Go Fish
FedInvent Portfolio Patents for March 22, 2022
Hello from FedInvent,
This week USPTO granted 146 new taxpayer-funded patents. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) each added 51 new patents that they funded. An unusual tie between two of the four biggest recipients of taxpayer-funded patents.
The FedInvent Report is available here. To browse by department, start here. To view DOD patents organized by the branch can be found in the Patents By Department panel on the FedInvent Report.
Go Fish
This week the researchers at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) received U.S. Patent 11278004, "Transmitters for Animals and Methods for Transmitting from Animals." The transmitter tracks fish. The new transmitter includes its own energy generation capability using an energy harvesting element "in operational alignment with the animal's musculoskeletal system." This new transmitter has a rechargeable battery to extend the time fish can be tracked and studied.
In 2001, PNNL and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Fisheries developed Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. JSATS was initially developed and has been extensively used to monitor the behavior, movement, habitat use, and survival of juvenile salmonids migrating from freshwater (through rivers and reservoirs and past hydroelectric dams) into saltwater in the Pacific Northwest. Salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes, graylings, taimens, and lenoks are collectively known as salmonids.
The JSATS technology supports tracking a wide range of aquatic species to support many research goals and locations. For instance, JSATS has been used to monitor the movements of other fish species such as American and European eels, sea trout, channel catfish, smallmouth bass, northern pikeminnow, walleye, lamprey, and sturgeon. The technology enables researchers to understand fish behavior at a variety of waterpower structures. JSATS technology has been used to study more than two hundred thousand fish with JSATS tags since 2005 n many geographic locations, including the Pacific Northwest, California, Australia, Europe, and Brazil.
Current and previous applications of JSATS illustrate how the system can:
Estimate survival and travel time of juvenile salmon migrating more than 800 km through freshwater river, reservoir, estuary, and marine habitats.
Assess survival and habitat use of juvenile salmonids migrating through an estuarine environment.
Determine impacts of ferry terminals on juvenile salmonid movements in saltwater.
Estimate route-specific dam passage survival of juvenile salmonids
Observe predator-prey interactions.
Evaluate fish guidance and passage structures at hydroelectric dams using detailed 3-D tracking.
Monitor delayed mortality of juvenile salmonids transported past hydroelectric dams in barges.
Evaluate fish behavior at a mid-reach location and in dam tailraces using high-accuracy, high-efficiency 3-D tracking.
Determine fish survival and migration behavior at a river confluence to determine the effects of water temperature stratification and dissolved gas.
Now PNNL can deploy a better fish tag to extend the reach of its research.
The Drunk Driving Surveillance Tool Kit
The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) mission to require Advanced Drunk and Impaired Driving Prevention Technology in all new cars is now funded and underway. The impaired driving prevention technology uses sensors that operate like a breathalyzer. If the technology determines you are impaired, it locks the ignition in your vehicle. Implementing this technology is now the law. (You can read our earlier posts here and here.)
This week 1A SMART START LLC received U.S. Patent 11278222 titled, "Waterless Electrochemical Transdermal Alcohol Sensor and Wearable Transdermal Alcohol Sensor Device." Unlike breathalyzers, which use deep lung samples to measure alcohol present in a person's breath, transdermal alcohol sensors measure alcohol vapor that diffuses through the skin. The measured alcohol vapor diffusing through the skin is then correlated to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Transdermal alcohol sensors can monitor passively and continuously the alcohol vapor diffusing through the skin. Unlike Breathalyzers, the new sensors do not require periodic active participation such as requiring that the subject provide a breath sample to a breathalyzer device.
Smart Start, Inc. is an American manufacturer of alcohol-monitoring technology, including Ignition Interlock Devices and portable alcohol breath-test devices. The firm provides services and technologies that prevent an intoxicated driver from operating a vehicle. Smart Start, LLC, was acquired by ABRY Partners, a private equity firm, in 2015.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) funded the sensor research. The grant's goal was to produce a new wearable sensor at a price point that will enable its extensive use in research studies, alcohol treatment programs, monitoring of professionals, and consumer health monitoring.
The original SBIR grant that funded this research was awarded to Giner Inc. in 2015. The patent application was assigned to Smart Start in April 2018.
It's not clear if a transdermal wearable alcohol sensor will be accepted by American drivers any better than a passive breathalyzer built into new cars.
Face Masks Are Trending
This week the Navy received four design patents for a face mask design.
D946,743 — Filtered face mask respirator with cap
D946,744 — Filtered face mask with cap
D946,745 — Filtered face mask
D946,746 — Filtered face mask respirator
The four design patents are companions to the Navy's patent application published in December 2021, Publication Number 20210379420, "Filtering Face Mask and Respirator." The Navy has invented a filtration mask that protects the wearer against airborne hazards. The mask is reusable. The mask may also be used in several configurations. The mask includes filters located to the side and beneath the wearer's line of sight. The filters may be tailored to the use and type of environmental hazard.
The mask includes inhaled air passing through one or both side filters, while a check valve for exhalation is closed. During exhalation, the check valve opens, allowing exhaled air to escape.
The masks can be produced using additive manufacturing, 3D printing. Using 3D printing means the mask to be produced virtually anywhere including aboard ships, in hospitals, and on-site in other field locations near the point of use. The mask can also be manufactured using injection molding. A two-part injection mold may be used in the field. The two parts use resin for the mask and silicon for the face seal.
But can you wear glasses without getting fogged up?
Raytheon Is This Week's Bayh-Dole Scofflaw (Shocker)
This week Raytheon received U.S. Patent 11283658, "Phase-Based Pre-Carrier Detection." The invention is classified as being used for Transmission of Digital Information, e.g., Telegraphic Communication.
Patents By the Numbers
On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued 7,202 patents. One hundred forty-six (146) of these patents benefitted from taxpayer funding. Here is how they break down.
One hundred thirty-seven (137) patents have Government Interest Statements.
Thirty-one (31) have a government agency as an applicant or an assignee.
A federal department is the only assignee on 31 patents.
The 146 new patents have 160 department-level funding citations.
These patents are the work of 483 inventors.
The 450 American inventors come from 37 states and the District of Columbia.
The 33 foreign inventors come from eight (8) countries.
There are 84 patents (58%) where at least one assignee is a college or university, the HERD.
Eleven patents (11) resulted from the collaboration between two or more universities.
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) received 11 patents.
Five (5) patents were assigned Y CPC symbols indicating that the invention may be useful in mitigating the impact of climate change.
The Big Three States
This week's top three states returned to the usual mix.
California has 24 first-named inventors and 69 total inventors.
Massachusetts scored 17 first-named investors and 52 total inventors.
New York has ten first-named inventors and 28 total inventors.
Patent Count By Department
Count By Technology Center
The Health Complex
The table below shows this week's count of the number of funding citations where the recipient cites the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the institutes at the National Institutes of Health, and other subagencies that are part of HHS, the Health Complex.
The Health Complex Year-To-Date
The year-to-date counts for Health Complex patents can be found here. You'll find both the bar chart and the data table showing the institutes and HHS agencies and their patent count for 2022.
Before We Go
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The FedInvent Team
FedInvent tells the stories of inventors, investigators, and innovators. Wayfinder Digital's FedInvent Project follows the federal innovation ecosphere, taxpayer money, and the inventions it pays for. FedInvent is a work in progress. Please reach out if you have questions or suggestions. You can reach us at info@wayfinder.digital.