Palo Alto Research Center Inc.

Xerox Corporation

Conduent Business Services, LLC

Patrick Yasuo Maeda

Timothy D Stowe

Christopher L Chua

Philipp Helmut Schmaelzle

David Kalman Biegelsen

Eric Peeters

Ashish V Pattekar

Decai Sun

David Kirtland Fork

Douglas N Curry

Joel A Kubby

Joerg Martini

Noble Marshall Johnson

Thomas L Paoli

Raj B Apte

Philip D Floyd

Peter Kiesel

Oliver Schmidt

Robert P Loce

Eugene Michael Chow

Yu Wang

Gregory Lewis Whiting

Robert L Thornton

Jeng Ping Lu

Jengping Lu

Michael L Chabinyc

Beilei Xu

Robert Anthony Street

Meng H Lean

Robert Michael Lofthus

Michael A Kneissl

Fred F Hubble, Iii

Alan G Bell

Daniel W Costanza

Ana Claudia Arias

Christopher A Paulson

Ross D Bringans

Ramkumar Abhishek

Tim Curley

Janos Veres

Matthew Dixon Eisaman

Michel A Rosa

Sourobh Raychaudhuri

Zhihong Yang

Tibor S Fisli

G A Connell

Francesco Lemmi

Joanne L Lee

G A Neville Connell

Martin Edward Hoover

Kristine A German

Michael Bassler

Jingkuang Chen

John E Northrup

Scott Eugene Solberg

Tuan Anh Vo

Shu Chang

Lars-Erik Swartz

Jackson H Ho

Robert J Kleckner

Alex T Tran

Jean-Michel Guerin

Patrick C Cheung

Jacob N Chamoun

Elif Karatay

Ronald T Fulks

Vincent W AuYeung

Martin J Pepe

Feixia Pan

Alexander S Tuganov

Karen M Rumsey

Donald J Quant

Joseph Lee

Mark Teepe

Koenraad Van Schuylenbergh

Timothy David Stowe

A machine vision system and method use lensless near-contact imaging with coherent illumination, or incoherent illumination, and high pixel count large format sensors (e.g., equivalent to at least 20 to 65 mega-pixels) to produce diffraction patterns of the micro-objects or the gray scale images of the micro-objects over a large overall field-of-view of the machine vision system. The machine vision system provides feedback to a microassembler system to position, orient, and assemble microscale devices like micro-LEDs over large working areas. The effective resolution of the machine vision system can be further improved through the use of gray scale and super-resolution image processing techniques.

Lensless near-contact imaging system for micro assembly

Focusing optics can include optical elements disposed and bonded in a linear arrangement (linear array) in at least two rows. A transparent bonding agent can secure alignment of the at least two rows of the optical elements. Scattering elements can also be disposed in the transparent polymer to cause light diffusion. Diffused or un-diffused light from a semiconductor laser array can then be caused to pass through the optical element and illuminate a target substrate such as an imaging member in a printing system.

Focusing optics for use with semiconductor lasers for imaging applications

A laser imager for a printing system, comprising a plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers arranged in a linear array on a common substrate chip and including a common cathode and a dedicated control channel associated with an address trace line for each laser of the plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers, and optical elements arranged in a linear lens array configured to capture and focus light from the plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers onto a imaging member, wherein the plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers arranged in a linear array and the optical elements arranged in a linear lens array operate together to image the imaging member.

Semiconductor array imager for printing systems

A structure can be provided for collimating light from a light source (e.g., vertical cavity surface emitting diodes). The structure can include at least one light source, a pit formed at an output of the at least one light source and a microbead formed in the pit. Microbeads can function as a lens to collimate light emitting from the at least one light source. The structure can provide by forming an array of VCSELs on a substrate, forming a pit in front of each VCSEL of the array of VCSELs, and assembling a microbead in each pit formed in front of each VCSEL. The microbeads can thereby function as lenses to collimate light emitted from the VCSELs.

Structure for collimating a light source

Additive manufacturing devices and methods for the same are provided. The additive manufacturing device may include a stage configured to support a substrate, a printhead disposed above the stage, and a targeted heating system disposed proximal the printhead. The printhead may be configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate the article. The targeted heating system may be configured to control a temperature or temperature gradient of the droplets deposited on the substrate, an area proximal the substrate, or combinations thereof.

Additive manufacturing systems and methods for the same

An optical imager system and method of operating the optical imager system, can include one or more imager modules including a laser light source, a collimator, an illumination optical system, a grating light valve, a spatial light modulator and a projection optical system. A group of imager modules can include the one or more imager modules. The group of imager modules is operable in a stacked arrangement to produce an image from in-line stitching of individual images generated by the one or more imager modules. The illumination optical system can homogenize, shape, and direct a beam from the laser light source onto the grating light valve, and homogenization can occur in a cross-process direction.

