Posts in Technology & Innovation

J&J is pretty active in terms of patenting, and our recent survey of patent applications filed with the USPTO showed us that the company is looking to usher in the next age of contact lenses. In a time when many people are talking about Google Glass and other wearable technologies, we were intrigued to find a large number of patent applications filed by J&J to protect methods of incorporating semiconductor components into contact lenses for digitizing vision care and correction. A surgical implant for hernia repair and cosmetic compositions which cause less skin irritation are also discussed below… Even more contact lens innovation is reflected in these recently issued patents, including contact lenses for stopping myopia progression or for providing more stability when worn on the eye. Anti-tumor topical compositions and disposable assay devices for the simpler completion of biochemical tests have also recently entered the intellectual property portfolio of this firm.

Caterpillar holds a respectable patent portfolio and has some strong intellectual property holdings in the field of industrial equipment. In 2013, the company earned 332 patents, an increase of 4.1 percent over the number of patents earned by Caterpillar in 2012 according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association. 2014 may be an even brighter year for corporate innovation at Caterpillar, as the company has received more than 60 patents within the past few weeks alone… Innovation is strong at Caterpillar and seemingly increasing in scope over the past few months. Some patent applications which we’ve discussed below include technologies for removing environmental pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, from machinery exhaust gas. Another patent application discusses a drive assist system for starting a heavy vehicle while parked on a hill. Many improvements to Caterpillar’s hardware, including an enhanced metallurgy process for casting metal parts, are also featured.

P&G is a company well-known for its extensive lineup of personal care products, and many of its brands are found on the shelves of retail stores and pharmacies all over the world. The company has achieved varying levels of success since it was established in 1837. Some media commentators have speculated that reduced levels of recent innovation at Procter & Gamble have hurt the company, but a newly announced corporate refocus on core brands could help increase its development of intellectual property. Many recent Procter & Gamble innovations can be found on the company’s official website and involve major company brands such as Crest, Olay and Gillette.

Recently, a team of scientists working at Ohio State University created the world’s solar battery, which includes a solar cell and a battery within a singly hybrid device. These batteries, which could achieve a length of charge comparable to other rechargeable batteries, achieves a cost reduction in utilizing solar energy of about 25 percent. It also reduces the need for any process of transmitting electricity from a solar cell to a battery, in which up to 20 percent of electrons are successfully transmitted to the battery.

In viewing Fujitsu’s recently filed patent applications, we saw a multitude of inventions in the field of information processing, whether for the analysis of computing processes or virtualization of computing resources on physical servers. A couple of biometrics innovations are discussed, including a system of electrodes meant to detect and prevent a vehicle driver from becoming drowsy. Methods for enhanced online classroom discussions are also explored. Fujitsu enjoys a very robust patent portfolio, and much of the company’s recent additions to that portfolio involve semiconductor devices. Many of the inventions which have been recently protected for Fujitsu are design to accommodate the further miniaturization of semiconductors for electronic applications. Technologies for converting voice data into useful textual objects on a computing device, as well as another biometrics innovation for better methods of authenticating a person, are also featured below.

It is tough to overstate the connection between the development of vaccines and public health, however. Since the use of vaccinations was first introduced by English physician Edward Jenner in 1798, many devastating diseases have either been eradicated or targeted for elimination, including smallpox, measles, rubella and mumps. The prevention of a wide spectrum of diseases by administering biological preparations of microorganisms meant to increase an immune response has been revolutionary for public health simply by reducing the costs incurred when treating diseases and caring for patients. It has been revolutionary in human terms by the number of lives saved, and lives significantly altered for the better. But the costs and time horizon are very real, as is the irrational vaccine fear that prevents many parents from immunizing their children.

It is nearly universally accepted (and for a reason) that the process from discovery to market is long and costly. Drugs to not invent themselves and there are significant costs associated with nearly 13 to 14 years awaiting approvals. But even that really doesn’t capture what transpires in reality. Pharmaceutical companies do not just passively wait for approval, they are required to take significant and costly affirmative steps. So the critics can do all the mathematical trickeration they want, they can bemoan tax incentives not being taking into account and further complain about pharmaceutical companies partnering with Universities to discover the next generation of life saving and life prolonging drugs. But if you are going to factor into the analysis tax incentives then you absolutely need to factor in the time-value of money into the equation, as well as the astronomical failure rate, which creates extraordinary risk.

