The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 04, 1986
Filed:
Jul. 06, 1984
James W Baer, Boulder County, CO (US);
Henry H Hoshiko, Laramer County, CO (US);
Robert P McIntosh, Boulder County, CO (US);
Charles M Reilly, Boulder County, CO (US);
Paul M Romano, Boulder County, CO (US);
James W Hargarten, Boulder County, CO (US);
Storage Technology Partners II, Louisville, CO (US);
Abstract
A beam alignment system and method for aligning a first radiation beam with respect to a second radiation beam as these beams share a desired optical path. Beam steering means, such as a galvonometer controlled mirror, steer the alignment of the first beam as it enters the shared optical path. Detection means are employed to sense the relative alignment between the first and second beams as they travel through the shared path. This sensed alignment is compared to a desired alignment, and a position error signal is generated to indicate the error therebetween. The position error signal, in turn, is used to steer the galvonometer controlled mirror in order to force the beam alignment error between the two beams to zero. In a preferred embodiment, the beam alignment system is used in an optical disk storage system to precisely position a write beam a desired distance from a read beam; thereby allowing a data track written with the write beam on a storage disk to be spaced a desired distance (the track pitch) from a previously written track that is being followed by the read beam.