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. 15, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 10, 2000
Applicant:
Inventors:
Mark W. Roberson, Cary, NC (US);
Glenn A. Rinne, Cary, NC (US);
Philip A. Deane, Durham, NC (US);
Karen W. Markus, Raleigh, NC (US);
Assignee:
MCNC;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B 2/600 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B 2/600 ;
Abstract
A reflector having a mechanically deformable portion of at least one reflective surface is disclosed. By deforming the portion of the reflective surface, discontinuity is introduced in that portion of the reflective surface. The discontinuity in the reflective surface scatters incident radiation signals so as to cause attenuation in the reflected signal. By selectively deforming the portion of the reflective surface, the reflected signal can be modulated to encode data thereon. The mechanically deformable portion of the reflective surface preferably comprises plates integrally formed therein.