Kinetic Systems, Inc.

Applied Power Inc.

Technical Manufacturing Corporation

Steven Frank Shedd

Andreas Hubertus Von Flotow

Dale W Schubert

Andrew M Beard

Hamid Shaidani

Marion Richard Earles, Jr

Maurice Gertel

Jeffrey A Zapfe

An improved sandwich structure including a top facing sheet, a bottom facing sheet, a core located between the top facing sheet and the bottom facing sheet, and a damping layer extending only partially across the core and not fully interrupting the continuity of the core between the top facing sheet portion and the bottom facing sheet portion to provide damping to the core without adversely affecting the static stiffness or strength of the core.

Sandwich structure

An optical table including a top facing sheet with apertures therethrough for supporting components on the top facing sheet, a bottom facing sheet spaced from the top facing sheet, and a panel under the top facing sheet including upstanding ribs defining channels between the ribs on one surface of the panel wherein the ribs support the top facing sheet and the channels are located beneath the apertures in the top facing sheet for capturing spills through the apertures in the top facing sheet.

Optical table

An active vibration isolation system (10) includes a plurality of stiff actuators, such as piezoelectric motors (12a-c; 284, 350) which support a small mass (18) inside of a case (300). A passive isolator (20) is interposed between the small mass (18) and the payload mass (M.sub.p). In the instance where the stiff actuators are piezoelectric motors, the sidewalls of the case (300) are used to provide compressive force along the variable length of each of the horizontal piezoelectric motor elements (284, 350) to prevent damage to same. Compensation circuitry (24) is connected between velocity sensors (17) and the stiff actuators to control the variable length thereof in this move-out-of-the-way system (10) and to compensate for resonating modes. Optionally, a payload mass velocity sensor (26) and associated circuitry may be used to provide additional control. Shear decouplers (282a-c; 352, 360) are used in conjunction with the piezoelectric motor elements (12a-c; 284, 350) to minimize the amount of shear force acting on the motor elements.

Stiff actuator active vibration isolation system

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Plympton, MA, United States of America

Steven Frank Shedd