Patents Examined by Que T. Le
  • Patent number: 9921344
    Abstract: A plasmonic lens is presented comprising a surface for interaction with an input electromagnetic field, wherein this surface has a pattern comprising an arrangement of a plurality of elongated spaced-apart features of a predetermined geometry arranged in a spaced-apart relationship along at least one segment of a spiral curve, each of the pattern features defining an elongated interface for creation of surface waves in response to the interaction with the incident electromagnetic field, such that the pattern provides linear-polarization-independent plasmonic focusing and large area, high contrast, circular polarization dichroic plasmonic focusing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: TECHNION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION LIMITED
    Inventors: Meir Orenstein, Grisha Spektor
  • Patent number: 9921407
    Abstract: A fiber-optic scanner equipped with a light-guiding optical fiber; the fiber-optic scanner including a plurality of vibration generating units disposed circumferentially at equal intervals on an outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber located on a base end side thereof at a predetermined distance from the emission end of the optical fiber to vibrate an emission end of the optical fiber in a plurality of directions; and a vibration damping member disposed at least in a position between base end-side edges of the vibration generating units and the emission end of the optical fiber, wherein the vibration damping member has a uniform shape of a rotating body rotated around the axis line of the optical fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuaki Kasai
  • Patent number: 9922232
    Abstract: A fingerprint imaging system and a method for forming the same. The system includes: a backlight system; a sensor array on the backlight system, wherein the sensor array comprises a plurality of photodiodes and a plurality of light transmission regions between adjacent photodiodes; and an anti-light-scattering layer formed on the sensor array, wherein the anti-light-scattering layer comprises a plurality of first portions and a plurality of second portions disposed between adjacent first portions, wherein the plurality of first portions cover at least the plurality of photodiodes respectively, and refractivity of the plurality of first portions is greater than refractivity of the plurality of second portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Shanghai Oxi Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hong Zhu, Yan Ling, Yajie Zheng
  • Patent number: 9921197
    Abstract: A both ultraviolet-visible and double monochromatic fluorescence dual detector has a small inner-casing, which combines both ultraviolet-visible and double monochromatic fluorescence dual detector widely used in the high performance liquid chromatography by taking the first to use deuterium lamp as the individual light source of the dual detectors, the individual sample detection cell and the individual electrical circuit, the device comprises a detection optical member, which including a first monochromatic spectroscopic device—raster G1, a second monochromatic spectroscopic device—raster G2, a light source, four groups of lens needed for processing the light paths; and a detection electromechanical member, which includes: a central controller, a proposed amplifying module, an auto gain module, a noise processing module and a logarithm amplifying module. The dual detector realizes the sensitivity and stability, also the elimination of noise and drift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Inventor: Jiade Yu
  • Patent number: 9917119
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: a unit pixel cell comprising: a photoelectric converter generating an electric signal and comprising a first and second electrodes and a photoelectric conversion film located therebetween, the first electrode being located on a light receiving side of the photoelectric conversion film, a signal detection circuit detecting the electric signal and comprising a first transistor and a second transistor that are connected to the second electrode, the first transistor amplifying the electric signal, and a capacitor circuit comprising a first capacitor and a second capacitor having a capacitance value larger than that of the first capacitor that are serially connected to each other, the capacitor circuit being provided between the second electrode and a reference voltage; and a feedback circuit comprising the first transistor and an inverting amplifier and negatively feeding back the electric signal to the second transistor via the first transistor and the inverting amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masashi Murakami, Kazuko Nishimura, Yutaka Abe, Yoshiyuki Matsunaga, Yoshihiro Sato, Junji Hirase
  • Patent number: 9917582
    Abstract: An optical sensor, optical system, and proximity sensor are disclosed. An illustrative proximity sensor is disclosed to include a light source, a photodetector including a photo-sensitive area that receives incident light and converts the received incident light into an electrical signal, and a plurality of polarization layers stacked on the photodetector that limit light from becoming received incident light for the photo-sensitive area to light traveling toward the photodetector along a predetermined path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES GENERAL IP (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Wee Sin Tan, John Lim, Hui Ling Neo, Serene Chan, Saravanan Rani Ramamoorthy
  • Patent number: 9909975
    Abstract: A device configured for rotation about an axis of rotation to drive liquid flow within the device. The device includes a detection chamber having opposed first second ends and two optical features defining an optical path through the detection chamber, between the first and second ends. The detection chamber includes a first liquid inlet disposed at the first end on a first side of the optical path, a first liquid outlet disposed at the second end of the detection chamber on the first side of the optical path and a second liquid outlet disposed at the second end of the detection chamber on a second side of the optical path. The first side of the optical path is radially outwards of the second side of the optical path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Biosurfit, S.A.
