Patents by Inventor L. Philip Sheldon, Jr.

L. Philip Sheldon, Jr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5909299
    Abstract: Detailed mapping of the magnetosphere is made possible by deploying hundreds of attitude-impervious microsatellites, in the form of small corner reflectors with piezoelectric mirror surfaces, from a single mother satellite at spacings of as little as 1 km in equatorial and elliptical orbits. The microsatellites carry magnetosensors whose output is transmitted to a ground station by modulating the reflection of a laser beam transmitted to the microsatellite by the ground station. Various refinements of the laser data link are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 1, 1999
    Inventors: L. Philip Sheldon, Jr., Robert Sheldon