Patents by Inventor Richard Fletcher
Richard Fletcher has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 6724310Abstract: Wireless tags have a plurality of non-equivalent current pathways, each of which responds differently to an interrogation signal and collectively represent encoded information. The element is subjected to the signal, stimulating the current pathways, each of which contributes to an overall element response. The individual contributions and, hence, the information may be recovered from this overall response. The response of each of the pathways to the signal may vary in terms of one or more of resonant frequency, amplitude, damping, and Q factor.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 2000Date of Patent: April 20, 2004Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Neil Gershenfeld, Richard Fletcher
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Patent number: 6693540Abstract: Tags encode information by means of spatial inhomogeneities that may be detected in the time domain; in effect, characteristics in space are transformed into time for sensing purposes. Such tags may be very inexpensively produced yet carry appreciable quantities of data. The inhomogeneities may be obtained by simple physical modifications to, or externally applied field biases operating on, materials that are very inexpensive to procure.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2002Date of Patent: February 17, 2004Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Neil Gershenfeld, Richard Fletcher
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Publication number: 20040004948Abstract: An electronic data transport system includes a mobile access point and a carrier for moving the mobile access point over a surface and/or water route. The mobile access point includes a communications module for wirelessly transmitting data to and receiving data from one or more client devices when the client device is in proximity to the mobile access point.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 3, 2002Publication date: January 8, 2004Inventors: Richard Fletcher, David Cavallo, Alex Pentland, Amir Hasson
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Publication number: 20030102971Abstract: Tags encode information by means of spatial inhomogeneities that may be detected in the time domain; in effect, characteristics in space are transformed into time for sensing purposes. Such tags may be very inexpensively produced yet carry appreciable quantities of data. The inhomogeneities may be obtained by simple physical modifications to, or externally applied field biases operating on, materials that are very inexpensive to procure.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 16, 2002Publication date: June 5, 2003Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Neil Gershenfeld, Richard Fletcher
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Patent number: 6472987Abstract: Tags encode information by means of spatial inhomogeneities that may be detected in the time domain; in effect, characteristics in space are transformed into time for sensing purposes. Such tags may be very inexpensively produced yet carry appreciable quantities of data. The inhomogeneities may be obtained by simple physical modifications to, or externally applied field biases operating on, materials that are very inexpensive to procure.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 2000Date of Patent: October 29, 2002Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Neil Gershenfeld, Richard Fletcher
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Patent number: 6411213Abstract: A radio frequency identification tag system (10) utilizes a radio frequency identification tag (16) that includes stored information. The tag includes an antenna element (28) and a common electrode (26), the common electrode being coupled to ground (70). The antenna element electrostatically receives an exciter signal (30) from a proximately-located exciter (12). Upon receiving the exciter signal, the tag becomes energized, thereby causing it to generate a read signal (32) based on the stored information. The antenna element then electrostatically sends the read signal to a proximately-located reader (14), which detects the stored information. Both energy and data are capacitively coupled by virtue of the unbalanced nature of the network, thus resulting in decreased coupled impedance.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 1998Date of Patent: June 25, 2002Assignee: Motorola, Inc.Inventors: Victor Allen Vega, John H. Rolin, Richard Fletcher, Sebastian Thomas Kakkanad
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Publication number: 20020067270Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for facilitating effective self-management of medication treatment by patients. A Smart Tray monitors and reports to third parties a patient's compliance with various medication treatment regimens. Medication containers are provided with electromagnetic tags that provide various information about medicament contained within a respective container. A Smart Tray is equipped with a processor and reader that interrogates each respective electromagnetic tag to identify medicament(s) contained within each container. Using the retrieved information, a Smart Tray provides visual and/or audio signals to a patient to remind the patient when and how much of various medicaments to take. A Smart Tray also monitors, via the reader, when a medication container is removed. A Smart Tray can communicate with one or more third parties, such as healthcare providers, pharmacies, and other suppliers of healthcare products and services via a computer network.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2001Publication date: June 6, 2002Inventors: Paul Yarin, Richard Fletcher, Joseph DiPisa, Glenn Philander Vonk
