toward the speed monitor. The jamming laser beam disables the speed monitor for a time period sufficient to allow the motor vehicle driver to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle. The laser transponder includes a housing that acts as both a heat sink for the laser transmitter in the laser transponder and a structural package that is waterproof and sufficiently rugged to be positioned on the outside of the motor vehicle. The laser transponder is securely attached to the motor vehicle by a connection system that enables a user to adjust the angular orientation of the laser transponder as necessary to detect the monitor laser beam and transmit the jamming laser beam to the speed monitor.

Laser transponder for disabling a laser-based speed monitor

A laser scanner having first and second scanning mirrors and a correction circuit that removes distortions caused by interaction between the scanning mirrors. Preferably, the first scanner mirror is an off-axis mirror that is positioned to produce a single, substantially invariant pupil on the second scanning mirror. Preferably the scanner uses a reflective beam expander to magnify an input laser beam received from a laser source. Preferably, the reflective beam expander is implemented using two spherical mirrors positioned to form the input laser beam into a Z-folded beam path. The folded beam path increases the distance between the laser source and the focusing lens, which results in a clear focused spot and does so using spherical mirrors which are much less expensive than the infrared lenses used in the prior art. The reflective beam expander is also wavelength insensitive. In one embodiment, the correction circuit employs analog elements to implement a quadratic approximation of the geometric distortions caused by interaction of the scanning axes. In another embodiment, the correction circuit employs programmable logic devices to create corrected mirror control signals based on correction values stored in digital memory units.

Laser scanner

A compact drive system drives an RF-excited gas laser to produce laser energy. The drive system is implemented on a ceramic circuit board having a high dielectric constant. The drive system includes an RF energy source that produces RF energy that is transmitted by a quarter-wave transmission line to the plasma tube of the laser. The transmission line is a microstrip transmission line having a conductive strip and a conductive ground plane bonded to opposite sides of the ceramic circuit board. Such a microstrip transmission line enables the entire drive system to be implemented on the ceramic circuit board. The drive system includes a feedback path to the input of the RF energy source transistor, which enables the drive system to be self-oscillating in that the frequency of the RF energy produced is maintained equal to the resonant frequency of the laser.

RF-excited gas laser system

A micro gas laser that provides a very high power to size or weight ratio by including a laser array featuring common optics and common discharge structures. The gas laser includes a laser housing enclosing a supply of laser gas and elongated first and second electrodes. The electrodes are parallel to each other and form a rectangular discharge section between them. Two elongated bore separators extend between the first and second electrodes to divide the discharge section into the three elongated resonator cavities. The bore separators are thin ceramic wafers that electrically isolate the resonator cavities from each other, but retain sufficient thermal conductivity to provide efficient diffusion cooling. The gas laser includes means to apply an electric field between the electrodes sufficient to create a laser beam in each of the three resonator cavities. In a preferred embodiment, the gas laser includes optical repositioning means located outside the resonator cavities to reconfigure the laser beam into a more closely space, triangular arrangement. The gas laser may further include a focusing element positioned to receive and focus the triangular arrangement of laser beam to a single focus spot or a cluster of foci.

Micro gas laser with laser array

A pocket size laser power meter adapted to measure the power of laser energy emitted by a laser. The power meter includes a thermal mass adapted to receive the laser energy. A temperature sensor coupled to the thermal mass translates temperature changes in the thermal mass into an electrical sensor signal having a variable voltage. A differentiator coupled to the temperature sensor receives the electrical sensor signal and produces a differentiated signal indicative of the rate of change of voltage of the electrical sensor signal. A cooling rate holding circuit coupled to the differentiator receives a cooling portion of the differentiated signal indicating a lowering of the temperature of the thermal mass. A heating rate holding circuit coupled to the differentiator receives a heating portion of the differentiated signal indicating a raising of the temperature of the thermal mass. A display meter coupled to the holding circuits adds the cooling and heating portions of the differentiated signal together, translates the differentiated signal into a power reading, and displays the power reading to a operator.

Pocket size laser power meter

A method and apparatus for engraving a metal plate in two or more colors. Selected areas of an oxidized aluminum plate are colored by a first dye to which the plate has an affinity. The selected areas may then be sealed by hydration. Portions of the selected areas of the colored oxidized aluminum plate can then be further engraved by the application of a focussed laser beam, which removes any of the first dye and the sealant, thereby restoring the affinity of the selected portions of the plate. The areas of the plate having an affinity for dyes can be colored by secondary and additional colors and shades thereof.

