Patents by Inventor Curtlan C. Betchley

Curtlan C. Betchley 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).

  • Optical system of light gathering using orthogonal compressions to form large diameter, shallow depth telescopes
    Patent number: 8085466
    Abstract: Optical system for a telescope having independent optical arms adapted to collect light rays over a first cross sectional area and compress it into a second cross sectional area less than the first cross sectional area. Orthogonal mirror pairs of parabolic trough mirrors compress light in first one dimension and then the other dimension and feed the light into a focusing smaller telescope structure. The gathered light is kept parallel and its wavefront is kept in phase, allowing the telescope to have the diffraction limit of the collective aperture. The optical arms are independently adjustable to point the system toward different objects of interest and track them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventor: Curtlan C. Betchley
  • OPTICAL SYSTEM OF LIGHT GATHERING USING ORTHOGONAL COMPRESSIONS TO FORM LARGE DIAMETER, SHALLOW DEPTH TELESCOPES
    Publication number: 20100033808
    Abstract: Optical system for a telescope having independent optical arms adapted to collect light rays over a first cross sectional area and compress it into a second cross sectional area less than the first cross sectional area. Orthogonal mirror pairs of parabolic trough mirrors compress light in first one dimension and then the other dimension and feed the light into a focusing smaller telescope structure. The gathered light is kept parallel and its wavefront is kept in phase, allowing the telescope to have the diffraction limit of the collective aperture. The optical arms are independently adjustable to point the system toward different objects of interest and track them.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2008
    Publication date: February 11, 2010
    Inventor: Curtlan C. Betchley