Patents by Inventor Tom Heydenburg

Tom Heydenburg 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: 5018803
    Abstract: A three-dimensional optical measurement system, where it is desired to move the light beam or plane to more than one position to increase the amount of data acquired. A rotating disk is provided with segments of lenses, zone plates or other rotationally invariant grating patterns on it. The beam or plane is passed through the segments as the disk rotates and is deflected to predetermined angles. The accurate repeatablility of this arrangement allows the use of calibration data and encoding of the light planes for ambiguity resolution to provide an accurate measurement system. Diverging beam light sources are readily accommodated. Similarly translating frames with segments of translationally invariant lenses or grating patterns may be used. Two-dimensional holographic gratings may be used to generate raster scans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1991
    Assignee: Robotic Vision Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Joel Hecker, Howard Stern, Tom Heydenburg
  • Patent number: 4830443
    Abstract: A three-dimensional optical measurement system, where it is desired to move the light beam or plane to more than one position to increase the amount of data acquired. A rotating disk is provided with segments of lenses, zone plates or other rotationally invariant grating patterns on it. The beam or plane is passed through the segments as the disk rotates and is deflected to predetermined angles. The accurate repeatability of this arrangement allows the use of calibration data and encoding of the light planes for ambiguity resolution to provide an accurate measurement system. Diverging beam light sources are readily accommodated. Similarly translating frames with segments of translationally invariant lenses or grating patterns may be used. Two-dimensional holographic gratings may be used to generate raster scans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1985
    Date of Patent: May 16, 1989
    Assignee: Robotic Vision Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Joel Hecker, Howard Stern, Tom Heydenburg