Patents by Inventor John Pierce

John Pierce 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).

  • Patent number: 7029707
    Abstract: A method of producing a processed kava product involves using an extraction solvent, such as liquid CO2, to preferentially extract different kavalactones from the source material at different rates. By controlling the extraction parameters and stopping the extraction before all of the kavalactones have been extracted or allowing the extracted kavalactones to be preferentially precipitated in one or more collection environments, a processed kava product can be produced that has a kavalactone distribution profile that can differ substantially from that of the source material. As a result, roots from a less desirable kava cultivar can be used to produce a processed kava product which has a kavalactone distribution profile that is similar to that of a highly desired cultivar. The kava paste can be further processed to produce a dry flowable powder suitable for use in, e.g., a tableting formula. A rapid dissolve tablet formulation for use in the delivery of kavalactones is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2006
    Assignee: HerbalScience, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Patent number: 7001620
    Abstract: The present invention is a method for enhancing the efficacy of an active ingredient in a human comprising: administering to said human a product comprising: a kavalactone component and an active ingredient, wherein said active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of a therapeutic, a pharmaceutical, a nutraceutical and a botanical, and wherein said kavalactone component comprises a methysticin component, a dihydromethysticin component, a desmethoxyyangonin component, a yangonin component, a dihydrokavain component, and a kavain component, and wherein said kavalactone component is between about 0.1% to about 75%, by mass, of said product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: Herbal Science, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Publication number: 20050118293
    Abstract: The present invention comprises methods for making compositions derived from Ilex species, particularly Ilex paraguariensis, having lowered caffeine and tannin concentrations, compositions made by such methods, oral delivery formulations, and methods of use of such compositions. In particular, the present invention comprises methods for making maté compositions that have a predetermined characeteristic, such as a lowered amount of caffeine, elevated amounts of caffeoyls, and/or lowered amounts of tannin compounds compared to the native maté plant materials. Further, the invention comprises methods of additional processing steps to produce compositions having a predetermined alkaloid ratio or profiles to meet particular considerations for final products. The compositions of the present invention may be processed for specific uses such as tablets or other oral delivery vehicles. These compositions may be used in methods for treatment of physiological and medical conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2004
    Publication date: June 2, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Gow, George Sypert, John Pierce, Dan Li, Xun Yan, Rodger Marentis
  • Publication number: 20050101022
    Abstract: An apparatus and process are described in which a plurality of preloaded catalyst samples tubes can be serially and automatically moved from a support to a reaction zone where each catalyst sample can be heated and a preheated reagent feed contacted with the sample and the effluent fed to a product collection and analysis system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2003
    Publication date: May 12, 2005
    Inventors: Stephen Vaughn, John Pierce, Douglas King, Christopher Lington
  • Publication number: 20050089591
    Abstract: The present invention comprises methods for making compositions derived from Ilex species, particularly Ilex paraguariensis, having lowered caffeine and tannin concentrations, compositions made by such methods, oral delivery formulations, and methods of use of such compositions. In particular, the present invention comprises methods for making maté compositions that have a predetermined characeteristic, such as a lowered amount of caffeine, elevated amounts of caffeoyls, and/or lowered amounts of tannin compounds compared to the native maté plant materials. Further, the invention comprises methods of additional processing steps tp produce compositions having a predetermined alkaloid ratio or profiles to meet particular considerations for final products. The compositions of the present invention may be processed for specific uses such as tablets or other oral delivery vehicles. These compositions may be used in methods for treatment of physiological and medical conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2004
    Publication date: April 28, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Gow, George Sypert, John Pierce, Dan Li, Xun Yan, Rodger Marentis
  • Publication number: 20050089584
    Abstract: The present invention comprises methods and compositions comprising Areca extract compositions and compositions comprising extracts of Ilex paraguariensis or theobromine. Methods of the invention comprise methods of making pharmaceutical or nutriceutical products comprising Areca catechu extract compositions and mate' extract compositions or theobromine, and methods of use of the extracted products and pharmaceutical and nutriceutical products. The present invention also comprises methods for treating conditions related to mental and physical fatigue and obesity, as well as, enhancement of mental focus, cognition, and a sense of well being, comprising administering the compositions of the present invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Publication date: April 28, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, George Sypert
