Patents Represented by Attorney David J. Pownser
  • Patent number: 8033670
    Abstract: The invention provides, in some aspects, devices for image acquisition that use seals (e.g., O-rings) between concentrically disposed portions of an enclosure and an optics assembly (or sub-assemblies thereof) in order to protect image acquisition components from the surrounding environment (and vice versa) while, at the same time, providing adequate friction for both adjusting and locking focus. Such devices include, in one aspect of the invention, an image capture medium (e.g., a CMOS sensor, CCD array, etc.) that is disposed within an enclosure and an optics assembly that is also disposed within that enclosure, rotatably. The optics assembly, which includes at least a lens, can have a cylindrical outer diameter along at least a portion of its length that is received within the enclosure along a length that has a corresponding cylindrical inner diameter. A first seal (e.g., an “O-ring”) is disposed between, and in contact with, the optics assembly and the enclosure, e.g., along these corresponding lengths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Cognex Corporation
    Inventors: George Costigan, Steven N. Goodspeed, Robert J. Tremblay, John F. Keating, Brian S. Phillips, James Hoffmaster