Patents by Inventor Heidi L. Hall

Heidi L. Hall 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: 9046939
    Abstract: An optical navigation device that can sense the movement of an object, such as a user's finger, so that the movement can control a feature of a consumer digital device such as a cursor on a display screen. The device includes a substrate to which an LED, reflector, and image sensor are attached. Light from the LED is directed by the elliptical reflector toward and through a window that is transparent to the light from the LED and then is reflected off of the user's finger back through the window, through a lens, and onto the image sensor. The reflector is positioned to direct light toward the window at an oblique angle, in the range of 65 to 70 degrees from an angle normal to the window. Further, the reflector is curved to gather light across a large solid angle in the vicinity of the LED. The curved shape of the reflector may be a portion of an ellipsoid and the LED may be located at one of the foci of the ellipsoid, with the window located at the other foci of the ellipsoid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: NAN CHANG O-FILM OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY LTD
    Inventors: Lothar R. Westerweck, Stephen C. Arnold, John D. Griffith, Heidi L. Hall, Srinivas T. Rao
  • Publication number: 20140320410
    Abstract: An optical navigation device that can sense the movement of an object, such as a user's finger, so that the movement can control a feature of a consumer digital device such as a cursor on a display screen. The device includes a substrate to which an LED, reflector, and image sensor are attached. Light from the LED is directed by the elliptical reflector toward and through a window that is transparent to the light from the LED and then is reflected off of the user's finger back through the window, through a lens, and onto the image sensor. The reflector is positioned to direct light toward the window at an oblique angle, in the range of 65 to 70 degrees from an angle normal to the window. Further, the reflector is curved to gather light across a large solid angle in the vicinity of the LED. The curved shape of the reflector may be a portion of an ellipsoid and the LED may be located at one of the foci of the ellipsoid, with the window located at the other foci of the ellipsoid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: DigitalOptics Corporation
    Inventors: Lothar R. Westerweck, Stephen C. Arnold, John D. Griffith, Heidi L. Hall, Srinivas T. Rao
  • Patent number: 8711097
    Abstract: An optical navigation device that can sense the movement of an object, such as a user's finger, so that the movement can control a feature of a consumer digital device such as a cursor on a display screen. The device includes a substrate to which an LED, reflector, and image sensor are attached. Light from the LED is directed by the elliptical reflector toward and through a window that is transparent to the light from the LED and then is reflected off of the user's finger back through the window, through a lens, and onto the image sensor. The reflector is positioned to direct light toward the window at an oblique angle, in the range of 65 to 70 degrees from an angle normal to the window. Further, the reflector is curved to gather light across a large solid angle in the vicinity of the LED. The curved shape of the reflector may be a portion of an ellipsoid and the LED may be located at one of the foci of the ellipsoid, with the window located at the other foci of the ellipsoid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: DigitalOptics Corporation
    Inventors: Lothar Westerweck, Stephen C. Arnold, John D. Griffith, Heidi L. Hall, Srinivas T. Rao
  • Publication number: 20110122060
    Abstract: An optical navigation device that can sense the movement of an object, such as a user's finger, so that the movement can control a feature of a consumer digital device such as a cursor on a display screen. The device includes a substrate to which an LED, reflector, and image sensor are attached. Light from the LED is directed by the elliptical reflector toward and through a window that is transparent to the light from the LED and then is reflected off of the user's finger back through the window, through a lens, and onto the image sensor. The reflector is positioned to direct light toward the window at an oblique angle, in the range of 65 to 70 degrees from an angle normal to the window. Further, the reflector is curved to gather light across a large solid angle in the vicinity of the LED. The curved shape of the reflector may be a portion of an ellipsoid and the LED may be located at one of the foci of the ellipsoid, with the window located at the other foci of the ellipsoid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2009
    Publication date: May 26, 2011
    Inventors: Lothar Westerweck, Stephen C. Arnold, John D. Griffith, Heidi L. Hall, Srinivas T. Rao
  • Patent number: 7593597
    Abstract: In a parallax correction method and system, corresponding regions of first and second digital images of the same subject are upsampled to provide a pair of upsampled regions. The corresponding regions have parallax. The upsampled regions are statistically compared at a plurality of relative subpixel offsets to provide a corresponding plurality of similarity values. The similarity values define a peak similarity value and a corresponding peak subpixel offset among the plurality of relative subpixel offsets. The second digital image is shifted relative to the first digital image by the peak subpixel offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Russell J. Palum, Heidi L. Hall, John F. Hamilton, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6877859
    Abstract: A digital projection apparatus (10) for projection of a multicolor image. A light source (20) provides visible light and a dichroic separator (27) splits the visible light into color light beams. Illumination optics directs each of the color light beams into a corresponding light modulation assembly (38). A magnifying relay lens (28) for each color light beam focuses and relays the modulated light to form a magnified real image of the reflective spatial light modulator (30). A dichroic combiner (26) forms a multicolor image by overlapping the magnified real images corresponding to each of the color light beams on a common optical axis. A projection lens projects the multicolor image toward a display surface. The polarization analyzers (72) are tilted relative to a local optical axis and are located in proximity to at least one of the magnified real images of the color light beams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Barry D. Silverstein, Heidi L. Hall
  • Publication number: 20040184007
    Abstract: A digital projection apparatus (10) for projection of a multicolor image. A light source (20) provides visible light and a dichroic separator (27) splits the visible light into color light beams. Illumination optics directs each of the color light beams into a corresponding light modulation assembly (38). A magnifying relay lens (28) for each color light beam focuses and relays the modulated light to form a magnified real image of the reflective spatial light modulator (30). A dichroic combiner (26) forms a multicolor image by overlapping the magnified real images corresponding to each of the color light beams on a common optical axis. A projection lens projects the multicolor image toward a display surface. The polarization analyzers (72) are tilted relative to a local optical axis and are located in proximity to at least one of the magnified real images of the color light beams.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2004
    Publication date: September 23, 2004
    Applicant: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Barry D. Silverstein, Heidi L. Hall