Patent ID: 7180426

Claim:
An apparatus for causing incapacitation comprising; a light emitting device in which a beam of light is produced; a spatial scanning element operative to cause the beam to be directed at each of a sequence of directions defining flash points in a predetermined pattern over an area defining a scanned area; a flash control element operative to cause the light emitting device to flash at a selected rate; wherein the spatial scanning element operates at a predetermined rate and the flash control element causes flashing at a predetermined rate wherein the relationship that defines the sequence of temporal flashing and spatial scanning within the pattern is given by: number ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ flashpoints ⁢ ⁢ per ⁢ ⁢ flash = A × C B ; where: A=scan rate, the time for spatial scan of the entire pattern in cycles/unit time; B=flash rate, the time in flashes/unit time; and C=number of positions or flash points in the pattern; and the values of A, B and C as applied must result in the number of flashpoints per flash being a whole number; wherein flashes may occur once or a multiple of times at each flash point per scan or may skip one or more flash points per scan.