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Walt Disney was no Mickey Mouse inventor. He devised a serious animation camera which he patented. With the device, his company created "Snow White".
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8077328 | Variable color incoherent alignment line and cross-hair generator An alignment device includes an incoherent light source, a first convex lens, a mirror rod, and a second convex lens. The incoherent light source emits incoherent light that is received by the first convex lens that produces a low divergence light beam. The low dive... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8059281 | Device for measuring distance and method for operating said type of device A hand-held device (10, 10′) for contactless distance measurement measures a distance (d) between a target object (18) and at least one reference point (20) of the device (10) using an emitted modulated measurement signal (16). T... | 11/15/2011 |
| 7982884 | Autofocus system with error compensation An autofocus system (222C) for measuring the position of a work piece (200) along an axis includes a slit light source assembly (236), a slit detector assembly (238), and a control system (224). The slit light source assembly (2... | 07/19/2011 |
| 7948641 | Device for measuring distance and method for operating said type of device A hand-held device (10, 10′) for contactless distance measurement measures a distance (d) between a target object (18) and at least one reference point (20) of the device (10) using an emitted modulated measurement signal (16). T... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7889357 | Method for positioning a target portion of a substrate with respect to a focal plane of a projection system A method is provided for positioning at least one target portion of a substrate with respect to a focal plane of a projection system. The method comprises performing height measurements of at least part of the substrate to generate height data, using predetermined c... | 02/15/2011 |
| 7830532 | Door/gate monitoring sensor device The invention proposes a sensor array having a plurality of sensor devices comprising a source of electromagnetic radiation, a receiver for the electromagnetic radiation and a control device, the control device being designed to use the source to emit electromagneti... | 11/09/2010 |
| 7826070 | Scanning optical system adjusting device and scanning optical system adjusting method As a light beam of a scanning optical system unit is adjusted in the state where the scanning optical system unit is assembled, its adjustment work and the assembly work of the scanning optical system are prevented from being useless. Thus, a scanning optical system... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7746484 | Method for positioning a target portion of a substrate with respect to a focal plane of a projection system A method is provided for positioning at least one target portion of a substrate with respect to a focal plane of a projection system. The method comprises performing height measurements of at least part of the substrate to generate height data, using predetermined c... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7656540 | Apparatus and method for measuring suspension and head assemblies An optical measurement device for determining at least two parameters of a measurement location of a surface of a workpiece positioned in a known coordinate system by a workpiece support is described. The device comprises a first light source providing a first measu... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7646494 | System and method for detecting the displacement of a plurality of micro- and nanomechanical elements, such as micro-cantilevers The invention relates to a system and method for detecting the displacement, such as the deflection, of a plurality of elements (1), such as microcantilevers, forming part of an array (2), by emitting a light beam (4) towards the array (2... | 01/12/2010 |
| 7528967 | Optical characteristic measuring apparatus and measuring method using light reflected from object to be measured A measurement-purpose light source generates a measurement light used for measuring an optical characteristic of an object to be measured, and the measurement light includes a component in a wavelength range for measurement of the optical characteristic of the objec... | 05/05/2009 |
| 7499186 | Laser survey device A remotely operated laser survey device for performing a runway survey on a rail system that supports a device such as an overhead crane. The survey device includes a laser assembly and a survey car. The laser assembly can include a self-leveling laser. The survey c... | 03/03/2009 |
| 7428063 | Overlay measurement apparatus An overlay measurement apparatus can judge whether an overlay displacement found from an image is accurate. It has a first measuring unit that captures images of first and second marks formed in different layers of a substrate and finds an overlay displacement betwe... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7406391 | System, method, and computer product for detection instrument calibration In one embodiment, a method of determining a drift value is described that includes performing one or more X-axis translations of an excitation beam over a probe array; measuring light responsive to the excitation beam from at least two positional reference elements... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7403296 | Method and apparatus for noncontact relative rail displacement, track modulus and stiffness measurement by a moving rail vehicle An on-board, noncontact measurement system and method is disclosed for measuring track quality, vertical track stiffness and vertical track modulus for a portion of track underlying the rail vehicle. The system comprises first and second optical emitters mounted to ... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7400415 | Operator interface apparatus and method for displacement transducer with selectable detector area An operator interface apparatus and associated methods may allow an operator to select and verify various operating parameters for an image correlation type of displacement transducer. A subset of pixels from a detector array or camera may be defined to participate ... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7379622 | Information-inputting device inputting contact point of object on recording surfaces as information An information-inputting device is provided, which includes a plurality of photographing units photographing an area on a plane. An object located on the plane is then extracted from an image that includes the plane and the object, and it is determined whether the o... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7375827 | Digitization of undercut surfaces using non-contact sensors An apparatus and method for digitization of surfaces of complex objects such as dental surfaces or plastic parts. While an object is being scanned by translation along a known trajectory, typically in a plane, the line of sight of a distance probe is bent toward an ... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7360703 | Laser scanning system for object monitoring A laser scanner is located in a fixed position to have line-of-sight access to key features of monitored objects. The scanner rapidly scans pre-programmed points corresponding to the positions of retroreflecting targets affixed to the key features of the objects. Th... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7356936 | Apparatus and method for measuring coating accumulations in a spray booth A method and apparatus are provided for viewing an object (such as a coating overspray accumulation) disposed in a difficult to view area (such as the underside of a lower trough or weir of a cleaning apparatus) and for measuring a distance between first and second ... