PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16047857
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-07
Publication Date: 2019-01
Patent Classification: ["353", "098000"]

Abstract:
Laser safety systems, devices, and methods for use in laser projectors are described. A laser projector includes any number of laser diodes that each emit laser light, a laser diode power source, a current sensor to detect a magnitude of the electric current output by the power source, a photodetector to detect a power/intensity of the laser light, a beam splitter to direct a first portion of the light towards the photodetector and a second portion of the light towards an output on the projector, and first and second laser safety circuits responsive to signals from the photodetector and the current sensor, respectively. The laser safety circuits selectively electrically couples/uncouples the laser diodes from the power source depending on signals from the photodetector and/or the current sensor. Particular applications of the laser safety systems, devices, and methods in a wearable heads-up display are described.

Claim (Index 1):
A method of operating a laser projector comprising a power source, at least one laser diode, a beam splitter, a photodetector, a current sensor, and a first laser safety circuit and a second laser safety circuit which operate simultaneously, the method comprising:\n providing power to the at least one laser diode by the power source electrically coupled to the at least one laser diode; generating a laser light by the at least one laser diode; splitting the laser light into a first portion and a second portion by the beam splitter; directing the first portion of the laser light from the at least one laser diode along a first optical path towards a photodetector by the beam splitter; directing the second portion of the laser light from the at least one laser diode along a second optical path towards an output of the laser projector by the beam splitter; detecting the first portion of the laser light by the photodetector; outputting a first signal by the photodetector in response to detecting the first portion of the laser light by the photodetector, the first signal indicative of a power of the laser light generated by the at least one laser diode; receiving the first signal from the photodetector by the first laser safety circuit communicatively coupled to the photodetector, wherein the first laser safety circuit includes a first switch that mediates the electrical coupling between the power source and the at least one laser diode; and in response to the first signal from the photodetector indicating that the power of the laser light generated by the at least one laser diode exceeds a first threshold, interrupting, by the first switch, a supply of power to the at least one laser diode from the power source; and detecting the electric current output of the power source by the current sensor; outputting a second signal indicative of the electric current output of the power source by the current sensor; receiving the second signal from the current sensor by the second laser safety circuit communicatively coupled to the current sensor, wherein the second laser safety circuit includes a second switch that mediates the electrical coupling between the power source and the at least one laser diode; and in response to the second signal from the current sensor indicating that electric current output of the power source exceeds a second threshold, interrupting, by the second switch, a supply of power to the at least one laser diode from the power source.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 20.0
- Percentile: 95.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.39394
- Patent Class: 353.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15839058', '16047852', '16047859', '15661415', '15839102']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7562341992866641
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5335721632724749
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7339679956852452
- Mean Citation Score: 374.549354
- Max Citation Score: 378.97882
- Similarity Product: 359.8202720982027

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 0
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test