Patents Examined by Rufus L Phillips
  • Patent number: 12386022
    Abstract: A base station for measurements emits measurement radiation into a beam plane with a wobbling motion of the beam plane, such that a position of a normal of the beam plane is changed in a predefined manner such that orientations of the normal occur repeatedly, for example with a cyclic repetition of the beam plane. A measuring assembly for such a base station can be provided with at least one associated remote terminal. A method for guiding a mobile object, in particular a vehicle, uses a base station and at least one active remote terminal permanently associated therewith, which form a transceiver measuring assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2025
    Assignee: ANDROTEC GMBH
    Inventor: Mirko Essling
  • Patent number: 12379303
    Abstract: Photodetector clamps are provided. Clamps of interest include one or more flexure arms for applying an immobilizing force to one or more photodetectors positioned within a light detection module, and are configured to be positioned on top of a detector block. In embodiments, the bottom of the one or more flexure arms include an opening for contacting the photodetector(s). Light detection modules, systems and methods employing the subject clamps are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY
    Inventors: Andrew Klassen, Jason Bradley Ersepke
  • Patent number: 12379305
    Abstract: Device for improving an optical detecting smoke apparatus and implementing thereof. Apparatus and methods for detecting the presence of smoke in a small, long-lasting smoke detector are disclosed. Specifically, the present disclosure shows how to build one or more optimized blocking members in a smoke detector to augment signal to noise ratio. This is performed while keeping the reflections from the housing structure to a very low value while satisfying all the other peripheral needs of fast response to smoke and preventing ambient light. This allows very small measurements of light scattering of the smoke particles to be reliable in a device resistant to the negative effects of dust. In particular, geometrical optical elements, e.g., cap and optical deflection elements, are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: ANALOG DEVICES, INC.
    Inventor: Shrenik Deliwala
  • Patent number: 12326392
    Abstract: A method for determining a property of at least one particle in a medium, wherein the method comprises: emitting a coherent light beam to irradiate a sample of the medium; recording an interference image of a first part of the light beam scattered by the at least one particle and a second part of the light beam not scattered by particles; computing, for positions within the sample, an electric field of the first part from the interference image; generating a representation comprising for each position, a phase value determined from the computed electric field and from an estimated electric field of the second part, and an intensity value determined from the intensity of the first part and from the phase value; and determining said property using the representation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2025
    Assignee: Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
    Inventors: Petrus Dominicus Joannes Van Oostrum, Erik Olof Reimhult
  • Patent number: 12313514
    Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method of particle size and concentration measurement that comprises the steps of: providing a focused, synthesized, structured laser beam, causing the beam to interact with the particles, measuring the interaction signal and the number of interactions per unit time of the beam with the particles, and using algorithms to map the interaction signals to the particle size and the number of interactions per unit time to the concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2025
    Assignee: PARTICLE MEASURING SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventor: Joseph Shamir
  • Patent number: 12276592
    Abstract: Particle detection systems and methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a particle detection system comprises an incident beam light source that emits an incident beam, a particle interrogation zone disposed in the path of the incident beam, a photodetector disposed to detect the incident beam after passing through the particle interrogation zone, a pump beam light source for emitting a pump beam, the pump beam being targeted at the particle interrogation zone, wherein the incident beam, the pump beam, and photodetector are arranged such that the photodetector is configured to detect a combination of light from the incident beam, scattered light due to incident beam scattering in the particle interrogation zone, and scattered light due to pump beam scattering in the particle interrogation zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Particle Measuring Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Rodier
  • Patent number: 12276593
    Abstract: Systems and methods for trapping and holding airborne particles using an orienting hollow beam are disclosed. In the various embodiments, an optical trap comprises: a light source for generating a beam of light; optics and/or mechanics for forming and shaping the beam of light into an orienting hollow beam having unequal axisymmetry with a substantially hollow ring geometry cross-section and no angular momentum; an optical focusing element for focusing the orienting hollow beam; and a trapping region where an airborne particle can be present to be trapped and held at or near a focal point of the focused optical focusing element. In this arrangement, the particle is trapped at or near the focal point of the focused orienting hollow beam. In this arrangement, the particle is trapped at or near the focal point of the focused orienting hollow beam. The orienting hollow beam may be made rotatable in some embodiments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Jessica A. Arnold, Aimable Kalume, Yongle Pan, Gorden Videen