Method and apparatus for multi-color laser engraving

An improved sealed-off RF-excited gas laser and method for its manufacture. The resonator section of the laser consists of four optically reflecting longitudinal walls which define the laser bore and plasma section. A concave mirror is mounted on one end of the resonator and a flat or concave output coupler is mounted at the other end. The laser resonator operates in a non-waveguide non-free space mode utilizing wall reflections. Artifacts are introduced at the optically reflecting walls to define a stable oscillatory axis and mode structure by favoring the establishment of stable reflection points along the length of the walls. These artifacts are created by carefully defined bends and tapers in some of the walls to create high mode purity, stability and relatively uncritical optical alignments. Manufacturing methods are disclosed to speed up passivation of the sealed enclosure by internal preexposure of the sealed envelope to oxygen-helium plasmas created at different temperatures, pressures and peak power than seen in the subsequent laser operation.

Sealed-off, RF-excited gas lasers and method for their manufacture

A system for improved drive and matching between an RF power source and a plasma tube in a laser system. The system uses standard 50 or 75 ohm quarter wave transmission lines as the sole interconnect and matching elements between discharge electrodes and drive transistors. The drive transistos may be operated in deep saturation or as switches providing near square wave output to approach the 100 percent theoretical electrical efficiency of switching power supplies. The system features better initial breakdown, bettwer discharge uniformity and power stability under narrow drive pulse conditions, lower matching electrical losses, and extreme simplicity and low cost.

Drive system for RF-excited gas lasers

An electrically self-oscillating radio frequency-excited gas laser. The discharge section of the laser resonates at a desired radio frequency as a result of incorporating the discharge section into the feedback loop of a power oscillator circuit. This laser structure facilitates initial plasma breakdown and adapts its frequency depending upon whether the gas in the discharge section has broken down. When the laser plasma tube is integrated with the oscillator, the laser is also somewhat smaller compared to gas lasers having conventional crystal-controlled amplifier chains.

Electrically self-oscillating, rf-excited gas laser

A hollow lightpipe for conducting high power levels of CO.sub.2 laser light with low transmission losses. A highly reflective layer is formed on the inner surface of an elongated bendable metal housing. The material forming the highly reflective layer is chosen to have a complex index of refraction whose real part (n) is less than about 0.4. The thickness of the reflective layer need not be highly controlled, but must be sufficiently thick that it exhibits bulk absorption properties without being so thick that it cracks when the lightpipe is flexed. In a second embodiment, the transmission properties of the highly reflective layer can be enhanced by coating the reflective layer with a thin film of a dielectric materials such as ThF.sub.4 and Ge.

Hollow lightpipe using a low refractive index inner layer

All-metal, RF-excited gas lasers employing organic or inorganic insulating material including polyimide and aluminum oxide to provide a structurally homogeneous laser capable of low-cost fabrication and broad temperature ranges suitable for military and commercial applications. A particularly novel embodiment employs an extruded housing and electrodes and relies almost solely upon gas conduction and gas convection cooling, obviating compression heat sinking. The latter embodiment can permit gas flow between the laser cavity and tube gas chambers through elongated gaps or spaces at the corners of the cavity. Insulators support the electrodes in a few places and facilitate simple, low-cost assembly. The latter geometry is also well adapted for use in folded configurations featuring multiple lasing sections and a common discharge electrode.

RF-excited, all-metal gas laser

An optical scanner, directly compatible with television imaging or displaying, comprises a unique polygon azimuth mirror scanner which obviates the prior art requirement for atmospheric evacuation and a unique optical system between the azimuth scanner and detector array which permits selected optical modification of detector geometry. The azimuth scanner is designed to be of limited dimensions and is housed in a vented housing within minimal clearance to produce a self-pumping effect which is sufficient to overcome the reduced atmospheric drag. The scanner/detector optical system provides a detector image plane within an optical relay, where in a disclosed embodiment one or two flat refractor plates, oriented at different angles relative to the optical axis, effectively convert a standard linear array into a two-offset array. The resultant system comprises an optical scanner especially suited to using standardized military components such as 'common module' pushbroom detector arrays, but which provides the significant cost and performance advantages of serially scanning systems.

Growing community of inventors

Bothell, WA, United States of America

Peter Laakmann