  • Publication number: 20050078874
    Abstract: An aspect of the present invention includes a method of encoding coefficients of a subband decomposition, to prepare the coefficients for compression. Another aspect of the present invention includes an inverse method of decoding coefficients of a subband decomposition, after they have been decompressed. Particular features and other aspects of the present invention are indicated in the specification, including the drawings and claims.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2004
    Publication date: April 14, 2005
    Applicant: KT-Tech, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Buccigrossi, Bao Lerner, John Pierce
  • Publication number: 20050069596
    Abstract: The present invention comprises compositions comprising combinations of kava extract compositions in combination with one or more anxiolytics and methods for treating conditions related to the various anxiety disorders comprising administering the compositions of the present invention. The invention further provides methods for enhancing the therapeutic activity of an anxiolytic comprising administering the anxiolyitc in combination with extract of Piper methysticin.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, George Sypert
  • Publication number: 20050053678
    Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and compositions comprising Areca catechu extracts and Piper betel extracts. Compositions comprise Areca catechu extracts that comprise alkaloid compounds in ratios that are different from the ratios found in native Areca plant material. Methods of the present invention comprise extractions of Areca catechu and Piper betel, making the compositions comprising Areca catechu and Piper betel and methods of providing compositions that mimic the effects in humans of chewing betel quid and have reduced carcinogenicity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Publication date: March 10, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, George Sypert
  • Publication number: 20050037025
    Abstract: The present invention comprises compositions comprising combinations of compositions of extracts of kava mate' extract compositions or theobromine. The invention further comprises methods for treating conditions related to mental and physical fatigue, anxiety, muscle tension, nervous depression, headache, obesity, and mild pain as well a enhancement of cognition and mental focus comprising administering effective amounts of the compositions of the present invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Publication date: February 17, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, George Sypert
  • Publication number: 20040202738
    Abstract: This invention comprises methods and compositions of areca catechu. Methods of the present invention comprise extracting plant material of areca catechu so that compositions having characteristics different from those of native plant materials are obtained. Compositions comprising food aids and other dietary supplements are also taught.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2004
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Inventors: Robert T. Gow, Brian Pierce, John Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Publication number: 20040202731
    Abstract: This invention is related to methods and compositions comprising rosmarinic acid. More specifically, the present invention comprises compositions comprising borneol, rosmarinic acid and at least one ginsenoside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2004
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Inventors: Robert T. Gow, Brian Pierce, John Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Publication number: 20040202730
    Abstract: This invention is related to an improved composition for treating heart conditions. More specifically, the present invention is related to an improved composition for treating heart conditions containing borneol, rosmarinic acid and a ginsenoside selected from the group consisting of ginsenoside Rg1 and ginsenoside Rb1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Publication number: 20040081664
    Abstract: A method of producing a processed kava product involves using an extraction solvent, such as liquid CO2, to preferentially extract different kavalactones from the source material at different rates. By controlling the extraction parameters and stopping the extraction before all of the kavalactones have been extracted or allowing the extracted kavalactones to be preferentially precipitated in one or more collection environments, a processed kava product can be produced that has a kavalactone distribution profile that can differ substantially from that of the source material. As a result, roots from a less desirable kava cultivar can be used to produce a processed kava product which has a kavalactone distribution profile that is similar to that of a highly desired cultivar. The kava paste can be further processed to produce a dry flowable powder suitable for use in, e.g., a tableting formula. A rapid dissolve tablet formulation for use in the delivery of kavalactones and other botanicals is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2002
    Publication date: April 29, 2004
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Publication number: 20040071794
    Abstract: The present invention is a method for enhancing the efficacy of an active ingredient in a human comprising: administering to said human a product comprising: a kavalactone component and an active ingredient, wherein said active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of a therapeutic, a pharmaceutical, a nutraceutical and a botanical, and wherein said kavalactone component comprises a methysticin component, a dihydromethysticin component, a desmethoxyyangonin component, a yangonin component, a dihydrokavain component, and a kavain component, and wherein said kavalactone component is between about 0.1% to about 75%, by mass, of said product.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Publication date: April 15, 2004
