Patents by Inventor Thomas G. Pratt

Thomas G. Pratt 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).

  • Publication number: 20240272271
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting targets with radar signals are disclosed which include a receiver configured to receive a radar signal and generate a first return vector having four elements representing four channels of a full-polarimetric radar reading, and a four-dimensional polarization filter applied to the first return vector, the four-dimensional polarization filter configured to arrange the first return vector in a column of four elements according to polarimetric components associated with of respective transmit/receive channels, take an inner product of a selected vector with the column, derive a projection coefficient by dividing the inner product by a magnitude of the selected vector, and produce an output by subtracting a product of the projection coefficient and the selected vector from the column.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas G Pratt, Luke Saladis
  • Publication number: 20240275502
    Abstract: A system for calibrating multi-port radio devices may include a radio device and circuitry. In one example, the radio device may include a reference port and a plurality of ports characterized by one or more radio-frequency (RF) imbalances relative to one another. Additionally or alternatively, the circuitry may be configured to calibrate the radio device by compensating for the one or more RF imbalances based at least in part on the reference port. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Robert D, Kossler, Jonathan Chisum, Luis Enrique Perez
  • Publication number: 20240272272
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting targets with radar signals are disclosed which include a receiver configured to receive a radar signal on orthogonally-polarized channels and generate a receiver return vector from the received radar signal, a range filter configured to filter reflections in the receiver return vector at a selected range bin, and a polarization filter configured to filter an identified interference signal from a return of the range filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas G Pratt, Luke Saladis, Robert D Kossler
  • Publication number: 20240272293
    Abstract: A system for improving resolution of frequency-dependent objects in radar contexts may include a radar device configured to transmit a radar signal and receive a return of the radar signal. In one example, the system may also include circuitry configured to generate a first data set representative of a range profile based at least in part on the return and/or generate a second data set representative of the range profile by applying at least one shift to the first data set. Additionally or alternatively, the circuitry may be further configured to characterize at least one frequency-dependent object detected in the range profile based at least in part on the first data set and the second data set. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Luke Saladis
  • Patent number: 12035134
    Abstract: Devices and techniques for authenticating wireless communications are disclosed. In some embodiments, the techniques can be performed by a network access point that includes a receiver to receive a wireless signal from a remote device. The network access point can also include a processor to calculate polarization data for the wireless signal and to determine whether the polarization data includes at least one characteristic that corresponds to a characteristic of a stored authenticated polarization signature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Joseph Lawrence Loof, Eric Jesse
  • Publication number: 20240000333
    Abstract: Methods and systems for sensing a physiological characteristic of a subject. At least one receiver antenna can be provided in proximity to a portion of the subject's body to obtain at least one receiver signal resulting from at least one transmitter signal that has propagated to the receiver antenna and has been reflected, diffracted, scattered, or transmitted by or through the portion of the subject's body. One or more coherent signal pairs can be formed. Then, amplitude and phase information of a plurality of frequency components for each signal pair can be determined. A set of comparison values can be determined for each signal pair by comparing respective frequency component phases and respective frequency component amplitudes of the signals. Physiological characteristics of the subject can then be determined from these comparison values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas G. PRATT, Jeffrey G. MUELLER, Robert D. KOSSLER
  • Publication number: 20210204122
    Abstract: Devices and techniques for authenticating wireless communications are disclosed. In some embodiments, the techniques can be performed by a network access point that includes a receiver to receive a wireless signal from a remote device. The network access point can also include a processor to calculate polarization data for the wireless signal and to determine whether the polarization data includes at least one characteristic that corresponds to a characteristic of a stored authenticated polarization signature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Applicant: University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Joseph Lawrence Loof, Eric Jesse
  • Patent number: 10804952
    Abstract: Systems and methods for improving isolation between a cosite transmitter-receiver system. The transmitter may send a first plurality of transmit signals from multiple transmit ports. The first plurality of transmit signals may be related to one another by a first set of complex weights. The receiver may detect channel-impaired versions of the first plurality of transmit signals at one or more receive ports. The receiver may analyze channel-impaired versions of the first plurality of transmit signals to estimate channel state information. The transmitter may use the channel state information to determine a second set of complex weights which will reduce the power received at one or more ports of the receiver when applied to a second plurality of transmit signals. The second set of complex weights may vary with frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Robert Daniel Kossler
