Mitutoyo Corporation

Toshitaka Shimomura

Miyako Mizutani

Shingo Nihommori

Joseph Daniel Tobiason

Eric Altendorf

Tatsuhiko Matsuura

Toru Yaku

Tetsuro Kiriyama

Osamu Kawatoko

Satoshi Adachi

Atsushi Tominaga

Eric Herbert Altendorf

A photoelectric encoder has a telecentric optical system in which a first lens and an aperture located at a focal position of the first lens are interposed between a main scale and a photoreceptor. At least a second lens is interposed between the aperture and the photoreceptor with a focus of the second lens on the aperture, thereby constituting a bilateral telecentric optical system. This makes it possible to improve the signal detection efficiency and increase the assembly tolerance.

Photoelectric encoder

A displacement measuring device including a scale, and an optical readhead including an index pattern and a light receiving element is provided. A bright/dark pattern arising from a scale grating is detected by the readhead to measure displacement. In various embodiments, a magnification of the pattern is adjusted by the spacing between at least a lens element, aperture element, and detection plane of the readhead. An aperture can be designed to provide a diffraction-limited telecentric imaging configuration that filters an image of the scale grating to provide a sinusoidal intensity pattern that supports highly interpolated measurements. An aperture dimension, selected in relation to the grating pitch and other parameters, can provide a desirable combination of readhead operating characteristics including one or more of a desired depth of field; degree of spatial filtering; and optical signal power.

Optical configuration for imaging-type optical encoders

There is provided a displacement measuring apparatus efficiently productive and easily applicable to high precise measurement of displacement with contact probe detection for hardly-measurable works in the art such as micro-works and deep parts in complicated structures. A scale member includes a spindle and a scale both supported by a parallel leaf spring movable on a scale substrate. The spindle is arranged in coaxial with a measurement axis in the scale member. The L & S slit-processed scale is integrated with the spindle and supported by the parallel leaf spring to move together with the spindle along the measurement axis. The spindle, scale and parallel leaf spring are coupled to the scale substrate interposing an anchor of the parallel leaf spring therebetween. The spindle, scale and parallel leaf spring are formed in an integral structure and only the anchor contacts the scale substrate while the spindle, scale and parallel leaf spring slightly float from the scale substrate. A displacement sensor comprises a sensor substrate arranged opposite to the scale substrate. A light source and a photosensitive device are located on the sensor substrate.

Scale member, method of producing the same and displacement measuring apparatus therewith

A scale and a detecting head each include input/output connectors. Either of the input/output connectors is connected to receiving-side connector. By connecting the receiving-side connector to either of the scale and the detecting head, which is fixed in use, there is no change that a receiving-side cable will be disconnected by movement of the counterpart of the fixed member. This results in improvement of the reliability. Additionally, device is operable at high speed since the cable does not restrict motion of the movable member.

Displacement detecting device power supply and data communication device

A light emitting device assembled in a light transmitting type of photoelectric encoder is required to generate light having high parallelism and large quantity of light. This device uses one half of a concave mirror having a small aberration and long focal point. Hence, light radiated from a LED disposed at the focal point of the concave mirror has high parallelism. Further, using a plane mirror disposed at the optical axis of a concave mirror, light reflected with the plane mirror from a LED onto the concave mirror travels in parallel rays. Parallel rays, having a large quantity of light resulting from overlapping parallel rays, reflected from the concave mirror directly and indirectly from the light emitting element can be obtained.

Photoelectric encoder having a plane mirror disposed parallel to the

A capacitance-type measuring device for absolute measurement of positions is disclosed, which comprises a displacement sensor having a fixed element and a movable element, the movable element being capacitance-coupled to the fixed element and relatively movable against the fixed element, the displacement sensor being adapted to output signals corresponding to relative positions of the movable element against the fixed element, a signal processing circuit for processing the output signals of the displacement sensor and outputting an absolute measurement value corresponding to displacement of the movable element against the fixed element, a control circuit for controlling the operations of the displacement sensor and the signal processing circuit, and a power supply for supplying electric power to the displacement sensor, the signal processing circuit, and the control circuit, wherein the control circuit activates the signal processing circuit at a suitable interval so as to perform an intermittent measurement operation.

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Utsunomiya, Japan

Toshitaka Shimomura