Patents by Inventor Anthony M. Tai

Anthony M. Tai 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).

  • Publication number: 20120033195
    Abstract: A multipurpose sighting device includes a viewing window, an illuminated display, a beam combiner positioned to transmit light from a target scene and reflect light from the illuminated display through the viewing window, and projection optics having a plurality of optical elements to direct light from the display toward the beam combiner, the projection optics projecting an image of the display through the viewing window at a distance to be in focus with the target scene.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2010
    Publication date: February 9, 2012
    Applicant: L-3 COMMUNICATIONS EOTECH, INC.
    Inventor: Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 7319557
    Abstract: A fused thermal and a direct view aiming sight includes an optical gun sight, a thermal sight, and a beam combiner. The optical sight generates a direct view image of an aiming point or reticle superimposed on a target scene. The thermal sight generates a monochromic thermal image of the target scene. The combiner is positioned behind a 1× non-magnified optical sight and the thermal sight and in front of an exit pupil of the thermal sight. The combiner is positioned right behind the intermediate image plane of a magnified optical sight between an objective lens and an eyepiece. The combiner passes the direct view image and reflects the thermal image to the exit pupil to fuse the thermal image onto the direct view image for an operator to see at the exit pupil as a combined thermal and direct view optical image of the target scene together with the aiming reticle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: EOTech Acquisition Corporation
    Inventor: Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 7225578
    Abstract: An aiming sight includes a controller, a power supply, an LED array, and a collimator. The power supply powers the LEDs to turn-on and turn-off, and powers the collimator to rotate. The collimator rotates to different rotational positions while the controller, the power supply, and the LED array remain fixed in place. The LEDs are positioned such that one LED and the collimator are at a constant angle and separated by a constant focal distance for each collimator position. The controller controls the collimator to rotate to a collimator position to generate an aiming dot at an angular position corresponding to the collimator position. The controller turns-on the LED which is at the constant angle and separated from the collimator by the constant focal distance and turns-off the remaining LEDs such that the collimator collimates light from the turned-on LED into the aiming dot at the angular position corresponding to the collimator position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: EOTech Acquisition Corp.
    Inventor: Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 7145703
    Abstract: A low profile holographic sight includes a base having a mounting mechanism and a body mounted on the base for housing a laser diode, an associated electronic control and power source, and optical elements including a collimator, a transmission image hologram of the reticle pattern, and a reflective diffraction grating, wherein the optical elements are arranged within the body to direct and fold the laser beam in a substantially generally horizontal path, and is insensitive to drift in laser wavelength. The optical elements superimpose an image of the reticle pattern over the direct view of the target scene in a generally parallel and close relationship with the barrel of a firearm, such as a shotgun or a rifle, upon which the sight is mounted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Assignee: EOTech Acquisition Corp.
    Inventors: Eric J. Sieczka, Anthony M. Tai, Robert H. Fish
  • Patent number: 6490060
    Abstract: A lightweight contact holographic sight includes a housing and a base which form a compartment containing a laser diode, an associated power source, and optical elements including a mirror, an off axis collimator, a reflection grating, and an image hologram of a reticle pattern, wherein the optical elements are arranged within the compartment to direct and fold the laser beam in a substantially generally vertical path. In one aspect of the invention, an elevation and windage adjustment mechanism is provided to rotate the reflection grating about two orthogonal axes to thereby adjust the projected reticle pattern for windage and elevation. In another aspect of the invention a removable battery compartment including a cam surface which is releasably contacted by a cam lever arm pivotally mounted on the sight housing or the base to allow for quick tool-less removal of the compartment for battery replacement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: EOTech, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony M. Tai, Eric J. Sieczka
  • Patent number: 5964668
    Abstract: A putting aid includes a clamp for mounting the putting aid on the shaft of a putter and a dotted line projector mounted on the clamp for adjustment relative to the contact surface of the putter so that the dotted line is projected perpendicular to the contact surface. The dotted line projector includes a bright light source, such as a laser diode, a power source and the necessary optical elements to generate and project a line of dots on the putting surface extending generally perpendicular to the putter clubface. In one embodiment, the dots are equally spaced apart so that the distance of the backswing can be gauged by observing the number of dots that pass over the surface of the ball during the backswing. In one embodiment the putting aid includes a mounting ball secured to the clamp, and the housing further includes a housing clamp adapted to be releasably secured on the mounting ball to allow simultaneous positioning of the projector about two or more axes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 12, 1999
    Assignee: EOTech, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony M. Tai, Eric J. Sieczka
  • Patent number: 5483362
    Abstract: A holographic sight which includes a base having at least one connector for mounting the base on a small arm, and a hologram of a reticle pattern, a compact laser light source for illuminating the hologram, and a power source for the laser diode, each mounted on the base. The sight also includes an achromatizer supported in the path of the light beam for reducing shifts in the position of the reticle pattern due to variations in the wavelength of the light beam emitted from the laser diode. The sight may further include means for circularizing the generally elliptical beam emitted by the laser diode to provide a uniform illumination pattern for the hologram. A brightness adjuster and position adjuster, for varying the brightness and relative position of the reticle, respectively, may also be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1996
