Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7369584 | Laser projection display A method and apparatus are provided for controlling the operation of a Laser Projection Display (LPD). Generally, the LPD is comprised of a laser, an optical system and a controller. The laser is adapted to emit a beam of laser light. The optical system is adapted t... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7339714 | Variable blazed grating based signal processing A light processing system includes an array of optical signal processing devices. The array of processing devices are operable to receive at least some of a first signal part and to modulate the first signal part based at least in part on a control signal received f... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7300157 | Pixel-shifting projection lens assembly to provide optical interlacing for increased addressability A projection display system includes a projection lens assembly that has multiple projection lens elements that are configured to receive light imparted with display information by a pixelated display device. The projection lens elements project the light toward a d... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7279812 | Light direction assembly shorted turn A light direction assembly comprises a tip-tilt platform having a light direction member and at least one current coil coupled to the tip-tilt platform. The light direction assembly also includes a plurality of magnetic producing devices that are positioned in close... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7221495 | Thin film precursor stack for MEMS manufacturing This invention provides a precursor film stack for use in the production of MEMS devices. The precursor film stack comprises a carrier substrate, a first layer formed on the carrier substrate, a second layer of an insulator material formed on the first layer, and a ... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7182463 | Pixel-shifting projection lens assembly to provide optical interlacing for increased addressability A projection display system includes a projection lens assembly that has multiple projection lens elements that are configured to receive light imparted with display information by a pixelated display device. The projection lens elements project the light toward a d... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7164520 | Packaging for an interferometric modulator A package is made of a transparent substrate having an interferometric modulator and a back plate. A non-hermetic seal joins the back plate to the substrate to form a package, and a desiccant resides inside the package. A method of packaging an interferometric modul... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7090353 | System and method for improved digital projection Improved digital projection systems and methods are disclosed. Exemplary systems and methods embody a digital data source and a white light source. Light output of the white light source is coupled to a two-position digital micro-mirror device that separates black a... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7081928 | Optical system for full color, video projector using single light valve with plural sub-pixel reflectors A full color video projector system using a light source and a single light valve. The output of the light source passes through a condenser lens. The lens is directed toward a splayed array of red, green, and blue dichroic reflector color filters. The reflected thr... | 07/25/2006 |
| 6975366 | Digital display system using pulsed lasers An image projection system comprises a laser source that generates a series of periodic pulses having substantially uniform energy content, a spatial light modulator, and a modulator driver synchronized with the laser pulses so that transition intervals of the modul... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6965460 | Method and system for scanning an image using a look-down linear array scanner A system and method are disclosed which provide a look-down digital imaging device capable of capturing relatively high resolution digital images (e.g., comparable to traditional flatbed scanners). A preferred embodiment provides a look-down digital imaging device c... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6906852 | Wavelength discriminated image dithering A method and system for providing a dithered image is provided. In one embodiment, a projector system for providing a dithered image includes a light source comprising a first and a second light emitting diode (LED). The first LED is operable to transmit a first lig... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6317169 | Mechanically oscillated projection display A projection display system may be mechanically perturbed to remove or reduce speckle. In addition, pixellation effects may also be removed or reduced. By mechanically disturbing a portion of the system, for example using a wobble perturbation, the speckl... | 11/13/2001 |
| 5990982 | DMD-based projector for institutional use A baseline display system (10) is capable of receiving different types of input signals, analog or digital, having different horizontal and vertical input resolutions. The system uses serial video processors (SVPs) (33, 34, 43, 83) that have a given input... | 11/23/1999 |
| 5883614 | Reflection type display utilizing charge coupled devices A reflection type display device wherein the brightness of pixels is controlled by deflecting a reflecting surface corresponding to a pixel in the reflection type display device for a time proportional to a charge transmitted to the pixel. A reflecting su... | 03/16/1999 |
| 5712691 | Method and apparatus for area dependent dynamic blue de-focusing A method and projection television system for projecting images having a plurality of color components, includes a device for filtering a first color component signal from a composite signal to provide a filtered first color component signal. A defocusing... | 01/27/1998 |
