Apparatus and method for aligning an optical beam
US5085509A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 28, 1989 |
| Grant date | Feb 4, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 28, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB23K26/043
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
The alignment apparatus is intended for repairing welds using infrared radiation and a weldhead (30) inside a heat exchanger tube (14) in the water box (20) of a steam generator associated with a nuclear reactor. A power beam (PE, PL, PS) is transported to the axis (24) of a tube (14) to be treated via two motor-driven light deflectors referred to as an "emitter" (11) fixed adjacent to an access hole into the water box, and as a "receiver" (12) carried by a "carrier" (22) at the entrance to the tube to be treated. The power beam is surrounded coaxially by a visible beam (AE, AL, AS) which is used for establishing and maintaining an optical connection between the emitter and the receiver by means of retroreflectors (15) and an autocollimation mirror (17) carried by the receiver (12) and by detectors (16, 18) carried by the emitter (11).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.