Bizarre Patents
A fork with timer for providing a cue to a user after an elapsed period of time for indicating that another bite of food using the fork may be taken.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7859731 | Illumination apparatus for display device using hologram-based light guide plate (LGP) An illumination apparatus and method for a display device designed such that light is incident on a hologram or hologram pattern at an angle for which diffraction efficiency is the highest. The illumination apparatus includes at least one point light source which em... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7440153 | Backlight unit for flat panel display and flat panel display apparatus having the same A backlight unit for a flat panel display and a flat panel display apparatus having the same. The backlight unit for a flat panel display includes a light source emitting light, a light guide panel having an incident surface facing the light source and totally refle... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7418170 | Optical device and virtual image display device A virtual image display device is provided which displays a two-dimensional image for viewing a virtual image in a magnified form by a virtual optical system. The virtual image display device includes an optical waveguide (13) to guide, by internal total refl... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7387389 | Image display system and method An image display device includes an image processing unit, a light source assembly, an optical modulator assembly, and a projection lens assembly. The image processing unit is configured to receive a video signal and generate image data and control signals. The ligh... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7359597 | Birefringence control in planar optical waveguides A planar optical waveguide has a set of diffractive elements and confines propagating optical signals in at least one transverse spatial dimension. Each diffractive element set routes, between input and output ports, a corresponding diffracted portion of an input op... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7347612 | Backlight module incorporating a nonspecular reflective device A backlight module 200 is provided, which includes a light guide plate 22 and a nonspecular reflective device 28, 34. The light guide plate 22 has a light-incident surface 221, a light-emitting surface 223, and a bottom surf... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7330614 | Integrated optical spectrometer incorporating sets of diffractive elements An exemplary optical apparatus comprises: an optical element having multiple sets of diffractive elements; and a photodetector. The diffractive elements of each set are collectively arranged so as to comprise corresponding spectral and spatial transformation informa... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7324278 | Black matrix light guide screen display Provided is a black matrix light guide screen display. In a particular embodiment, provided are a plurality of aligned light guides, each having an input end, a midsection and a magnifying output end. A black matrix material is disposed adjacent to the light guides ... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7317814 | Authentication system and method An authentication system using a correlator that correlates an input with a reference wherein at least one of the input and reference comprises a phase volume mask having structures, preferably points, that are each less than about six microns in size and can have a... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7292755 | Optical resonator formed in a planar optical waveguide with a distributed optical structure An optical apparatus comprises a planar optical waveguide having at least two reflectors. The planar optical waveguide substantially confines in at least one transverse spatial dimension optical signals propagating therein, and the reflectors define an optical reson... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7286732 | Distributed optical structures designed by computed interference between simulated optical signals An optical apparatus comprises a planar optical waveguide and at least one set of diffractive elements formed in or on the waveguide. The waveguide is arranged to confine propagating optical signals in at least one transverse dimension. The diffractive element set c... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7268942 | Method of making a self-aligned light guide screen Provided is a method of making a self-aligned light guide screen. More specifically, in a particular embodiment, fabrication may commence by providing a first ribbon section of light guides with at least one self alignment feature. A second ribbon section of light g... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7256915 | Switchable polymer-dispersed liquid crystal optical elements Transmission and reflection type holograms may be formed utilizing a novel polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) material and its unique switching characteristics to form optical elements. Applications for these switchable holograms include communications switches... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7227675 | Hologram recording medium, recording/reproducing apparatus and method therefor A hologram recording medium in which data is recorded at a high density, the input of a reference beam to an area to which data is not to be recorded of a recording layer is prevented when recording data to the hologram recording medium, and an amount of noise when ... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7224867 | Holographic spectral filter Method and apparatus are contemplated for receiving from an input, an optical signal in a volume hologram comprising a transfer function that may comprise temporal or spectral information, and spatial transformation information; diffracting the optical signal; and t... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7220005 | Projection type video display apparatus An object of the invention is to achieve a high intensity, a compact structure, a cost reduction and a heat radiation of a liquid crystal panel, in a projection type video display apparatus employing a combination of LED light sources and a light pipe. The light pip... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7209611 | Transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chips utilizing compact wavelength selective combiners/decombiners A monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chip and a monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) chip include a plurality of optical signal channels together with other active elements integrated on a semiconductor chip, which chips fu... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7206107 | Method and system for beam expansion in a display device An exit pupil extender wherein the relative amount of different color components in the exit beam is more consistent with that of the input beam. In order to compensate for the uneven amount in the diffracted color components in the exit beam, the exit pupil extende... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7193755 | Optical image reader An optical image reader includes a transparent light guide plate having an object placement surface, an illumination light source for emitting light to an end face of the plate, a holographic diffraction grating element disposed at a surface of the plate opposite to... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7190859 | Distributed optical structures in a planar waveguide coupling in-plane and out-of-plane optical signals A slab optical waveguide confines in one transverse dimension optical signals propagating in two dimensions therein, and has a set of diffractive elements collectively arranged so as to exhibit positional variation in amplitude, optical separation, or spatial phase.... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7184627 | Optical waveguide grating coupler incorporating reflective optical elements and anti-reflection elements An optical wavelength grating coupler incorporating one or more distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) or other reflective elements to enhance the coupling efficiency thereof. The grating coupler has a grating comprising a plurality of scattering elements adapted to sca... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7181103 | Optical interconnect structures incorporating sets of diffractive elements An optical apparatus comprises an optical interconnect structure defining one or more optical source and receiver ports and one or more interconnect optical signal pathways connecting corresponding optical signal source and receiver ports. The optical interconnect s... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7170142 | Planar integrated circuit including a plasmon waveguide-fed Schottky barrier detector and transistors connected therewith A planar integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate having a substrate surface and a trench in the substrate, a waveguide medium in the trench having a top surface and a light propagation axis, the trench having a sufficient depth for the waveguide medium... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7155097 | Fabrication of microstructured fibres A preform for a microstructured fibre or a part for a preform for a microstructured fibre. The preform or part has a length in the longitudinal direction and a cross section perpendicular thereto, and includes a rod arranged at the centre of the preform or part, wit... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7133170 | Holographic recording medium A holographic recording medium according to the present invention includes a holographic material layer in which information is to be recorded by irradiating the same region with information light corresponding to the information to be recorded and reference light t... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7120334 | Optical resonator formed in a planar optical waveguide with distributed optical structures An optical apparatus comprises a planar optical waveguide having at least two sets of diffractive elements. The planar optical waveguide substantially confines in at least one transverse spatial dimension optical signals propagating therein. The two diffractive elem... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7116453 | Optical processor Method and apparatus are disclosed for optical packet decoding, waveform generation, and wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing using a programmed holographic structure. A configurable programmed holographic structure is disclosed. A configurable programmed holograp... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7095537 | Method and system for optical coupling using holographic recording media A method for optical coupling comprises: includes providing a holographic recording media fixed relative to at least two optical elements; creating a hologram by transmitting light from each of the optical elements to the recording media; and transmitting light from... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7072538 | Planar reconfigurable optical add/drop module A reconfigurable optical add/drop module (ROADM) for dynamically adding or dropping various wavelengths of an optical signal without having to physically replace the module with a wavelength-specific add/drop module, and corresponding methods. A multiplexed optical ... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7068405 | Switchable polymer-dispersed liquid crystal optical elements Transmission and reflection type holograms may be formed utilizing a novel polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) material and its unique switching characteristics to form optical elements. Applications for these switchable holograms include communications switches... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7062128 | Holographic spectral filter Method and apparatus are contemplated for receiving from an input, an optical signal in a volume hologram comprising a transfer function that may comprise temporal or spectral information, and spatial transformation information; diffracting the optical signal; and t... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7046892 | Optical waveguide, holographic medium, holographic storage and retrieval method and system A holographic medium is formed of an optical waveguide including at least one core layer positioned between at least one portion of a material having a lower refractive index, a diffraction grating layer formed at a boundary between the core layer and the material o... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7042604 | Self-aligning holographic optical system and related methods Systems and methods for making a self-aligning optical system are provided, Briefly described, in architecture, one such system for making an optical system, among others, can be implemented as follows. The system includes a grating substrate supporting a holographi... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7027197 | Pulsed-laser systems and methods for producing holographic stereograms Pre-sensitization techniques can be used in conjunction with holographic recording materials to allow high quality holographic stereograms to be recorded in those holographic recording materials using pulsed lasers. Additional hologram production system hardware and... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7025461 | Interactive display system having a digital micromirror imaging device A display system includes a waveguide optical panel having an inlet face and an opposite outlet face. A projector cooperates with a digital imaging device, e.g. a digital micromirror imaging device, for projecting an image through the panel for display on the outlet... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7026701 | Schottky barrier photodetectors A Schottky barrier photodetector comprises a waveguide structure formed by a thin strip of material having a relatively high free charge carrier density, for example a conductor or certain classes of highly-doped semiconductor, surrounded by material having a relati... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7013060 | Optical cross-connect device An optic switch for cross-connecting input light signals incoming from inlet fiber cables to outlet fiber cables is disclosed that makes use of a holographic filter (5) having a series of preformed different speckle patterns, each in the form of a hologram (H... | 03/14/2006 |
| 7009743 | Optical processor Method and apparatus are disclosed for optical packet decoding, waveform generation and wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing using a programmed holographic structure. A configurable programmed holographic structure is disclosed. A configurable programmed holograph... | 03/07/2006 |
| 7006266 | Optical switching devices The invention provides an optical switcing device, including a substrate having at least one polarization-selective multiplexing grating; at least one polarization-selective demultiplexing grating, and a polarization rotation element acting as a dynamic ½ λ plate,... | 02/28/2006 |
| 7003208 | Optical fiber connecting tool, connector holder, connector holder equipped optical connector, and tool equipped optical connector An optical fiber connecting tool for an optical connector which houses a ferule, a first optical fiber mounted in the ferule and extending from a back end of the ferule, and a second optical fiber abutted and connected to the first optical fiber. The optical connect... | 02/21/2006 |
