Patents Examined by Ricky D. Shafer
  • Patent number: 11726240
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a component, such as a MEMS mirror or other generally disc-shaped component, having a variable mesh pattern across a backside surface thereof. The variable mesh includes ribs having a first thickness near a center portion or axis of rotation of the components, and a second narrower thickness at portions farther from the center or axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventor: Kevin Yasumura
  • Patent number: 11719938
    Abstract: There is provided an optical system, including a light-transmitting substrate having at least two major surfaces parallel to each other edges, and an optical device for coupling light into the substrate by total internal reflection. The device includes a polarization sensitive reflecting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: LUMUS LTD.
    Inventor: Yaakov Amitai
  • Patent number: 11718230
    Abstract: A mirror assembly for use with mirror housing on autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, including a reflector for collecting and distributing emitted light to a plurality of icon regions, a circuit board, a plurality of light sources mounted to the circuit board and positioned to selectively emit light to illuminate the icon regions, wherein the circuit board provides selective illumination of the icon regions via the light sources in response to one or more received signal inputs from the vehicle indicating an imminent autonomous vehicle maneuver, a mirror having a front surface and a rear surface, wherein the reflector is secured at least indirectly to the rear surface and a plurality of icons visible along a driver viewing axis relative to the front surface of the mirror during illumination, wherein the plurality of icons are positioned over the icon regions to allow for selective icon illumination via a selected icon region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Muth Mirror Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Jeff A. Ruel, Pat C. Miller, Dan J. Mathieu
  • Patent number: 11712997
    Abstract: A method for assembling a vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly includes providing a mirror mount, a mirror casing, a mirror reflective element at the mirror casing, and a toggle mechanism, which includes a body portion and a toggle lever joined to the body portion. A lower pivot mount of the toggle mechanism is inserted into a lower receiving portion of the mirror casing and an upper pivot mount of the toggle mechanism is inserted into an upper receiving portion of the mirror casing. An outer surface of the body portion corresponds with adjacent outer surfaces of the mirror casing. With a pivot element of the toggle mechanism attached at the mirror mount, and when the toggle lever pivots relative to the lower receiving portion of the mirror casing, the mirror casing pivots relative to the body portion to flip the mirror head between a first orientation and a second orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: Magna Mirrors of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew V. Steffes, Peter Krebs
  • Patent number: 11708031
    Abstract: A mirror assembly can include a housing, a mirror, and a light source. In certain embodiments, the mirror is rotatable within a support portion of the mirror assembly. In some embodiments, the mirror assembly is configured to use an audio sensor or an audio signal derived from an audio sensor, such as an audio sensor or audio signal configured to sense or to correspond to or to represent one or more voice commands or other sounds (e.g., clapping, snapping, or otherwise) received from a user, in order to actuate or adjust any of one or more features or settings of the mirror assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: simplehuman, LLC
    Inventors: Frank Yang, Guy Cohen
  • Patent number: 11708028
    Abstract: A vehicle-mounted display device includes a glass plate including a first arcuate surface at a first outer circumferential edge part and facing a front surface side, a casing that supports the glass plate from a rear surface side and including a housing and a frame that projects therefrom, and a display unit stored in the casing. A rear surface of the glass plate and a front surface of the frame are spaced and face each other. The frame includes a projection that projects from the front surface of the frame toward the rear surface of the glass plate at a second outer circumferential edge part of the front surface of the frame. The projection includes a second arcuate surface and a center and a radius of the second arcuate surface that are identical to a center and a radius of the first arcuate surface, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Norihito Kitajima, Tomoaki Yamamoto, Yuji Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 11709302
    Abstract: Provided is a phase difference film formed of a resin containing a polymer having crystallizability. The phase difference film has an NZ factor of less than 1 and an in-plane retardation Re that satisfies 125 nm?Re?345 nm. The polymer has a crystallization degree of 15% or more. Alternatively, the polymer is an alicyclic structure-containing polymer being a hydrogenated product of a ring-opening polymer of dicyclopentadiene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: ZEON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshihide Murakami
  • Patent number: 11679718
