Patents by Inventor Thomas W. Ball

Thomas W. Ball 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: 7376349
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed herein to provide analog-to-digital converter techniques. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an analog-to-digital converter architecture is disclosed that utilizes optical techniques to convert an analog electrical signal to a digital electrical signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Stanislav I. Ionov, Thomas W. Ball, Peter Chu, William S. Hoult, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7321731
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed herein to provide various optical techniques. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a pulse position modulation discriminator architecture is disclosed for discriminating temporal positions of PPM-encoded optical pulses by converting them from time modulated to frequency modulated signals. As another example, time division multiplexed optical signals may be translated to wavelength division multiplexed optical signals. One or more of the architectures disclosed herein may be implemented, for example, to provide PPM to FM or time to wavelength conversion for receiver or transmitter applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2008
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Stanislav I. Ionov, Thomas W. Ball, Peter Chu, William S. Hoult, Jr.