Coleman Company Cooking In New Ways

In 1900, W.C. Coleman needed money to finish law school, so he got a job selling lamps in what is now Kingfisher, Oklahoma. But shopkeepers in Kingfisher had just been burned by a lighting salesman with a sub-par product. So W.C. decided to sell a lighting service instead of the lamps themselves. He drew up contracts with a "no light, no pay" clause and, with the risk reduced, customers signed on.

Flash forward to today, and The Coleman Company (based in Wichita, Kansas) offers a broad array of outdoor gear, and sit atop 326 US patents/patent applications as of this moment (short URL = http://cli.gs/ColemanIP).



Eating out while camping has become more sophisticated. Witness their U.S. Patent Application 20090000493, ROTISSERIE OVEN FOR A GRILL from 1/1/2009--

A rotisserie oven. The rotisserie oven includes a cooking chamber, a spit, a motor assembly, and a fuel burning burner. The motor assembly rotates the spit about an axle. The spit is located horizontally in the cooking chamber so that any liquids dripping from any food on the spit do not fall on the burner. The spit may be removed and replaced by a grate and a heat shield. The grate is oriented horizontally inside the cooking chamber and the heat shield distributes heat from the burner evenly about the grate. The rotisserie oven may be configured to be removably attached to a grill.

The inventor is one Robert Mosher, who also has an earlier patent application entitled OUTDOOR GRILL WITH INTERCHANGEABLE MODULAR COOKING ASSEMBLIES.

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Honda: Helping People Walk

Honda has 19,476 US patents/patent applications as of this moment (short URL = http://cli.gs/HondaIP), and of course many relate to automobiles.

But Honda also hopes to help the geriatric and those with impaired leg muscles walk again.

Stride Management Assist, is a lightweight, wearable device designed for people with weakened leg muscles, but who can still walk on their own. It gathers information about the user’s walking motions from hip angle sensors. Based on the information, the CPU applies cooperative control and calculates the amount and timing of the assistance to be provided. With the device’s assistance, the user’s stride is lengthened compared to their normal stride and the walking pace regulated, therefore making it easier to walk.

Bodyweight Support Assist is also designed to help folks with weakened leg muscles, but also may be helpful during some physically demanding activities. It supports bodyweight to reduce the load on the individual's legs while walking, going up and down stairs, and while standing in a semi-crouching position. The load on leg muscles and joints (in the hip, knees, and ankles) is reduced. This device has an elegantly simple structure made up of a seat, frame, and shoes, and the individual can put it on by simply wearing the shoes and lifting the seat into position.

On June 23, 2009 Honda earned what appears to be a very important patent in the arena of exoskeletons titled Robot Hand, U.S. Patent 7,549,688--

In a robot hand , at least one finger link thereof is configured to comprise a first member , a second member adhered to a surface of the first member and a third member covering at least the second member and a rigidity of the second member is made smaller than the rigidities of the first member and the third member. With this, the flexibility of the finger is improved by the second member, thereby increasing the contact area between the third member and a held object, so that the object can be securely held.

The four inventors behind this patent are all from Japan--

1. Hayakawa, Masato
   
2. Fukushima, Takafumi
   
3. Kishimoto, Kazuhiro
   
4. Takahashi, Kazuyuki.

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The Patents of Drexel University

Philly-based Drexel University was founded in 1891 as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry by Philadelphia financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel to provide educational opportunities in the "practical arts and sciences" for women and men of all backgrounds.

Today Drexel has some 16,000 students, and 145 U.S. patents and patent apps, take a look at them here. [see all U.S. University Patent Portfolios here]

Most recently Drexel inventors won ALL-ELECTRIC PIEZOELECTRIC FINGER SENSOR (PEFS) FOR SOFT MATERIAL STIFFNESS MEASUREMENT from 6/11/09, U.S. Patent Application 20090145246--

A PEFS (Piezoelectric Finger Sensor) acts as an “electronic finger” capable of accurately and non-destructively measuring both the Young's compression modulus and shear modulus of tissues with gentle touches to the surface. The PEFS measures both the Young's compression modulus and shear modulus variations in tissue generating a less than one-millimeter spatial resolution up to a depth of several centimeters. This offers great potential for in-vivo early detection of diseases. A portable hand-held device is also disclosed. The PEF offers superior sensitivity.