    Abstract: Apparatus 10 has a mirror assembly 12, an arm 14 connected to the mirror assembly 12, and a clamp 18 mounted by the arm 14 and for connecting to a vehicle wing mirror 42. The clamp 18 has a frame 26 and a movable clamping member 28, with the clamping member 28 including an engaging portion 36. The engaging portion 36 includes a flexible concave engaging surface 40. The engaging portion 36 of the movable clamping member 28 has two curved layers 44 and 46 of different materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Milenco Innovation Limited
    Inventor: Frederick Nigel Milbank
  • Patent number: 11675187
    Abstract: A method for designing an imaging optical system is a point-by-point calculation method based on characteristic light rays (FLR) and characteristic data points (FDP). The basic function of the point-by-point calculation method includes the following steps: according to the given object-image relationship, based on Fermat's principle and the law of retraction and reflection, calculating the propagation path of the FLR passing through a system and the FDP on each optical surface, to obtain a surface shape equation of each optical surface by fitting; and repeating the above process, to solve the surface shape equation of each optical surface one by one, and finally complete the design and solution of the entire imaging optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignees: Tsinghua University, HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ben-Qi Zhang, Jun Zhu, Guo-Fan Jin, Shou-Shan Fan
  • Patent number: 11667238
    Abstract: Infant observation mirror assembly with temperature display for attachment to a top portion of a rear vehicle seat includes a main panel having opposed front and rear surfaces and a mirror embedded in the front surface thereof. The mirror assembly further includes a temperature display section defined on the front surface of the main panel. A positioning base is coupled to the rear surface of the main panel. The main panel is pivotably attached to the positioning base for allowing rotation about a horizontal axis and a vertical axis. A mounting harness attaches to the positioning base. The mounting harness removably attaches to the top portion of the rear vehicle seat to hold the mirror assembly in a selected lateral and vertical position on the rear vehicle seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: THERMOMIRROR LLC
    Inventors: Kareem Karmous, Maged Atia
  • Patent number: 11656453
    Abstract: An optical imaging arrangement includes an optical element and a piezoelectric device. The optical element includes an optical element body carrying an optical surface on a front side of the optical element body. The piezoelectric device includes a first electrode and at least one piezoelectric element. The first electrode is configured to cooperate with the at least one piezoelectric element and at least one second electrode, when the at least one second electrode is located on a rear side of the optical element body and the at least one piezoelectric element is located between the first electrode and the at least one second electrode, the rear side of the optical element body being opposite to the front side of the optical element body. The first electrode is located on the front side of the optical element body, and the at least one piezoelectric element is formed by at least one piezoelectric section of the optical element body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH
    Inventors: Yim-Bun Patrick Kwan, Axel Lorenz, Jasper Wesselingh
  • Patent number: 11656386
    Abstract: A plasmonic system is disclosed. The system includes at least one polarizer that is configured to provide at least one linearly polarized broadband light beam, an anisotropic plasmonic metasurface (APM) assembly having a plurality of nanoantennae each having a predetermined orientation with respect to a global axis representing encoded digital data, the APM assembly configured to receive the at least one linearly polarized broadband light beam and by applying localized surface plasmon resonance reflect light with selectable wavelengths associated with the predetermined orientations of the nanoantennae, and at least one analyzer that is configured to receive the reflected light with selectable wavelength, wherein the relative angles between each of the at least one analyzers and each of the at least one polarizers are selectable with respect to the global axis, thereby allowing decoding of the digital data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation
    Inventors: Alexander V. Kildishev, Di Wang, Zhaxylyk A. Kudyshev, Maowen Song, Alexandra Boltasseva, Vladimir M. Shalaev
  • Patent number: 11656475
    Abstract: An optical sensing device adopted to use structured light to detect an object is provided. The optical sensing device includes a structured light projector and a sensor. The structured light projector includes a light source and at least one beam multiplication film. The light source is configured to emit a light beam. The at least one beam multiplication film is disposed on a transmission path of the light beam and is made of anisotropic refractive index material, wherein a plurality of separated light beams are produced after the light beam from the light source passes through the at least one beam multiplication film, so as to form the structured light. The sensor is configured to sense the structured light reflected from the object. Besides, a structured light projector is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: LIQXTAL TECHNOLOGY INC.
