Spectroscopic alignment monitor

Claim 1

IN A SPECTROSCOPIC INSTRUMENT HAVING AN ENTRNCE SLIT, DISPERSING MEANS FOR CONVERTING RADIATION ADMITTED THROUGH THE ENTRANCE SLIT FROM AN EXCITED SAMPLE INTO SPECTRAL LINES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE SAMPLE COMPOSITION, EXIT SLITS IN KNOWN RELATION TO THE ENTRANCE SLIT FOR ADMITTING TO A MEASURING SYSTEM SELECTED SPECTRAL LINES TRANSMITTED FROM THE DISPERSING MEANS, THE DISPERSING MEANS HAVING A DESRIED GEOMETRIC RELATION TO THE SAMPLE RADIATION ENTRANCE AND EXIT SLITS, AND PROGRAM MEANS TO INITIATE A MEASUREMENT CYCLE; AND ALIGNMENT MONITOR APPARATUS COMPRISING: A SOURCE OF MONITOR RADIATION, A MONITOR ENTRANCE SLIT, THE MONITOR RADIATION BEING DIRECTED TO THE DISPERSING MEANS THROUGH THE MONITOR ENTRANCE SLIT, A MONITOR EXIT SLIT SPACED IN KNOWN RELATION TO THE MONITOR AND SAMPLE RADIATION ENTRANCE SLITS, THE MONITOR EXIT SLIT BEING POSITIONED TO INTERCEPT CENTRALLY A SELECTED SPECTRAL LINE OF THE MONITOR RADIATION SPECTRUM TRANSMITTED FROM THE DISPERSING MEANS WHEN THE DISPERSING MEANS IS IN THE DESIRED GEOMETRIC RELATION; POSITIONING MEANS TO ADJUST THE POSITION OF THE DISPERSING MEANS TO THE DESIRED GEOMETRIC RELATION; PHOTOELECTRIC MEANS TO DETECT A DEVIATION OF THE SELECTED MONITOR SPECTRAL LINE FROM CENTRAL INTERCEPTION BY THE MONITOR EXIT SLIT, AND ELECTRIC MEANS INTERCONNECTED WITH THE PHOTOELECTRIC MEANS TO GENERATE A SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF SAID DEVIATION; AND DISABLING MEANS INTERCONNECTED WITH TE ELECTRIC MEANS AND PROGRAM MEANS TO PREVENT INITIATION OF A MEASUREMENT CYCLE BY THE PROGRAM MEANS WHEN THE ELECTRIC MEANS SIGNAL INDICATES NON-CENTRAL INTERCEPTION BY THE MONITOR EXIT SLIT OF THE SELECTED MONITOR SPECTRAL LINE.