Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
398131000 | Including alignment | 26 |
20080304832 | Optical interconnect - An optical interconnect includes a translatable optical source; an optical modulator element disposed on a circuit board and configured to receive an optical beam from the optical source; and an optical receiver disposed on a circuit board and configured to receive a modulated optical beam from the modulator element. | 12-11-2008 |
20090060517 | METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR POSITIONING FIRST AND SECOND DEVICES RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER - The invention relates to a method of locating a first device for wirelessly communicating with a second device relative to each other. The invention further relates to a system comprising a first device and a second device adapted for wirelessly communicating with each other. The object of the present invention is notify a user of an appropriate position of a first device relative to a second device with a view to ensuring proper wireless communication between them. The problem is solved in that one or more light sources are used to notify the user of appropriate locations of the two devices relative to each other according to a predifined correspondence scheme between appropriate beam patterns and distances between the devices The invention has the advantage of assisting a user in attaining a correct or appropriate distance between a first device (e.g. a programming device) and a second device (e.g. a device to be programmed). The invention may e.g. be used for programming or uploading data from a programming or server device to a portable audio device (e.g. a hearing aid) or to an entertainment device (e.g. a music player or a head set). | 03-05-2009 |
20090110406 | Dynamic optical signal tracking on a detector array in a free space optical communication system - A free-space optical communication system includes a detector array having a plurality of detector elements and a transmitting source. Dynamic movement of the optical signal on the detector array is caused by changes in orientation of the transmitting source. A tracker tracks the movement of the optical signal in real-time on the detector array. An output signal is derived from at least one of the detector elements illuminated by the optical signal. | 04-30-2009 |
20090162071 | Auto-Tracking System for Mobile Free-Space Optical (FSO) Communications - Free-space optics (FSO) is an unlicensed line-of-sight technology that uses modulated optical lasers to transmit information through the atmosphere. By using invisible beams of light, FSO can transmit and receive voice, video, and data information. To date, the primary concentration of FSO research and development has been toward the accurate alignment between two transceivers. The invention (FSO system) provides viable optical beam steering and capturing mechanism to allow fast tracking and accurate pointing between two transceivers of free-space optic (FSO) link that required continuous alignment. This extra ordinary auto-tracking system can reduce the time needed to lock a laser beam between an aircraft and a stationery base station to exchange information in addition to its high accuracy. This invention also provides wider receiving angle compared with the conventional FSO system. | 06-25-2009 |
20090252499 | Apparatus and Method for Sending and Receiving Free Space Optical Signals - A free space optical communication system incorporates a kinematic sensor, such as an accelerometer, proximate an optical signal generator or emitter, such as a laser. Kinematic information generated using an output signal from the kinematic sensor is encoded along with a time signal and transmitted from the sending node to a receiving node. The receiving node receives the kinematic information and determines a future position and orientation of the sending node. The receiving node makes adjustments to receiving optical component hardware in order to better receive the signal based upon the acceleration data and the time signal. | 10-08-2009 |
20090263138 | FREE-SPACE OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - A free-space communication system and method of operation includes a first communication device physically coupled to a substrate and having an optical transmitter for communicating information. A second communication device is physically coupled to the substrate and has an optical receiver for communicating information. An adjustable optical beam deflector is physically coupled to the substrate for optically coupling the first communication device and the second communication device via an optical beam including a free-space optical portion. A feedback system includes a non-optical communication link for receiving information regarding the optical beam. The feedback system controls the adjustable optical beam deflector to direct the optical beam to improve the quality of an optical link incorporating the optical beam. At least one sensor is physically coupled to the substrate for monitoring one or more environmental conditions and providing information of the one or more environmental conditions to the feedback system. | 10-22-2009 |
20090285578 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - An electronic apparatus is provided and includes a light transmitting module configured to convert an electric signal into an optical signal and emit light, a light receiving module configured to receive the light emitted from the light transmitting module and convert the optical signal into an electric signal, and a mover unit configured to cause at least one of the light transmitting module and the light receiving module to carry out linear movement along an optical axis of the light emitted from the light transmitting module and/or rotation about the optical axis. | 11-19-2009 |
20110013913 | IMAGE-ROTATION PRISMS AND OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS EMPLOYING THE SAME - Embodiments of the present invention relate to a family of image-rotation prisms. Each image-rotation prism has the property that as an image-rotation prism is rotated, an image passing through the image-rotation prism rotates at twice the angular rate of the image-rotation prism. Embodiments of the present invention include optical systems that can be used for board-to-board communications and employ the image-rotation prisms to compensate for arbitrary axial rotations and misalignment of optical signals and can be used to direct optical signals output from transmitters on one board to particular detectors of a detector arrangement located on an adjacent board. | 01-20-2011 |
