Patents by Inventor Maxwell M. Kerber

Maxwell M. Kerber 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: 11539146
    Abstract: A phased array antenna comprising: a substrate; a plurality of circular polarized wideband antenna elements disposed on the substrate, wherein each element comprises two orthogonal feeds; wherein the plurality of elements are organized into subarrays and physically oriented such that constituent elements of each subarray are sequentially rotated with respect to each other about respective axes that are perpendicular to a surface of the substrate so as to allow RHCP and LHCP transmission and reception; a phase shifter communicatively coupled to the feeds of all the elements and configured to electronically any dynamically compensate for phase regression or progression introduced by the sequential rotation of the elements without relying on physical transmission lines of different dimensions, and further configured to introduce a progressive phase shift across a beam steering plane to enable beam steering of the phased array antenna.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Jia-Chi Samuel Chieh, Everly Yeo, Randall B. Olsen, Raif Farkouh, Maxwell M. Kerber
  • Publication number: 20220302603
    Abstract: A phased array antenna comprising: a substrate; a plurality of circular polarized wideband antenna elements disposed on the substrate, wherein each element comprises two orthogonal feeds; wherein the plurality of elements are organized into subarrays and physically oriented such that constituent elements of each subarray are sequentially rotated with respect to each other about respective axes that are perpendicular to a surface of the substrate so as to allow RHCP and LHCP transmission and reception; a phase shifter communicatively coupled to the feeds of all the elements and configured to electronically any dynamically compensate for phase regression or progression introduced by the sequential rotation of the elements without relying on physical transmission lines of different dimensions, and further configured to introduce a progressive phase shift across a beam steering plane to enable beam steering of the phased array antenna.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Publication date: September 22, 2022
    Inventors: Jia-Chi Samuel Chieh, Everly Yeo, Randall B. Olsen, Raif Farkouh, Maxwell M. Kerber
  • Patent number: 10569423
    Abstract: A target spar. A left jaw member. The left guidance portion has a left spiral curve. The left arm portion has a left arm profile, a left arm gear, and a left arm protrusion. A right jaw member. The right guidance portion has a right spiral curve. The right arm portion comprises a right arm gear and a right arm protrusion. A top plate member. A bottom plate member. A drive unit comprising an electric motor within a pressure housing. A drive shaft on the electric motor. The bottom plate member abuts the left jaw member, the right jaw member, and the top plate member. The left jaw member and the right jaw member opened and closed. At the closed position, the target spar is slidably received in the left and right jaw members, the top and bottom plate members, and abuts the left and right arm profiles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Anthony D. Jones, Gregory W. Anderson, Wayne P. Liu, Maxwell M. Kerber, Michael R. Murphy
  • Patent number: 10468890
    Abstract: A system comprising a series of at least two benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFC), wherein each BMFC comprises an anode electrically connected to a cathode, and wherein for each BMFC there is a first and second comparator configured to monitor BMFC voltage to determine if the voltage falls below one of two present thresholds. The output of the first comparator is electrically connected to the BMFC via a switch and the output of the second comparator is electrically connected to a pulse width monitor (PWM) block via a switch. A DC/DC converter is electrically coupled to each BMFC and configured to transfer energy stored in each BMFC to a battery, wherein the DC/DC converter is driven by the PWM block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Alex G. Phipps, Lewis Hsu, Maxwell M. Kerber, David B. Chadwick, Y. Meriah Arias-Thode, Jeffrey Kagan
  • Publication number: 20180248383
    Abstract: A system comprising a series of at least two benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFC), wherein each BMFC comprises an anode electrically connected to a cathode, and wherein for each BMFC there is a first and second comparator configured to monitor BMFC voltage to determine if the voltage falls below one of two present thresholds. The output of the first comparator is electrically connected to the BMFC via a switch and the output of the second comparator is electrically connected to a pulse width monitor (PWM) block via a switch. A DC/DC converter is electrically coupled to each BMFC and configured to transfer energy stored in each BMFC to a battery, wherein the DC/DC converter is driven by the PWM block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Publication date: August 30, 2018
    Inventors: Alex G. Phipps, Lewis Hsu, Maxwell M. Kerber, David B. Chadwick, Y. Meriah Arias-Thode, Jeffrey Kagan
  • Patent number: 8492936
    Abstract: A rotational energy harvesting apparatus includes a rotor of magnets and a ring of linear-based kinetic energy harvesters. The rotor of magnets is fixed to a rotational source and is caused to sweep past the linear-based kinetic energy harvesters. The rotating magnets compel kinetic energy to be induced in the linear-based kinetic energy harvesters. The kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Richard L. Waters, Maxwell M. Kerber, Brian B. Dick, Hugo F. Jazo, Mark S Fralick