In-line stitched image optical system architecture for GLV laser line imagers

A digitally controlled LED illuminator sheet that produces far-field illumination patterns or light field distributions that increase light utilization and application efficiency. A dynamic directional LEDs (or other kinds of solid-state light sources) sheet is positioned under each lenslet of a microlens array. Individual LED beam pointing direction depends on off-axis position relative to optical axis of lenslet. Individual beams from independent LEDs form illumination pixels at the illumination plane or within a volume space and can be modulated in intensity. Illumination pixels partially overlap in far-field illumination plane and illumination volume. Over a large illumination space many illumination pixels will partially superimposed on neighboring illumination pixels, with the overlap being in increments smaller than the size of a pixel. The LEDs can be digitally turned on or off and/or pulse width or amplitude modulated to produce far-field illumination patterns or light field distributions with spectral efficiency and efficacious intensity.

System and method for light field illuminator sheet-based dynamic lighting output

Additive manufacturing devices and methods for the same are provided. The additive manufacturing device may include a stage configured to support a substrate, a printhead disposed above the stage, and a targeted heating system disposed proximal the printhead. The printhead may be configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate the article. The targeted heating system may be configured to control a temperature or temperature gradient of the droplets in a flight path interposed between the printhead and the substrate.

An illuminator optical system combines, homogenizes, and shapes light spatially and angularly from one or more high power fiber coupled lasers. It may include a multichannel fiber cable, collimation and beam shaping optics, a multiple lens array (e.g., fly's eye lens array), and an objective lens. The multichannel fiber collects the light from the high power fiber coupled lasers and produces an aligned array of one or more optical fibers at the output of the cable. The light output from the cable is collimated and relayed to a multiple lens array that spatially divides and shapes the light into an array of beams. The objective lens homogenizes the light by collimating and overlapping the beams into a uniform top hat irradiance distribution in at least one dimension, resulting in the illumination pattern having the required spatial size and desired angular distribution at the illumination plane.

Laser homogenizing and beam shaping illumination optical system and method

A light beam shaper has a rectangular cavity bounded by wafer sidewalls and top and bottom caps. The top and bottom caps are wafer-bonded onto opposing surfaces of the wafer. A reflective coating covers inner surfaces of the cavity. A geometry of the cavity changes a light beam entering the cavity into a rectangular beam profile with uniform spatial intensity at the output.

Rectangular cavity optical beam shaper and method of manufacturing the same

High resolution printing systems that utilize high power laser diode bars and digital mirror devices (DMD) require side-by-side stacking of illumination modules to stitching of the image from each module to form a longer total image width. An inline illumination optical system having a refractive prism and Total Internal Reflection (TIR) prism pair with an air gap along with a light guide transporting light beams at a compound angle to the prism pair eliminates the need for any axial rotation of the laser and light guide, and enables side-by-side module stacking. The illumination optical system includes an illumination module having a light source, the light guide, a DMD array and a Refractive TIR (RTIR) prism. The system also includes a DMD housing containing the DMD array and having a width within which the illumination module is confined to allow side-by-side stacking.

Illumination optical system for laser line generator

A backplane has an array of output terminals arranged on an output surface of the backplane, and an array of solid state optical switches, each optical switch corresponding to one of the output terminals, wherein the solid state optical switches are responsive to light of a control wavelength and are transparent to light of a sensing wavelength, wherein the backplane is of a material transparent to light of a sensing wavelength different from the control wavelength. An optical system includes a backplane having an array of optocouplers, a projector to generate light of a control wavelength to which the optocouplers are responsive, optics to direct the control light onto the array of optocouplers on a backplane,

Transparent optical coupler active matrix array

A device includes a backplane having multiple output terminals arranged in an array on an output surface of the backplane. The device further includes an active matrix array comprising thin film solid state optical switches coupled respectively between an input terminal of the backplane and the output terminals. Storage capacitors may be coupled respectively to the output terminals. A pixelated light source provides pixelated light that controls the optical switches.

Active matrix backplane formed using thin film optocouplers

Embodiments of an apparatus and methods can removing unwanted plants or weeds from an area such as an agricultural plot or lawn. The apparatus includes a three-dimensional imager configured to capture plant images and locate plants; an image processor configured to distinguish between wanted and unwanted plants based upon the captured plant images; at least one laser device configured to emit a laser beam having power sufficient to damage the unwanted plants; a guidance system configured to direct at least one laser beam toward the unwanted plant; and a chassis configured to support the three-dimensional imager, the laser device, and the guidance system. The chassis is configured to be moved across the area.

Unwanted plant removal system having variable optics

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Patrick Yasuo Maeda