The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 04, 1979
Filed:
Jan. 31, 1978
Howard E Rast, Jr, Solana Beach, CA (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A passive, high-speed, automatic shutter for controlling the transmission light energy of known wavelengths along a predetermined optical axis is provided to protect imaging devices against sudden, undesirable optical overload which may cause damage. A large plurality of contiguously positioned micro-channel optical waveguides is axially aligned parallel with the optical axis to intercept the light energy. The large plurality of micro-channel optical waveguides provides desirable maximization of resolution for transmitting the image to the imaging device. The micro-channel optical waveguides include a saturable absorber material which is selected for its property of absorbing the known wavelengths of light energy up to a determinable level of intensity and transmitting the known wavelengths of light energy when that determinable level of intensity is exceeded. When the determinable level of intensity is not exceeded, optical images are transmitted through the large plurality of micro-channel waveguides to the imaging device which may desirably be positioned in an off-axis, angular disposition. However, when the determinable level of intensity of the known wavelengths of light energy is exceeded, the large plurality of micro-channel optical waveguides including the saturable absorber material becomes effectively transparent and transmits all such light energy along its initial optical axis so that the excess level of intensity of light energy does not reach the off-axis imaging device.