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:
Dec. 11, 2012
Filed:
Feb. 12, 2008
Stephan R. Clark, Albany, OR (US);
Michael G. Monroe, Philomath, OR (US);
Melinda M. Valencia, Corvallis, OR (US);
Daniel A. Kearl, Philomath, OR (US);
Stephan R. Clark, Albany, OR (US);
Michael G. Monroe, Philomath, OR (US);
Melinda M. Valencia, Corvallis, OR (US);
Daniel A. Kearl, Philomath, OR (US);
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
A color detector includes a light source, a photodiode, and a filter tuned to only allow light of a specific color to pass through to the photodiode. When the light reaches the photodiode, the photodiode outputs a current that indicates that the color is present in the light. The filter may include a pair of partially reflective layers consisting of a reflective metal, such as silver. To prevent the metal from oxidizing or reacting with the environment, the partially reflective layers may be coated with a protective layer, such as aluminum nitride. The color detector may further include a color enhancing layer. Finally, the color detector may include a capping layer. Accordingly, the color detector provided herein allows for the filter to use metals for partially reflective layers that would normally oxidize, as well as detect light of a specific spectrum of wavelengths.