Patents by Inventor Douglas J. Claffery

Douglas J. Claffery 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).

  • Method and apparatus for determining optimal paths among objects of a communications network
    Patent number: 6195553
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for selecting a path between an originating point and a destination point in a communications network comprising a number of objects for a certain time interval. The method comprises constructing a link availability matrix which comprises a start time and an end time for a link between any two objects in the communications network. The start time for all links in the link availability matrix are arranged in a chronological order. A cost matrix is generated for the first start time in the link availability matrix based on selected factors and continuing through the following start times until a connecting path is found between the originating point and destination point using a number of objects in the network. After a connecting path is found, a first disconnect time based on the end times in the link availability matrix for the objects in the connecting path is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2001
    Assignee: Analytical Graphics, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas J. Claffery, David M. Holland, James W. Woodburn