20110116805 | FREE SPACE OPTICS BROADBAND HOME NETWORK - A system comprises a transmitter including a laser configured to generate a laser beam directed at a spot on a surface, and a laser driver connected to the laser and configured to modulate input data onto the laser beam. The system may further comprise a receiver including an optical detector configured to decode received light into raw data, a signal processor configured to decode the raw data into the original input data, and telescope optics configured to receive light reflected from the spot on the surface, collimate the light and converge the light onto the optical detector. | 05-19-2011 |
20110236026 | Robot cleaner, docking station, robot cleaner system including robot cleaner and docking station, and method of controlling robot cleaner - A robot cleaner system is described including a docking station to form a docking area within a predetermined angle range of a front side thereof, to form docking guide areas which do not overlap each other on the left and right sides of the docking area, and to transmit a docking guide signal such that the docking guide areas are distinguished as a first docking guide area and a second docking guide area according to an arrival distance of the docking guide signal. The robot cleaner system also includes a robot cleaner to move to the docking area along a boundary between the first docking guide area and the second docking guide area when the docking guide signal is sensed and to move along the docking area so as to perform docking when reaching the docking area. | 09-29-2011 |
20120294622 | ALIGNMENT OF A DATA SIGNAL TO AN ALIGNMENT SIGNAL - The present invention provides a method and apparatus for phase aligning two optical signals within an optical transmitter to each other (and, in some embodiments, to a pulse carved optical signal) using integrated complimentary taps and a dither signal. The phase of a first signal may be intentionally offset relative to the phase of a second signal. Based on the offset, a correction factor may be calculated. The correction factor may be used to shift the phase of the first signal and/or the second signal in order to generally align the signals. This procedure may be automatically performed in a feedback loop to cause the signals to come into alignment and maintain the alignment of the signals during operation of the transmitter. | 11-22-2012 |
20120308239 | Active Tracking for Free-Space Optical Communication Systems - Systems and methods enabling nodes of a free-space optical communication system to maintain pointing alignment of their transmitted optical beams. A first node scans its optical antenna through a path centered on a target direction. The second node captures signal strength measurements during the scan, and sends those measurements to the first node. The first node separately measures signal strength of the optical signal being received from the second node. The two sources of information (locally measured and remotely measured) are used to compute angular errors. The first node uses the angular errors to adjust the target direction of its optical antenna. The second node may employ the same method (with roles reversed) to adjust its target direction. By cycling back and forth between to the two nodes, the target directions of the two nodes maintain alignment in spite of movements of the structures on which they are mounted. | 12-06-2012 |
20130177322 | Establishing Optical-Communication Lock with Nearby Balloon - A balloon may include an optical-communication component, which may have a pointing axis. A pointing mechanism could be configured to adjust the pointing axis. The optical-communication component could be operable to communicate with a correspondent balloon via a free-space optical link. For example, the optical-communication component could include an optical receiver, transmitter, or transceiver. A positioning system could be configured to acquire a first location, which could be based on the location of the balloon. A controller could be configured to acquire a second location, which could be based on a location of the correspondent balloon. The controller may determine an approximate target axis based on the first location and the second location. The controller may control the pointing axis of the optical-communication component within a scanning range based on the approximate target axis to establish the free-space optical link with the correspondent balloon. | 07-11-2013 |
20130195469 | OPTICAL RELAY CABLE - Described herein is a system for transmitting an optical signal from a first location to a second location. The system may include first and second mounting fixtures, a reception module, an optical fiber, and a transmission module. The first fixture may define at least a first cavity and a first aperture at the bottom of the cavity. The reception module may be disposed in the cavity, and include a reflector for receiving the optical signal from a first direction through the first aperture and redirecting the optical signal in another direction. The optical fiber may be for receiving the optical signal from the reflector. The second fixture may define at least a second cavity and a second aperture on the side of the cavity. The transmission module may be disposed in the second cavity and direct the optical signal from the optical fiber through the second aperture. | 08-01-2013 |
20130266327 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ALIGNING VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATION DEVICES IN VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - A method for aligning among visible light communication devices comprises the following steps: generating a visible light signal and transmitting same to a corresponding device; determining whether the visible light signal that is output via the screen of the device is identifiable; correcting the color of the visible light signal that is output on the screen if the visible light signal is not identifiable; and using the visible light signal that is corrected to perform alignment for visible light communicating with the corresponding device. | 10-10-2013 |
20140093250 | IMAGING SYSTEM FOR PASSIVE ALIGNMENT OF ENGINES - Methods and systems for facilitating alignment of optical systems and optoelectronic systems are disclosed here. The methods and systems include passively detecting images, determining relative positions of components and aligning components. An imaging component can detect images and determine relative positions and repositioning instructions. | 04-03-2014 |
