Patents by Inventor Frederick C. Alpers

Frederick C. Alpers 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: 6133865
    Abstract: A circuit for use in anti-radar missile seekers or radar counter-measure eivers to convert the signals received from continuous wave radars into pulse signals so that the signals may be more readily detected and can be processed in the same signal processing circuitry used against pulse radars. The received signal is mixed with a frequency swept local oscillator signal, fed to a dispersive delay line and then detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1972
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Frederick C. Alpers
  • Patent number: 5160934
    Abstract: A MICrowave RADiometric (MICRAD) guidance system is disclosed which utilizes an antenna having four beams, designated right, left, up and down. Information from the four beams is monitored essentially 100% of the time by passing through appropriate ferrite cross-switching means to four separate receivers. Information from two of the receivers passes through a first multiplexer and feedback gain balancer to provide a target azimuth output, and information from the remaining two receivers passes through a second multiplexer and feedback gain balancer to provide a target elevation output. A local oscillator heterodynes each of the four receivers in common, and a switch driver couples each of the multiplexers to the ferrite cross-switching means and gain balancers for appropriate selection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1992
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Frederick C. Alpers, Mervyn C. Hoover
  • Patent number: 4350982
    Abstract: A compact transponder for use with frequency-agile pulsed radars incorporng an Amplified Ferromagnetic Echo Device (AFED) which repeats, backwards, after a short and controllable delay, a microwave pulse fed into it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1974
    Date of Patent: September 21, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Frederick C. Alpers
  • Patent number: 4315609
    Abstract: A target locating and missile guidance system comprising reconnaissance araft equipped with laser or radar range-measuring apparatus in conjunction with a plurality of selectively predetermined ground stations. Range and altitude of the aircraft relative to a detected surface target are obtained at two or more points on its flight path. The positions of the aircraft with respect to the ground stations are simultaneously determined by pulse-time-of-arrival technique. Using triangulation techniques the location of the target is determined with respect to a pulse grid coordinate system associated with the ground stations. At any time after the determination of the location of the target, properly timed signals from the ground stations or command signals based upon time-of-arrival data with respect to pulses from the missile are used to provide accurate guidance of the missile to the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1971
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: James D. McLean, Frederick C. Alpers, George R. Lanning, Fred H. Camphausen
  • Patent number: 4288049
    Abstract: A system for locking a missile seeker to a desired target signal while the issile is in flight and approaching the target. The target is detected and tracked by a remote radar. The missile is launched and utilizes an inertial mid-course guidance to guide it in the general direction of the target. A data link is established between the remote radar and the missle seeker. When the missile is sufficiently close to the target its active radar is turned on and target information is transmitted via the data link to the remote radar or tracking station. The remote tracking station transmits back to the missile information for correcting its tracking course and provides information which effects missile seeker lock-on of the target of interest and will cause the missile seeker to continue to track the target until impact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1971
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1981
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Frederick C. Alpers
  • Patent number: 4278976
    Abstract: A system for battlefield and enemy support area surveillance. An air-drop unit monitors and records on tape enemy activity, and plays back and transmits the monitored data at high speed when interrogated by a coded signal from friendly aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1967
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1981
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Frederick C. Alpers, Klaus J. Hecker
  • Patent number: 4236159
    Abstract: A passive direction finding system incorporating at least one set of spacapart antennas, the incoming signal at one antenna being coupled through a delay line having a multiplicity of taps thereon, a plurality of channels equal in number to the number of delay taps and signal processing means coupled to the output of said channels, a reference channel coupled to the output of the other antenna, phase shifting means for varying the phase of the reference channel signal, a frequency modulated oscillator which provides an output signal that is beat against the outputs of the delay line and the output of the second antenna, and a correlator coupled to the output of the channels for determining when correlation exists between a signal from the first antenna and the second antenna to indicate direction of an incoming signal with respect to the baseline between the set of antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1975
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1980
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Frederick C. Alpers
  • Patent number: 4194204
    Abstract: An active microwave seeker for missile guidance against ships or permanent and targets. Frequency agility and pulse time compression are employed as means to provide a capability for tracking small targets in heavy sea clutter, to reduce target angular scintillation, and to reduce susceptibility to enemy jamming. The seeker tracks a selected target in yaw and range, and keeps its antenna pointed toward the target in pitch by use of its own altitude control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1972
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1980
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Frederick C. Alpers
  • Patent number: 3978797
    Abstract: A radiometer is mounted in a guided missile for detecting electro-magnetic hermal power in the microwave region of the spectrum radiated from an area of suspected targets with circuitry coupled thereto to respond to a predetermined change in level of radiation to generate a warhead fuzing signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1971
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1976
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: William W. Harrington, Frederick C. Alpers