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Patents Available for Licensing:
The following patents are available for licensing or acquisition:
- Collision obstacles and sensors for determining the outcome of a race
ABSTRACT: A freestanding collision obstacle is disclosed which is propelled away from a collision obstacle sensing apparatus by the force of a collision event that occurs when a moving object, for example a toy vehicle such as a racecar, collides with the collision obstacle. A collision obstacle sensing apparatus is disclosed which incorporates a collision obstacle and a collision obstacle sensor, the latter of which senses the presence or absence of the collision obstacle. The collision obstacle sensing apparatus is thus used to detect an event time as the time of a collision event. Use of a collision obstacle and a collision obstacle sensing apparatus in each lane at the finish line of a multilane raceway, with the moving objects individually confined to respective lanes of the raceway, enables electronic determination of the outcome of a race. Preferred embodiments are disclosed using optical and/or capacitance sensors.
- Structures and Methods for Aligning Fibers
Claims (as corrected by USPTO Certificate of Correction)
ABSTRACT: Presented are structures and methods by which to align fiber optics side-by-side or end-to-end; to align fiber optics to features in supporting substrates or to objects on supporting substrates; and to align substrates to one another. Alignment grooves are included with particular properties that permit the groove to participate in the moving of a fiber into alignment. A fiber is used in a tapered channel as an alignment key enabling accurate tuning of an optical coupling ratio and efficiency of fiber-optic side-polished couplers, multiplexers, taps, splitters, joiners, filters, modulators and switches. Substrates made of crystal are presented having variable-width grooves and in some cases also variable-depth grooves which form guiding and constraining pathways for fiber optics. The reader will readily appreciate the novel structures and methods applicable to realize manufacturable fiber optics to perform all-fiber photonic functions.
Figs. 1-6; Figs. 7-8;
Figs. 9-12; Fig. 13
- Arcuate Fiber Routing Using Stepped Grooves
ABSTRACT: Structures and methods using crystalline substrates enable precise and accurate manufacture of side-polished fiber optics. A groove constrains a fiber and includes multiple lengthwise portions with constant widths and depths. Where the depth(s) are small enough, the fiber can be side-polished to create a side-polished region. To either end of a side-polished region, groove depths are made large enough to protect the fiber from side-polishing. The curvature(s) of the fiber away from the side-polished region into deeper portions of the groove are controlled by at least the lengths and depths of the multiple lengthwise portions of the groove. A variety of 2, 3, and 4-port fiber optic apparatuses can be constructed using the disclosed structures.
Fig. 1; Fig. 2;
Figs. 3-4; Fig. 5;
Fig. 6; Fig. 7;
Fig. 8; Fig. 9
- Integrated Manufacture of Side-Polished Fiber Optics
ABSTRACT: New methods of manufacture are disclosed for producing side-polished fiber-optic apparatuses, for use both singly and in compact arrays. These new methods involve process steps, many of which operate on many apparatus units simultaneously, with little additional manual labor over what is required to produce one unit at a time. High level assemblies of these fiber-optic apparatuses are also disclosed as compact arrays that not only save space but allow for easy interconnection. Examples of apparatuses that can be made with the disclosed integrated side-polished fiber-optic technology include, but aren’t limited to, couplers, multiplexers, taps, splitters, joiners, filters, modulators and switches. By interconnecting elements within compact integrated arrays of these apparatuses, complicated photonic circuits can be readily constructed.
Fig. 1; Figs. 2A,B,C;
Figs. 2D,E,F; Figs. 2G,H,I;
Fig. 3; Fig. 4;
Fig. 5; Fig. 6;
Fig. 7; Fig. 8
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