Invalidity dossier
US 7227515
System and method for forming images for display in a vehicle
Current assignee: L3 Technologies Inc
Added 9/23/2026, 10:47:32 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 7,227,515 B2
Title: System and method for forming images for display in a vehicle
Assignee/Inventor: Original assignee L3 Communications Corp; current assignee listed as L3 Technologies Inc. Inventor: Alexander L. Kormos.
Key dates: Priority date 2000-10-13; application US 11/129,849 filed 2005-05-16; granted/publication date 2007-06-05. Status listed as "Expired – Fee Related," with anticipated expiration noted 2021-10-08.
Purpose (plain language): The patent describes an auxiliary vision system for vehicles, aimed at night driving. A camera unit gathers scene information (an infrared camera mounted in the front grill is the example given) and a head-up display (HUD) projects a derived image onto the windshield. The problem addressed: the projected image's limited field of view (about twelve degrees horizontal by four degrees vertical) is inadequate when negotiating curves or cresting hills. Minifying the image is described as an unsatisfactory fix because it shrinks objects and reduces the driver's ability to perceive range. Instead of minifying, the system shifts which portion of the scene is displayed based on vehicle heading — e.g., toward the inside of a turn, or lower on the horizon when climbing.
Scope (as described in the excerpt): A system includes a lens system directing energy from a scene toward a detector having an array of detector elements, each converting received energy into representative information; a display unit forms an image from that information. A computer receives heading information (from an angle encoder on the steering column and/or an inclinometer), selects which detector elements should be used to form the image based on that heading information, and instructs the detector which elements send information to the display unit. A corresponding method is also described.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7227515/en
What the excerpt does not establish: The excerpt is partial (it cuts off mid-sentence in the description). It does not provide the full claims, the complete specification, the exact scope of claim coverage, or a full listing of cited prior art. It also does not establish prosecution history, examination outcomes, or the accuracy of any legal-status or assignee data, which Google Patents expressly marks as assumptions rather than legal conclusions.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:33:09 PM
Cases on file (0)
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.