NAMX Due Diligence 2
Patent Data
Patents: Thanks to a poster who provided this link. It is the best to the patent office. A must read and a good place to begin. Dr. Stamm was the first to patent GPR for geological surveys. The Em Sounder has also been used for environmental remediation projects.
patents.ibm.com
Or: patents.uspto.gov
click on search, and then select search by number and input this patent
number: 4381544
patents.uspto.gov
The electronics are key.
Definition of phase shift:
ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu
United States Patent 4,575,684StammMar. 11, 1986
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Differential phase shift keying receiver
Inventors: Stamm; Thomas A. (Chicago, IL). Assignee: Honeywell Inc.
(Minneapolis, MN). Appl. No.: 704,433Filed: Feb. 22, 1985
A receiver for demodulating differential phase shift keying data, the data having bit values dependent upon whether the phase of a carrier is inverted or not inverted during a bit interval, the receiver having a phase locked loop oscillator for locking up with the phase of the carrier, a phase detector for sensing differences in phases between the oscillator signal and the incoming data, an oscillator controller for controlling the output phase of the oscillator in response to the phase detector, a phase sense detector which detects whether or not the carrier has been inverted, a data clock responsive to the oscillator and to the phase sense detector for providing a data clock signal defining a bit interval, and a bit detector
responsive to the phase sense detector, the data clock and the oscillator for integrating the incoming data.
The Vadnais Radar.
This is the GPR radar system that I speculate they are using. Note that DR. Stamm is not the inventor but is cited.
United States Patent 5,325,095Vadnais, et. al.Jun. 28, 1994
----------------------------------------------
Stepped frequency ground penetrating radar
Inventors: Vadnais; Kenneth G. (Ojai, CA); Bashforth; Michael B. (Buellton,CA); Lewallen; Tricia S. (Ventura, CA); Nammath; Sharyn R. (Santa Barbara,CA). Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy (Washington, DC). Appl. No.: 913,494Filed: Jul. 14, 1992Intl. Cl. : G01S 13/24, G01S 13/04Current U.S. Cl.: 342/22;342/129; 342/194Field of Search: 342/22, 129, 194, 196
---------------------------------------------
1983Stamm364/4204,435,708Mar., 1984Kyriakos343/12.A4,504,833Mar.,
1985Fowler et al.343/5.NA4,507,602Mar., 1985Aguirre342/22 X4,620,192Oct.,
1986Collins342/1284,670,753Jun., 1987Vacanti342/904,677,438Jun.,
1987Michiguchi et al.342/22 X5,192,952Mar., 1993Johler342/225,280,284Jan.,
1994Johler342/22
Primary Examiner: Sotomayor; John B.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Valdes; Miguel A., Gaither; Roger S., Moser;
William R.
Abstract
--
A stepped frequency ground penetrating radar system is described comprising an RF signal generating section capable of producing stepped frequency signals in spaced and equal increments of time and frequency over a preselected bandwidth which serves as a common RF signal source for both a transmit portion and a receive portion of the system. In the transmit portion of the system the signal is processed into in-phase and quadrature signals which are then amplified and then transmitted toward a target. The reflected signals from the target are then received by a receive antenna and mixed with a reference signal from the common RF signal source in a mixer whose output is then fed through a low pass filter. The DC output,
after amplification and demodulation, is digitized and converted into a frequency domain signal by a Fast Fourier Transform. A plot of the
frequency domain signals from all of the stepped frequencies broadcast
toward and received from the target yields information concerning the range (distance) and cross section (size) of the target.
There may be more, but these citations convinced me that his technology was not a mysterious black box like Pinnacle's device. If you find any other patent info, please post them. The more we know, the better off we are in assessing this company.
marty |
