Methods for modulating a radiation signal
AssigneeMcnc
InventorsMark W. Roberson, Glenn A. Rinne, Philip A. Deane, Karen W. Markus
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reflector having a mechanically deformable portion of at least one reflective surface is disclosed. By deforming the portion of the reflective surface, discontinuity is introduced in that portion of the reflective surface. The discontinuity in the reflective surface scatters incident radiation signals so as to cause attenuation in the reflected signal. By selectively deforming the portion of the reflective surface, the reflected signal can be modulated to encode data thereon. The mechanically deformable portion of the reflective surface preferably comprises plates integrally formed therein.
Claims26
A method for modulating a radiation signal utilizing a reflector, comprising the steps of:
- receiving an incident radiation signal on at least one surface of the reflector;
- and
- selectively mechanically deforming a portion of the at least one surface of the reflector to selectively cause discontinuity in the at least one surface, wherein deforming a portion of the at least one surface is effected by an actuatable moveable member, and wherein the discontinuity in the at least one surface reflectively scatters the incident radiation signal to produce a reflected incident radiation signal.
A method for modulating a radiation signal utilizing a reflector, comprising the steps of:
- receiving an incident radiation signal on at least one reflective surface of the reflector, wherein the at least one reflective surface reflects the incident radiation signal to produce a reflected incident radiation signal;
- and
- selectively mechanically deforming a portion of the at least one reflective surface of the reflector to selectively cause discontinuity in the surface, wherein deforming a portion of the at least one reflective surface is effected by a selectively actuatable moveable member that introduces discontinuity in a portion of the at least one reflective surface to selectively alter the reflectivity thereof and scatter the reflected incident radiation signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.