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. 30, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 12, 2001
Clay Davis, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Donald Mead, Carlsbad, CA (US);
Gregory Quist, Escondido, CA (US);
PointSource Technologies, LLC, Escondido, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for identifying microscopic particles in a fluid, includes a laser beam ( ) that passes though a narrow detect zone ( ), and photodetectors ( ) that detect light scattered by microscopic particles that pass through the detect zone. The laser beam has a horizontal width (W) that is a plurality of times as great as its average vertical thickness (T), to increase the number of particles passing through the zone while minimizing the time of each particle in the zone. A quadrant detector ( ) that is used to detect deviation of the laser beam from a predetermined path, is oriented about 45° from the usual direction. The laser beam is generated by a diode laser ( ) whose output passes through two appropriately-positioned cylindrical lenses ( ) to produce the desired the ratio of width (W) to thickness (T).