October 18 marks the 25th anniversary of the 1989 launching of the Galileo spacecraft by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a mission which focused on the study of the planet Jupiter and its moons. For decades, the operations of NASA have been incredibly innovative and inspirational to inventors of all kinds. The agency is still involved in various programs for scientific research, especially involving Mars… Although a patent has not yet been issued, metamaterials, or artificial materials engineered to have properties that aren’t found in nature, are the focus of U.S. Patent Application No. 20140287904, which is titled Negative Dielectric Constant Material Based on Ion Conducting Materials. The metamaterials involved in the invention are specifically negative index materials which have the unique ability to achieve a negative refractive index, enabling the creation of superlenses with greatly increased optical resolutions. The invention has multiple applications in both the commercial aerospace and military industries, such as cloaking or high-frequency communication systems.

We were very intrigued to see a large number of patent applications related to goal achievement technologies, and we closely examined three of these which we felt were worth sharing. Methods for creating an impetus to achieve a goal, whether for money or for social benefit, would be protected by U.S. Patent Application No. 20140272849, entitled System and Method Providing Positive Social and Economic Motivators for Goal Achievement. The filing discloses a method of defining a list of goals through a computing device, each goal comprised of a progression plan with a set of milestones, and assigning goals to a group of users. For progressing towards goals and hitting milestones, users may be rewarded with a monetary award from an advertiser, or may win a social bet with terms set among friends.

We found a couple of patent applications involving technologies which present topics of interest to computing device users, including methods for activity planning to see a concert or an event. Another patent application describes a method of providing insight from local experts about an unknown destination. We were also intrigued by a method of presenting digital advertisements to individuals which is designed to encourage retail sales at brick and mortar stores. Google has a very strong patent portfolio and we share a few of its more intriguing recently patented technologies below. A couple of patents regard improvements to digital keyboards used by touch devices, including a keyboard interface that adjusts to minimize typing errors. A couple of other patents relate to improvements to user interfaces, and we explore one patent aimed at reducing latency when loading applications with multiple windows. A couple of other patents relate to improved methods of providing news content to individuals.

The patent portfolio held by Samsung represents one of the largest holdings of intellectual properties in the world, and recent weeks brought another constant stream of U.S. patent grants assigned by the USPTO. Mobile technologies were again a common thread among the technologies recently patented by Samsung Electronics and other subsidiaries. One patent protects a system of providing anti-virus protections to smartphone devices through a remote server. Another patent we explored discusses methods of improving data transmissions between devices through near field communication networks. We also noticed an intriguing technology involving a wearable glasses apparatus that accommodates better selection among multiple field of views.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn Technology Group, is headquartered in New Taipei, Taiwan. This electronics contract manufacturing company creates parts for many of the world’s most popular electronic products which are often sold under other brand names. manufactures the electronic components for a stunning array of devices, consoles and other electronics products. Foxconn is the most innovative corporation headquartered in Taiwan and one of the most inventive in the world. Improvements to cleaning robots and smart television sets are discussed in a couple of patents we explore. A couple of patent applications also discuss hardware improvements to notebook computer screens that allow them to rotate or be positioned in other ways.

We share a trio of patent applications discussing improvements to memory devices, especially flash memory devices. A number of intriguing technologies which we share below are also related to brick and mortar retail environments, including one patent application discussing a method of providing entertainment content to retail workers to keep them more productive. Toshiba holds a very robust patent portfolio, and we also explored some patents which have been issued to the company within the past few weeks. Two patents related to three-dimensional memory cell stacks for better semiconductor memory devices are explored. Two other patents we share protect water treatment technologies, including one for capturing more copper precipitate from wastewater while creating less sludge. We also discuss a couple of patents focused on printing technologies, including an apparatus and system for recycling printed sheets by removing images.

Today’s column focuses solely on the inventions recently added to IBM’s patent portfolio; everything you see below represents a technology for which IBM has been issued a U.S. patent grant during September 2014. Telecommunications innovations are included among this, specifically systems for e-mail organization and telephone call filtering. We share a trio of patents protecting computer languages and networking technologies. Social networking analysis technologies and a couple of inventions related to accessibility programs for computer users with impairments are also featured. Television viewers may be intrigued as well to learn about the novel technique for blocking unwanted commercial content protected by another IBM patent that we explored today.