Patents Examined by Glen T Kinnear
  • Patent number: 6118113
    Abstract: The present invention is a system and method to quickly and accurately measure the luminance and luminance distribution of a light on the surface of an object so that the position of the focusing reflectors in the projector can be adjusted to obtain the best luminance available for that object. In one method of the present invention a scanning light receiver, which produces an optical image of the object whose luminance is to be tested, is set up so that it may view a substantial portion of the surface of the object. The light receiver is connected to a analyzer and control unit ("ACU") to which it sends an electronic image representing the reflected luminance of the surface during each scan. The reflected light that is detected by the light receiver is then analyzed by the ACU to determine the luminance levels and distribution across a substantial portion of the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Inventors: Earl Roger Hibbard, James A. Cashin
  • Patent number: 6087650
    Abstract: A solar sensor for a vehicle that is incorporated as part of the vehicle climate control system is disclosed. The solar sensor include a photo diode assembly including a sensing surface. The photo diode assembly is mounted on a horizontally extending portion of a dashboard of a vehicle with the sensing surface oriented substantially parallel to the plane that an occupant's body lies within when seated in the vehicle. The sensing surface is preferably oriented within a range of between about 16.degree. and 40.degree. above horizontal toward the front of a vehicle. Optimally, the sensing surface is oriented at an angle of 28.degree. above horizontal relative to the front of the vehicle. The photo diode assembly includes a housing having a base surface mounted to the dashboard that is configured to hold the sensing surface of the photo diode in the desired angular orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Gerhard Allan Dage
  • Patent number: 6040584
    Abstract: A method and system for determining the extent of deterioration of a bill includes generating transmitted and reflected light images. The reflected and transmitted light intensities of the transmission and reflection light intensity images are used to determine one or more disorder curve lengths for each image of the bill. Each disorder curve length is compared with a corresponding predetermined disorder curve length for a corresponding image of a reference bill to generate an evaluation factor. The positions of the evaluation factors on an evaluation map indicate the extent of deterioration of the bill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: MTI Corporation
    Inventors: Jiancheng Liu, Kazuo Yamazaki