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:
Nov. 01, 1988
Filed:
May. 05, 1986
Donald H McMahon, Carlisle, MA (US);
William A Dyes, Groveland, MA (US);
Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
A system for the thermal control of optical devices includes an optical device having at least one coating of an electrically conductive material formed on a surface in a heat conducting relationship with the material and connected to a controllable current source which passes varying amounts of electrical current through the layer to vary the amount of thermal energy introduced into the device to control its optical response characteristics. The electrically conductive layer or layers can be optically active, that is, function to affect the light energy transmitted into or through the device as well as acting as an electrically conductive thermal element. The use of an electrically conductive coating or coatings allows the rapid and precise control of thermal energy introduced into the device and, accordingly, the rapid and precise control of the optical characteristics of the device as well as providing a thermal interface between the optical device and the ambient environment that is effective to minimize the adverse affects of transient temperature changes occurring in the environment.