US4040091A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Direct electronic fourier transforms of optical images
Assignee: Research Corp
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Filing: 1974-08-01
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Granted: 1977-08-02
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Expires: 1994-08-01
Abstract
Abstract Method and apparatus for directly converting between optical images and the spatial Fourier transforms of optical images by interacting sound waves and light. Controlled sound waves couple with optical images, and electrical signals may be derived from this coupling which are functions of the spatial Fourier transforms of the entire optical images. In a reverse process, optical images are obtained directly by coupling controlled sound waves with electrical signals which are a function of the spatial Fourier transforms of the optical images and with light.
Inventors
- 👤 Philipp G. Kornreich
- 👤 Stephen T. Kowel
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 19:32
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N3/00; H04N3/10; G; G02; G02F; G02F1/00; G02F1/01; G02F1/11; G06; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/10; G06V10/12; G06V10/20; G06V10/40; G06V10/42; G08; G08B; G08B13/00; G08B13/18; G08B13/189; G08B13/194; G08B13/196; G08B13/19602; G08B13/1961; G08B13/19634
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 45
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
A device for generating an electrical signal representation of an optical image comprising: a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of an optical image incident on the medium and as a function of time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium; means for causing the incidence of an optical image on the medium; means for causing in the medium a plurality of different time and space varying strain disturbances whose spatial wavelengths are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and means for measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different strain disturbances in the medium to derive a plurality of electrical signals, each signal representing an aspect of the entire optical image rather than of a point of the image.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
135 words
A device for generating an electrical signal representation of an optical image comprising: a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of an optical image incident on the medium and as a function of time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium; means for causing the incidence of an optical image on the medium; means for causing in the medium a plurality of different time and space varying strain disturbances whose spatial wavelengths are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and means for measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different strain disturbances in the medium to derive a plurality of electrical signals, each signal representing an aspect of the entire optical image rather than of a point of the image.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
A device as in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of different strain disturbances is substantially periodic in space and time.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
57 words
A device as in claim 2 wherein each of a plurality of said electrical signals is a function of the light intensity distribution along at least one dimension of the entire image incident on a defined portion of the medium and of the periodicity of the strain disturbances in the medium at which the signal is derived.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
A device as in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of different strain disturbances is a vibration of the medium at a different frequency of vibration.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
A device as in claim 4 wherein each of said electrical signals is a selected component of a Fourier transform representation of the light intensity distribution along at least one dimension of the entire optical image incident on a defined portion of the medium for the frequency of vibration of the medium at which the electrical signal is derived.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
120 words
A device for obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an optical image comprising: a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of an optical image incident on the medium and as a function of the frequency of vibration of the medium; means for causing the incidence of an optical image on the medium; means for vibrating the medium at a plurality of different frequencies which are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and means for measuring the electrical property at a plurality of said different frequencies to derive thereby a plurality of electrical signals, said electrical signals being components of a Fourier transform representation of said optical image incident on the medium.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
120 words
A device for obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an optical image comprising: a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of an optical image incident on the medium and as a function of the frequency of vibration of the medium; means for causing the incidence of an optical image on the medium; means for vibrating the medium at a plurality of different frequencies which are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and means for measuring the electrical property at a plurality of said different frequencies to derive thereby a plurality of electrical signals, said electrical signals being components of a Fourier transform representation of said optical image incident on the medium.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
59 words
A device as in claim 6 wherein each of said electrical signals is a selected component of a Fourier Transform representation of the light intensity distribution along at least one dimension of the entire optical image incident on a defined portion of the medium for the frequency of vibration of the medium at which the electrical signal is derived.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
58 words
A device as in claim 6 wherein each of said electrical signals is a selected component of a Fourier Transform representation of the light intensity distribution along a single dimension of the entire optical image incident on a defined portion of the medium for the frequency of vibration of the medium at which the electrical signal is derived.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
128 words
Method of obtaining an electrical signal representation of an optical image comprising: causing the incidence of an optical image on a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of the optical image incident on it and as a function of time and space varying strain disturbance in the medium; causing a plurality of different time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium, wherein the spatial wavelengths of said strain disturbances are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different strain disturbances in the medium to derive a plurality of electrical signals, each signal representing the entire optical image rather than a single small area of the image.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
128 words
Method of obtaining an electrical signal representation of an optical image comprising: causing the incidence of an optical image on a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of the optical image incident on it and as a function of time and space varying strain disturbance in the medium; causing a plurality of different time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium, wherein the spatial wavelengths of said strain disturbances are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different strain disturbances in the medium to derive a plurality of electrical signals, each signal representing the entire optical image rather than a single small area of the image.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
18 words
Method as in claim 9 wherein the strain disturbances in the medium are periodic in time and space.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
56 words
Method as in claim 10 wherein each of a plurality of said electrical signals is a function of the light intensity distribution along at least one dimension of the entire image incident on a defined portion of the medium and of the periodicity of the strain disturbances in the medium at which the signal is derived.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
26 words
Method as in claim 9 wherein each of said plurality of different strain disturbances is a vibration of the medium at a different frequency of vibration.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
57 words
Method as in claim 12 wherein each of said electrical signals is a component of a Fourier Transform representation of the light intensity distribution along at least one dimension of the entire optical image incident on a defined portion of the medium for the frequency of vibration of the medium at which the electrical signal is derived.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
30 words
Method as in claim 9 wherein the electrical signals are components of a Fourier Transform representation of the light intensity distribution along a signal selected dimension of the optical image.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
23 words
Method as in claim 9 wherein the electrical property of the medium is the potential difference across a selected portion of the medium.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
111 words
Method of obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an optical image comprising: causing the incidence of an optical image on a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of said optical image and as a function of the frequency of vibration of the medium; vibrating the medium at a plurality of different frequencies which are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different frequencies of vibration to derive a plurality of electrical signals, said electrical signals being components of a Fourier transform representation of the optical image incident on the medium.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
111 words
Method of obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an optical image comprising: causing the incidence of an optical image on a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of said optical image and as a function of the frequency of vibration of the medium; vibrating the medium at a plurality of different frequencies which are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium; and measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different frequencies of vibration to derive a plurality of electrical signals, said electrical signals being components of a Fourier transform representation of the optical image incident on the medium.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
23 words
Method as in claim 16 wherein said electrical property of the medium is the potential difference across a selected portion of the medium.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
32 words
Method as in claim 16 wherein said electrical signals are selected components of a Fourier Transform representation of the light intensity distribution along at least one selected dimension of the optical image.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
Method as in claim 16 wherein said electrical signals are components of a Fourier Transform representation of the light intensity distribution along a single selected dimension of the optical image.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
135 words
A system for generating electrical signal representations of selected portions of an optical image, comprising a plurality of devices each comprising: a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of an optical image incident on the medium and as a function of time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium; means for causing the incidence of one of said selected portions of the optical image on the medium, a different portion of the medium being incident on each of said plurality of media; means for causing a plurality of different time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium; and means for measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different strain disturbances in the medium to derive a plurality of electrical signals representing said optical image.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
135 words
A system for generating electrical signal representations of selected portions of an optical image, comprising a plurality of devices each comprising: a medium having an electrical property which varies as a function of an optical image incident on the medium and as a function of time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium; means for causing the incidence of one of said selected portions of the optical image on the medium, a different portion of the medium being incident on each of said plurality of media; means for causing a plurality of different time and space varying strain disturbances in the medium; and means for measuring said electrical property of the medium at a plurality of said different strain disturbances in the medium to derive a plurality of electrical signals representing said optical image.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system as in claim 20 wherein said portions of an optical image are different color content representations of the same optical image.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
79 words
A device for obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an image comprising: a medium having a property which varies as a Fourier transform function of an image formed at the medium and of strain waves interacting with the medium; and means for measuring said property during the interaction of said image and selected strain waves at the medium, the resulting measurements being a Fourier transform representation of the entire image including at least phase terms of Fourier transform components.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
79 words
A device for obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an image comprising: a medium having a property which varies as a Fourier transform function of an image formed at the medium and of strain waves interacting with the medium; and means for measuring said property during the interaction of said image and selected strain waves at the medium, the resulting measurements being a Fourier transform representation of the entire image including at least phase terms of Fourier transform components.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an image comprising the steps of: providing a medium having a property varying as a Fourier transform function of the interaction of an image and of strain waves with the medium; and measuring said property during the interaction of an image and strain waves with the medium, the resulting measurements being a Fourier transform representation of the entire image including at least phase terms.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of obtaining a Fourier transform representation of an image comprising the steps of: providing a medium having a property varying as a Fourier transform function of the interaction of an image and of strain waves with the medium; and measuring said property during the interaction of an image and strain waves with the medium, the resulting measurements being a Fourier transform representation of the entire image including at least phase terms.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