  • Patent number: 12270748
    Abstract: An apparatus for measuring contamination on a critical surface of a part is provided. A vessel for mounting the part is provided. An inert gas source is in fluid connection with the vessel and adapted to provide an inert gas to the vessel. At least one diffuser receives the inert gas from the vessel, wherein the critical surface of the part is exposed to the inert gas when the part is mounted in the vessel. At least one analyzer is adapted to receive inert gas from the at least one diffuser and measures contaminants in the inert gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Amir A. Yasseri, Girish M. Hundi, John Michael Kerns, Duane Outka, John Daugherty, Cliff La Croix
  • Patent number: 12209890
    Abstract: An optical sensor module includes an interferometric sensor and a set of one or more optical elements. The interferometric sensor includes a coherent light source and at least one detector configured to generate an interferometric signal. The set of one or more optical elements is configured to simultaneously direct a first portion of light emitted by the coherent light source toward a first focus area within a first depth of focus; direct a second portion of the light emitted by the coherent light source toward a second focus area within a second depth of focus; and direct portions of the emitted light that are returned from one or more objects within the first depth of focus or the second depth of focus toward the interferometric sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tong Chen, Ahmet Fatih Cihan, Daryl I. Vulis, Mingzhou Jin
  • Patent number: 12209947
    Abstract: An optical system is provided which comprises: a light source (1) for emitting light beam; an optical main axis; an optical shaping element (2) for shaping a light beam facing the light source (1) and directly adjacent to the light source (1), wherein the optical shaping element (2) includes a first freeform surface facing the light source (1), the light beam is shaped by means of the first freeform surface of the optical shaping element (2) in such a way that light intensity of the light beam has a flat-top profile on a first axis which is perpendicular to the optical main axis. With this optical system, a desirable light intensity profile can be achieved by using only a single optical element. Moreover, a flow cytometer including this optical system is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shenghai Wu, Bin Hu, Xiaoxian Guo
  • Patent number: 12196673
    Abstract: A defect inspection apparatus includes a first objective lens having an optical axis is perpendicular to a wafer mounting surface of the stage, a second objective lens having an optical axis forms a predetermined acute angle with respect to the wafer mounting surface of the stage, and a dichroic mirror which reflects light having a first wavelength and transmits or reflects light having a second wavelength. Emitted light of a first optical path 111 from a first light source which is reflected from or transmitted through the dichroic mirror and first emitted light and second emitted light polarized and separated from a second light source which are transmitted through or reflected from the dichroic mirror are incident on the first objective lens, and emitted light of a second optical path from the first light source is incident on the second objective lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takeru Utsugi, Toshifumi Honda, Andreas Karsaklian Dal Bosco, Tomoto Kawamura, Kenshiro Ohtsubo
  • Patent number: 12196665
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for providing smoke detectors are described herein. One smoke detector of a fire sensing system includes a circuit board body, having a set of front scattering emitting light sources located on one side of an optical chamber, a receiver of front scattering light beams from the front scattering emitting light sources and backward scattering light beams, and a set of backward scattering emitting light sources located between the set of front scattering emitting light sources and the receiver, the backward scattering light beams emitted from the backward scattering emitters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Andrea Chiatti, Andrea Frison, Massimo Bressanutti, Maurizio Berliavaz
  • Patent number: 12181403
    Abstract: A spectrometry device includes a carrier medium, or waveguide, for transmitting light by internal reflection, and a transceiver device that has at least one light source and a detection device. A transceiver deflection structure couples at least the light emitted by the light source into the carrier medium. A measurement deflection structure, arranged at a distance from the transceiver deflection structure, decouples the light out of the carrier medium onto a measuring surface of the carrier medium so that the biological tissue can reflect the light back to the carrier medium. The reflected light is transmitted back onto the detection device via the measurement deflection structure, the carrier medium and the transceiver deflection structure. The detection device determines an intensity signal of the reflected light which is used by an analysis device to determine a pulse frequency signal and/or a pulse curve signal as a medical characteristic value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Markus Klug, Tobias Moll, Johannes Scheuchenpflug
  • Patent number: 12174125