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Patent number: 6380858Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for facilitating effective self-management of medication treatment by patients. A Smart Tray monitors and reports to third parties a patient's compliance with various medication treatment regimens. Medication containers are provided with electromagnetic tags that provide various information about medicament contained within a respective container. A Smart Tray is equipped with a processor and reader that interrogates each respective electromagnetic tag to identify medicament(s) contained within each container. Using the retrieved information, a Smart Tray provides visual and/or audio signals to a patient to remind the patient when and how much of various medicaments to take. A Smart Tray also monitors, via the reader, when a medication container is removed. A Smart Tray can communicate with one or more third parties, such as healthcare providers, pharmacies, and other suppliers of healthcare products and services via a computer network.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2001Date of Patent: April 30, 2002Assignee: Becton, Dickinson and CompanyInventors: Paul Yarin, Richard Fletcher, Joseph DiPisa, Glenn Philander Vonk
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Patent number: 6363477Abstract: In a communication network having computer systems communicatively coupled to each other with communication equipment, where the computer systems are executing network applications that send and receive either encrypted or unencrypted data packets over the communication network, a method for quantifying performance of the communication network. In one embodiment, between an application program interface and a protocol stack in a computer system, where the application program interface resides in an application layer of the computer system and the protocol stack resides in a kernel layer of the computer system, the present invention executes a process for identifying a network application, where the network application originates a request data packet and a response data packet. Second, in this embodiment the present invention records time-stamps when the request data packet and the response data packet are between the application program interface and the protocol stack in the computer system.Type: GrantFiled: August 28, 1998Date of Patent: March 26, 2002Assignee: 3COM CorporationInventors: Richard A. Fletcher, Carl Lin
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Publication number: 20020027507Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for facilitating effective self-management of medication treatment by patients. A Smart Tray monitors and reports to third parties a patient's compliance with various medication treatment regimens. Medication containers are provided with electromagnetic tags that provide various information about medicament contained within a respective container. A Smart Tray is equipped with a processor and reader that interrogates each respective electromagnetic tag to identify medicament(s) contained within each container. Using the retrieved information, a Smart Tray provides visual and/or audio signals to a patient to remind the patient when and how much of various medicaments to take. A Smart Tray also monitors, via the reader, when a medication container is removed. A Smart Tray can communicate with one or more third parties, such as healthcare providers, pharmacies, and other suppliers of healthcare products and services via a computer network.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2001Publication date: March 7, 2002Inventors: Paul Yarin, Richard Fletcher, Joseph DiPisa, Glenn Philander Vonk
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Patent number: 6321264Abstract: A method for quantifying communication performance in a communication network comprising computer systems communicatively coupled to each other with communication equipment. In one embodiment, the present invention measures performance statistics associated with data packets sent and received by the computer systems. First, this embodiment applies a first time-stamp to data packets sent by a computer system over the communication equipment, and applies a second time-stamp to data packets received by the computer system over the communication equipment. Second, in this embodiment the present invention correlates a first data packet sent by a first computer system over the communication network to a second data packet sent by a second computer system over the communication network. Third, in this embodiment the present invention computes a difference between a first time-stamp of the first data packet and a second time-stamp of the second data packet.Type: GrantFiled: August 28, 1998Date of Patent: November 20, 2001Assignee: 3Com CorporationInventors: Richard A. Fletcher, Prakash C. Banthia
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Publication number: 20010035815Abstract: The response of an object to a single time-varying magnetic field is sensed to determine object position and/or manipulation on a horizontal or vertical surface. A time-varying interrogation signal, which interacts with tags disposed on the surface, is read by an array of sensing coils. Control circuitry receives signals from the sensing coils representing this interaction and, based thereon, determines the identity, position, and manipulation of each of the objects based on the sensed signals and the known positions of the sensing coils. Feedback to the user can be provided in the form of a localized output (e.g. light, sound, heat, etc.) physically coincident with the object.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 27, 2000Publication date: November 1, 2001Inventors: Richard Fletcher, Gershenfeld Neil, Paul Yarin, Hiroshi Ishii
