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. 26, 2000
Filed:
Jul. 13, 1999
Steven H Hylen, New Milford, CT (US);
Smartlens Corporation, Atlanta, GA (US);
Abstract
In a first embodiment of the invention, a transparent plate is mounted at the film lane within a camera. The transparent plate includes a translucent diffusion pattern which diffuses incoming light rays reflected from the subject and effectively repositions them in a controlled manner prior to the light exposing the film. Proposed diffusion patterns may alter the light rays to create characteristics indicative of various types of paintings or may produce a controlled grainy appearance to an image recorded on film. In another embodiment of the invention, the transparent plate is mounted in a film cartridge. In another embodiment of the invention, a length of plastic film (a pattern strip) is positioned adjacent to a similar length of photographic film (film strip). An appropriate translucent diffusion pattern is provided onto one surface of the pattern strip, along its entire length. Both strips are rolled into a conventional 35 mm film canister and dispensed simultaneously, as needed (within the camera) so that each frame of film has a separate mask in front of it, at the film gate of the camera. In another embodiment of the invention, a transparent plate having a translucent diffusion pattern is positioned between the main lens of the camera, and the camera body. In this arrangement, a correcting lens is required to bring the pattern of the particular pattern into sharp focus with the image at the film plane to be exposed on film.