Teen has patent for projector invention — and more pending
By Jennifer Solis
correspondent
WEST NEWBURY — Whoever said, "Anything that can be invented, has been invented," never met 13-year-old David Baker.
Son of Richard Baker and Leisa Mingo of Middle Street, David recently received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for his Light Beam Delivery System design — technology he invented that miniaturizes a projector to the size of a pen. The patent is related to a family of patent applications that David has filed over the last three years, including two pending in the United States and another foreign patent application.
The patent, U.S. Patent Number 7,535,436, describes the delivery of light images from a computer or a television receiver to a wall or a screen using a pen-shaped device. A central processing unit within the Projector Pen fires red, green and blue lasers into an innovative optics assembly that combines the colored beams and sends the light ray through a rotating disk and across the screen.
As David explains it: "When the light goes through the lenses, they take each light pixel and shine it onto a screen or wall. The lenses run back and forth until it fills the screen. This process repeats 30 times per second to make it appear as though you're looking at a solid image and not a series of pixels, and you have the image projected."
The idea for his invention came to David in a somewhat unconventional way.
"I was sitting in church thinking about how to make projectors easier to handle and I just thought of it," said the young inventor, who was a fourth-grader at the time. "I think it's neat because it's very easy to use and convenient. It has lots of memory; you don't need a computer to run it. It fits into your pocket and uses a different technology than a conventional projector."
"David knew he had a great idea, and he would not let us ignore his invention. He kept pushing until we wrote the patent application and filed it with the patent office," said his dad.
"I wanted to help people by making things smaller, more portable and more affordable," David said.
The seventh-grader, who is homeschooled by his mom, plays the baritone for the Pentucket Regional Middle School Concert Band and is a member of the Triton Regional High School CodeBandits robotics team. He helped the team build a robot to compete in the First Robotics competition in March in Boston.
Most Saturdays David heads to the MIT Edgerton Center to build small robots and other electronic devices. He is working on a RepRap 3-D printer that he hopes will help build parts for the Projector Pen.
So while some may say "There is no new thing under the sun," young Baker knows different. "I want to continue inventing. I want to invent lots more stuff, especially for NASA or for the military."
By Jennifer Solis
correspondent
WEST NEWBURY — Whoever said, "Anything that can be invented, has been invented," never met 13-year-old David Baker.
Son of Richard Baker and Leisa Mingo of Middle Street, David recently received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for his Light Beam Delivery System design — technology he invented that miniaturizes a projector to the size of a pen. The patent is related to a family of patent applications that David has filed over the last three years, including two pending in the United States and another foreign patent application.
The patent, U.S. Patent Number 7,535,436, describes the delivery of light images from a computer or a television receiver to a wall or a screen using a pen-shaped device. A central processing unit within the Projector Pen fires red, green and blue lasers into an innovative optics assembly that combines the colored beams and sends the light ray through a rotating disk and across the screen.
As David explains it: "When the light goes through the lenses, they take each light pixel and shine it onto a screen or wall. The lenses run back and forth until it fills the screen. This process repeats 30 times per second to make it appear as though you're looking at a solid image and not a series of pixels, and you have the image projected."
The idea for his invention came to David in a somewhat unconventional way.
"I was sitting in church thinking about how to make projectors easier to handle and I just thought of it," said the young inventor, who was a fourth-grader at the time. "I think it's neat because it's very easy to use and convenient. It has lots of memory; you don't need a computer to run it. It fits into your pocket and uses a different technology than a conventional projector."
"David knew he had a great idea, and he would not let us ignore his invention. He kept pushing until we wrote the patent application and filed it with the patent office," said his dad.
"I wanted to help people by making things smaller, more portable and more affordable," David said.
The seventh-grader, who is homeschooled by his mom, plays the baritone for the Pentucket Regional Middle School Concert Band and is a member of the Triton Regional High School CodeBandits robotics team. He helped the team build a robot to compete in the First Robotics competition in March in Boston.
Most Saturdays David heads to the MIT Edgerton Center to build small robots and other electronic devices. He is working on a RepRap 3-D printer that he hopes will help build parts for the Projector Pen.
So while some may say "There is no new thing under the sun," young Baker knows different. "I want to continue inventing. I want to invent lots more stuff, especially for NASA or for the military."
