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.

Date of Patent:
Sep. 28, 1999

Filed:

Oct. 03, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:

Robert B Givens, Silver Spring, MD (US);

John C Murphy, Clarksville, MD (US);

Dennis K Wickenden, Woodbine, MD (US);

Robert Osiander, Ellicott City, MD (US);

Thomas J Kistenmacher, Baltimore, MD (US);

Assignee:

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (US);

Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01R / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
324260 ;
Abstract

The invention consists, in one embodiment, of a resonator such as a conductive bar supported by two wires placed at the nodal points of the fundamental resonance frequency. The wires also supply current of this frequency to the resonator. In the presence of a magnetic field, the Lorentz force causes the resonator to vibrate. The amplitude of this vibration is proportional to a vector component of the magnetic field. The motion of the resonator is detected using one of a number of possible methods including optical beam deflection. The invention has a sensitivity of at least 1 nT, comparable to that of a commercial fluxgate magnetometer, and a dynamic range exceeding 80 dB.


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