The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 27, 1990
Filed:
Aug. 10, 1988
Wayne M Lawton, Cambridge, MA (US);
Howard L Resnikoff, Cambridge, MA (US);
Aware, Inc., Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
A multiple mirror reflective surface for use in a multiple mirror telescope in which the objective surface of telescope is tiled with substantially identical planar mirrors having irregular boundaries and a mirror for use therein. The mirrors are groupable into groups of seven, one of which is bounded symmetrically by the other six, each mirror having an approximately fractal peripheral boundary such that each group of seven mirrors has a boundary shape which is approximately geometrically similar to that of the mirrors forming the group. The mirrors of such an array have their centers on a hexagonal lattice of points in the objective surface. In a particular embodiment, the mirrors have shapes which approximate that of a fractal shaped mirror by being defined by a combination of hexagonal shapes. With mirrors of this shape, the multiple mirror telescope experiences less optical aberrations which would otherwise be caused by linear edges of the mirrors, without reducing light gathering power.