Industrial optical shutter
First Claim
1. An industrial optical shutter comprising:
- a positionally controllable motor, a shutter vane coupled to said motor, said shutter vane being contained within an enclosed housing, said housing having an aperture therethough defining a light path, a microprocessor for controlling the position of said shutter vane, a non-volatile memory device coupled to said microprocessor, said memory device comprising a plurality of user-selectable control programs for defining the trajectory of said shutter vane.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A highly versatile optical shutter for industrial and scientific applications is disclosed. The has a aperture which defines a light path through the shutter, and a shutter vane or blade that is moved into and out of the light path using a precision, microprocessor controlled motor, such as a stepping motor. Preferably, the motor is mounted on the shutter housing using a shock absorbing material. A control unit associated with the shutter comprises the microprocessor, a motor driver, preferably one which is capable of microstepping the motor, and a non-volatile memory device, such as EEPROM, which stores a plurality of shutter control programs defining different trajectories of the shutter vane. Different programs may be used, for example, to maximize shutter speed or frequency, or to minimize vibrations.
59 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An industrial optical shutter comprising:
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a positionally controllable motor, a shutter vane coupled to said motor, said shutter vane being contained within an enclosed housing, said housing having an aperture therethough defining a light path, a microprocessor for controlling the position of said shutter vane, a non-volatile memory device coupled to said microprocessor, said memory device comprising a plurality of user-selectable control programs for defining the trajectory of said shutter vane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 27, 28)
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15. An industrial optical shutter, comprising,
a shutter housing having an aperture therethrough defining a light passage, a stepping motor mounted on said shutter housing using a shock absorbing material, a microprocessor coupled to said motor via a motor driver for controlling operation of said motor, a shutter vane positioned within said housing coupled to said motor, said shutter vane being movable into and out of said light passage.
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16. An industrial optical shutter, comprising,
a shutter housing having an aperture therethrough defining a light passage, a stepping motor mounted on said shutter housing, a microprocessor coupled to said motor via a motor driver for controlling operation of said motor, a shutter vane positioned within said housing coupled to said motor, said shutter vane being movable into and out of said light passage, and a position detector for locating the position of said shutter vane.
- 19. A method of operating a microprocessor controlled, motor-driven industrial optical shutter having a shutter vane which is movable into and out of a light path through the shutter, comprising, selecting one of a plurality of shutter programs stored in memory coupled to said microprocessor.
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23. A method of using an industrial optical shutter, having an aperture defining light path through the shutter, as a neutral density filter, comprising the steps of:
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using a microprocessor controlled motor to move a shutter vane into a position which blocks a portion of the light traveling in said light path, holding said vane in said position whereby a proportion of the light is blocked, collecting the light passing through said shutter, redistributing the collected light, delivering the redistributed light to a desired location, such that the delivered light has substantially the same spatial distribution and spectral composition as the light incident on said shutter, but with reduced intensity.
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- 24. A method of using an industrial optical shutter, having a first aperture of a first average diameter defining a light path through the shutter, comprising the step of mounting an insert over said aperture, said insert having a second aperture of a second average diameter, where said second average diameter is less than said first average diameter.
Specification