| 5650832 | Multimode color wheel for display device A color wheel assembly (15, 15a, 15b) for use in a display system (10) that uses a beam of source illumination to generate images with a display device. The color wheel (15) is moveable in and out of the path of the source beam so as to provide varying le... | 07/22/1997 |
| 5646683 | Imaging systems Currently, electronic imaging cameras use expensive array photodetectors instead of inexpensive linear photodetectors because they cannot scan linear detectors across the entire image within their exposure time and because the linear photodetectors do not... | 07/08/1997 |
| 5561548 | Enhanced membrane light modulator A membrane light modulator contains a substrate, the substrate contains a first face and a second face. A plurality of first electrodes is arranged in a matrix of p rows and q columns. Each first electrode is affixed to the substrate by a suitable means. ... | 10/01/1996 |
| 5452024 | DMD display system A digital video display system (100). The system receives digital data from either broadcast video (102) or an alternate source (107), in either analog or digital form. The system processes the data into display data and loads the data onto a digital micr... | 09/19/1995 |
| 5402184 | Projection system having image oscillation A video projection system using a light modulating display device having a row and column matrix of picture elements is improved by imparting an oscillatory motion to the display image in the plane of the image, to thereby reduce the visibility of the ind... | 03/28/1995 |
| 5398082 | Scanned illumination for light valve video projectors A video projection system employs a reflective light valve (10) that is optically addressed by an image from a cathode ray tube (12) and provides an output image for projection by means of a high intensity reading light directed to the output face of the ... | 03/14/1995 |
| 5386253 | Projection video display systems A projection system of the kind in which beams of light are projected by a projector onto a screen and the beams are modulated by electronic video information is characterized in that means are provided to vary the intensity of the light falling on differ... | 01/31/1995 |
| 5212555 | Image capture with spatial light modulator and single-cell photosensor An apparatus and method for capturing an image, using a spatial light modulator (SLM) 11 and a single-element sensor 15. The SLM 11 is an array of individually switchable pixel elements, which reflect light toward the sensor if switched to an "on" positio... | 05/18/1993 |
| 5192946 | Digitized color video display system A digitized display system providing multiplexed color beams at one frequency less than the critical flicker frequency for the human eye with each color beam being provided at a higher frequency. The beams are directed at a spatial light modulator. The in... | 03/09/1993 |
| 5126836 | Actuated mirror optical intensity modulation A television display apparatus wherein a white light source emits a beam onto a plurality of dichroic mirrors which split the beam into three beams of the primary colors, then reflects the three primary beams onto three deformable reflective surfaces, whi... | 06/30/1992 |
| 4945423 | Reproducing apparatus for charge latent image recording medium A reproducing apparatus which reproduces a charge latent image recorded in a recording medium. The apparatus has an electromagnetic radiation source, an optical system for leading an electromagnetic radiation ray emitted from the electromagnetic radiation... | 07/31/1990 |
| 4879602 | Electrode patterns for solid state light modulator A solid state light modulator apparatus is disclosed for displaying images represented by video signals. The system includes an array of semiconductor devices having electrodes which extend over the tops of their respective devices. The devices are used, ... | 11/07/1989 |
| 4878122 | Light modulator video display apparatus A solid state light modulator apparatus for displaying images represented by video signals. The system includes an array of semiconductor devices having electrodes which extend over the tops of their respective devices. The devices are used, in conjunctio... | 10/31/1989 |
| 4802735 | Light valve projector having an improved bar plate configuration A light valve projector of the Schlieren dark field type is provided with an improved input bar plate configuration which achieves greater light efficiencies. The improved input bar plate has orthogonally related rows and columns of slots in which the row... | 02/07/1989 |
| 4641193 | Video display apparatus and method A solid state light modulator apparatus and method for displaying images represented by video signals. The system includes an array of semiconductor devices having electrodes arranged in a diagonal pattern, the devices being used, in conjunction with rela... | 02/03/1987 |
| 4533216 | Light valve projection system with improved writing control and reduced fluid degradation A light valve projection system is disclosed in which information is impressed on a light modulating fluid (32) overlying a disk (22) wherein incident light from a lamp (10) is modulated by the information and projected onto a viewing surface (33). The fl... | 08/06/1985 |
| 4458175 | Mosaic additive reflectance color display screen The enhancement of the intrinsic viewing screen brightness of the Mosaic Additive system of color reproduction, sufficient for saturated reflectance color displays to be viewed comfortably by the ambient light, is taught. The enhancement comprises three m... | 07/03/1984 |
| 4403248 | Display device with deformable reflective medium A display device having a transparent supporting plate which is provided with transflective regions. At a short distance from the first supporting plate resilient electrodes are connected which are manufactured from a partially reflective material. By var... | 09/06/1983 |