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventors: Anthony M. Tai, Juris Upatnieks, Eric J. Sieczka
  • Patent number: 5175651
    Abstract: A night vision apparatus 10 includes a first focusing refracting lens 28 which focuses light rays 29 from distant scene 14 onto a light intensifier 30. The kinoform 40 or bifringent lens 78 are disposed in the light path to allow light rays 35 from near scene 18, 20, 22 and 24 to be focused onto light intensifier 30 to form a multi-focus night vision apparatus with increased depth of focus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1992
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventors: Joseph C. Marron, Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 5090807
    Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus for forming a spectrally weighted value from received multispectral radiation. The spectral weighting is done optically prior to detection of the received radiation by dispersing the received multispectral radiation into a plurality of wavelength bin areas. This dispersed radiation is then passed through a weighting filter which includes first and second filter elements for each of the wavelength bin areas. The filtered radiation is then converged to corresponding detectors with the spectrally weighted value formed by the difference between the signals of the first and second detectors. A pair of filters, two detectors and a subtracter are employed to produce a generalized weight factor having positive or negative weights. This system can form one or more spectrally weighted values from the radiation from a single pixel, or one spectrally weighted value form the radiation from a plurality of pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1992
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventor: Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 4934815
    Abstract: In a speckle imaging process, the contribution of non-uniform, incoherent background illumination is removed via an aperture sampling technique. A pair of uncorrelated speckle images are produced and subtracted from one another to eliminate the non-coherent background contribution. The result of this subtraction is rectified so as to provide a signal which may be displayed on a video display. Disclosed are techniques for real time video display of enhanced speckle images as well as techniques for visualizing vibrational modes and surface roughness mapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventors: Anthony M. Tai, John N. Cederquist
  • Patent number: 4794395
    Abstract: A passive detection and imaging system employs interferometric and synthetic aperture techniques. A moving platform employs a pair of sensors which receive thermal electromagnetic radiations from an area of interest. The received signals are narrow band filtered by a bank of filters covering an extended bandwidth. Signals from similar narrow bands from different sensors are correlated. The plurality of frequencies and plurality of positions relative to the area of interest due to the platform motion enable generation of an inverse Fourier transform image which is resolvable in both azimuth and range. Separate preferred embodiments operating at microwave frequencies and optical frequencies are disclosed. An achromatic optical interferometric correlation technique is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Mich.
    Inventors: Ivan Cindrich, Walter G. Carrara, Ivan J. LaHaie, Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 4556950
    Abstract: An optical signal processor operating on interferometric principles serves to perform real time Fourier transformations on the intensity distribution of one-dimensional incoherent input light sources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 1983
    Date of Patent: December 3, 1985
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventors: Anthony M. Tai, Carl C. Aleksoff
  • Patent number: 4418394
    Abstract: An optical computer based on the residue number system employs a plurality of computational modules which may be programmed using electronic pulses to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division operations. Each module comprises an array of optical switches in the form of directional wave guide couplers interconnected by optical transmission paths to form a series of maps corresponding to a given modulus. The optical switches are arranged in rows and groups of rows may be selectively activated to adapt the module to perform various arithmetic operations. One residue is input to the module in the form of light pulses and is spatially arranged to automatically select the proper map to perform a desired function. The optical switches in each row thereof are electrically interconnected to a bi-stable electrical switch that simultaneously switches all of the logical switches in that row in accordance with a programming input pulse delivered to one of the bi-stable switches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1983
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventor: Anthony M. Tai
  • Patent number: 4363106
    Abstract: A computation module useful as part of a optical numerical computer based on the residue number system includes an M.times.N array of double input, double output electrically actuated optical switches. Optical pathways interconnect each of the outputs of the switches of a row of the array and certain inputs of the switches in the subsequent adjacent row. Each row of the array has an associated bi-stable electrical switch which is interconnected to all of the light switches in that row and causes such light switches to assume a common state dependent upon the state of the electrical switch. The module computes either the sum or product of two modulo M residues, depending upon its interconnection pattern. One of the residues is introduced as a light input to one of the electrical optical switches in the first row of the array. The other residue is operative to condition one of the bi-stable electrical switches to assume a different state than all of the other electrical switches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1980
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1982
    Assignee: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
    Inventor: Anthony M. Tai