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:
Feb. 29, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 02, 1998
Kenneth H Levin, Silver Spring, MD (US);
Samuel Kerem, Rockville, MD (US);
Vladimir Madorsky, Reisterstown, MD (US);
Infrared Fiber Systems, Inc., Silver Spring, MD (US);
Abstract
A handheld device for infrared reflectance measurements of samples for identification of the sample materials is a self-contained portable unit built into a handheld housing. The housing includes a window and optics on a bench adjacent the window, so that the optics will be aligned with the sample when the device is placed directly against the sample. The optics include a broad-band IR light source (ordinary lamp) shining onto an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF), which passes narrow-band IR light with a swept frequency; a lens focussing the IR through the window onto the sample; and a reflectance detector aligned with the window of the housing to pick up reflected light. A computer, which may be mounted in the housing, compares the detected reflectance spectrum with stored sample data spectra, and identifies the material or the components of the material and their proportions. Inclusion of all the parts inside the housing allows the device to be portable; this is made possible by the alignment of the lamp, AOTF filter, lens, window, and detector, which has high optical efficiency, and by elimination of optical fibers.