Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9170159B2/en
Timestamp: 2018-09-22 13:21:03
Document Index: 660886610

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2', 'Application No. 08755024', 'Application No. 2010', 'Application No. 2010', 'Application No. 2010', 'Application No. 2008262163']

US9170159B2 - Variable aperture and actuator assemblies for an imaging system - Google Patents
US9170159B2
US9170159B2 US14262383 US201414262383A US9170159B2 US 9170159 B2 US9170159 B2 US 9170159B2 US 14262383 US14262383 US 14262383 US 201414262383 A US201414262383 A US 201414262383A US 9170159 B2 US9170159 B2 US 9170159B2
US14262383
US20150077825A1 (en )
An imaging system which includes a housing for a radiation detector having a window disposed above and in axial alignment with the radiation detector, a variable aperture assembly which includes a base ring having a first opening and mounted on the radiation detector housing such that the first opening is in axial alignment with the window, a plate having a first aperture and adapted to engage the base ring such that the first aperture is disposed over the window, at least one aperture blade each operatively coupled to the base ring, and an aperture drive mechanism having a body and an actuator coupling member extending at an angle from the body. In addition, the imaging system includes an actuator assembly having an actuator and an actuator arm, the actuator arm disposed adjacent to the radiation detector housing in proximity to the actuator coupling member.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/914,398, entitled “VARIABLE APERTURE AND ACTUATOR ASSEMBLIES FOR AN IMAGING SYSTEM,” filed on Jun. 10, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/785,695, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,474,721, entitled “VARIABLE APERTURE AND ACTUATOR ASSEMBLIES FOR AN IMAGING SYSTEM,” filed on May 24, 2010 and issued on Jul. 2, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/761,161, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,724,412, entitled “VARIABLE APERTURE AND ACTUATOR ASSEMBLIES FOR AN IMAGING SYSTEM,” filed on Jun. 11, 2007 and issued on May 25, 2010, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional cooled conventional infrared imaging system having a radiation detector mounted within a radiation shield enclosed within a vacuum chamber, where the radiation shield has a variable aperture and a control means for the variable aperture is mounted external to the vacuum chamber,
FIG. 5F is a perspective view of the variable aperture assembly as depicted in FIG. 5D, where the cover ring has been removed to provide a more complete view of the arrangement of the four aperture blades when moved via the aperture actuator assembly to define the second aperture over the first aperture;
As shown in FIGS. 3A-3E, the first end 334 and the second end 336 of the aperture blade 332 maybe extensions or projections of the inner portion 338. Alternatively, the first end 334 and the second end 336 may be opposing external sections of the inner portion 338, which may have a substantially circular, elliptical, square or other shape. The inner portion 338, however, has a size that is greater than the size of the first aperture 312 to enable the inner portion 338 to partially overlap the plate 310 when the aperture blade 332 is moved laterally over the first aperture 312 such that the second aperture 340 is axially aligned with the first aperture 312 and the underlying window 206 of the radiation detector housing 304 as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3E.
As shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3F, the actuator arm 354 and 364 each have a first end 378 operatively coupled to an actuator 380 of the actuator assembly 302 and a second end 360, which (as previously discussed) is adapted to engage the actuator coupling member 348 or 367 of the aperture drive mechanism 346 or 362 so that the actuator 380 controls the lateral movement of the actuator coupling member 348 or 367. In the implementation shown in FIGS. 3A and 313, the actuator 380 includes a piezoelectric motor 381 having an actuator rod 382. The actuator rod 382 is operatively coupled to the first end 378 of the actuator arm 354 or 364 and is adapted to be selectively moved between a first position (such as shown in FIG. 3A) to cause the actuator arm 354 or 364 to move in the first lateral direction 370 a and a second position (such as shown in FIG. 3B) to enable the actuator arm 354 or 364 to move in the second lateral direction 370 b.
FIGS. 4A-4G depict a second embodiment of a variable aperture assembly 400 and FIGS.
4A, 4B and 4H depict a second embodiment of a corresponding aperture actuator assembly 402 suitable for implementing the present invention in the infrared imaging system 200 having a radiation detector housing 304. Again, components of the imaging system 200, such as the vacuum chamber 218, are not shown in FIGS. 4A-4H to avoid obscuring inventive aspects of the variable aperture assembly 400 and the aperture actuator assembly 402.
