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:
Oct. 24, 2017
Filed:
Dec. 29, 2014
Charles H. Chalfant, Iii, Fayetteville, AR (US);
Terry Tidwell, West Fork, AR (US);
Michael Leary, Farmington, AR (US);
Liam Borsodi, Fayetteville, AR (US);
Charles H. Chalfant, III, Fayetteville, AR (US);
Terry Tidwell, West Fork, AR (US);
Michael Leary, Farmington, AR (US);
Liam Borsodi, Fayetteville, AR (US);
Space Photonics, Inc., Fayetteville, AR (US);
Abstract
An acquisition, pointing, and tracking (ATP) apparatus for free space optical (FSO) communications systems incorporates a multi-element detector array positioned at a focal plane of an optical telescope. An optical communications element lies at the center of the detector array. In lieu of traditional beam steering, the apparatus performs pointing and tracking functions internally by first calculating a position of an optical maximum on the detector array, and then translating the detector array within the focal plane of the telescope such that the optical communications element lies at the optical maximum for transmitting and/or receiving optical communications signals.