The five inventors behind this patent are--

1. Shih, Wan Y. (Bryn Mawr, PA)
2. Shih, Wei-heng (Bryn Mawr, PA)
3. Markidou, Anna (Souni-Limassol)
4. Szweczyk, Steven T. (Springfield, PA)
5. Yengingil, Hakki (Philadelphia, PA).

Here's Drexel's Tech Transfer website.

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Woods Hole Institute IP

The legendary Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has a new robotic (no passengers) submersible called Nereus, and it just gave scientists up on land their very first look at a portion of what's called the "Challenger Deep" 35,768 feet (10,902 meters) way down in the Mariana Trench.

One of the last unexplored frontiers of Earth is the ocean deep, below four miles (6,500 meters), where the creatures get their energy not from sunlight, but from methane.

The WHOI mission is "... dedicated to research and education to advance understanding of the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicating this understanding for the benefit of society." Founded in 1930 and based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the Institute is home to 148 scientists.

Woods Hole has 36 patents and patent applications in the USA (http://cli.gs/WoodsHoleIP as a short URL), including the important Systems and methods for tethering underwater vehicles from 1/8/09, U.S. Patent Application 20090007835--

Systems for tethering an underwater vehicles using a low strength optical fiber tether. The tether system includes, a mechanical fuse that prevents a high load from acting on and severing the tether that is attached to the underwater vehicle, thus allowing use of far smaller cables than typically used. Upon separation of the fuse, a cable payout system pays out an optical fiber that keeps the underwater vehicle, typically a robotic craft, in communication with the surface vessel. The relatively light weight glass fiber may be reinforced and extended to lengths greater than 40 km allowing deep-sea exploration at depths up to 11,000 m.

Nereus is powered by 4,000 lithium-ion batteries, just like those in a laptop computer, and most of its tether is a extraordinarily thin glass-and-plastic fiber-optic cable, or as it says above "thus allowing use of far smaller cables than typically used."

The four inventors behind this patent are--

1. Bowen, Andy (Woods Hole, MA)
2. Whitcomb, Louis (Baltimore, MD)
3. Yoerger, Dana (North Falmouth, MA)
4. Mccabe, Robert (North Falmouth, MA).
   

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ImageTree & The CIA

In-Q-Tel, the Arlington-based venture fund backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), recently signed an investment and technology development deal with ImageTree, a Morgantown, W.Va.-based developer of software and technology used for forest management.

Deal terms were not disclosed but the U.S. intelligence community will gain access to the company's technology. ImageTree's technology platform, known as ForestSense, combines ground-based data with remote sensing imagery. While the resulting information most often is used in land management, ImageTree's IP can have a range of uses for governments.

It appears that their algorithms could help show patterns in imagery that document such ground characteristics as forests and vegetation, as well as man-made objects and roads, helping analysts gain insight into an area's activities.

ImageTree has 1 patent and 1 patent application today in the USA, see them here (short URL is http://cli.gs/ImageTreeIP).

Their patent is Method of Feature Identification and Analysis, U.S. Patent 7,212,670 from 5/1/2007:

A method for efficiently and accurately inventorying image features such as timber, including steps of segmenting digital images into tree stands, segmenting tree stands into tree crowns, each tree crown having a tree crown area, classifying tree crowns based on species, and analyzing the tree crown classification to determine information about the individual tree crowns and aggregate tree stands. The tree crown area is used to determine physical information such as tree diameter breast height, tree stem volume and tree height. The tree crown area is also used to determine the value of timber in tree stands and parcels of land using tree stem volume and market price of timber per species.