20140270800 | INTRAPERSONAL DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - Intrapersonal communication systems and methods that provide an optical digital signal link between two or more local devices are disclosed. In some embodiments, the system includes a first signal converter disposed at a first end of the optical digital signal link and configured to convert between electrical digital signals from a first local device and optical digital signals from the optical digital signal link. The system can include an optical connector having a non-contact portion configured to couple optical digital signals between the first signal converter and the optical digital signal link across a gap. The system can include a second signal converter disposed at a second end of the optical digital signal link and configured to convert between electrical digital signals from the second local device and optical digital signals from the optical digital signal link. | 09-18-2014 |
20140341589 | RELIABLE VISIBILE LIGHT COMMUNICATION WITH DARK LIGHT SYNCHRONIZATION - LEDs that transmit or receive data in a VLC channel may create a flickering effect which is caused by the human eye being able to perceive the fluctuations of the light intensity in a LED. To prevent flickering such that the LED is perceived as being illuminated at a constant intensity, the LEDs may emit light based on a pattern of dark and energy slots. During the dark slots, the LEDs may be reversed bias to determine how much light is received. Based on comparing the light received, each VLC system may synchronize respective clocks such that the dark slots align. The VLC systems may then transmit a data frame preamble instructing the other VLC systems to cease synchronization and use the dark slots to receive the data from the data frame. While transmitting the data frame, the VLC systems may continue to use the energy slots to prevent flicker. | 11-20-2014 |
20150071648 | DISPLAY-TO-DISPLAY DATA TRANSMISSION - A display device may include a display, an optical touch system proximate the display and a control system. The control system may be capable of receiving input for initiating a peer-to-peer data transfer and of performing an authentication process for the peer-to-peer data transfer. The authentication process may involve obtaining fingerprint images via the optical touch system. The display device may provide a prompt to position the display device proximate a second device, e.g., with the display adjacent to a display of the second device. The display may display data transfer parameters for the peer-to-peer data transfer. The optical touch system may receive a confirmation that the second device received the data transfer parameters. The peer-to-peer data transfer may be performed, at least in part, by an array of optical transceivers. | 03-12-2015 |
20150104185 | TECHNIQUES FOR RASTER LINE ALIGNMENT IN LIGHT-BASED COMMUNICATION - Techniques are disclosed for providing proper raster line alignment of a camera or other light-sensing device of a receiver device relative to a transmitting light-based communication (LCom)-enabled luminaire to establish reliable LCom there between. In accordance with some embodiments, proper alignment can be provided automatically (e.g., by the receiver device and/or other suitable controller). In accordance with some embodiments, proper alignment can be provided by the user. In some instances in which a user is to be involved in the alignment process, the receiver device may be configured, for example, to instruct or otherwise guide the user in the process of properly aligning the receiver device relative to a given transmitting LCom-enabled luminaire. | 04-16-2015 |
20150326313 | Photo-sensor Array to Adjust Alignment of Optical Receiver - In the context of a balloon network, embodiments described herein may help to maintain an optical communications link between two balloons. For example, an illustrative balloon may include auxiliary photodetectors that are arranged around the photodetector in the balloon's optical receiver system. The balloon may detect intensity differences between the auxiliary photodetectors on opposite sides of an optical receiver, and adjust the positioning in an effort to reduce the intensity difference, and by so doing, better align the optical receiver with the optical transmitter of the transmitting balloon. | 11-12-2015 |
20160043801 | Method for Aligning a Sensor Device - The invention relates to a method for aligning a sensor system, said sensor system having a transmitter unit having at least one light beam emit-ting transmitter and a receiver unit having at least one receiver as-signed to the transmitter, which receiver receives the light beams from the transmitter when the sensor system is in operation. In order to align the transmitter unit, an alignment receiver is positioned on the receiver unit in front of the receiver, said alignment receiver having a larger aperture angle than the receiver. The light beams emitted by the transmitter are received by the alignment receiver. Depending on the quantity of light of the light beams received by the alignment receiver, data are displayed on a display unit. | 02-11-2016 |
20160072580 | OPTICAL LINK ESTABLISHMENT - Methods and apparatuses for communication between a mobile device and a target device are disclosed. Information of a target device is determined by means of at least one element of a mobile device for providing an optical link with the target device. An optical component of the mobile device is then aligned with an optical component of the target device based on said information determined by the mobile device. The target device can obtain information of relative positioning of the target device and the mobile device determined for the purposes of providing an optical link between the target device and the mobile device and the optical component thereof can be aligned with the optical component of the mobile device based on the information. | 03-10-2016 |
20160080078 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD AND RECORDING MEDIUM - To perform stable communication in communication by an optical signal. An electronic device includes a display part having a light source which transmits an optical signal, a direction detection part detecting a direction of a display screen of the display part and a controller transmitting data by the optical signal from the display part to an electronic timepiece when the direction of the display screen detected by the detection part becomes a predetermined direction. | 03-17-2016 |
20160087722 | ALIGNMENT OF OPTICAL DEVICES - Adjustment of an optica! component of a device comprises determining of at least one derivative of coupling efficiency of the optical component as a function of parameters used for control of a steering function of the optica! component. At least one oscillating component is induced into the parameters for the determining. The adjustment of the optical component is based on the determined at least one derivative. | 03-24-2016 |
20160178724 | INDEPENDENT BEACON BASED LIGHT POSITION SYSTEM | 06-23-2016 |