Patents by Inventor Niamh FITZGERALD

Niamh FITZGERALD 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: 11209633
    Abstract: An iris image acquisition system for a mobile device, comprises a lens assembly arranged along an optical axis and configured for forming an image comprising at least one iris of a subject disposed frontally to the lens assembly; and an image sensor configured to acquire the formed image. The lens assembly comprises a first lens refractive element and at least one second lens element for converging incident radiation to the first refractive element. The first refractive element has a variable thickness configured to counteract a shift of the formed image along the optical axis induced by change in iris-lens assembly distance, such that different areas of the image sensor on which irises at different respective iris-lens assembly distances are formed are in focus within a range of respective iris-lens assembly distances at which iris detail is provided at sufficient contrast to be recognised.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: FotoNation Limited
    Inventors: Niamh Fitzgerald, Christopher Dainty, Alexander Goncharov
  • Publication number: 20190265445
    Abstract: An iris image acquisition system for a mobile device, comprises a lens assembly arranged along an optical axis and configured for forming an image comprising at least one iris of a subject disposed frontally to the lens assembly; and an image sensor configured to acquire the formed image. The lens assembly comprises a first lens refractive element and at least one second lens element for converging incident radiation to the first refractive element. The first refractive element has a variable thickness configured to counteract a shift of the formed image along the optical axis induced by change in iris-lens assembly distance, such that different areas of the image sensor on which irises at different respective iris-lens assembly distances are formed are in focus within a range of respective iris-lens assembly distances at which iris detail is provided at sufficient contrast to be recognised.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2018
    Publication date: August 29, 2019
    Applicant: FotoNation Limited
    Inventors: Niamh FITZGERALD, Christopher DAINTY, Alexander GONCHAROV
  • Patent number: 10212366
    Abstract: An iris image acquisition system comprises an image sensor comprising an array of pixels including pixels sensitive to NIR wavelengths; at least one NIR light source capable of selectively emitting light with different discrete NIR wavelengths; and a processor, operably connected to the image sensor and the at least one NIR light source, to acquire image information from the sensor under illumination at one of the different discrete NIR wavelengths. A lens assembly comprises a plurality of lens elements with a total track length no more than 4.7 mm, each lens element comprising a material with a refractive index inversely proportional to wavelength. The different discrete NIR wavelengths are matched with the refractive index of the material for the lens elements to balance axial image shift induced by a change in object distance with axial image shift due to change in illumination wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: FotoNation Limited
    Inventors: Christopher Dainty, Alexander Goncharov, Niamh Fitzgerald
  • Publication number: 20170366761
    Abstract: An iris image acquisition system comprises an image sensor comprising an array of pixels including pixels sensitive to NIR wavelengths; at least one NIR light source capable of selectively emitting light with different discrete NIR wavelengths; and a processor, operably connected to the image sensor and the at least one NIR light source, to acquire image information from the sensor under illumination at one of the different discrete NIR wavelengths. A lens assembly comprises a plurality of lens elements with a total track length no more than 4.7 mm, each lens element comprising a material with a refractive index inversely proportional to wavelength. The different discrete NIR wavelengths are matched with the refractive index of the material for the lens elements to balance axial image shift induced by a change in object distance with axial image shift due to change in illumination wavelength.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Publication date: December 21, 2017
    Inventors: Christopher DAINTY, Alexander GONCHAROV, Niamh FITZGERALD