Patents by Inventor Daniel J. Ochoa

Daniel J. Ochoa 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).

  • Deployable helical antenna for nano-satellites
    Patent number: 8970447
    Abstract: A helical antenna operable to be stowed on and deployed from a cubesat. The antenna includes two helical elements wound in opposite directions and defining an antenna column, where one of the helical elements is a conductive antenna element. The antenna also includes a plurality of circumferentially disposed vertical stiffeners extending along a length of the column and being coupled to the helical elements at each location where the vertical stiffeners and the helical elements cross. The helical elements and the vertical stiffeners are formed of a flexible material, such as a fiber glass, so that the antenna can be collapsed and stowed into a relatively small space. To position the antenna in the stowed configuration, the vertical stiffeners are folded on each other in a radial direction, and then the folded antenna is rolled in an axial direction from one end of the column to the other end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel J. Ochoa, Geoffrey W. Marks, David J. Rohweller
  • DEPLOYABLE HELICAL ANTENNA FOR NANO-SATELLITES
    Publication number: 20140232611
    Abstract: A helical antenna operable to be stowed on and deployed from a cubesat. The antenna includes two helical elements wound in opposite directions and defining an antenna column, where one of the helical elements is a conductive antenna element. The antenna also includes a plurality of circumferentially disposed vertical stiffeners extending along a length of the column and being coupled to the helical elements at each location where the vertical stiffeners and the helical elements cross. The helical elements and the vertical stiffeners are formed of a flexible material, such as a fiber glass, so that the antenna can be collapsed and stowed into a relatively small space. To position the antenna in the stowed configuration, the vertical stiffeners are folded on each other in a radial direction, and then the folded antenna is rolled in an axial direction from one end of the column to the other end.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel J. Ochoa, Geoffrey W. Marks, David J. Rohweller