The five inventors behind this patent are--

1. Rousselle, Adam (Doylestown, PA)
2. Leppanen, Vesa (Chalfont, PA)
3. Mccrystal, David (Chalfont, PA)
4. Kelle, Olavi (Doylestown, PA)
5. Pliszka, Robert (Sellersville, PA) .

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National Jewish Health (Denver, CO)

National Jewish Health is a research institute located in Denver, Colorado specializing in respiratory, immune and allergic research and treatment. It was founded in 1899 to treat tuberculosis, and is today considered one of the world's best medical research and treatment centers. It is a non-sectarian institution but received funding from B'nai B'rith until the 1950s.

NJH today has 124 Patents and Patent Applications in the USA, see them here (short URL is http://cli.gs/NJH).

Their most recent invention is Product and process for liquefaction of mucus or sputum, U.S. Patent 7,534,438 from 5/19/2009:

Disclosed are compositions and methods for decreasing the viscosity and/or cohesiveness of and/or increasing the liquefaction of excessively or abnormally viscous or cohesive mucus or sputum. The composition contains a protein or peptide containing a thioredoxin active-site in reduced state and optionally further contains a reducing system.

The inventor is Carl White.

NJH has an excellent Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization Program-- find out more here.

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Honda's Patents in Japan

Honda Motor Company, Ltd. was founded in 1948 and is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan.

The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, scooters, robots, jets and jet engines, ATV, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies.

Honda today has 62,783 Patents and Patent Applications in Japan (they have patents in other countries, too, of course), see them here (short URL is http://cli.gs/HondaJapanPatents).

Their most recent invention in Japan is Car with Power Generator, Japanese Patent 2009044953 from 2/26/2009:

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time taken from a request for the start-up of a power generator to the start-up of the power generator.

SOLUTION: The car is provided with a power generation system, having a power generator, a motor for starting the power generator, a power accumulator, a smoothing capacitor, a DC/DC converter, a battery contactor capable of connecting and disconnecting a power path from the power accumulator to the DC/DC converter, and an FC switch for starting a key cylinder and the power generator. The car has a controller 1 including a user operation judging section 101 for determining the state of a user operation switch; and a battery contactor control section 103 for allowing connection of the battery contactor, when the user operation determining section 101 determines that the user operation switch is in ON-mode as vehicle-running mode, and starts charging the smoothing capacitor.escribed herein are marine devices and methods that convert mechanical energy in one or more waves to mechanical energy that is better suited for conversion into electrical energy. The marine devices employ a mechanical energy conversion system that harnesses wave energy and converts it into limited motion that is suitable for input to an electrical energy generator.

Three inventors are listed on this IP:

1. Oshima, Kuniaki
2. Murakami, Giichi
3. Watanabe, Kazunori.

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SRI: 182 Patents Today

Menlo Park, CA-based SRI International was founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946 by the trustees of Stanford University. The institute's establishment followed decades of cooperation between members of the Stanford community and U.S. West Coast business executives. SRI became independent of the university in 1970, and changed its name to SRI International in 1977.

SRI is a non-profit, and performs R&D for the U.S. government, business, and private foundation clients.

SRI today has182 U.S. Patents and Patent Applications, see them here (short URL is http://cli.gs/SRIpatents).

Their most recent invention is Wave Powered Generation, U.S. Patent 7,538,445 from :

Described herein are marine devices and methods that convert mechanical energy in one or more waves to mechanical energy that is better suited for conversion into electrical energy. The marine devices employ a mechanical energy conversion system that harnesses wave energy and converts it into limited motion that is suitable for input to an electrical energy generator.

Eight inventors are listed on this IP:

1. Kornbluh, Roy D. (Palo Alto, CA, US)
2. Pelrine, Ronald E. (Longmont, CO, US)
3. Prahlad, Harsha (Cupertino, CA, US)
4. Chiba, Seiki (Tokyo, JP)
5. Eckerle, Joseph S. (Redwood City, CO, US)
6. Chavez, Bryan (Palo Alto, CA, US)
7. Stanford, Scott E. (Mountain View, CA, US)
8. Low, Thomas (Belmont, CA, US) .

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