The aperture drive mechanism 510 has a body 511 and an actuator coupling member 512 extending at an angle 513 from the body 511 such that the actuator assembly 502 (or actuator assembly 302, 402, or 402 a described herein) may couple to the actuator coupling member 512 and drive the aperture drive mechanism 510 while being disposed next to the radiation detector housing 304 and within the vacuum chamber 218 of the imaging system 200. In the implementation shown in FIGS. 5A-5H, the actuator coupling member 512 includes a rod 514 extending down from and perpendicular to the body 511 of the aperture drive mechanism 510. In this implementation, the actuator assembly 502 includes an actuator arm 516 having a recess 518 (e.g., defined by pins 519 and 520 as best seen in FIG. 5I) on one end 522 (i.e., the second end) of the actuator arm 516. The recess 518 is adapted to engage and laterally retain the rod 514 of the actuator coupling member 512 so that the actuator arm 516 controls the lateral movement of the aperture drive mechanism 510. As further discussed below, the actuator assembly 502 includes an actuator 523 operatively coupled to another end 524 (i.e., the first end) of the actuator arm 516 and adapted to control the rotational movement of the actuator arm 516.
The drive ring 511 has a plurality of drive pins 554 a-554 d circumferentially spaced on the drive ring 511 relative to the pivot pins 532 a-532 d on the base ring 504. The first end 542 a-542 d of each blade 538 a-538 d has a drive opening 552 adapted to receive a respective one of the drive pins 554 a-554 d such that the second end 546 a-5464 of the respective blade 538 a-538 d is adapted to pivot relative to the respective first end 542 a-542 d when the drive ring 511 is rotated about the base ring 504.
In the implementation shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and SI, the actuator 523 comprises one or more electromagnetic solenoids 523 a and 523 b. Each solenoid 523 a and 523 b has a drive input 574 a, a return output 574 b, and a piston 576. The drive input 574 a and return output 574 b of each solenoid 523 a and 523 b may be operatively coupled via the interconnect 254 to an external drive motor (not shown in figures) controlled by a backend processor (not shown in figures) both of which may be disposed external to the vacuum chamber 218 of the imaging system 200. The piston 576 of each solenoid 523 a and 523 b is adapted to move along a longitudinal axis 577 a or 577 b of the respective solenoid 523 a or 523 b between an extended position (as shown for solenoid 523 a in FIG. 5A and for solenoid 523 b in FIG. 5B) and a contracted position (as shown for solenoid 523 b in FIG. 5A and for solenoid 523 a in FIG. 5B) based on the respective drive input 574 a. The drive input 574 a of the first solenoid 523 a is opposite in polarity to the drive input 574 a of the second solenoid 523 b (e.g., based on a respective drive signal that may be present on each drive input 574 a as provided by the external drive motor) such that the piston 576 of the first solenoid 523 a moves in opposition to the piston 576 of the second solenoid 523 b. For example, the piston 576 of the first solenoid 523 a has an end 578 operatively coupled to the first end 524 of the actuator arm 516 so that the first solenoid's piston 576 (based on the polarity of its drive input 574 a) is adapted to drive the second end 522 of the actuator arm 516 in the first lateral direction 370 a when moving towards the extended position as shown in FIG. 5A and in the second lateral direction 370 b when moving towards the contracted position as shown in FIG. 5B. The piston 576 of the second solenoid 523 b has an end 578 operatively coupled to the first end 524 of the actuator arm 516 so that the second solenoid's piston 576 (based on the polarity of its drive input 574 a) is adapted to drive the second end 522 of the actuator arm 516 in the first lateral direction 370 a when moving towards the contracted position as shown in FIG. 5A and in the second lateral direction 370 b when moving towards the extended position as shown in FIG. 5B.
In the implementation shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and SI, the actuator arm 516 has a transverse member 580 disposed near the first end 524 of the actuator arm 516 and defining (relative to the actuator arm 516) a first moment arm 581 a having a first distal end 582 a and a second moment arm 581 b having a second distal end 582 b. The end 578 of each piston 576 is operatively coupled to or near the distal end 582 a or 582 b of either the first moment arm 581 a or the second moment arm 581 b. In one implementation, the distal end 582 a and 582 b of each moment arm 581 a and 581 b has a recess 584 a or 584 b as shown in FIG. 51 adapted to engage and retain the end 578 of a respective piston 578. In this implementation, the actuator arm 516 having the transverse member 580 functions as a rocker arm actuated by the respective pistons 576 of each solenoid 523 a and 523 b to move the end 522 of the rocker arm 516 in the first lateral direction 370 a or the second lateral direction 370 b, causing the actuator coupling member 512 (or 348 in FIG. 3A, 367 in FIG. 3F, 412 in FIG. 4A, 712 in FIG. 7A or 962 in FIG. 9A) to move in the same direction to laterally drive the aperture drive mechanism 510 (or 344, 410, 710 or 910) of the respective variable aperture assembly 500 (or 300, 400, 600, 700, 800 or 900).
