Patents by Inventor Philip Sutton

Philip Sutton 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: 5880771
    Abstract: An electro-optical detection system for detecting objects embedded in a partially transmitting medium. The system includes a receiver for receiving electromagnetic radiation and a device for separating the received radiation into two separate spectral channels. A detector in each of the spectral channels for providing a signal indicative of the received radiation in each spectral channel. A signal processor, responsive to the outputs of the detectors, having a signal channel where transmission of light of the signal channel wavelength in the medium is high and having a reference channel where attenuation of light of the reference channel wavelength in the medium is high. The signal processor ensures that the reflected light at both signal and reference wavelengths are of similar intensity and geometric distribution. A subtractor provides a difference output in which the signal and reference channels are subtracted, removing the effect of reflected light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1999
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Goverment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventor: Philip Sutton
  • Patent number: 5696628
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing optical components having a periodic or quasi-periodic structure such as diffraction gratings, volume holograms or distributed feedback mirrors in optical fibers. An optical medium is subjected to acoustic waves which induce periodic or quasi-periodic changes in the optical properties of the medium, the changes being at least partially retained on removal of the waves. The changes may result from stress associated with the antinodes of an acoustic standing wave, alteratively the stress distribution associated with a travelling acoustic wave in an electro-viscous liquid may be semi-permanently retained by the solidification of the material resulting from the application of an electric field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 9, 1997
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Brittanic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of Defence Research Agency
    Inventors: Philip Sutton, Arthur Maitland, deceased, Ewan D. Findlay
  • Patent number: 5444441
    Abstract: An electro-optical detection system for detecting objects 12 embedded within a partially transmitting medium comprises means 20 to receive electro-magnetic radiation in two close spectral channels 28, 212: a signal channel 212 where the wavelength and bandwidth of the signal channel are optimized to correspond to the peak of transmission of the medium and a reference channel 28 where the wavelength and bandwidth are selected to correspond to a spectral region where attenuation in the medium is high. The signal and reference channels are then subtracted (213) so as to remove the effect of reflected radiation from the signal channel 212. The signal is processed digitally (218) to provide an enhanced image of the field of view. In a particular arrangement for detecting objects underwater a CCD TV camera 20 is used with three separate CCD detector arrays providing concurrent red (R), green (G), blue (B) output signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1995
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Briatin and Northern Ireland
    Inventor: Philip Sutton
  • Patent number: 5363221
    Abstract: Light from a laser (10) is divided by a beam splitter (12) to provide signal (15) and reference (14) channels. The signal channel light is expanded (11) to illuminate an acousto-optic (AO) device (13). This leads to a spatial distribution of Doppler shifted frequencies. This spatial distribution then illuminates a spatial light modulator (SLM) (19) such that a number of parallel and discrete optical channels (112) emerge. In a local area network (LAN) the optical signal channels are coupled into a single mode optical fibre (22) and then heterodont to the reference laser light from a further optical fibre (23) in an optical coupler (25). In a receiver the modulated light is detected (32) and the detected signal connected to the transducer of an AO device (35). The AO device (35) is illuminated by a receiver laser light (36) and the emerging modulated light is incident on a focal plane detector array (39) where each detector (310) then receives light corresponding to each of the transmitted channels (311).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1994
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventors: Philip Sutton, Andrew P. Shaw, William Dawber, Peter F. Hirst, Brian Condon
  • Patent number: 4991963
    Abstract: A wavelength-independent-interferometer comprises means to receive light (10) from a field of view, means (BS1) to separate the light into two beams (11, 12), means (BS2) to combine the two beams, and dispersive means (30) interposed in the path (12) of one of the two beams to produce a wavelength-dependent shear. The dispersive means may be a transmission diffraction grating or a reflection grating. In the arrangement shown the optical elements are combined in a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer. When the conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometer is illuminated with coherent light the separation of interference fringes produced in the interference plane is inversely proportional to the wavelength. By introducing a dispersive element in the invention the detector is sensitized to a pre-determined fringe separation. A moveable reticle is placed in front of a detector to sensitize the detector to the fringe pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventor: Philip Sutton
  • Patent number: 4722604
    Abstract: An interference device for discriminating between radiation sources of differing coherence length comprises means to divide received radiation from a source into two components. A path difference, defining a coherence length cut-off, is introduced into the path of one component and the components are brought together for interference. The recombined light passes through a reticle with alternate opaque and tranparent bars and an optical band-pass filter to a detector. Interference fringes present in the plane of the reticle are swept across the reticle by the action of the collection optical system of the device which includes a scanning rotating mirror. Two similar devices can be arranged for band-pass coherence length filtering and when used in conjunction with a light soruce whose coherence is modulated the device can be used for signalling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1983
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1988
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventors: Herbert A. French, Philip Sutton