Patent ID: 8811781

Claim:
An assembly with selective optical transmissivity, the assembly comprising: a first layer including a plurality of liquid lens units, wherein each of the plurality of liquid lens units has a first state configured to selectively focus incoming optical rays within a focal range defined between a first focal length and a second focal length; and a second layer spaced apart from the first layer, wherein: the second layer includes a plurality of optical waveguides; each of the plurality of optical waveguides includes one or more waveguide inlets such that the second layer includes a plurality of waveguide inlets; an optically transmissive substrate supporting the plurality of optical waveguides; and each of the plurality of waveguides inlets is associated with a respective one of the plurality of liquid lens units and is spaced apart from the respective one of the plurality of liquid lens units by a distance within the focal range such that the focused optical rays from the respective one of the plurality of liquid lens units are received by the associated waveguide inlet when the respective one of the plurality of liquid lens units is in the first state; and wherein each of the plurality of liquid lens units has a second state configured such that the incoming optical rays are directly transmitted through the liquid lens unit without focusing the incoming optical rays to within the focal range such that the incoming optical rays are not focused onto the associated waveguide inlets and are transmitted through the optically transmissive substrate.