Patents by Inventor Andreas Märki

Andreas Märki 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: 6909850
    Abstract: Lightwaves (1), which carry data signals and beacon light, are used for establishing a connection between a receiver and a transmitter located remote from each other. An acquisition sensor (171) is provided for acquiring the lightwaves (1) in the receiver, which generates acquisition sensor signals (Sc) from the received lightwaves. The lightwaves (1), which are conducted over a telescope (2) and a beam splitter (R4), are fed to the acquisition sensor (171) as well as to a fiber nutator scanning device (5). Besides useful signals (Sa, Sb), an additional signal (Sw, Sm?, Sm) is obtained with the aid of the scanning device (5), which is used for making the acquisition easier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: Contraves Space AG
    Inventors: Edgar Fischer, Andreas Märki
  • Patent number: 6097522
    Abstract: The method and the device of the present invention are used for aligning a transmitted and a received beam in satellite connections for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a connection between satellites by optical communications means. The device includes a control unit (3), to which a coarse adjustment unit (7), a fine adjustment unit (6), and a lead correction unit (8) are parallel connected. The parameters of the received beam (4) and also the angular values of the transmitted beam (15, 16) can be corrected by means of various summing members (5, 12, 14) in such a way that precise tracking of the received beam is achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Oerlikon Contraves AG
    Inventors: Andreas Maerki, Edgar Fischer