Patents by Inventor Rodney L. Mickelson

Rodney L. Mickelson 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: 7835523
    Abstract: A radio system comprises radio frequency receiving electronics and digital signal processing electronics coupled to the radio frequency receiving electronics. The radio system is characterized by security electronics coupled to the digital signal processing electronics. The security electronics comprise a cryptographic subsystem. The cryptographic subsystem comprises cryptographic equipment software, core cryptographic algorithms and a cryptographic engine abstraction layer hardware each of which is stacked with but separate from one another. The cryptographic engine abstraction layer hardware has been designed for the specific radio system design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Rodney L. Mickelson, Dipak P. Patel
  • Patent number: 7088793
    Abstract: An equalizer is used with complex modulation modems to reduce intersymbol interference. The equalizer includes an equalizer filter that receives an input data signal and adapts to compensate for the noisy communications channels to reduce intersymbol interference to the input signal. A branch metric computer demodulates the equalizer filter adapted input data signal. A decision device delivers an alpha value, starting phase information and confidence values from the demodulated input data signal. A gain determination function receives the confidence values and determines adaptation gain for the equalizer filter. A remodulator receives the alpha value and starting phase information and remodulates the alpha value and starting phase information into a remodulated data signal. A summing function compares the remodulated data signal to a delayed version of the input signal to generate an error signal for the equalizer filter to adjust the equalizer filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Rodney L. Mickelson, Thomas L. Tapp, Steven L. White
  • Patent number: 6968021
    Abstract: A bandwidth efficient advanced modulation waveform modem using concatenated iterative turbo coding and continuous phase modulation is disclosed. A demodulator in the modem has a turbo decoder and a decision feedback carrier and time tracking algorithm to track a carrier and adjust timing. The decision feedback carrier and time tracking algorithm may use an APP decoder as a decision device to provide symbol decisions at a high error rate and low latency for a coded input data stream. A symbol phase estimator produces a symbol phase error estimate from the symbol decisions. An erasure decision function decides which symbol decisions are correct and which symbol decisions are erasures. A carrier tracking function receives the symbol phase error estimates when the symbol decisions are correct and receives erasure inputs when the symbol decisions are erasures to maintain carrier tracking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins
    Inventors: Steven L. White, Joseph C. Whited, Thomas L. Tapp, Rodney L. Mickelson
  • Patent number: 5903194
    Abstract: A phase-locked loop frequency synthesizer system is provided using fractional frequency division and a fractional control number for phase modulating an output of the frequency synthesizer using an incoming information signal. The apparatus includes a delta-sigma converter which adjusts a divisor of the frequency divider by operating upon a magnitude modulated fractional frequency control number. The system further includes a differentiator which provides the magnitude modulated input stream to the delta-sigma modulator by modulating the fractional control number with detected differences in the incoming information signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1999
    Assignee: Rockwell Science Center, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul L. Opsahl, Rodney L. Mickelson