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:
Aug. 04, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 28, 1996
Adi R Bulsara, San Diego, CA (US);
William L Ditto, Woodstock, GA (US);
Mario E Inchiosa, San Diego, CA (US);
John F Lindner, Wooster, OH (US);
Brian K Meadows, Fayetteville, GA (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
The invention exploits the phenomenon of stochastic resonance in a nonlinear dynamic system to enhance the system's response to a weak periodic signal locally corrupted by background noise. The invention is designed to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the system's output power spectrum at the periodic signal's frequency. This technique utilizes an array of nonlinear dynamic elements whose individual outputs are specifically coupled to other array elements. The coupling is found to substantially enhance the output SNR over what would be expected from a signal processor based upon a single such element. This principle has the potential to substantially enhance the performance of arrays of nonlinear devices; in fact, the nonlinear array can be expected to yield an output SNR that is very close to that obtainable by an array of ideal linear devices, so that the coupling actually 'linearizes' the nonlinear system. The output SNR enhancement is found to correlate with enhanced signal detection performance.