96 words
A device comprising: a medium having an electrical parameter which varies as a function of the intensity distribution of images formed on the medium and as a function of strain waves present in the medium; means for forming a selected image on the medium; means for causing selected strain waves to be present in the medium; and means for measuring the magnitude of the parameter and the phase of the parameter relative to selected strain waves present in the medium while the image is formed on the medium to thereby derive electrical signals representing the image.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
96 words
A device comprising: a medium having an electrical parameter which varies as a function of the intensity distribution of images formed on the medium and as a function of strain waves present in the medium; means for forming a selected image on the medium; means for causing selected strain waves to be present in the medium; and means for measuring the magnitude of the parameter and the phase of the parameter relative to selected strain waves present in the medium while the image is formed on the medium to thereby derive electrical signals representing the image.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
45 words
A device as in claim 24 wherein the measuring means include means for providing pairs of said electrical signals, each pair representing the magnitude and the phase of the parameter at a signal selected strain wave in the medium which has a selected spatial wavelength.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
88 words
A device comprising: a medium, means for forming an image on the medium, means for causing in the medium selected strain waves having spatial wavelengths which are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium, and means for measuring a property of the medium at each of a plurality of said strain waves to derive thereby a plurality of signals each corresponding to a selected spatial wavelength and each representing an aspect of the entire image rather than of an incremental area of the image.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
88 words
A device comprising: a medium, means for forming an image on the medium, means for causing in the medium selected strain waves having spatial wavelengths which are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium, and means for measuring a property of the medium at each of a plurality of said strain waves to derive thereby a plurality of signals each corresponding to a selected spatial wavelength and each representing an aspect of the entire image rather than of an incremental area of the image.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
71 words
A device as in claim 26 wherein the property is an electrical property of the medium and the measuring means comprise means for measuring the magnitude of the property and the phase of the property relative to selected strain waves to thereby derive electrical signals each of which has a pair of components, each pair corresponding to a single selected spatial wavelength and comprising a magnitude component and a phase component.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
74 words
A device comprising: a medium, means for forming a selected image on the medium, means for causing in the medium selected strain waves whose spatial frequencies are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium, and means for measuring a property of the medium to derive signals corresponding to Fourier transform components of the image corresponding to the spatial frequencies of selected ones of the strain waves present in the medium.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
74 words
A device comprising: a medium, means for forming a selected image on the medium, means for causing in the medium selected strain waves whose spatial frequencies are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium, and means for measuring a property of the medium to derive signals corresponding to Fourier transform components of the image corresponding to the spatial frequencies of selected ones of the strain waves present in the medium.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
85 words
A method comprising the steps of: providing a medium, forming an image on the medium, causing to be present in the medium strain waves whose spatial wavelengths are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium, and measuring a selected property of the medium to derive signals representing the image and corresponding to the spatial wavelengths of selected strain waves present in the medium, each signal representing an aspect of the entire image rather than of a small area of the image.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
85 words
A method comprising the steps of: providing a medium, forming an image on the medium, causing to be present in the medium strain waves whose spatial wavelengths are selected substantially independently of any natural vibrating modes of the medium, and measuring a selected property of the medium to derive signals representing the image and corresponding to the spatial wavelengths of selected strain waves present in the medium, each signal representing an aspect of the entire image rather than of a small area of the image.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method as in claim 29 wherein the measuring step includes the substep of measuring the magnitude of the property and the phase of the property relative to selected strain waves present in the medium.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
62 words
A method comprising the steps of: forming an image on a medium which undergoes strain disturbances due to strain waves of selected spatial wavelengths present in the medium and measuring the magnitude and phase of a property of the medium at each of a selected plurality of spatial wavelengths of strain disturbances present in the medium to derive signals representing the image.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
62 words
A method comprising the steps of: forming an image on a medium which undergoes strain disturbances due to strain waves of selected spatial wavelengths present in the medium and measuring the magnitude and phase of a property of the medium at each of a selected plurality of spatial wavelengths of strain disturbances present in the medium to derive signals representing the image.
Claim 44
Independent Claim
71 words
A method of deriving an electrical signal representation of an image comprising the steps of: forming a representation of the image on a medium having a measurable electrical property, propagating strain wave disturbances in the medium and measuring at least a phase characteristic of said property relevant to said strain wave disturbances while the image is formed on the medium and while said strain wave disturbances are present in the medium.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
71 words
A method of deriving an electrical signal representation of an image comprising the steps of: forming a representation of the image on a medium having a measurable electrical property, propagating strain wave disturbances in the medium and measuring at least a phase characteristic of said property relevant to said strain wave disturbances while the image is formed on the medium and while said strain wave disturbances are present in the medium.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-08-01 | 1981-01-31 | 1981-08-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-08-01 | 1985-01-31 | 1985-08-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-08-01 | 1989-01-31 | 1989-08-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |