Patents by Inventor William E. Clifton

William E. Clifton 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).

  • Modulation of input to Geiger mode avalanche photodiode LIDAR using digital micromirror devices
    Patent number: 10247811
    Abstract: Systems (100) and methods (600) for acquiring data relating to an environment of interest. The methods comprise: receiving by a telescope (110) light scattered by an object within the environment; focusing a cone of light towards a spatial light modulator (112) which is placed a certain distance from the telescope on a telescope-focus surface; and deflecting a select amount of the cone of light by the spatial light modulator towards a photodiode array (114), whereby a sensitivity across the photodiode array is made uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Harris Corporation
    Inventor: William E. Clifton
  • MODULATION OF INPUT TO GEIGER MODE AVALANCHE PHOTODIODE LIDAR USING DIGITAL MICROMIRROR DEVICES
    Publication number: 20160109561
    Abstract: Systems (100) and methods (600) for acquiring data relating to an environment of interest. The methods comprise: receiving by a telescope (110) light scattered by an object within the environment; focusing a cone of light towards a spatial light modulator (112) which is placed a certain distance from the telescope on a telescope-focus surface; and deflecting a select amount of the cone of light by the spatial light modulator towards a photodiode array (114), whereby a sensitivity across the photodiode array is made uniform.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Inventor: William E. Clifton