| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 5023459 |
Miniature multi-temperature radiometric reference |
June 11, 1991 |
| A miniature multi-temperature radiometric reference is placed in an intermediate image plane (20) of a thermal imaging optical system in order to correct, in a real-time manner, non-uniformities among detectors (30). The radiometric reference comprises at least two reference elements (10 |
| 4908776 |
Spacecraft fuel measurement |
March 13, 1990 |
| A three-axis accelerometer (4) mounted on board a spacecraft (10) proximate a fuel tank (3) is used to derive an estimate of the amount of fuel (2) remaining within the tank (3). The output of the accelerometer (4) is converted (at 7) to a signal representing the rate of change of the |
| 4878030 |
Linearizer for microwave amplifier |
October 31, 1989 |
| A microwave signal linearizer for a travelling wave tube amplifier (TWTA) provides for simple and flexible adjustment of a predistortion network suitable for independently compensating for a wide range of travelling wave tube amplifier-induced distortions. The linearizer or predistortion |
| 4867036 |
Electromagnetic gun bore rider |
September 19, 1989 |
| An electromagnetic gun assembly includes a gun barrel, a projectile structure disposed within the gun barrel, and a plurality of bore rider members disposed between the projectile structure and the gun barrel. The bore rider members are dimensioned and arranged to maintain the projectile |
| 4858072 |
Interconnection system for integrated circuit chips |
August 15, 1989 |
| A novel packaging system for VLSI circuits allows low-cost construction and maintenance of complex high density high-performance devices with low power requirements. The devices can be individually created by software means from a small selection of standardizable IC chips by disposing a |
| 4857979 |
Platinum silicide imager |
August 15, 1989 |
| The fill factor in a Pt:Si imager is greatly improved by (1) biasing the reflector plate as a field plate to eliminate the need for an N.sup.- guard ring along the edges of the imaging diodes; (2) reconfiguring the meander channel to use a single meander channel for two columns of diodes |
| 4852063 |
Programmable voltage offset circuit |
July 25, 1989 |
| A programmable voltage offset circuit (PVOC) (1) comprises a temporary latch memory (7); a latch disable circuit (5) which selects that PVOC (1) among several such circuits which may be simultaneously present on the same semiconductor chip; a resistor array (3); and a programmable no |
| 4850041 |
Laser radar with adjustable local oscillator |
July 18, 1989 |
| The relative intensity of the transmit beam and the local oscillator beam in a ladar diplexer can be continuously adjusted during operation by using a rotatable retardation plate with a slightly inclined "C" axis to turn a polarized laser beam into a composite beam having two components |
| 4846926 |
HcCdTe epitaxially grown on crystalline support |
July 11, 1989 |
| A layer of HgCdTe (15) epitaxially grown on a crystalline support (10). A single crystal CdTe substrate (5) is first epitaxially grown to a thickness of between 1 micron and 5 microns onto the support (10). Then a HgTe source (3) is spaced from the CdTe substrated (5) a distance of b |
| 4845610 |
Target recognition using string-to-string matching |
July 4, 1989 |
| A method for determining whether a perceived target is acceptably close to a model target. The perceived target is first segmented using a relaxation based procedure. Structural features from the perceived target are extracted by producing a compact one-dimensional description of the |
| 4843294 |
Solar array stepping to minimize array excitation |
June 27, 1989 |
| Mechanical oscillations of a mechanism containing a stepper motor, such as a solar-array powered spacecraft, are reduced and minimized by the execution of step movements in pairs of steps, the period between steps being equal to one-half of the period of torsional oscillation of the |
| 4837788 |
Repeater for extending local area networks |
June 6, 1989 |
| A repeater for local area networks of the MIL-STD-1553B type allows extension of the LAN to remote terminals. The repeater terminates the dual LAN buses and interfaces them with a single remote bus. Normally, the repeater is transparent to all traffic in the receive direction from both |
| 4837739 |
Telemetry data processor |
June 6, 1989 |