    Abstract: A flow cell system for an optical fluid analysis comprises a disposable flow cell having at least one flow chamber comprising a fluid pathway, and at least one pair of opposed light transmitting windows along the fluid pathway, an external flow cell holder for holding the flow cell, at least one light source, and an external detection device couplable with at least one of the flow cell holder and the flow cell for bringing the external detection device in optical communication with the flow cell, the device having at least one optical detection unit. The external detection device is configured to conduct optical measurements of the fluid that flows in the flow cell through at least one pair of windows from externally under illumination by the at least one light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: World Precision Instruments Germany GmbH
    Inventors: Mathias Belz, Philipp Raithel, Dörte Solle, Tobias Steinwedel
  • Patent number: 12140546
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a surface-enhanced Raman scattering patch and an attachable sensor using same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a surface-enhanced Raman scattering patch which allows continuous monitoring of drug administration and harmful substance detection to be accurately and easily performed, an attachable sensor using same, and a method for manufacturing same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS SCIENCE
    Inventors: Ho-Sang Jung, Dong-Ho Kim, Sung-Gyu Park
  • Patent number: 12135273
    Abstract: A method for characterizing a particle present in a sample, the sample lying between an image sensor and a light source and the sensor lying in a detection plane, includes illuminating the sample with the light source which emits an incident light wave propagating along a propagation axis, and acquiring an image of the sample with the sensor. The sensor is exposed to an exposure light wave. The image includes a plurality of elementary diffraction patterns each corresponding to one particle. The method also includes reconstructing a complex image representative of a complex amplitude of the light wave on a reconstruction surface passing through the sample, based on the acquired image; selecting a region of interest of the complex image corresponding to a particle of interest; forming an extracted image based on the region of interest; and characterizing the particle of interest depending on the extracted region of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignees: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, HORIBA ABX SAS, IPRASENSE SAS
    Inventors: Pierre Blandin, Cédric Allier, Olivier Cioni, Lionel Herve, Pierre Joly, Jean-Marc Dinten
  • Patent number: 12135271
    Abstract: The invention is based on a sensor device (10) with at least one sensor unit (12) comprising at least one laser unit (14) for a generation of at least one laser beam (16) and comprising at least one detection unit (18) for a detection of, in particular reflected, laser beams (20), with an evaluation unit (22) which is configured to process detected laser beams (20) into at least one sensor signal (39), and with a control unit (26) which is configured, in a continuous operation state, to actuate the sensor unit (12) and the evaluation unit (22) for an operation of the sensor unit (12) and the evaluation unit (22) in alternating switch-on intervals (31, 43) and switch-off intervals (33, 45). It is proposed that the evaluation unit (22) is configured to generate the at least one sensor signal (39) from at least two different switch-on intervals (31) of the sensor unit (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignees: Robert Bosch GmbH, TRUMPF Photonic Components GmbH
    Inventors: Soeren Sofke, Tarek Zaki
  • Patent number: 12117386
    Abstract: An inspection device for a pillar shaped honeycomb filter includes: a housing portion that can house a pillar shaped honeycomb filter; an introduction pipe and a discharge pipe through which a gas can flow, each of the introduction pipe and the discharge pipe being connected to the housing portion; a particle generation portion for generating particles; a particle introduction portion for introducing the particles generated by the particle generation portion into the introduction pipe; a gas stirring portion arranged in the introduction pipe on an upstream side of the particle introduction portion in a gas flow direction; and particle counters for measuring the number of particles, the particle counters being arranged in the introduction pipe and the discharge pipe on a downstream side of the particle introduction portion in the gas flow direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yohei Kajiura, Yuji Watanabe, Yoshihiro Sato, Yuichi Tajima
  • Patent number: 12078586
    Abstract: To provide a microparticle measurement technology capable of supporting excitation light in a wideband wavelength range. The present technology provides a microparticle measurement device provided with a plurality of objective lenses for excitation light irradiation used for irradiating microparticles flowing through a flow path with excitation light, in which at least one of the objective lenses for excitation light irradiation is used for detecting scattered light emitted from the microparticles by the excitation light with which the microparticles are irradiated through another one of the objective lenses for excitation light irradiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yoshiki Okamoto
  • Patent number: 12066371
    Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a processing tool defect is provided. The apparatus includes a processing tool having a processing chamber configured to process a semiconductor wafer. The processing chamber includes a gas inlet and a gas outlet. An exhaust pipe is connected to the gas outlet of the processing chamber. A particle counter is configured to real-time measure a parameter of particles in the exhaust pipe. A method for detecting a processing tool defect is also provided in the present disclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
    Inventor: Wei-Da Kang