Patents by Inventor Benjamin C. Alm, Jr.

Benjamin C. Alm, 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: 4099137
    Abstract: A digitally controlled microwave phase lock loop for switching rapidly from one lock frequency to another is disclosed. A digital word corresponding to a desired input voltage for a selected frequency is converted to an analog voltage for application to the coarse tuning port of the loop's voltage controlled oscillator. Prior to switching to another frequency, the error voltage for the fine tuning port is compared with a zero error reference voltage. The least significant bit of the digital word for such frequency is increased or decreased by one depending on the direction difference between the compared voltages. This incrementally changed word controls the coarse tuning voltage during the next selection of the particular frequency. The system is initialized by repetitively selecting each of the possible frequencies until the digital word for each selected frequency is within one increment of the zero error reference voltage for the fine tuning port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1977
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1978
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Benjamin C. Alm, Jr., Francis W. Hopwood, Robert A. Jelen, John P. Muhlbaier, Joseph F. Wright, Jr.