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:
Jun. 12, 2012
Filed:
Aug. 10, 2010
Benjamin Alan Grayson, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Debasish Benerjee, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Minjuan Zhang, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Yasuo Uehara, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Masahiko Ishii, Okazaki, JP;
Benjamin Alan Grayson, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Debasish Benerjee, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Minjuan Zhang, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Yasuo Uehara, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Masahiko Ishii, Okazaki, JP;
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Erlanger, KY (US);
Abstract
In one embodiment, the optical lock system may include an electronic control unit, a lock housing including a lock chamber, and an optical key including a multilayer photonic structure. The multilayer photonic structure may produce a unique intensity profile and includes a plurality of coating layers of high index dielectric material and a plurality of coating layers of low index dielectric. A light source may transmit a reference light to the multilayer photonic structure when the optical key is disposed within the lock chamber. A photo detector may receive an interaction light from the multilayer photonic structure and may transmit the unique intensity profile to the electronic control unit which may execute machine readable instructions to: compare the unique intensity profile to an electronic master; and cause the lock actuator to transition from a first state to a second state when the unique intensity profile corresponds to the electronic master.