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Publication number: 20040072897
    Abstract: A method of producing a processed kava product involves using an extraction solvent, such as liquid CO2, to preferentially extract different kavalactones from the source material at different rates. By controlling the extraction parameters and stopping the extraction before all of the kavalactones have been extracted or allowing the extracted kavalactones to be preferentially precipitated in one or more collection environments, a processed kava product can be produced that has a kavalactone distribution profile that can differ substantially from that of the source material. As a result, roots from a less desirable kava cultivar can be used to produce a processed kava product which has a kavalactone distribution profile that is similar to that of a highly desired cultivar. A material having a preferred kavalactone distribution profile is also disclosed. The kava paste can be further processed to produce a dry flowable powder suitable for use in, e.g., a tableting formula.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2002
    Publication date: April 15, 2004
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall
  • Patent number: 6701305
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer program products are provided for retrieving information from a text data collection and for classifying a document into none, one or more of a plurality of predefined classes. In each aspect, a representation of at least a portion of the original matrix is projected into a lower dimensional subspace and those portions of the subspace representation that relate to the term(s) of the query are weighted following the projection into the lower dimensional subspace. In order to retrieve the documents that are most relevant with respect to a query, the documents are then scored with documents having better scores being of generally greater relevance. Alternatively, in order to classify a document, the relationship of the document to the classes of documents is scored with the document then being classified in those classes, if any, that have the best scores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Fredrick Baden Holt, Anne Shu-Wan Kao, Daniel John Pierce, Stephen Robert Poteet, Yuan-Jye Wu
  • Patent number: 6611825
    Abstract: A text mining program is provided that allows a user to perform text mining operations, such as: information retrieval, term and document visualization, term and document clustering, term and document classification, summarization of individual documents and groups of documents, and document cross-referencing. This is accomplished by representing the text of a document collection using subspace transformations. This subspace transformation representation is performed by: constructing a term frequency matrix of the term frequencies for each of the documents, transforming the term frequencies for statistical purposes, and projecting the documents or the terms into a lower dimensional subspace. As the document collection is updated, the subspace is dynamically updated to reflect the new document collection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: D. Dean Billheimer, Andrew James Booker, Michelle Keim Condliff, Mark Thomas Greaves, Fredrick Baden Holt, Anne Shu-Wan Kao, Daniel John Pierce, Stephen Robert Poteet, Yuan-Jye Wu
  • Patent number: 6601527
    Abstract: An improved method of cultivating kava plants is disclosed in which a growth medium is formed form a mound formed over a leveled bed of porous rocks, such as volcanic cinders. The bed material is substantially free of organic matter. The mound material is comprised of gravel smaller than the bed material, such as volcanic gravel, and includes organic matter. The kava plants are grown in the mound material. The plants can be harvested by lifting the plant from the mound using a modified forklift assembly. Relatively high mounded rows of other material can alternatively be used. An improved method of producing kava seedlings is also disclosed in which the apical tips of kava plant stems are cut. After buds develop along the stems, the stems are harvested, sectioned, and used to generate a large number of seedlings. Harvesting of remaining rootstock from the parent plant is delayed after harvesting of the stems to promote an increase in kavalactone concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Assignee: HerbalScience, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John A. Pierce, William Julian
  • Publication number: 20030099756
    Abstract: A method of producing a processed kava product involves using an extraction solvent, such as liquid CO2, to preferentially extract different kavalactones from the source material at different rates. By controlling the extraction parameters and stopping the extraction before all of the kavalactones have been extracted or allowing the extracted kavalactones to be preferentially precipitated in one or more collection environments, a processed kava product can be produced that has a kavalactone distribution profile that can differ substantially from that of the source material. As a result, roots from a less desirable kava cultivar can be used to produce a processed kava product which has a kavalactone distribution profile that is similar to that of a highly desired cultivar. The kava paste can be further processed to produce a dry flowable powder suitable for use in, e.g., a tableting formula. A rapid dissolve tablet formulation for use in the delivery of kavalactones is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2002
    Publication date: May 29, 2003
    Inventors: Robert Gow, John Pierce, Brian Pierce, William Birdsall