  • Patent number: 10707975
    Abstract: A signal source association method and receiver. A receiver can be used to detect a plurality of signals transmitted from a plurality of transmission sources. The receiver can determine amplitude and phase information for a plurality of frequency components of each of the plurality of signals. The receiver can also determine a set of comparison values by comparing the respective amplitude and phase information from one or more pairs of the plurality of signals. Finally, the receiver can associate one of the signals with one of the plurality of transmission sources using the set of comparison values. The comparison values can comprise Stokes parameters and the one or more pairs of the plurality of signals can comprise a pair of orthogonally polarized signals or a pair of signals detected from spatially-separated antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Robert Daniel Kossler, Jeffrey G. Mueller, Joseph Lawrence Loof
  • Patent number: 10623075
    Abstract: A multi-port transmitter can synthesize and send a first plurality of transmit signals having a separability characteristic which permits them to be differentiated from one another. A receiver can then detect one or more receiver signals which include one or more combinations of received versions of the first plurality of transmit signals. The receiver may use the separability characteristic to determine the received versions of the first plurality of transmit signals from the one or more receiver signals. Then, the receiver may determine an estimated signal corresponding to the estimated receiver response to a second plurality of virtual transmit signals which comprise a combination of the first plurality of transmit signals. Determining the estimated signal may include forming a combination of the received versions of the first plurality of transmit signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Robert Daniel Kossler, Jeffrey G. Mueller
  • Patent number: 10605841
    Abstract: Systems and methods for analyzing a characteristic of a transmitter, a receiver, or a propagation channel are disclosed. At least one receiver signal resulting from at least one transmitter signal that has propagated through a propagation channel can be obtained. A first signal pair can be formed from a first receiver signal and a first transmitter signal, or from first and second receiver signals obtained from spatially-separated receiver antennas, or from first and second receiver signals which are attributable to different transmitter signals. Amplitude and phase information of a plurality of frequency components for each signal in the first signal pair can be determined. A set of comparison values for the first signal pair can be determined by comparing respective frequency component phases or respective frequency component amplitudes. A characteristic of the set of comparison values can then be analyzed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Jeffrey G. Mueller, Robert D. Kossler
  • Publication number: 20200022607
    Abstract: Methods and systems for sensing a physiological characteristic of a subject. At least one receiver antenna can be provided in proximity to a portion of the subject's body to obtain at least one receiver signal resulting from at least one transmitter signal that has propagated to the receiver antenna and has been reflected, diffracted, scattered, or transmitted by or through the portion of the subject's body. One or more coherent signal pairs can be formed. Then, amplitude and phase information of a plurality of frequency components for each signal pair can be determined. A set of comparison values can be determined for each signal pair by comparing respective frequency component phases and respective frequency component amplitudes of the signals. Physiological characteristics of the subject can then be determined from these comparison values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2018
    Publication date: January 23, 2020
    Inventors: Thomas G. PRATT, Jeffrey G. MUELLER, Robert D. KOSSLER
  • Patent number: 10280787
    Abstract: Systems and methods for monitoring rotating machinery are disclosed. Transmitter and receiver antennas can be provided with access to the rotating machinery. At least one receiver signal resulting from at least one transmitter signal that has propagated through a portion of the rotating machinery can be obtained. A first signal pair can be formed from a first receiver signal and a first transmitter signal, or from first and second receiver signals obtained from spatially-separated receiver antennas, or from first and second receiver signals which are attributable to different transmitter signals. Amplitude and phase information of a plurality of frequency components for each signal in the first signal pair can be determined. A set of comparison values for the first signal pair can be determined by comparing respective frequency component phases or respective frequency component amplitudes. A characteristic of the rotating machinery can then be analyzed using the comparison values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: University of Notre Dame Du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Jeffrey G. Mueller, Robert D. Kossler, Neil Dodson, Scott C. Morris
  • Patent number: 10270547
    Abstract: A system and method for detection of complex sinusoidal signals. The method can include obtaining a set of complex-valued samples of one or more signals, in the presence of unknown noise, using a plurality of sensors. The presence of ? candidate complex sinusoids can be assumed. Then, ? candidate complex sinusoids in the set of complex-valued samples can be estimated. The method can include comparing a measurement of the energy of the ? estimated candidate complex sinusoids with a threshold value. Based on the comparison, a determination can be made whether to assume a different number of candidate complex sinusoids and repeat the estimation and the comparison steps, or to specify the estimated ? candidate complex sinusoids as detected complex sinusoids. The threshold value can be determined using a penalty value which reduces the probability of overestimating the number of complex sinusoids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Farzad Talebi
