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:
Aug. 07, 2007
Filed:
Mar. 31, 2005
Applicants:
George Saikalis, West Bloomfield, MI (US);
Shigeru Oho, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Inventors:
George Saikalis, West Bloomfield, MI (US);
Shigeru Oho, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Assignee:
Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G08B 21/00 (2006.01); G01J 1/42 (2006.01); G01J 1/10 (2006.01); G01J 1/32 (2006.01); G01J 1/20 (2006.01); G01N 21/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A system which detects droplets on a translucent surface having a camera which, upon activation, acquires an image of a portion of the surface. A radiation source, upon activation, illuminates the portion of the translucent surface while a control circuit selectively activates both the camera and the radiation source. A processor receives a captured image from the camera and, through image processing, generates an output signal representative of the number of droplets on the portion of the translucent surface.