| A telemetry data processor for processing extremely high bandwidth data such as that associated with telemetry from spacecraft. A demultiplexer (1) distributes the data onto several channels (CHl through CHn), each comprising a (preferably split-cycle synchronous) processing bus (BUSl |
| 4833898 |
Multi-detector dewar |
May 30, 1989 |
| Consolidation of active and passive detectors (26, 28, 34) on a single coldfinger (20) in a dewar (10) is made possible by interposing between the detectors (26, 28, 34) an electromagnetic interference shield (64, 68) which acts as a waveguide filter blocking any interfering frequencies. |
| 4829459 |
Programmable voltage offset circuit |
May 9, 1989 |
| A programmable voltage offset circuit (PVOC) (1) comprises a temporary latch memory (7); a latch disable circuit (5) which selects that PVOC (1) among several such circuits which may be simultaneously present on the same semiconductor chip; a resistor array (3); and a programmable no |
| 4829301 |
Digital first order hold circuit |
May 9, 1989 |
| There is provided a digitally controlled first order hold circuit and waveform synthesizer for digitally controlling the representation of a function over an approximation interval. In accordance with the operation of the invention, the first order hold circuit and waveform generator |
| 4828022 |
Heat conducting sleeve |
May 9, 1989 |
| The disclosed invention is a device and method for optimizing the weight and/or the heat transfer (conduction) capability of a heat transfer cylindrical sleeve. The sleeve is designed to fit around a cylindrical heat source. One particular application for this invention is where the |
| 4814719 |
Unsymmetrical QPSK demodulator |
March 21, 1989 |
| The present invention is a demodulator for demodulating an unsymmetrical QPSK signal (1), i.e., one in which the amplitudes of the I and Q channels are different, and the I and Q channels have been modulated by signals having differnt bit rates. Analog versions of the I and Q modulating |
| 4810888 |
Electrostatic shield for cryostat dewar |
March 7, 1989 |
| Coolant gas pumped into the inner flask (3) of a cryostat dewar (2) causes an unwanted electrostatic charge on the inner surface (34) of the inner flask (3). This electrostatic charge can put an unwanted noise into the electrical output from an electromagnetic detector (16) cooled by the |
| 4809203 |
Hybrid analog-digital filter |
February 28, 1989 |
| A filter which uses both an analog portion and a digital portion to optimize the filter performance. A simple analog filter provides a rough filtering of the input signal. The output of the analog filter is converted into digital form and supplied to a digital filter. The coefficient |
| 4807529 |
Hot gas control system |
February 28, 1989 |
| A hot gas control system includes a pressure vessel defining a chamber in which is disposed a body of solid propellant material that has a leading portion and a trailing portion. A first layer of the body of solid propellant material extends between the leading portion and an interme |
| 4806292 |
System for stabilizing dimensional properties of cured composite structures |
February 21, 1989 |
| Method and apparatus are disclosed for inducing dimensional stability in cured composite structures using acoustic emission analysis to identify the appropriate level and extent of coincident thermal conditioning. Temperature of the composite structure is lowered at a bounded rate to a |
| 4780691 |
Dielectric resonator frequency discriminator for stabilizing oscillator frequency |
October 25, 1988 |
| A frequency discriminator (1) stabilizes a voltage controlled oscillator (5), particularly one operating at microwave frequencies. A single dielectric resonator (2), typically positioned within a housing (8), is excited by an r.f. input (30). The dielectric resonator (2) generates in |
| 4767084 |
Autonomous stationkeeping for three-axis stabilized spacecraft |
August 30, 1988 |
| Apparatus for autonomously performing stationkeeping maneuvers for three-axis stabilized spacecraft (1) such as geosynchronous satellites. For each of one or more spacecraft axes (y, z) the invention autonomously performs desaturation of a momentum/reaction wheel (31-32, 41, respecti |
| 4762989 |
Image detection with image plane divider |
August 9, 1988 |
| Apparatus for improving the resolution and/or field of view of an optical system without degrading the signal-to-noise ratio. An optical image of the object (1) in an image plane (8) is divided into n subimages, where n is any positive integer. Each of the n subimages is separately refoc |
| 4749244 |
