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:
Jul. 29, 2008
Filed:
Apr. 25, 2006
Leo R. Gauthier, Jr., Ellicott City, MD (US);
Leo R. Gauthier, Jr., Ellicott City, MD (US);
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a hitpoint sensor for a surface of interest, the hitpoint sensor having an optical fiber which is wound around or otherwise covering the surface, and a data processor connected to the ends of the optical fiber. When a collision with the surface occurs, light is generated which passes through the optical fiber. The ends of the fiber are connected to the data processor which uses arrival time information of the light signals arriving at the processor to determine the impact location on the surface. There are several modes in which the processor can operate to make this calculation.