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. 10, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 28, 2001
Geoffrey Barrows, Washington, DC (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
An improved optic flow sensor is provided which affords enhanced bandwidth without the use of a lens. A plurality of photoreceptor circuits, arranged in a linear array, sense light received from a visual field and produce a plurality of photoreceptor signals in accordance with the light sensed. A negative iris, disposed between the visual field and the photoreceptor circuits, blocks a portion of the light from the visual field so that the light blocked by the negative iris is not received by the photoreceptor circuits. The photoreceptor signals are used in determining optic flow in the visual field. The invention is useful for implementation using micro electromechanical system (MEMS) techniques.