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:
Sep. 23, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 29, 2000
R. Robert Clark, Redwood City, CA (US);
Schmitt Measurement Systems, Inc., Portland, OR (US);
Abstract
The detector elements are larger than an image of the spot on the array would be, but an image is not formed on the array. Instead, the beam shaping element enlarges the size of the area of illumination on the array slightly, and mixes, or homogenizes, the light. This destroys the image and the intensity variations originating at the spot on the surface that would be contained in the image. The enlargement of the area of illumination together with the homogenization allow the position of the beam on the array to be determined to a resolution of about {fraction (1/10)}th of the width of a detector element. This position is then converted to an absolute distance output which may be read by digital or analog means.