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Patent number: 6294999Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for facilitating effective self-management of medication treatment by patients. A Smart Tray monitors and reports to third parties a patient's compliance with various medication treatment regimens. Medication containers are provided with electromagnetic tags that provide various information about medicament contained within a respective container. A Smart Tray is equipped with a processor and reader that interrogates each respective electromagnetic tag to identify medicament(s) contained within each container. Using the retrieved information, a Smart Tray provides visual and/or audio signals to a patient to remind the patient when and how much of various medicaments to take. A Smart Tray also monitors, via the reader, when a medication container is removed. A Smart Tray can communicate with one or more third parties, such as healthcare providers, pharmacies, and other suppliers of healthcare products and services via a computer network.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 1999Date of Patent: September 25, 2001Assignee: Becton, Dickinson and CompanyInventors: Paul Yarin, Richard Fletcher, Joseph DiPisa, Glenn Philander Vonk
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Patent number: 6269401Abstract: A method for monitoring communication performance in a communication network comprising computer systems communicatively coupled to each other with communication equipment. In one embodiment, a computer system of a communication network measures and time-stamps network performance statistics and stores them in a memory unit within the computer system. The computer system also measures and time-stamps system performance statistics and system parameters and stores them in the memory unit within the computer system. The computer system reports the network performance statistics and the system information to a central computer system at specified time intervals. The central computer system correlates the network performance statistics and the system information for a specified time period based on the time-stamping and stores the network performance statistics and the system information in a memory unit within the computer system.Type: GrantFiled: August 28, 1998Date of Patent: July 31, 2001Assignee: 3Com CorporationInventors: Richard A. Fletcher, Prakash C. Banthia, Amanda Svensson
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Patent number: 6208253Abstract: Temperature sensing through observable, temperature-dependent effects on an interrogating magnetic field is facilitating by a sensing module having, first, a signal element that interacts with the interrogation field to produce a remotely readable magnetic response; and disposed proximate to the signal element, a temperature-sensitive component. This latter component may include a modulation element having a magnetic permeability varying with temperature in the operating range and/or a bias element comprising a magnet having a Curie temperature in the operating range. The temperature-sensitive component interacts magnetically with the signal element such that the remotely readable magnetic response is indicative of a temperature in the operating range.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 2000Date of Patent: March 27, 2001Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Richard Fletcher, Neil Gershenfeld
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Patent number: 6089894Abstract: An automatic insertion connector device, for instance for use in a test environment, particularly for connection to an RJ45 type connector. The connector has a contact portion having the general form of a connector part arranged to match the connector part it is intended to connect to, and is resiliently mounted by way of being carried on resilient material on a carrier means. The resilient mounting permits some deviation from the rest position in relation to the carrier and therefore enables account to be taken of deviation from the expected location of the parts under test.Type: GrantFiled: August 17, 1998Date of Patent: July 18, 2000Assignee: 3Com TechnologiesInventor: David Richard Fletcher
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Patent number: 6025725Abstract: A planar electromagnetic resonator utilizes an electromagnetically active material located between the capacitive or inductive elements of the resonator. A microscopic electrical property of this material is altered by an external condition, and that alteration, in turn, affects the behavior of the resonator in a consistent and predictable manner.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 1997Date of Patent: February 15, 2000Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Neil Gershenfeld, Richard Fletcher
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Patent number: 4336291Abstract: A flexible self-sealing wall member for fuel tanks has a plurality of thin layers of natural or synthetic rubber which are held together at spaced points by lines of drop thread stitching or by spots of adhesive so that the sheets are free to move across each other between the points of connection. The wall may also include a reinforcing fabric web, an outside barrier layer, and an inside barrier layer, both impermeable to fuel held in the tank of which the wall member forms a part. The wall member is self-sealing when penetrated by a projectile because the rubber layers undergo large dynamic elongations and rapidly recover to close up the holes formed, these holes generally being out of alignment.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 1978Date of Patent: June 22, 1982Inventors: Jeffrey C. Broadhurst, Richard A. Fletcher, Peter F. Jowitt