IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0057939
(2005-02-15)
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등록번호 |
US-7265331
(2007-09-04)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Muenter,Steven E.
- Hunt,Jon E.
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
MacPherson Kwok Chen & Heid LLP
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
6 인용 특허 :
5 |
초록
▼
A plurality of optical sensing elements in an array where each element has a unique element address identifying the element location. Each element senses light and produces an element address signal in proportion to the intensity of the light sensed by the element. The element address signal corresp
A plurality of optical sensing elements in an array where each element has a unique element address identifying the element location. Each element senses light and produces an element address signal in proportion to the intensity of the light sensed by the element. The element address signal corresponding to the highest intensity sensed by the array is asserted as an array output signal.
대표청구항
▼
We claim: 1. An optical sensing apparatus, comprising; a plurality of optical sensing elements arranged in an array, each element having a unique element address identifying the location of the element within the array, each element for sensing light and producing an element address signal in propo
We claim: 1. An optical sensing apparatus, comprising; a plurality of optical sensing elements arranged in an array, each element having a unique element address identifying the location of the element within the array, each element for sensing light and producing an element address signal in proportion to the intensity of light sensed by the element; an address bus for receiving the element address signal from each element in the array and asserting a continuously valid array output signal corresponding to the address of the element sensing the highest intensity of light; and a buffer for receiving the array output signal and producing a buffered array output signal, wherein the buffer includes a threshold comparator, the threshold comparator for receiving an input having a signal level less than or equal to a predetermined low signal level and producing a low signal output, the threshold comparator for receiving an input signal having a signal level greater than or equal to a predetermined high signal level and producing a high signal output, wherein when the threshold comparator receives an input signal having a signal level that is both greater than a predetermined low signal level and less than a predetermined high signal level the threshold comparator produces an intermediate signal output. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the element address is encoded according to a binary Gray coding scheme, the address encoding for side adjacent elements differing by the value of one binary digit. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the buffer includes a level shifter for receiving an array output at a first level and producing a corresponding output signal at a second level. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the array is one-dimensional having one of a row and a column arrangement. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the array is two-dimensional having a row and column arrangement. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the array output signals for each row and each column are separate producing one array output signal for each row and one array output signal for each column. 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the array output signals of each row are combined to produce a single row address for a plurality of rows, and wherein the array output signals of each column are combined to produce a single column address for a plurality of columns. 8. An optical sensing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of optical sensing elements arranged in an array, each element having a unique element address identifying the location of the element within the array, each element for sensing light and producing an element address signal in proportion to the intensity of light sensed by the element; an address bus for receiving the element address signal from each element in the array and asserting a continuously valid array output signal corresponding to the address of the element sensing the highest intensity of light; and a buffer for receiving the array output signal and producing a buffered array output signal, wherein the buffer includes a differentiator, the differentiator for receiving an array output signal and producing a positive-going signal output when the array output changes from a lower value to a higher value, the differentiator for producing a negative-going signal output when the array output signal changes from a higher value to a lower value. 9. An optical sensing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of optical sensing elements arranged in an array, each element having a unique element address identifying the location of the element within the array, each element for sensing light and producing an element address signal in proportion to the intensity of light sensed by the element; and an address bus for receiving the element address signal from each element in the array and asserting a continuously valid array output signal corresponding to the address of the element sensing the highest intensity of light, wherein each optical sensing element further comprises: an optical sensor for receiving light and producing an optical sensor signal in proportion to the intensity of the received light, and an address generator for receiving the optical sensor signal and producing a unique address signal in proportion to the optical sensor signal. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the address generator further comprises: an electronic circuit including a predetermined number of current-based devices, the current-based devices including a predetermined number of current sourcing and current sinking devices. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the current sourcing and current sinking devices further comprises: a plurality of bipolar transistors arranged in a current mirror configuration and operatively connected to produce a mirror current in proportion to the optical sensor signal. 12. An optical sensing system, comprising: a plurality of optical sensing elements arranged in a two-dimensional array having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, each element having a unique row and column address identifying the location of the element in the array, each element for sensing light from an object and producing a row address signal and a column address signal in proportion to the intensity of the sensed light, a row address signal corresponding to the element in each row sensing the highest intensity light being asserted as a row output signal for the row, a column address signal corresponding to the element in each column sensing the highest intensity light being asserted as a column output signal for the column, the plurality of row address signals and plurality of column address signals comprising a continuously valid array output signal; a processing unit for receiving the array output signal and determining an object location information; and a buffer for receiving the array output signal and producing a buffered array output signal, wherein the buffer includes a threshold comparator, the threshold comparator for receiving an input signal having a signal level less than or equal to a predetermined low signal level and producing a low signal output, the threshold comparator for receiving an input signal having a signal level greater than or equal to a predetermined high signal level and producing a high signal output, the threshold comparator for receiving an input signal having a signal level that is both greater than a predetermined low signal level and less than a predetermined high signal level and producing an intermediate signal output. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein each row address signal and column address signal is encoded in a binary Gray coding so that the encoding of side adjacent elements within each row and column differs by only one bit value. 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the light sensed by the array comprises an image pattern including a plurality of image light levels. 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of row outputs and the plurality of column outputs identify the location of the most intense light detected by each row and column. 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the output of each row is combined to produce a single row address output for the plurality of rows; wherein the output of each column is combined to produce a single column output for the plurality of columns; and wherein the single row output and the single column output identify the location of the single element in the array receiving the most intense light from the image pattern. 17. A method of determining the most intense light pattern, comprising: detecting a received light pattern with a plurality of optical sensing elements arranged in an array, wherein each optical sensing element comprises: an optical sensor for receiving light and producing an optical sensor signal in proportion to the intensity of the received light, and an address generator for receiving the optical sensor signal and producing a unique address signal in proportion to the optical sensor signal; asserting an address information for each optical sensing element based on the intensity of the received light; and producing a continuously valid array output signal corresponding to the location of the optical sensing element within the array receiving the most intense light. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the address information is encoded as a binary Gray code. 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: combining a plurality of row address outputs into a single row address output; and combining a plurality of column address outputs into a single column address output, wherein the single row address output and the single column address output together identify the single optical sensing element receiving the most intense light. 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: determining an object location information signal, wherein the received light is from the object and the object location information is continuously valid.
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