ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,294,686, issued on May 6, was assigned to ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY (Zhejiang, China).

"Non-blind-area multi-view panoramic stereo imaging device" was invented by Jian Bai (Zhejiang, China) and Jia Wang (Zhejiang, China).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Disclosed is a non-blind-area multi-view panoramic stereo imaging device. The device comprises a front lens assembly or a plane mirror, an aspheric mirror, a middle lens assembly, a panoramic block, a rear lens assembly and an image surface which are longitudinally arranged along an optical axis. The aspheric mirror comprises a central hole and an annular reflecting surface. The panoramic block co...