Patents by Inventor Rolf Kirchhofer

Rolf Kirchhofer 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: 4939447
    Abstract: A fiber-optic voltage sensor comprises at least one fiber-optic, piezoelectric sensor element (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d), which measures a predeterminable directional component of a local electric field. One or more than one piezoelectric sensor elements (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) are arranged serially between two ends of the fiber-optic voltage sensor, each piezoelectric sensor element (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) respectively measuring a directional component of a local electric field, which component lies parallel to a path element assigned to it, the path elements as a whole forming an open polygon connecting the two ends of the fiber-optic voltage sensor. Each sensor element (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) has a gain which is proportional to a length of the path element assigned to it. In a preferred embodiment, the piezoelectric sensor elements (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) are connected by spacers (3a, 3b, 3c).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 3, 1990
    Assignee: BBC Brown Boveri AG
    Inventors: Klaus Bohnert, Rolf Kirchhofer
  • Patent number: 4804264
    Abstract: A measuring apparatus for space-resolved temperature measurement by optical backscattering measurement at optical waveguides, wherein an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio is achieved by including an additional filter device to attenuate the Rayleigh peak in the backscattered light. The filter device preferably includes a polarizing beam splitter, behind which a quarter-wave plate and an interference filter are disposed in the transmission direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 14, 1989
    Assignee: BBC Brown Boveri AG
    Inventors: Rolf Kirchhofer, Hanspeter Schad