Optical data processor

Claim 2

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data presented in an aperture of an optical system for the purpose of viewing or recording processed data which comprises: a. means for partial control of an image line of recorded data to correct tilt in said line, b. means in optical alignment with said first means for bringing said image line into final upright position relative to an optical axis, and c. means for optically combining said image line with another image line, one focused in azimuth and the other in a range direction into a single line to eliminate astigmatism between the two.

Claim 3

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data presented in an aperture of an optical system and viewing or recording processed data which comprises: a. means for partial control of a line resulting from inherent focal points of a signal input, b. means in optical alignment with said first means for bringing said line into final upright position, and c. means for optically separating said line from a second focal line, one in azimuth and one in range direction, so that said separated lines may be acted upon independently by a lens control system.

Claim 4

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data presented in an aperture of an optical system and viewing or recording processed data which comprises: a. means for partial control of a line resulting from inherent focal points of a signal input, b. means in optical alignment with said first means for bringing said line into final upright position, and c. means for optically separating said line from a second focal line, one in azimuth and one in range direction, so that said separated lines may be acted upon independently by a lens control system.

Claim 5

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data presented in an optical aperture of a system and viewing or recording said data which comprises: a. means for partial control of a line resulting from inherent focal points of a signal input, b. means in optical alignment with said first means for bringing said line into final upright position, c. means for optically separating said line from a second focal line, one in azimuth and one in range direction, so that said separated lines may be acted upon independently by a lens control system, and d. means for combining said two lines into a single line at the output of a system to eliminate astigmatism.

Claim 6

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data presented in an optical aperture of a system and viewing or recording said data which comprises: a. means for partial control of a line resulting from inherent focal points of a signal input, b. means in optical alignment with said first means for bringing said line into final upright position, c. means for optically separating said line from a second focal line, one in azimuth and one in range direction, so that said separated lines may be acted upon independently by a lens control system, and d. means for combining said two lines into a single line at the output of a system to eliminate astigmatism.

Claim 7

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic two-dimensional data including data in an azimuth direction and data in a range direction presented in an optical aperture of a system for the purpose of viewing or recording said data which comprises: a. means for creating two separate image lines, one for the azimuth direction and one for the range direction, one of said lines being atilt by reason of the optics of the signal data recording, b. means for partial control of the tilt of said one line, c. means for bringing said one line into final upright position, d. means for separating said two image lines so that they may be acted upon independently by lenses, and e. means for combining said two lines, one focused in the azimuth direction and the other in the range direction into a single line to eliminate astigmatism between the two.

Claim 8

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic two-dimensional data including data in an azimuth direction and data in a range direction presented in an optical aperture of a system for the purpose of viewing or recording said data which comprises: a. means for creating two separate image lines, one for the azimuth direction and one for the range direction, one of said lines being atilt by reason of the optics of the signal data recording, b. means for partial control of the tilt of said one line, c. means for bringing said one line into final upright position, d. means for separating said two image lines so that they may be acted upon independently by lenses, and e. means for combining said two lines, one focused in the azimuth direction and the other in the range direction into a single line to eliminate astigmatism between the two.

Claim 9

An optical data processor for processing two-dimensional periodic data including data in an azimuth direction and data in a range direction presented in an optical aperture of a system which comprises: a. means for creating separate optical lines for the azimuth direction and the range direction of the data, said azimuth line being atilt by reason of the optical characteristics of the periodic data, b. means for controlling the tilt of said azimuth line to bring it into final upright position, and c. means for combining said azimuth line and said range line into a single real line to eliminate astigmatism between the two.

Claim 10

An optical data processor for processing two-dimensional periodic data including data in an azimuth direction and data in a range direction presented in an optical aperture of a system which comprises: a. means for creating separate optical lines for the azimuth direction and the range direction of the data, said azimuth line being atilt by reason of the optical characteristics of the periodic data, b. means for controlling the tilt of said azimuth line to bring it into final upright position, and c. means for combining said azimuth line and said range line into a single real line to eliminate astigmatism between the two.

Claim 11

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data from a moving input film strip and recording it in an output plane of a final film strip which comprises: a. optical means for creating two image lines, one focused in the azimuth direction and the other focused in the range direction, said azimuth line being atilt by reason of the optical characteristics of said input film, b. means for controlling the tilt of said line to bring it into a final erect position, c. means for separating said two lines so that they may be acted upon independently by a suitable lens system, d. a lens system for combining said two lines into a single line to eliminate astigmatism between the two, and e. means for preserving constant magnification of said lines.

