Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Suzanne J. Heeg
  • Patent number: 6774860
    Abstract: Apparatus for controlling the rotational position of a dipole antenna (10) to compensate for roll and pitch movements of an unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The antenna (10) is connected to a dual-axis roll and pitch antenna mount (26), the rotational position is controlled by a pair of motor position control and feedback circuits (20 and 32). Roll error and pitch error signals (12 and 14) obtained from gyro systems in the UAV are subtractively combined with roll and pitch position signals, to generate control signals to be applied to rotate the antenna mount in a way that compensates for roll and pitch movements of the UAV, and effectively isolates the antenna mount from roll and pitch movements of the UAV. The dipole antenna (10), therefore, has its radiation pattern and polarization direction aligned with ground-based antennas, thus providing higher gain, increased range and more reliable performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventor: Stuart G. Downs
  • Patent number: 6739070
    Abstract: A dryer for drying textiles is disclosed. The dryer includes a blower for blowing air under the carpet, which includes a blower housing including a sleeve that forms an air outlet opening and a powered fan within the blower housing for blowing air out of the outlet opening. A tow handle is located on the blower housing above the fan and an indentation is included in the underside surface of the blower housing. The indentation has a shape corresponding to the shape of the tow handle such that the indentation can receive a tow handle from a second dryer to allow stacking of dryers. A maneuvering handle is rotatably connected at a first end to the tow handle. The maneuvering handle extends over the blower housing such that a foot located at the second end of the maneuvering handle rests on the upper surface of the blower housing sleeve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: EDIC
    Inventors: Mark Jacobs, Jess Peña
  • Patent number: 6701375
    Abstract: A technique for saving bandwidth that is otherwise used by the transmission of continual administrative message traffic in an intranet. A data packet originating from one host computer (18A) and addressed another (18B) is first sent to a local router (16A), which broadcasts a request for the address of the destination node. Another router (16B) local to the destination host (18B) recognizes the destination host in the data packet and supplies a response with the correct address for the destination host. The broadcast request and its response are transmitted over an auxiliary channel, which avoids depleting the bandwidth capacity of the intranet. When the response is received, the local router (16A) associated with the first host computer 18A sets up a switched virtual circuit to the other router (16B), after which the data packet and others following it can be delivered efficiently to the destination host (18B).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventors: W. Clinton Walker, David C. Bixler, Neil G. Siegel
  • Patent number: 6678692
    Abstract: A search technique based on classification of database records in accordance with a predominant concept or feature, to facilitate searching of the database by specifying a concept rather than detailed textual or other content as a basis for searching. Each database record is processed prior to searching, to establish a key concept for the record (step 66, FIG. 3), and the concepts are defined in relation to a thesaurus-like hierarchy of concepts (46). For each database record, a key concept, or its location in the hierarchy is stored (68) in association with the database record, to facilitate later searching of the database using key concepts rather than textual or other specific content. An important aspect of the invention is determination of the key concept location for each database record, by computing a distance value for each node (steps 124, 126 and 128, FIG.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventor: Martin H. Hyatt
  • Patent number: 6674519
    Abstract: An adaptive optics system configured as an optical phase front measurement system which provides for relatively high resolution sampling as in holographic techniques but without the need for a reference beam. The optical phase front measurement system includes one or more lenses and a spatial light modulator positioned at the focal plane of the lenses and a camera which enables the phase front to be determined from intensity snapshots. The phase front measurement system allows for relatively long range applications with relatively relaxed criteria for the coherence length of the laser beam and the Doppler shift. As such, the system is suitable for a wide variety of applications including astronomy, long range imaging, imaging through a turbulent medium, space communications, distant target illumination and laser pointing stabilization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventor: Peter H. Mui
  • Patent number: 6658234
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing cochannel signals received at a sensor array in a cumulant-based signal processing and separation engine to obtain a desired set of output signals or parameters. For use in a signal recovery system, the output signals are recovered and separated versions of the originally transmitted cochannel signals. An important feature that distinguishes the cumulant-based system from other signal separation and recovery systems is that it generates an estimated generalized steering vector associated with each signal source, and representative of all received coherent signal components attributable to the source. This feature enables the invention to perform well in multipath conditions, by combining all coherent multipath components from the same source. In a receiver/transmitter system, the estimated generalized steering vectors associated with each source are used to generate transmit beamformer weight vectors that permit cochannel transmission to multiple user stations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventors: Mithat Can Do{haeck over (g)}an, Stephen Deane Stearns