Frequency independent beam waveguide |
June 7, 1988 |
| A frequency independent beam waveguide comprises a row of equispaced identical axisymmetric phase setting means (1), which may be lenses or reflectors, or a combination of both, spaced a distance D apart from each other. The focal length of each phase setting means (1) is D/2. A launcher |
| 4746976 |
Star sightings by satellite for image navigation |
May 24, 1988 |
| Stars are sensed by one or more instruments (1, 2) on board a three-axis stabilized satellite, for purposes of assisting in image navigation. A star acquistion computer (64), which may be located on the earth, commands the instrument mirror (33, 32) to slew just outside the limb of the e |
| 4743310 |
HGCDTE epitaxially grown on crystalline support |
May 10, 1988 |
| A layer of HgCdTe (15) is epitaxially grown on a crystalline support (10). A single crystal CdTe substrate (5) is first epitaxially grown to a thickness of between 1 micron and 5 microns onto the support (10). Then a HgTe source (3) is spaced from the CdTe substrate (5) a distance of |
| 4743278 |
Passive propellant management system |
May 10, 1988 |
| A passive propellant management system for a spacecraft liquid propellant tank (1) comprises several preferably V-shaped channels (2) which communicate liquid propellant from regions within the tank (1) to an outlet port (8), which expels liquid propellant but not pressurant gas. A l |
| 4726242 |
Method and apparatus for pre-loading a threadless linear actuator |
February 23, 1988 |
| A threadless linear actuator apparatus comprising a sealed actuator unit with a sealed housing for a set of spool-shaped roller bearings. The roller bearing set includes at least one variable pitch loading roller and two fixed pitch rollers arranged in a skewed relationship about a c |
| 4725024 |
Method for spinning up a three-axis controlled spacecraft |
February 16, 1988 |
| A three-axis controlled spacecraft (1), typically a satellite, is spun up about its roll axis (20) prior to firing a motor (2), i.e., a perigee kick motor, to achieve the requisite degree of angular momentum stiffness. Thrusters (21) for imparting rotation about the roll axis (20) are |
| 4710733 |
r.f. Phase modulator |
December 1, 1987 |
| An r.f. phase modulator operable at up to extremely high frequencies. A circulator (1) having input, output, and isolated ports (2, 3, 4, respectively), channels an r.f. carrier (15) in a prescribed direction. Fitting into an open end of the output port (3) is a moving reflective sur |
| 4706047 |
Frequency extended digitally generated FM |
November 10, 1987 |
| A circuit for extending the frequency range of a digitally generated FM signal (f). A digital frequency generator (1) generates a precise FM waveform at a frequency up to about 50 MHz. Coupled to the FM signal (f) is a phase lock loop (53, 55, 57) comprising a voltage controlled osci |
| 4703179 |
Sensor for hemispherical applications |
October 27, 1987 |
| a ratating sensor responsive to infrared or electro-optic radiation has a nearly hemispherical field of view. The sensor comprises a rotating platform (3) supporting a planar multidetector focal plane array (1). The array (1) has three or four sides. Two of the sides are straight lines. |
| 4698751 |
Systolic array for solving cyclic loop dependent algorithms |
October 6, 1987 |
| A systolic array (1) for reducing the time required to solve an algorithm having cyclic loop dependency, i.e., nested loops in which values calculated by inner loops depend upon indices of said inner loops and upon indices of outer loops. The array (1) comprises a chain of several id |
| 4695722 |
Optical scanner error compensator |
September 22, 1987 |
| An optical projection system, e.g., an imaging infrared system, is compensated for errors caused by scan-to-scan jitter, framing jitter, vibrational effects, and scan nonlinearities. One or two closed control loops compensate for errors associated with mirrors (32, 52) of the optical |
| 4692808 |
Passively modulated push broom display |
September 8, 1987 |
| Apparatus for producing a projected real-time visible display (9). A light source (2) and associated collimator (3,4) produces a collimated light beam (18) which is modulated by a linear array (6) of electronically controlled optical elements (16) with input data (30) that is formatted i |
| 4692723 |
Narrow bandpass dielectric resonator filter with mode suppression pins |
September 8, 1987 |