    Inventors: Nuno Alexandre Esteves Reis, Tania Moura Pires De Andrade Tenreiro, Miguel Joao Marques Barreiros
  • Patent number: 9909922
    Abstract: An anti-aliasing photodetector system for a powered ophthalmic device, such as a contact lens, may be utilized for any number of functions. The anti-aliasing photodetector system converts current from an array of photodetectors into a voltage for use in other aspects of the powered ophthalmic device. The anti-aliasing photodetector system comprises a photodiode array including a plurality of individual photodiodes, an integrate-and-hold circuit, including a capacitor and switch to convert current to voltage, and an analog-to-digital converter. The anti-aliasing photodetector system provides for low power consumption, a wide dynamic range, noise rejection, and is capable of detecting incident ambient visible light as well as incident infrared light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Karl Schweickert, Steven Phillip Hoggarth, Corey Kenneth Barrows, Scott Robert Humphreys, Adam Walter Toner, Randall Braxton Pugh
  • Patent number: 9912302
    Abstract: A pulse detector amplifier is disclosed. The pulse detector amplifier may have a detection switching leg that receives an input energy pulse. The pulse detector may have a mirror fast trigger including a trigger node and controlling a mirrored switching leg. The detection switching leg may trigger the trigger node in response to the input energy pulse. The pulse detector amplifier may also have a mirrored switching leg that controlled by the trigger node. The mirrored switching leg may control a voltage and/or current on the output node responsive to the input energy pulse. Thus, the pulse detector may generally include a cascode architecture, with a mirror fast trigger (which may include a FET) between the mirrored legs of the amplifier and enhancing the rapid triggering of the amplifier output. Thus the pulse detector may be power efficient, may have a small part count, and may be sensitive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: SENSORS UNLIMITED, INC.
    Inventors: Minlong Lin, Joshua Lund, Robert Brubaker
  • Patent number: 9910156
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to systems, devices and methods utilizing a proxy device that indicates directional aspects of redirected light from a corresponding light redirecting element by the position of one or more redirected light beams in one or more directions or coordinates on such a proxy device. The position characteristics of light redirected from the proxy device correlate to the aim of the light redirecting element associated with the proxy. This allows the proxy information to be used to accurately determine and control the aim of the light redirecting element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: SOLARRESERVE TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    Inventor: Braden E. Hines
  • Patent number: 9903754
    Abstract: A security device in an electronic device which protects against unauthorized disassembly includes light sources, a plurality of photosensitive elements, a detection unit, a storage unit, a processor, and light guiding devices. Light conducting channels are provided between the light sources and the induction elements. Barrier objects that block light are installed at certain first light guiding channels of the light guiding channels, and are removed from the first light conducting channels when the electronic device is disassembled, so that induction signals output by the photosensitive elements are changed from the model or original digitally-recorded signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignees: NANNING FUGUI PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD., HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xiao-Hu Tang, Pei Liu
  • Patent number: 9905596
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor which holds a potential for a long time and includes a thin film transistor with stable electrical characteristics is provided. A reset transistor is omitted by initializing the signal charge storage portion to a cathode potential of a photoelectric conversion element portion in the solid-state image sensor. When a thin film transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor layer and has an off-state current of 1×10?13 A or less is used as a transfer transistor of the solid-state image sensor, the potential of the signal charge storage portion is kept constant, so that a dynamic range can be improved. When a silicon semiconductor which can be used for a complementary metal oxide semiconductor is used for a peripheral circuit, a high-speed semiconductor device with low power consumption can be manufactured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jun Koyama
  • Patent number: 9897814
    Abstract: A device for the sampling of a pulsed laser beam of high energy, typically greater than 1 J, and of large size, having a diameter typically greater than 1 cm, combined with a compressor, comprises, upstream of the compressor: a sample-taking device provided with a sampling diopter capable of transmitting T % of the pulsed laser beam, T being greater than 90, and of reflecting (1?T) % of the pulsed laser beam, the reflected beam being called sampled beam, an afocal capable of reducing the size of the sampled beam, the compressor having a determined useful aperture, a device for reinjecting the reduced sampled beam into this useful aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Sébastien Laux, Paul Jougla, François Lureau
