Patents by Inventor Arthur P. Balz, Jr.

Arthur P. Balz, 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).

  • Fine pointing assembly configuration
    Patent number: 6327065
    Abstract: A fine pointing assembly for steering a light beam in an optical inter-satellite communications system is disclosed. The fine pointing assembly (10) includes a mirror (30) connected to an assembly housing (20) by an outer gimbal (40), an inner gimbal (50) and a set of linear motors (60, 61, 62 and 63). The inner gimbal (50) is connected to the assembly housing (20) by flexure pivots (55 and 56) and the outer gimbal (40) is connected to the inner gimbal (50) by flexure pivots (41 and 42). A capacitive position sensor (70 and 80) and signal conditioning circuitry (100) located within the assembly housing (20) sense the position of the mirror (30) and provide feedback used in the control of the linear motors. The position sensor, linear motors and signal conditioning circuitry may include redundant elements. An exemplary embodiment of a fine pointing assembly (10) for pointing a representative 1.5 inch diameter mirror is described that displaces no more than 8 cubic inches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: TRW Inc.
    Inventors: Ashley Powers Danial, Arthur P. Balz, Jr.