Christopher B Stell

60855940, Jul 11, 2000

Sep 4, 1998

9/158163

Roman C. Gutierrez - Glendale CA
Christopher B. Stell - Valencia CA
Tony K. Tang - Glendale CA
Vatche Vorperian - Irvine CA
Jaroslava Wilcox - Los Angeles CA
Kirill Shcheglov - Pasadena CA
William J. Kaiser - Los Angeles CA

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

G01L 1100

73704

A pressure sensor has a high degree of accuracy over a wide range of pressures. Using a pressure sensor relying upon resonant oscillations to determine pressure, a driving circuit drives such a pressure sensor at resonance and tracks resonant frequency and amplitude shifts with changes in pressure. Pressure changes affect the Q-factor of the resonating portion of the pressure sensor. Such Q-factor changes are detected by the driving/sensing circuit which in turn tracks the changes in resonant frequency to maintain the pressure sensor at resonance. Changes in the Q-factor are reflected in changes of amplitude of the resonating pressure sensor. In response, upon sensing the changes in the amplitude, the driving circuit changes the force or strength of the electrostatic driving signal to maintain the resonator at constant amplitude. The amplitude of the driving signals become a direct measure of the changes in pressure as the operating characteristics of the resonator give rise to a linear response curve for the amplitude of the driving signal. Pressure change resolution is on the order of 10. sup.

60792728, Jun 27, 2000

Aug 7, 1998

9/130696

Christopher B. Stell - Valencia CA
Vatche Vorperian - Irvine CA
Roman C. Gutierrez - Glendale CA
Tony K. Tang - Glendale CA

California Institute of Technology - Pasadena CA

G01P 904

7350412

A gyroscope system can detect the amount of movement of the system. The gyroscope system includes a circuit that has a number of different features and detects movement independent of any circuit parameters. The first feature uses a feedback loop to compensate for difference in Q factors between the circuits. Another feature regulates the amplitude of the resonator. Yet another feature extracts the rotation rate signals from the gyroscope in a new way.

20210067044, Mar 4, 2021

Aug 27, 2020

17/005044

- Pasadena CA, US
Ryan W. Conversano - Pasadena CA, US
Christopher B. Stell - Valencia CA, US
Vatché Vorperian - Pasadena CA, US

California Institute of Technology - Pasadena CA

H02M 3/335
H02M 1/08
H01J 37/32
B64G 1/40
B64G 1/10
B64G 1/42
F03H 1/00

A flying capacitor multilevel (FCML) converter including a gate driver circuit comprising a DC-DC flyback converter having a plurality of isolated outputs. In various examples, the FCML circuit further includes a first control circuit connected to the FCML circuit determining the load current associated with a desired power output from the load; and determining a desired output voltage associated with the load current; a second control circuit that drives an inductor current (I) through the inductor so that the output applies an output voltage comprising the desired output voltage; and a third control circuit obtaining a comparison of an average of the inductor current (I) through the inductor with a predetermined reference current (I) and setting the duty cycle so that the average does not exceed the predetermined reference current. Also described is the converter driving a load comprising a plasma and a propulsion system comprising the converter.