Infrared signal generator

Claim 1

AN INFRARED SIGNAL GENERATOR COMPRISING A PLANAR SOURCE OF RADIANT ENERGY, A FIRST CONCAVE PARABOLIC REFLECTOR FACING SAID SOURCE AND HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE THEREIN, SAID FIRST REFLECTOR HAVING A RADIATION GATHERING SURFACE EQUAL IN AREA TO THE AREA OF SAID PLANAR SOURCE, A SECOND CONCAVE PARABOLIC REFLECTOR HAVING A SMALLER FOCAL DISTANCE THAN SAID FIRST REFLECTOR AND BEING COAXIAL TO AND FACING SAID FIRST REFLECTOR, SAID FIRST AND SECOND REFLECTORS HAVING A COMMON FOCAL POINT, SAID FIRST REFLECTOR COLLECTING RADIANT ENERGY FROM SAID SOURCE AND REFLECTING IT TO SAID SECOND REFLECTOR SO THAT A HIGH POWER UNIFORM DENSITY BEAM OF RADIANT ENERGY EMERGES VIA SAID APERTURE IN SAID FIRST REFLECTOR, COLLIMATING MEANS DISPOSED TO THE REAR OF SAID FIRST PARABOLIC REFLECTOR AND COAXIAL TO THE OPENING THEREIN FOR PASSING A COLLIMATED BEAM OF RADIANT ENERGY, A PRISM, MEANS OPERATIVE TO PASS THE COLLIMATED BEAM FROM SAID COLLIMATING MEANS THROUGH SAID PRISM FOR DISPERSING THE RADIATION THERETHROUGH, MEANS ORIENTED TO RECEIVE AND RETURN ONLY A SMALL PRESELECTED PORTION OF SAID DISPERSED BEAM TO SAID PRISM FOR FURTHER DISPERSION OF SAID BEAM, ATTENUATING MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF OPPOSITE PLANE SURFACES HAVING THE PROPERTIES OF REFLECTING AND ABSORBING SUBSTANTIAL PORTIONS OF INCIDENT RADIANT ENERGY, MEANS ORIENTED TO TRANSMIT AS AN EMERGENT BEAM TO SAID ATTENUATING MEANS A PORTION OF THE FURTHER DISPERSED BEAM FROM SAID PRISM, EACH OF SAID SURFACES OF SAID ATTENUATING MEANS BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER FOR CONTROLLING THE OUTPUT POWER OF THE BEAM OF RADIANT ENERGY, A CALIBRATED INDICATOR COUPLED TO SAID ATTENUATOR, MEANS FOR VARYING THE RATIO OF MOVEMENT OF SAID PLANE SURFACES OF SAID ATTENUATOR UNIT TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID INDICATOR, A CYLINDRICAL TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A REFLECTIVE INNER SURFACE AND A LONGITUDINAL OPENING THEREIN, AN ENERGY RECEIVING WIRE DISPOSED LONGITUDINALLY WITHIN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND ADJACENT SAID OPENING, REFLECTOR MEANS ORIENTED FOR RECEIVING AND REFLECTING THROUGH SAID OPENING IN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER A PORTION OF THE BEAM OF RADIANT ENERGY FROM SAID ATTENUATING MEANS, A PORTION OF SAID RADIANT ENERGY ENTERING SAID TUBULAR MEMBER IMPINGING DIRECTLY ON SAID ENERGY RECEIVING WIRE AND SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE REMAINING PORTION OF SAID RECEIVED ENERGY BEING REFLECTED BY THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER TO IMPINGE ON SAID ENERGY RECEIVING WIRE, POWER INDICATING MEANS ELECTRICALLY COUPLED TO SAID ENERGY RECEIVING WIRE FOR PROVIDING A CONTINUOUS INDICATION OF THE ABSOLUTE POWER LEVEL OF THE OUTPUT SIGNAL WHEREBY AN ESSENTIALLY MONOCHROMATIC SIGNAL OF ACCURATELY KNOWN CHARACTERISTICS AND POWER LEVEL IS OBTAINED.