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7355394 | Apparatus and method of dynamically measuring thickness of a layer of a substrate A method and apparatus are provided for measuring the thickness of a test object. The apparatus includes an eddy current sensor having first and second sensor heads. The sensor heads are positioned to have a predetermined gap therebetween for passage by at least a p... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7342672 | Detection system for nanometer scale topographic measurements of reflective surfaces A linear position array detector system is provided which imparts light energy to a surface of a specimen, such as a semiconductor wafer, receives light energy from the specimen surface and monitors deviation of the retro or reflected beam from that expected to map ... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7330278 | Optical displacement measurement device An optical displacement measurement device for introducing light from a light source to an object through an optical system having an objective lens and for detecting light reflected from the object by a detection section to thereby measure a displacement of the obj... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7327474 | Method and apparatus for measuring displacement of an object A method for measuring displacement of an object (20) having a flat surface (21), includes the following steps. When the object is in a first position (A), a first laser beam is emitted onto the flat surface at a first incident angle, the first laser b... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7317819 | Apparatus and method for three-dimensional imaging A computing device in a three-dimensional imaging system utilizes a plurality of distance readings and reference readings from the at least one subject sensor to determine a subject location and a subject volume and establish a base-three dimensional map of a subjec... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7307738 | Beam catcher A beam catcher (1) for a light beam (2) pulsating in amplitude at a modulation frequency (f) with a photodetector (4) with a plurality of photosensors (6) which are offset in a spatially defined manner relative to a reference point (5 | 12/11/2007 |
| 7307736 | Scale for use with a translation and orientation sensing system A position sensor using a novel structured light generating scale or target member is provided. An imaging array is capable of measuring the relative translation and orientation of the structured light generating scale or target member in X, Y, Z, yaw, pitch, and ro... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7301157 | Cluster tool for microscopic processing of samples A cluster tool includes multiple tools for microscopic processing of a sample positioned around a rotatable base. A sample holder on the base rotates the sample between the working areas of the tools. A slidable vacuum seal maintains a vacuum in a sample chamber for... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7292318 | System and method for generating thrust at remote objects A system and method for detecting thrust in a remote object is disclosed herein. The system is suitable for use in connection with midcourse discrimination systems that distinguish actual targets of interest, such as warheads, from decoys. The system directs laser p... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7289230 | Wireless substrate-like sensor A wireless substrate-like sensor is provided to facilitate alignment and calibration of semiconductor processing systems. The wireless substrate-like sensor includes an optical image acquisition system that acquires one or more images of targets placed within the se... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7283254 | Apparatus for shifting reference distance of laser displacement sensor An apparatus for shifting a reference distance of a laser displacement sensor is capable of extending the measuring range in a laser displacement sensor having a fixed reference distance and a fixed measurement range by smoothly changing the traveling path of the la... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7274802 | Automatic tracking apparatus for reflector The present invention comprises an illumination portion (11), and, a light receiving portion (12) having an image sensor (27) which are disposed in a surveying machine body (8), arithmetic portion (38) for calculating a position of... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7259872 | Light beam switch system for locating the edge of a workpiece A system is provided for detecting or locating an edge of a workpiece in a processing path. The system includes a reflector which can be positioned at an elevation higher than the workpiece in the processing path. According to one aspect of the invention, the reflec... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7248374 | Spherically mounted light source with angle measuring device, tracking system, and method for determining coordinates A device for use in conjunction with a coordinate measuring device, a three-dimensional coordinate measuring system and a method of measuring three-dimensional coordinates are described. The device includes a light source mounted substantially within the center of a... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7242460 | Method and apparatus for automatic registration and visualization of occluded targets using ladar data A method and apparatus for high-resolution 3D imaging ladar system which can penetrate foliage and camouflage to sample fragments of concealed surfaces of interest is disclosed. Samples collected while the ladar moves can be integrated into a coherent object shape. ... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7235806 | Wafer edge with light sensor An apparatus for detecting the presence of a substrate that is carried by an end effector of a substrate handling assembly positioned within a substrate processing system comprises a receiving member that is coupled to an end effector and a light sensor that is oper... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7228739 | Precision flexure plate A precision flexure plate includes a flat disk positioned between two capacitor plates and supported by S-shaped beams. Deflection of the disk due to gravitational loads and resulting capacitance change is used to measure the accelerations in the direction perpendic... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7228634 | Using viewing-angle-sensitive visual tags to determine angular orientation and/or location One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that uses a visual tag to determine an angle. During operation, the system observes the visual tag from an observation point, wherein the visual tag includes an angle-sensitive image which changes in appearan... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7222025 | System, method, and product for dynamic noise reduction in scanning of biological material Systems and methods are described for processing an emission signal, such as a fluorescent signal, to compensate for noise in an excitation beam, such as a laser beam. As one example, a scanning system is described that includes an excitation signal generator that p... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7212294 | Method for determination of the level of two or more measurement points, and an arrangement for this purpose A method and arrangement for determining the level of at least two measurement points with a light beam direct along a first direction and being deflected through 90° with respect to the first direction to a second direction, the second direction being rotated thro... | 05/01/2007 |
