Patents by Inventor Christopher J. Swanke

Christopher J. Swanke 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: 8218781
    Abstract: The present examples provide for the cancellation, or substantial reduction, of fan noise typically encountered in equipment cooling applications. Local audio nulls may be created by adjusting fan velocity and/or phase to cancel the fan noise near an operator. In a first example, phase and velocity of the fan may be controlled by feedback techniques. This technique utilizes feedback provided by a microphone located in the proximity of the operator to create an area of audio nulling of the fan noise. Local audio nulls may also be created by manipulating fan, phase and velocity by a controller that implements a process to create local audio nulls using the fixed position of equipment and the operator in the determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher J. Swanke
  • Patent number: 6477196
    Abstract: A method of excising one or more narrow-band interfering signals in a direct sequence spread spectrum receiver that performs a magnitude spectral analysis on baseband signals in a detection channel to determine which frequency bins in the spectral analysis output contain the interfering narrow-band signals by comparing the magnitude of the signals in the frequency bins to a threshold. The corrupted frequency bins are determined by the signal magnitudes exceeding the threshold and band reject filters excise the narrow-band signals in the signal channel in accordance with the corrupted frequency bins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher J. Swanke, Steven L. White
  • Patent number: 5564097
    Abstract: A radio receiver in which the received signal is spread and subsequently despread in order to identify unwanted signals. One embodiment of the present invention is comprised of a frequency-hopping spreading synthesizer that operates in synchronization with a despreader synthesizer such that unwanted signals are effectively suppressed based upon different spreading characteristics of the desired and undesired signals. Use of a logic device, in one case a digital signal processor, in combination with a state-level monitor allows for the reconfiguring of the receiver such that a state containing a large interferer can be removed from further signal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1996
    Assignee: Rockwell International
    Inventor: Christopher J. Swanke
  • Patent number: 5521533
    Abstract: A synthesizer based upon direct-digital frequency synthesizer techniques of simplistic design and minimized spurious signal levels. The output signals of two frequency hopped direct-digital frequency synthesizers are combined with the resultant signal having a greatly suppressed spurious signal level due to the channel spacing variation of the spur. Alternate embodiments concern the number and functional location of digital-to-analog converters, varying the clock signal and the use of high-pass filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1996
    Assignee: Rockwell International
    Inventor: Christopher J. Swanke
  • Patent number: 5296762
    Abstract: A bidirectional amplifier apparatus comprising a plurality of diodes located in a ring structure around an amplifier device to be switched. Each pair of diodes are spaced approximately one quarter wavelength, at the frequency to be passed, in order to maximize isolation across the "off" diode pairs. Use of transmission line devices of approximately one quarter wavelength, at a desired frequency, provide a high impedance at the desired frequency while attenuating higher frequencies where the transmission line devices length approach one half wavelength. The use of the transmission line devices also provide a ground bias for the paired diodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1994
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Larry P. Hanson, Christopher J. Swanke
  • Patent number: 5081705
    Abstract: The present invention comprises a communication system including a number of independently operating equipment modules in which the operations of these modules are referenced to a common external signal and thereby phase synchronized in order to reduce intra-system interference. The system includes a number of phase lock loop type processing circuits one of which is associated with each equipment module for tracking the external reference signal and generating a base reference for use by module with which each processing circuit is associated. The system takes advantage of the inherent capabilities of phase lock loop circuits to provide a base reference for each equipment module which is characterized by a frequency spectrum having a reduced level of spurious signals and noise. The preferred embodiment includes components for automatically switching between internally and externally generated reference signals and for automatically converting an external reference signal to a standard frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corp.
    Inventor: Christopher J. Swanke