Claim 12

An improvement in an optical data processor for processing periodic data from a moving input film strip and recording it in an output plane of a final film strip which comprises: a. optical means for creating two image lines, one focused in the azimuth direction and the other focused in the range direction, said azimuth line being atilt by reason of the optical characteristics of said input film, b. means for controlling the tilt of said line to bring it into a final erect position, c. means for separating said two lines so that they may be acted upon independently by a suitable lens system, d. a lens system for combining said two lines into a single line to eliminate astigmatism between the two, and e. means for preserving constant magnification of said lines.

Claim 13

A device as defined in claim 6 in which the means for separating the two focal lines comprises: a. a separator lens, and b. said means for preserving constant magnification includes a double afocal system, one of which demagnifies the focal lines and the second of which magnifies the focal lines, said second system comprising a pair of cylindrical lenses disposed orthogonally.

Claim 14

An optical data processor for processing periodic data which comprises: a. a light source, b. a film having azimuth and range data of a periodic nature adapted to be moved past said light source wherein are formed azimuth and range lines, c. a first afocal system to demagnify said lines and change tilt of one of said lines, D. a second afocal system to magnify said lines and further correct tilt of one of said lines and to bring said lines into coincidence, and e. a final recording film movable in ratio to said first film to receive said lines through a slit aperture wherein a tracking of said lines on said film occurs during exposure of said final film to said lines.

Claim 15

An optical data processor for processing periodic data which comprises: a. a light source, b. a film having azimuth and range data of a periodic nature adapted to be moved past said light source wherein are formed azimuth and range lines, c. a first afocal system to demagnify said lines and change tilt of one of said lines, D. a second afocal system to magnify said lines and further correct tilt of one of said lines and to bring said lines into coincidence, and e. a final recording film movable in ratio to said first film to receive said lines through a slit aperture wherein a tracking of said lines on said film occurs during exposure of said final film to said lines.

Claim 16

An optical data processor for processing periodic data as defined in claim 8 in which the afocal system to magnify said lines and further correct tilt of one of said lines comprises a pair of spaced cylindrical lenses, at least one of which is movable about an axis orthogonally related to the axis of the cylinder and the axis of the optical system, and further includes an objective lens.

Claim 17

An optical data processor for processing periodic data as defined in claim 8 in which a separator lens is inserted in one of said afocal systems to increase separation of the range line and azimuth line to permit independent correction of said lines.

Claim 18

An optical data processor for processing periodic data as defined in claim 8 and in which a spatial filter and a separator lens are inserted in one of said first afocal systems at or near the principal focus point of both lenses thereof, to respectively select the desired focus lines of said light and to increase separation of the range line and azimuth line to permit independent correction of said lines.

Claim 19

An optical data processor for processing periodic data which comprises: a. a light source, b. an afocal system to expand and collimate light from said light source, c. a film having azimuth and range data of a periodic nature adapted to be moved past said light source wherein are formed azimuth and range focal lines, d. a first afocal system to demagnify and correct tilt of said lines, e. a separator lens to increase separation of the range line and the azimuth line, f. a second afocal system to magnify and further correct tilt of said lines and to bring said lines into coincidence, and g. a final recording film movable in ratio to said first film to receive said lines through a slit aperture wherein a tracking of said lines on said film occurs during exposure of said final film to said lines.

Claim 20

An optical data processor for processing periodic data which comprises: a. a light source, b. an afocal system to expand and collimate light from said light source, c. a film having azimuth and range data of a periodic nature adapted to be moved past said light source wherein are formed azimuth and range focal lines, d. a first afocal system to demagnify and correct tilt of said lines, e. a separator lens to increase separation of the range line and the azimuth line, f. a second afocal system to magnify and further correct tilt of said lines and to bring said lines into coincidence, and g. a final recording film movable in ratio to said first film to receive said lines through a slit aperture wherein a tracking of said lines on said film occurs during exposure of said final film to said lines.

Claim 21

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a correlated variation thereof on a continuous record, which comprises: a. a laser light source emitting parallel light in small cross-section, b. an afocal system to expand and collimate light from said laser light source, c. a strip of recorded periodic data mounted for movement past said light source carrying data serving as a zone plate to create spatial images in an optical system, d. an afocal system to transfer said images to new positions in space along the axis of an optical system, e. a separator lens to effect separation of said spatial images along the axis of said optical system, f. a second afocal system to manipulate said images relative to each other to a desired relative position, g. means optically to merge said images in said optical system, h. means forming a slit aperture in direct line with a transverse path of said merged images resulting from motion of said strip of recorded data, and i. a final, light-sensitive recording strip movable past said slit in ratio to said first strip to receive exposure during the transverse movement of said merged images past said slit.