  • Patent number: 10264525
    Abstract: Systems and methods for performing energy efficient communication. A transceiver for use in a point-to-point packet-based communication link with packet erasures is described. The transceiver can include a data source to provide bits of data for transmission to a remote device. The transceiver can map the bits of data to symbols in a constellation according to a modulation scheme and can provide the symbols on one or more subcarriers. The transceiver can include co-located orthogonally polarized antenna elements or spatially separated antenna elements or both. The symbols can be transmitted in packets via one or more of the antenna elements. The transceiver can determine a metric of average transmit energy per bit successfully decoded, and not erased, at the remote device and can adjust transmission powers at the antenna elements to reduce the average transmit energy per successfully decoded and unerased bit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Jun Chen
  • Patent number: 9857316
    Abstract: A system and method of identifying changes utilizing radio frequency polarization includes receiving a reflected and/or transmitted polarized radio frequency signal at a receiver, filtering, amplifying and conditioning the received signal, converting the received signal from an analog format to a digital format, processing the digital signal to elicit a polarization mode dispersion feature of the received signal, and comparing the polarization mode dispersion features to a known calibration to detect a change in a characteristic of the target object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Jeffrey George Mueller
  • Publication number: 20170353210
    Abstract: Systems and methods for improving isolation between a cosite transmitter-receiver system. The transmitter may send a first plurality of transmit signals from multiple transmit ports. The first plurality of transmit signals may be related to one another by a first set of complex weights. The receiver may detect channel-impaired versions of the first plurality of transmit signals at one or more receive ports. The receiver may analyze channel-impaired versions of the first plurality of transmit signals to estimate channel state information. The transmitter may use the channel state information to determine a second set of complex weights which will reduce the power received at one or more ports of the receiver when applied to a second plurality of transmit signals. The second set of complex weights may vary with frequency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2017
    Publication date: December 7, 2017
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Robert Daniel Kossler
  • Publication number: 20170338874
    Abstract: A multi-port transmitter can synthesize and send a first plurality of transmit signals having a separability characteristic which permits them to be differentiated from one another. A receiver can then detect one or more receiver signals which include one or more combinations of received versions of the first plurality of transmit signals. The receiver may use the separability characteristic to determine the received versions of the first plurality of transmit signals from the one or more receiver signals. Then, the receiver may determine an estimated signal corresponding to the estimated receiver response to a second plurality of virtual transmit signals which comprise a combination of the first plurality of transmit signals. Determining the estimated signal may include forming a combination of the received versions of the first plurality of transmit signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2017
    Publication date: November 23, 2017
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Robert Daniel Kossler, Jeffrey G. Mueller
  • Publication number: 20170134154
    Abstract: Systems and methods for monitoring rotating machinery are disclosed. Transmitter and receiver antennas can be provided with access to the rotating machinery. At least one receiver signal resulting from at least one transmitter signal that has propagated through a portion of the rotating machinery can be obtained. A first signal pair can be formed from a first receiver signal and a first transmitter signal, or from first and second receiver signals obtained from spatially-separated receiver antennas, or from first and second receiver signals which are attributable to different transmitter signals. Amplitude and phase information of a plurality of frequency components for each signal in the first signal pair can be determined. A set of comparison values for the first signal pair can be determined by comparing respective frequency component phases or respective frequency component amplitudes. A characteristic of the rotating machinery can then be analyzed using the comparison values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2015
    Publication date: May 11, 2017
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Jeffrey G. Mueller, Robert D. Kossler, Neil Dodson, Scott C. Morris
  • Publication number: 20170131335
    Abstract: Systems and methods for analyzing a characteristic of a transmitter, a receiver, or a propagation channel are disclosed. At least one receiver signal resulting from at least one transmitter signal that has propagated through a propagation channel can be obtained. A first signal pair can be formed from a first receiver signal and a first transmitter signal, or from first and second receiver signals obtained from spatially-separated receiver antennas, or from first and second receiver signals which are attributable to different transmitter signals. Amplitude and phase information of a plurality of frequency components for each signal in the first signal pair can be determined. A set of comparison values for the first signal pair can be determined by comparing respective frequency component phases or respective frequency component amplitudes. A characteristic of the set of comparison values can then be analyzed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2015
    Publication date: May 11, 2017
    Inventors: Thomas G. Pratt, Jeffrey G. Mueller, Robert D. Kossler