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:
May. 29, 1990
Filed:
Nov. 03, 1988
James J Hagerty, Saratoga, CA (US);
David N Pulsifer, Mountain View, CA (US);
ISOTEC Partners, Ltd., Tucson, AZ (US);
Abstract
A glass block (10) comprises a plurality of intermediate glass plates (12i) stacked between a top plate (12t) and a bottom plate (12b). The top and bottom plate each have a selected composition, with a particular index of refraction and a softening temperature. The intermediate plates have compositions intermediate those of the top and bottom plates and are stacked so as to provide a gradient in composition from top to bottom. Heating the assembly at a fusion temperature fuses the plates together to form the glass block. After cooling down to room temperature, the glass block can be shaped to make lenses and other light directing devices. Such lenses have a gradient in the refractive index of at least about 0.085, and gradients approaching 0.5 are achievable. The thickness of the glass block along the optic axis is fairly unlimited, and thicknesses on the order of 10 mm and more are routinely achievable by the process of the invention.