In one implementation, to ensure each aperture blade 738 a-738 d does not rotate substantially when traveling along the radial axis 260 a-260 d of the window 206 corresponding to the first guide pin track 750 a; 750 d of the respective aperture blade 738 a-738 d, each aperture blade 738 a-738 d may include a second guide pin track 758 a-758 d running in a direction substantially parallel to the first guide pin track 750 a-750 d of the respective aperture blade 738 a-738 d. In this implementation, the plate 726 has a second plurality of guide pins 760 a-760 d circumferentially spaced on the plate 726. Each of the second guide pins 760 a-760 d is operatively coupled to the second guide pin track 758 a-758 d of a corresponding one of the aperture blades 738 a-738 d such that each second guide pin 760 a-760 d travels along the second guide pin track 738 a-738 d of the corresponding aperture blade 738 a-738 d in response to the drive pin 754 a-754 d traveling along the drive pin track 752 a-752 d of the corresponding aperture blade 738 a-738 d.
The front edge 746 a-746 d of each aperture blade 738 a-738 d collectively define a second aperture 748 disposed over the radiation detector housing's window 206 in response to the actuator coupling member 712 being moved in a the second lateral direction 757 b so that the drive ring 711 is rotated in the same direction about the plate 726 and base ring 704 as shown in FIGS. 7B. In one implementation, the front edge (e.g., 746 a) of each aperture blade (e.g., 738 a) overlays and aligns with the front edge (e.g., 746 b and/or 746 d) of an adjacent aperture blade (e.g., 738 b and/or 738 d) such that a portion of the front edge 746 a-746 d of each aperture blade 738 a-738 d defines the second aperture 748. As illustrated in FIGS. 7D-7F, the portion of the front edge 746 a-746 d of each aperture blade 738 a-738 d that defines the second aperture 748 decreases as each aperture blade 738 a-738 d is moved over the first aperture 728 along the radial axis 260 a, 260 b, 260 c, or 260 d of the window 206 corresponding to the first guide pin track 750 a, 750 b, 750 c, or 750 d of the respective aperture blade 738 a-738 d.
In an alternative implementation, the drive pin track 752 a-752 d of each aperture blade 738 a-738 d may have a non-linear shape. For example, in the implementation depicted in FIGS. 8A and 813, an variable aperture assembly 800 is shown that has aperture blades 838 a-838 b consistent with the aperture blades 738 a-738 d of the variable aperture assembly 700, except each aperture blade 838 a-838 b of the variable aperture assembly 800 has an “S” shaped track 852 a-852 d that is a non-linear track for controlling the movement of the respective aperture blade 838 a-838 b and the size of the aperture 748 collectively defined by each of the front edges 746 a-746 d of the aperture blades 838 a-838 b as discussed herein. In this implementation, the S-shape of each track 852 a-852 d enables greater sensitivity in varying between larger sizes of the aperture 748 as each drive pin 754 a-754 d travels near the first terminal 780 a of the respective S-shaped drive track 852 a-852 d and between smaller sizes of the aperture 748 as each drive pin 754 a-754 d travels near the second terminal 780 b of the respective S-shaped drive track 852 a-852 d. This implementation may be desirable for a radiation detector housing 304 that may be employed in a family of imaging systems 200 in which each system requires switching between a narrow and a wide field of view optical system having range stops between, for example f/6 and f/3.
The plate 926 also has an upper surface 930 defining a number of openings 932 a-932 b and 934 each operatively configured to receive and retain a corresponding one of the pivot pins 916 a, 916 b and 918 so that the fast aperture 928 is disposed over and aligned with the base ring 904 and the window 206. The plate 926 may be interchanged with other plates 926 that have a different sized aperture 928 to enable the fixed aperture 928 to be varied depending on the optics system (not shown in the figures) and the corresponding field of view of the imaging system 200. Alternatively, the base ring 904 may be formed to incorporate the plate 926 so that the base ring 904 has the first, fixed aperture 928.