  • Patent number: 9897693
    Abstract: An electronic device and a method for controlling a gesture sensor of the same are provided. The electronic device includes a gesture sensor and a threshold determining module configured to receive a light amount measurement with respect to light incident to the gesture sensor, to compare the light amount measurement with a light amount reference value, and to determine a light amount threshold that is used based on object recognition of the gesture sensor by adding the weight value to the light amount measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jeong-Ho Cho, Seung-Geol Baek, Dong-Han Lee, Jae-Yub Kim, Jong-Woo Kim, Ki-Hong Min, Hyeon-Chang Son, Ki-Hun Eom, Kyeong-Mun Jo
  • Patent number: 9897470
    Abstract: A device for characterizing a physical phenomenon that includes at least one optical fiber with short Bragg gratings having constant spacing, at least one broad spectrum laser lighting source, an optical circulator and a photoelectric detector that is configured to measure a global flux of all the reflected radiation picked up at the output of the optical circulator, as a function of time. Further disclosed is a method of characterization in which the global flux of the signal is measured in such a way that a drop in the signal corresponds to the destruction of a Bragg grating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
    Inventor: Jacky Benier
  • Patent number: 9900537
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging unit includes: a pixel section including a plurality of pixels each including a photoelectric conversion section, a charge-voltage conversion section, and a transfer transistor transferring charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion section to the charge-voltage conversion section; and a storage section storing information about an optimum value of an intermediate voltage to be applied to a gate of the transfer transistor at time of an intermediate transfer operation when a signal charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion section is divided to be read in a predetermined times of the intermediate transfer operations and a complete transfer operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Ito, Gen Kasai
  • Patent number: 9891100
    Abstract: An electronic device display may have a display cover layer. The cover layer may have a border that has an opaque masking material with an opening defining a light window for an ambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor may have a photodetector mounted in a light sensor housing. A molded clear plastic light diffuser may be used to diffuse light for the ambient light sensor that is passing through the light window. The light diffuser may reduce directionality in the ambient light sensor. The light diffuser may have an array of molded protrusions such as flat-topped cones. Alignment features may be formed in the light sensor housing and the light diffuser. Clips and other molded structures for attaching the light sensor to a mounting bracket or other structures may be molded into the light diffuser and light sensor housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Apple, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard Ruh
  • Patent number: 9894300
    Abstract: An image sensing device may include a temperature estimation block suitable for generating a temperature code signal based on a temperature table in response to a digital code signal corresponding to a pixel signal, and a calibration block suitable for removing noise reflected in the pixel signal at current temperature in response to the temperature code signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Min-Hee Jo
  • Patent number: 9891079
    Abstract: A double-bearing position encoder has an axle stabilized within a housing via two bearings disposed on opposite walls of the housing. The axle is in communications with a rotating cam. The cam actuates a pulser so as to generate an active pulse at a tissue site for analysis by an optical sensor. The axle rotates a slotted encoder wheel or a reflective encoder cylinder disposed within the housing so as to accurately determine the axle position and, hence, the active pulse frequency and phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Masimo Corporation
    Inventor: Cristiano Dalvi
  • Patent number: 9891097
    Abstract: A brightness calibration method used in an optical detection system includes a single source illuminator and a probe card. The single source illuminator is configured to illuminate the probe card. The probe card has a plurality of detection sites. The brightness calibration method includes: sequentially detecting brightness values at the detection sites through one of a plurality of diffusers by a sensing chip; sequentially detecting transparencies of the diffusers at one of the detection sites by the sensing chip; and selecting and respectively disposing the diffusers corresponding to larger ones of the transparencies over the detection sites corresponding to smaller ones of the brightness values, and selecting and respectively disposing the diffusers corresponding to smaller ones of the transparencies over the detection sites corresponding to larger ones of the brightness values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignees: GLOBAL UNICHIP CORPORATION, TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chang-Ming Liu, Pi-Tsan Lo, Shih-Hua Hsu, Chien-Hao Lin, Teng-Hui Lee, Tsung-Ju Hsieh