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:
Jun. 05, 2001
Filed:
Jul. 13, 1998
Ting-I Wang, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Optical Scientific, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Abstract
An open-air optical communication system is provided which enhances accuracy and reliability of signal transmission by utilizing multiple optical receivers. Two or more receivers are positioned within the path of a collimated optical beam emitted by a remote transmitter. The receiving lenses are of equal size and are positioned apart in a plane perpendicular to the optical beam a distance at least as great as the receiving lens diameter. The receiving lenses thereby receive two or more signals through different optical paths. All of these signals are electronically combined to yield one composite received signal that is better than any one of the individual received signals. The system employs automated gain control circuitry to further eliminate any signal fluctuations caused by atmospheric phenomena such as turbulence, fog, smoke, dust, rain, snow, etc. By utilizing multiple receivers, degradation of the transmitted signal due to atmospheric turbulence induced optical scintillation is significantly reduced.