PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15878392
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-01
Publication Date: 2019-06
Patent Classification: ["250", "208100"]

Abstract:
A time-resolving sensor includes a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD), a logic circuit and differential time-to-charge converter (DTCC) circuit. The SPAD is responsive to a shutter signal to generate an output signal based on detecting an incident photon. The logic circuit generates first and second enable signals. The DTCC includes a capacitor device, first and second switching devices, and an output circuit. The first switching device is responsive to the first enable signal to transfer a charge on the capacitor device to the first floating diffusion. The second switching device is responsive to the second enable signal to transfer a remaining charge on the capacitor device to the second floating diffusion. The output circuit outputs a first voltage that is based on the first charge on the first floating diffusion and a second voltage that is based on the second charge on the second floating diffusion.

Claim (Index 15):
A method to resolve time, comprising:\n generating an active shutter signal; detecting at at least one single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) one or more photons that are incident on the at least one SPAD during the active shutter signal, the one or more photons being reflected from an object; generating an output signal based on the one or more photons; generating a first enable signal and a second enable signal based on the output signal, the first enable signal being active in response to a beginning of the active shutter signal and being inactive in response to the output signal, and the second enable signal being active in response to the output signal and being inactive in response to an end of the active shutter signal; transferring a charge on a capacitor device to a first floating diffusion to form a first charge on the first floating diffusion if the first enable signal is active; transferring a remaining charge on the capacitor device to a second floating diffusion to form a second charge on the second floating diffusion if the second enable signal is active; and outputting a first voltage based on the first charge and the second voltage based on the second charge, a first ratio of the first voltage to a sum of the first voltage and the second voltage being proportional to a time of flight of the one or more photons, and a second ratio of the second voltage to the sum of the first voltage and the second voltage being proportional to the time of flight of the one or more photons.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 50.0
- Percentile: 86.0
- Lexical Diversity: 3.05769
- Patent Class: 250.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15498096', '15657101', '14066771', '14066853', '15868128']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6761319375956085
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.534514533521912
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6619701971882388
- Mean Citation Score: 254.737202
- Max Citation Score: 362.3225
- Similarity Product: 280.84756986677644

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

Dataset: test