PWM heating system for eye shield
First Claim
1. An eye-shield condensation preventing system comprising:
- an eye shield adapted for protecting a user'"'"'s eyes and adapted for defining at least a partially enclosed space between the user'"'"'s eyes and said eye shield;
a power source;
a pulse-width modulator;
a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor switching means responsive to said pulse-width modulator;
a heating element on said eye shield;
a circuit interconnecting said power source, said pulse-width modulator, said switching means and said heating element for controlling heating of said eye shield; and
current adjustment means operatively connected to said pulse-width modulator for varying duty cycle of the power source via the pulse-width modulator in turn varying the amount of current delivered to the heating element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Eye-shield condensation preventing system comprising an eye shield adapted for protecting a user'"'"'s eyes and adapted for defining at least a partially enclosed space between the user'"'"'s eyes and the eye shield, a power source, a pulse-width modulator preferably comprised of a microcomputer, switching means, preferably comprised of a MOSFET device, that is responsive to the pulse-width modulator, a preferably indium-tin-oxide (ITO) heating element on the eye shield, and a circuit interconnecting the power source, the pulse-width modulator, the switching means and the heating element for controlling heating of the eye shield. In one embodiment the eye shield is divided into a plurality of heating regions. A current adjustment means, sensors, and optionally user-selectable profiles are employed to allow heating adjustment or automated anti-fog capability and variable condition adaptability of the invention.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An eye-shield condensation preventing system comprising:
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an eye shield adapted for protecting a user'"'"'s eyes and adapted for defining at least a partially enclosed space between the user'"'"'s eyes and said eye shield; a power source; a pulse-width modulator; a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor switching means responsive to said pulse-width modulator; a heating element on said eye shield; a circuit interconnecting said power source, said pulse-width modulator, said switching means and said heating element for controlling heating of said eye shield; and current adjustment means operatively connected to said pulse-width modulator for varying duty cycle of the power source via the pulse-width modulator in turn varying the amount of current delivered to the heating element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An eye-shield condensation preventing system comprising:
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an irregular-shaped eye shield comprising a surface area divisible into a plurality of regions of one or more sizes to facilitate divisible heating of said eye-shield, said eye shield adapted for protecting a user'"'"'s eyes and adapted for defining at least a partially enclosed space between the user'"'"'s eyes and the shield; a power source; a plurality of pulse-width modulators, each pulse-width modulator operatively connected with said power source; a plurality of switching means, each switching means responsive to a corresponding pulse-width modulator; a plurality of heating elements on said eye-shield, each said heating element extending to a corresponding size region of said eye-shield; and a plurality of circuits, each said circuit interconnecting one of said pulse-width modulators with a corresponding one of said switching means and one of said corresponding heating elements, each said pulse-width modulator producing a duty cycle for providing an amount of current to the corresponding heating element such that the power output of each region of said eye shield corresponds to a desired output for the region of said eye shield. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An eye-shield condensation preventing system comprising:
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an eye-shield adapted for protecting a user'"'"'s eyes and adapted for defining at least a partially enclosed space between the user'"'"'s eyes and said eye shield, said eye shield having a surface area divisible into at least one region for facilitating region heating of said eye-shield to a desired temperature; a power source; at least one pulse-width modulator; at least one heating element on and corresponding with the at least one region for facilitating region heating of said eye shield, said at least one heating element corresponding with said at least one pulse-width modulator; at least one circuit interconnecting said power source, said at least one pulse-width modulator and said at least one corresponding heating element for heating said eye shield, wherein said at least one pulse-width modulator controls current to maintain the temperature of said at least one heating element region to a temperature above the anticipated dew point of an operating environment; a relative humidity sensor and a temperature sensor, each sensor located within the space defined by said eye shield; and means operatively connected with said relative humidity and temperature sensor for periodically calculating dew point temperature; wherein said at least one pulse-width modulator is responsive to said means for periodically calculating dew point temperature to control said at least one heating element such that said at least one heating element is maintained at a temperature at above dew point to assure prevention of fogging over time. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification