Patents by Inventor Richard Alan Bienz

Richard Alan Bienz 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).

  • Method and apparatus for efficient acquisition and tracking of satellites
    Patent number: 6078286
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for efficiently tracking satellites includes a geosynchronous satellite (10) for transmitting the ephemeris of non-geosynchronous satellites (20, 30) to a ground terminal (50). The ephemeris is computed by the non-geosynchronous satellites (20, 30) or by other means such as a ground station (60). A ground terminal (50) can quickly acquire a non-geosynchronous satellite (20, 30) by receiving fresh ephemeris data from a geosynchronous satellite (10), determining a location of a non-geosynchronous satellite (20, 30), and orienting an antenna.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2000
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Estevan Marcial Gonzales, Richard Alan Bienz
  • Method and system for rational frequency synthesis using a numerically controlled oscillator
    Patent number: 5781459
    Abstract: A numerically controlled oscillator (11), (NCO), generates an NCO output (114) having a time-averaged frequency proportional to a rational number, even if the number of bits in the binary frequency control numbers (104, 106) is insufficient to represent the fractional part of the rational frequency number precisely. Frequency control numbers (104, 106) alternate between numerically adjacent values proportional to the desired time-averaged rational frequency control number. Frequency control numbers and their duty cycles are calculated for synthesizing a time-averaged rational frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Inventor: Richard Alan Bienz