Claim 22

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a correlated variation thereof on a continuous record, which comprises: a. a laser light source emitting parallel light in small cross-section, b. an afocal system to expand and collimate light from said laser light source, c. a strip of recorded periodic data mounted for movement past said light source carrying data serving as a zone plate to create spatial images in an optical system, d. an afocal system to transfer said images to new positions in space along the axis of an optical system, e. a separator lens to effect separation of said spatial images along the axis of said optical system, f. a second afocal system to manipulate said images relative to each other to a desired relative position, g. means optically to merge said images in said optical system, h. means forming a slit aperture in direct line with a transverse path of said merged images resulting from motion of said strip of recorded data, and i. a final, light-sensitive recording strip movable past said slit in ratio to said first strip to receive exposure during the transverse movement of said merged images past said slit.

Claim 23

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a correlated variation thereof on a continuous record, which comprises: a. a laser light source emitting parallel light in small cross-section, b. an afocal system to expand and collimate light from said laser light source, c. a strip of recorded periodic data mounted for movement past said light source carrying data serving as a zone plate to create a spatial image in an optical system, d. an afocal System to transfer said image to a new position in space along the axis of an optical system, e. a second afocal system to manipulate said image to a desired corrected position in said optical system, f. means forming a slit aperture in direct line with a transverse path of said corrected image resulting from motion of said strip of recorded data, and g. a final, light-sensitive recording strip movable past said slit in ratio to said first strip to receive exposure during the transverse movement of said corrected image past said slit.

Claim 24

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a correlated variation thereof on a continuous record, which comprises: a. a laser light source emitting parallel light in small cross-section, b. an afocal system to expand and collimate light from said laser light source, c. a strip of recorded periodic data mounted for movement past said light source carrying data serving as a zone plate to create a spatial image in an optical system, d. an afocal System to transfer said image to a new position in space along the axis of an optical system, e. a second afocal system to manipulate said image to a desired corrected position in said optical system, f. means forming a slit aperture in direct line with a transverse path of said corrected image resulting from motion of said strip of recorded data, and g. a final, light-sensitive recording strip movable past said slit in ratio to said first strip to receive exposure during the transverse movement of said corrected image past said slit.

Claim 25

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a processed variation thereof on a continuous record as defined in claim 12 in which a plurality of parallel optical systems are fixed between said data film and said recording film each spaced transversely relative to each other and said film to read, and record on, only a portion of said films to facilitate processing of relatively wide film to minimize lens aberration.

Claim 26

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a variation thereof in a continuous record as defined in claim 14 in which a plurality of parallel optical systems are fixed between the moving strip of recorded data and the moving recording strip each spaced transversely relative to each other and said strips to read, and record on, only a portion of said strip to facilitate processing of relatively wide strip to minimize lens aberration.

Claim 27

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a processed variation thereof on a continuous record, which comprises: a. a light source, b. a film having azimuth and range data of a periodic nature adapted to be moved past said light source and serving as a zone plate to create spatial images in the form of azimuth and range lines in an optical system, c. a first afocal lens system in said optical system to demagnify said lines and change the tilt of said azimuth image line and recreate the images in a second position along the optical axis of said system, d. a second afocal lens system in said optical system to bring said azimuth and range lines into coincidence and to further correct the tilt of said azimuth image line, said second afocal lens system comprising a pair of spaced cylindrical lenses, one of which is positioned generally at the second position of the azimuth image line in said optical system and which is movable about an axis orthogonally related to the axis of the cylinder and the axis of the optical system, e. an objective lens to co-operate with said cylindrical lenses to remagnify said image lines, and f. a final recording film movable in ratio to said first film to receive said coincidence image line through a slit aperture wherein a tracking of said lines on said recording film occurs during exposure of said final film through said slit aperture.

Claim 28

An optical data processor for processing a continuous record of periodic data and recording a processed variation thereof on a continuous record, which comprises: a. a light source, b. a film having azimuth and range data of a periodic nature adapted to be moved past said light source and serving as a zone plate to create spatial images in the form of azimuth and range lines in an optical system, c. a first afocal lens system in said optical system to demagnify said lines and change the tilt of said azimuth image line and recreate the images in a second position along the optical axis of said system, d. a second afocal lens system in said optical system to bring said azimuth and range lines into coincidence and to further correct the tilt of said azimuth image line, said second afocal lens system comprising a pair of spaced cylindrical lenses, one of which is positioned generally at the second position of the azimuth image line in said optical system and which is movable about an axis orthogonally related to the axis of the cylinder and the axis of the optical system, e. an objective lens to co-operate with said cylindrical lenses to remagnify said image lines, and f. a final recording film movable in ratio to said first film to receive said coincidence image line through a slit aperture wherein a tracking of said lines on said recording film occurs during exposure of said final film through said slit aperture.