Patents by Inventor Andrew Herrington

Andrew Herrington has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10955555
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a projector, which directs a sequence of pulses of radiation toward a scene so as to form one or more lines of the radiation on the scene. A receiver includes an array of single-photon detectors, which output, in response to the radiation that is incident thereon, signals indicative of a time-of-flight of the pulses from the projector to the receiver via the points in the scene, and collection optics, which form an image the scene on the array, including the one or more lines of the radiation, such that each single-photon detector receives the radiation reflected from a corresponding point in the scene. A processor receives the signals output by the sensing elements, and derives depth coordinates of the points in the scene from both the time-of-flight of the pulses and triangulation of the one or more lines in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Thierry Oggier, Scott T. Smith, Andrew Herrington
  • Patent number: 10742881
    Abstract: An optoelectronic device includes a mount, which is configured to rotate about a rotational axis. A line radiation source is attached to the mount and configured to project a line of radiation onto a scene surrounding the mount as the mount rotates. An imaging assembly is attached to the mount in a location that is offset from the radiation source and includes a temporal contrast sensor including a two-dimensional array of sensing elements, which independently and asynchronously generate event signals in response to temporal changes of irradiance, and objective optics, which are configured to image the scene onto the array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Andrew Herrington, Matthew A Helms
  • Publication number: 20190361127
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a projector, which directs a sequence of pulses of radiation toward a scene so as to form one or more lines of the radiation on the scene. A receiver includes an array of single-photon detectors, which output, in response to the radiation that is incident thereon, signals indicative of a time-of-flight of the pulses from the projector to the receiver via the points in the scene, and collection optics, which form an image the scene on the array, including the one or more lines of the radiation, such that each single-photon detector receives the radiation reflected from a corresponding point in the scene. A processor receives the signals output by the sensing elements, and derivesh depth coordinates of the points in the scene from both the time-of-flight of the pulses and triangulation of the one or more lines in the image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2019
    Publication date: November 28, 2019
    Inventors: Thierry Oggier, Scott T. Smith, Andrew Herrington
  • Patent number: 10436910
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a scanning line projector, which is configured to scan a line of radiation across a scene. A receiver includes an array of sensing elements, which are configured to output signals in response to the radiation that is incident thereon, and collection optics configured to image the scene onto the array, such that each sensing element receives the radiation reflected from a corresponding point in the scene. A processor is coupled to receive the signals output by the sensing elements, to identify respective times of passage of the scanned line across the points in the scene by comparing a time-dependent waveform of the signals from the corresponding sensing elements to an expected waveform, and to derive depth coordinates of the points in the scene from the respective times of passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Thierry Oggier, Scott T. Smith, Andrew Herrington
  • Publication number: 20180081062
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a scanning line projector, which is configured to scan a line of radiation across a scene. A receiver includes an array of sensing elements, which are configured to output signals in response to the radiation that is incident thereon, and collection optics configured to image the scene onto the array, such that each sensing element receives the radiation reflected from a corresponding point in the scene. A processor is coupled to receive the signals output by the sensing elements, to identify respective times of passage of the scanned line across the points in the scene by comparing a time-dependent waveform of the signals from the corresponding sensing elements to an expected waveform, and to derive depth coordinates of the points in the scene from the respective times of passage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventors: Thierry Oggier, Scott T. Smith, Andrew Herrington