Beam displacer

Claim 2

Apparatus for positioning an energy beam comprising: a plurality of beam displacing means, each being responsive to an incoming beam for providing an exiting beam parallel to and displaced from said incoming beam and each beam displacing means having an entrance aperture for said incoming beam and an exit aperture for said exiting beam and further having a first circular flange centered about said entrance aperturE for said incoming beam and a second circular flange centered about said exit aperture for said exiting beam; a plurality of clamping devices for connecting together said plurality of beam displacing means, each clamping device having a pair of clamping jaws for accepting said first circular flange from one of said plurality of beam displacing means and said second circular flange from another of said plurality of beam displacing means, said jaws being rigidly fastened together for aligning and holding said first flange juxtaposed said second flange with a friction force normally sufficient to rigidly attach and lock said one beam displacing means to another whereby said plurality of beam displacing means is formed into a rigid structure; and means for forcing apart said clamping jaws by a fixed amount for reducing said friction force, said fixed amount being selected to provide a minimal friction force to maintain rigid support of said structure of beam displacing means while allowing said one beam displacing means to be circularly rotated with respect to the other beam displacing means whereby an exiting beam from said structure of beam displacing means is positioned with respect to an incoming beam thereto.

Claim 3

The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein said clamping device comprises: a pair of rectangular plates, each having a semi-circular aperture therein, said plates being juxtaposed to form a circular aperture into which said first and second circular flanges are inserted; and means for fastening said plates about said flanges, said means pulling said plates together at one point to hold said flanges with frictional force sufficient to lock said beam displacing means.

Claim 4

The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein said means for forcing apart is a cam means positioned diagonally opposite said means for fastening, said cam means being rotatively fastened to one of said plates, the cam surface thereof being adjacent to the other said plates whereby said plates are forced apart a fixed amount as said cam is rotated, thereby reducing said frictional force to unlock said beam displacing means while providing sufficient frictional force to render said structure self-supporting.

Claim 5

The apparatus described in claim 3 wherein each of said beam displacing means comprises a pair of parallel reflecting surfaces whereby said incoming beam is always parallel to said exiting beam.

Claim 6

The apparatus described in claim 4 further comprising a rigid cylinder structure and wherein said parallel reflecting surfaces are mounted in said rigid cylinder structure, said cylinder structure having apertures therein for the ingress and egress of said incoming and exiting beams, respectively.

Claim 7

The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein each of said beam displacing means is a rhomboid prism and said pair of parallel reflecting surfaces are the end surfaces of said prism.

Claim 8

Beam displacing apparatus comprising: first and second rhomboidal prisms having parallel reflective surfaces and side faces, said side faces having at least end portions thereof opposite said respective parallel surfaces polished and parallel to each other to provide optical entrance and exit apertures; means for pivotally mounting said second prism to said first prism for rotation about an axis substantially aligned with a normal to both the polished end portion of one face of said first prism and the polished end portion of one of the faces of said second prism, said means having a first housing enclosing said first prism and a second housing enclosing said second prism, each housing having first and second apertures cooperating with said polished end portions of the prism faces to provide entrance and exit apertures for the respective prisms, said first and second housings having first and second collars projecting therefrom, respectively, for mutual rotational engagement, said first collar surrounding the aperture of said first housing and having a bearing surface and an outwardly diVerging circumferential cam shoulder, said second collar surrounding and aligned with the aperture of said second housing and having a bearing surface mating with the bearing surface of said first collar, and having an outwardly diverging circumferential cam shoulder, one of said collars having an outwardly projecting circumferential flange encompassing the other of said collars; a clamp having an internal circumferential groove, diverging radially inwardly, said groove having cam surfaces cooperatively engaging the cam shoulders of said first and second collars, said clamp having first and second diametrically opposed portions connected to each other at one end thereof, and having slightly laterally displaced apertures in said first and second diametrically opposed portions and an operating shaft extending through said apertures and having a first portion of diameter equal to the diameter of the apertures and snugly engaged in the aperture of one of said clamp portions, said operating shaft having an eccentric reduced diameter portion positioned in said aperture of the other clamp portion, whereby rotation of said operating shaft causes said eccentric portion to transversely displace said other clamp portion relative to said one clamp portion by a fixed amount to effectively lock and unlock said two bearing surfaces into frictional engagement by respectively causing said internal clamp groove to move radially inwardly to cammingly engage said collar cam shoulders and to move radially outwardly to release said camming engagement.

Claim 9

Beam displacing apparatus comprising: first and second rhomboidal prisms having parallel reflective surfaces and side faces, said side faces having at least end portions thereof opposite said respective parallel surfaces polished and parallel to each other to provide optical entrance and exit apertures; means for pivotally mounting said second prism to said first prism for rotation about an axis substantially aligned with a normal to both the polished end portion of one face of said first prism and the polished end portion of one of the faces of said second prism, said means having a first housing enclosing said first prism and a second housing enclosing said second prism, each housing having first and second apertures cooperating with said polished end portions of the prism faces to provide entrance and exit apertures for the respective prisms, said first and second housings having first and second collars projecting therefrom, respectively, for mutual rotational engagement, said first collar surrounding the aperture of said first housing and having a bearing surface and an outwardly diVerging circumferential cam shoulder, said second collar surrounding and aligned with the aperture of said second housing and having a bearing surface mating with the bearing surface of said first collar, and having an outwardly diverging circumferential cam shoulder, one of said collars having an outwardly projecting circumferential flange encompassing the other of said collars; a clamp having an internal circumferential groove, diverging radially inwardly, said groove having cam surfaces cooperatively engaging the cam shoulders of said first and second collars, said clamp having first and second diametrically opposed portions connected to each other at one end thereof, and having slightly laterally displaced apertures in said first and second diametrically opposed portions and an operating shaft extending through said apertures and having a first portion of diameter equal to the diameter of the apertures and snugly engaged in the aperture of one of said clamp portions, said operating shaft having an eccentric reduced diameter portion positioned in said aperture of the other clamp portion, whereby rotation of said operating shaft causes said eccentric portion to transversely displace said other clamp portion relative to said one clamp portion by a fixed amount to effectively lock and unlock said two bearing surfaces into frictional engagement by respectively causing said internal clamp groove to move radially inwardly to cammingly engage said collar cam shoulders and to move radially outwardly to release said camming engagement.