A Simple Electronic Method for Automatically Positioning Lamps in Optical Systems

A lamp is inserted into an optical system consisting of a reflector, an aperture, a lens, and a screen. In general, the lamp filament is not located at the exact spatial position which would provide optimum intensity and uniformity on the screen. The lamp is translated along an axis of a Cartesian coordinate system, first past the point at which a maximum screen illumination is observed, then back to that point where the lamp movement is stopped. The above procedure is repeated sequentially along the second and third coordinate axes. The third maximum point corresponds to the optimum position for that lamp.