| An extremely narrow-band bandpass electromagnetic filter comprises a waveguide (1) dimensioned below cutoff and having two or more active sections (30) each containing a dielectric resonator (6). The number of resonators (6) corresponds to the number of poles of filtering. The physic |
| 4691293 |
High frequency, wide range FIR filter |
September 1, 1987 |
| The operating speed and dynamic input range of a digital FIR filter are markedly improved by encoding the signal by powers of two and using the thus encoded signal to shift (rather than multiply) the coefficient at each tap of the filter. A multiplexed shifter for simultaneously shifting |
| 4688259 |
Reconfigurable multiplexer |
August 18, 1987 |
| A dynamically reconfigurable multiplexer (7) has applicability in a space diversity communications system or a polarization reuse communications system. Multiplexer (7) may be situated on board a communications satellite or at the control nexus of a terrestrial microwave communicatio |
| 4688092 |
Satellite camera image navigation |
August 18, 1987 |
| Pixels within a satellite camera (1, 2) image are precisely located in terms of latitude and longitude on a celestial body, such as the earth, being imaged. A computer (60) on the earth generates models (40, 50) of the satellite's orbit and attitude, respectively. The orbit model (40) is |
| 4688091 |
Spacecraft camera image registration |
August 18, 1987 |
| A system for achieving spacecraft camera (1, 2) image registration comprises a portion external to the spacecraft and an image motion compensation system (IMCS) portion onboard the spacecraft. Within the IMCS, a computer (38) calculates an image registration compensation signal (60) |
| 4687161 |
Pointing compensation system for spacecraft instruments |
August 18, 1987 |
| A closed loop system reduces pointing errors in one or more spacecraft instruments. Associated with each instrument is a electronics package (3) for commanding motion in that instrument and a pointing control system (5) for imparting motion in that instrument in response to a command (4) |
| 4682235 |
Ortho-linear imaging device |
July 21, 1987 |
| A two-dimensional image (1) is converted into an electronic signal (7). Image line segments (11) into which the image (1) has been divided are selectively projected onto a cylindrical image lens (4) and focused onto a linear array (5) of N photodetectors (15). A light modulator (3), a li |
| 4675558 |
Lock detector for bit synchronizer |
June 23, 1987 |
| A lock detector (12) used in conjunction with a bit synchronizer (14) for determining when a random binary input signal (2) is in lock with a clock (7) generated by the bit synchronizer (14). A window comparator (3, 5; or 23, 25, 27) determines whether the amplitude of the input signal ( |
| 4668955 |
Plural reflector antenna with relatively moveable reflectors |
May 26, 1987 |
| A method and apparatus are provided for transmitting a microwave signal as a beam having a wavelength small as compared to the size of the reflecting surfaces, wherein a main reflector is stationary with respect to a sub-reflector and the main reflector is motional with respect to the fe |
| 4655848 |
HgCdTe epitaxially grown on crystalline support |
April 7, 1987 |
| A layer of HgCdTe (15) epitaxially grown onto a crystalline support (10), e.g., of sapphire of GaAs. A CdTe substrate (5) is epitaxially grown to a thickness of between 1 micron and 5 microns on the support (10). A HgTe source (3) is spaced from the CdTe substrate (5) a distance of betwe |
| 4654671 |
Self-aligning torque transmitting hinge |
March 31, 1987 |
| A hinge (5) having a first, relatively stationary yoke (8) and a second, relatively rotating yoke (10). A torquing means (17) fixed with respect to the first yoke (8) transmits torque to the second yoke (10) via a block (18) retained within a cavity (20) of an elongated hinge pin (15) th |
| 4648917 |
Non isothermal method for epitaxially growing HgCdTe |
March 10, 1987 |
| A layer of HgCdTe (15) is epitaxially grown onto a CdTe substrate (5). A HgTe source (3) is spaced from the CdTe substrate (5) a distance of between 0.1 mm and 10 mm. The substrate (5) and source (3) are heated within a temperature range of between 500.degree. C. and 625.degree. C. f |
| 4647879 |
Radial/axial power divider/combiner |
March 3, 1987 |
| An electromagnetic power divider/combiner comprises N radial outputs (31) having equal powers and preferably equal phases, and a single axial output (20). A divider structure (1) and a preferably identical combiner structure (2) are broadside coupled across a dielectric substrate (30) |