1. An aperture actuator assembly for use in actuating a variable aperture assembly disposed over a window of a radiation detector housing in an imaging device, the variable aperture assembly including an aperture drive mechanism having a body and an actuator coupling member extending at an angle away from a plane of the body and adapted to be moved in a first lateral direction so that the variable aperture assembly defines a first aperture over the window and in a second lateral direction so that the variable aperture assembly defines a second aperture over the window, the aperture actuator assembly comprising:
an actuator adapted to be disposed adjacent to the radiation detector housing below the actuator coupling member; and
an actuator arm coupled to the actuator and the actuator coupling member so that the actuator controls the lateral movement of the actuator coupling member.
2. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 1 wherein the actuator arm has a first end operatively coupled to the actuator and a second end adapted to engage the actuator coupling member of the aperture drive mechanism.
3. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 2 wherein the actuator is a piezoelectric motor having an actuator rod operatively coupled to the first end of the actuator arm and adapted to be selectively moved between a first position to cause the actuator arm to move in the first lateral direction and a second position to enable the actuator arm to move in the second lateral direction.
4. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 3 further comprising:
5. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 4 further comprising a bias member operatively coupled between the vertical bracket and a point near the second end of the linkage member to bias the flange of the linkage member vertically when the actuator rod of the piezoelectric motor is moved towards the first position such that the first end of the linkage member pivots about the corner of the linkage member and drives the second end of the actuator arm in another of the first lateral direction or the second lateral direction.
6. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 2 further comprising a mounting bracket extending vertically relative to the radiation detector housing,
7. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 6 wherein:
8. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 6 wherein one of the actuator arm and the mounting bracket has a metal portion, and another of the actuator arm and the mounting bracket has a restraining magnet disposed relative to and having an attraction for the metal portion such that the restraining magnet is adapted to retain the actuator arm in position when the drive current is not flowing through the wire coil.
9. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 6 wherein:
10. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 6 wherein:
11. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 2 wherein:
the actuator assembly further comprises a mounting bracket extending vertically relative to the radiation detector housing;
the actuator arm is pivotally coupled to the mounting bracket such that the second end of the actuator arm is adapted to rotate in the first lateral direction and the second lateral direction; and
12. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 11 wherein the actuator further comprises a latching magnet disposed relative to the solenoid such that the latching magnet holds the piston of the solenoid in a current position when electrical bias present on the drive input is removed, the current position being between the extended position and the contracted position.
13. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 11 wherein actuator arm has a moment arm disposed near the first end of the actuator arm, the moment arm has a distal end, the distal end has a recess adapted to engage and retain the end of the piston.
14. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 2 wherein:
the actuator arm is pivotally coupled to the mounting bracket such that the second end of the actuator arm is adapted to rotate in the first lateral direction and the second lateral direction, the actuator arm has a transverse member disposed near the first end of the actuator arm and defining a first moment arm having a first distal end and a second moment arm having a second distal end; and
15. The aperture actuator assembly of claim 14 wherein the actuator further comprises a plurality of latching magnets,
wherein a first of the latching magnets is disposed relative to the first solenoid such that the first latching magnet holds the piston of the first solenoid in a first position when electrical bias present on the drive input of the first solenoid is removed, and
wherein a second of the latching magnets is disposed relative to the second solenoid such that the second latching magnet holds the piston of the second solenoid in a second position when electrical bias present on the drive input of the second solenoid is removed.
US14262383 2007-06-11 2014-04-25 Variable aperture and actuator assemblies for an imaging system Active US9170159B2 (en)
US13914398 Continuation US8746570B2 (en) 2007-06-11 2013-06-10 Variable aperture and actuator assemblies for an imaging system
US20150077825A1 true US20150077825A1 (en) 2015-03-19
US9170159B2 true US9170159B2 (en) 2015-10-27
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US12785695 Active 2028-09-30 US8474721B2 (en) 2007-06-11 2010-05-24 Variable aperture and actuator assemblies for an imaging system
US13914398 Active US8746570B2 (en) 2007-06-11 2013-06-10 Variable aperture and actuator assemblies for an imaging system
US14262383 Active US9170159B2 (en) 2007-06-11 2014-04-25 Variable aperture and actuator assemblies for an imaging system
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US20150077825A1 (en) 2015-03-19 application
US8474721B2 (en) 2013-07-02 grant
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