    Inventors: Hung-Shan Chen, Yen-Chen Chen
  • Patent number: 11644603
    Abstract: A special-shaped plane reflecting mirror including a first reflecting mirror, a second reflecting mirror, a third reflecting mirror, a fourth reflecting mirror and a fifth reflecting mirror; wherein the second reflecting mirror and the fourth reflecting mirror are constructed the same and symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first reflecting mirror, the third and fifth reflecting mirrors have the same structure and are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the first reflecting mirror, the first reflecting mirror is placed at an angle of 45° with the horizontal plane, and the second reflecting mirror. The first mirror is placed at an angle of 45° with the horizontal plane, the angle between the reflection surface of the second mirror and the reflection surface of the first mirror is 165°, and the angle between the reflection surface of the third mirror and the reflection surface of the first mirror is 163°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: MLOptic Corp.
    Inventors: Wei Zhou, Rong Ji, Jiang He, Weida Liu
  • Patent number: 11640041
    Abstract: An optical unit includes: a reflection portion that reflects an incident light flux incident from outside on a reflection surface in a reflection direction from an incident direction toward an imaging element; a movable body having the reflection portion and a holder supporting the reflection portion; a fixed body; a rotation support mechanism that causes the movable body to rotate with respect to the fixed body with an axial direction as a rotation axis; and a drive mechanism having a magnet and a coil and causing the movable body to rotate with respect to the fixed body. The magnet is provided at a position not contacting the reflection portion in the holder and on a back side of the reflection surface, and has a parallel surface parallel to the reflection surface. The coil is provided at a position opposing the magnet in the fixed body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsutomu Arai, Shogo Kasahara, Takeshi Sue
  • Patent number: 11640018
    Abstract: A floating mirror includes a buoyant body extending between a first end and a second end, and a reflective material disposed on opposite surfaces of the buoyant body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Inventor: Robert T. V. Kung
  • Patent number: 11634077
    Abstract: A vehicular exterior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror head pivotally mounted at a mounting arm configured for attachment at a side of a vehicle. The mirror head includes a reflective element. A powerfold actuator is operable to pivot the mirror head relative to the mounting arm between at least a folded position and a drive position. The powerfold actuator includes a primary detent that is engaged to maintain the mirror head at the drive position when the mirror head is pivoted via the powerfold actuator to the drive position. The powerfold actuator includes a secondary detent. Following pivoting via the powerfold actuator of the mirror head to the folded position, when the mirror head is manually pivoted from the folded position to the drive position, the primary detent is disengaged and the secondary detent is engaged to maintain the mirror head at the drive position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: MAGNA MIRRORS OF AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Kenneth C. Peterson, Mitchell J. Wesley
  • Patent number: 11634075
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provide for an actuator system for a rear view device of a motor vehicle, configured for adjustment of a component when being connected to the actuator system The actuator system may include a drive system arranged to rotate a bayonet gear, which is coupled via at least one engagement element to a latching barrel to axially move or rotate the latching barrel along or around a rotational axis, wherein the latching barrel is configured to engage into at least one of two worm gears or to rotate the engaged worm gear when being moved or rotated. The latching barrel may be cylindrically shaped with a cylindrical surface as an engagement surface and oppositely arranged first and second sides each directed towards one of the two worm gears.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: Motherson Innovations Company Limited
    Inventors: Tom Harris, Warwick Jones
  • Patent number: 11634076
    Abstract: A vehicular exterior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror head movably attached at a mounting base configured for mounting at a side of a vehicle. The mirror head includes a mirror casing and a mirror reflective element. An actuator is operable to move the mirror head relative to the mounting base between at least an extended position and a folded position. The actuator includes a first detent interface that is engaged to maintain the mirror head at the folded or extended position when the mirror head is moved via the actuator to that position. The actuator includes a second detent interface that is engaged to maintain the mirror head at the folded or extended position when the mirror head is manually moved to that position. The second detent interface is not engaged while the actuator moves the mirror head between the folded position and the extended position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: MAGNA MIRRORS OF AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Kenneth C. Peterson, Mitchell J. Wesley
  • Patent number: 11628770
    Abstract: Drive for an adjusting instrument, comprising a single motor, in particular an electric motor, and a driving shaft coupled therewith. The driving shaft cooperates via a transmission selectively with a first and a second driving path respectively. The drive comprises furthermore an operating mechanism with which the transmission is switchable between the first and the second driving path. The operating mechanism is energized by the motor via the driving shaft and is configured, upon successive energization of the motor from rest of the drive, to select alternately the first and the second driving path as initial driving path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: MCi (Mirror Controls International) Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Paulus Gerardus Maria Van Stiphout, Bastiaan Bartjan Maat