Patents by Inventor Todd A. Elson

Todd A. Elson 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: 11836569
    Abstract: A system combining readers for RFID transponders and Bluetooth® devices for for automated roadway tolling and monitoring is described. Because of the ubiquity of Bluetooth® devices, filtering methods are described to narrow received Bluetooth® signals to a particular monitored traffic lane and to further associate the Bluetooth® signal with a registered RFID toll tag in a vehicle. Signal strength of the Bluetooth® signal at each of a plurality of receiver antennas may be used to identify the location of the Bluetooth® device that emitted the signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: AMTECH SYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel
  • Publication number: 20220256323
    Abstract: A system is described for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone or similar device as an active transponder that communicates with roadside equipment. The system may uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth® LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further aspect, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and responds with identification information. Transaction processing may be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or back office equipment. The system may be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring and also for access control. A coded card may be scanned by the smart card to enter identification for access control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2022
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel, Yousuf Kamal
  • Patent number: 11323865
    Abstract: A system is described for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone or similar device as an active transponder that communicates with roadside equipment. The system may uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth® LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further aspect, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and responds with identification information. Transaction processing may be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or back office equipment. The system may be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring and also for access control. A coded card may be scanned by the smart card to enter identification for access control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Amtech Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel, Yousuf Kamal
  • Publication number: 20210306825
    Abstract: A system for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone in the vehicle as an active transponder, which is detected by roadside equipment is disclosed. In an embodiment, the system uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further embodiment, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and only then responds with its identification information. Processing can be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or central office equipment as is the case in prior art active or passive transponder-based tolling systems. Vehicle location detection can be enhanced through the use of directional antenna matrices such as a Butler matrix. The system can be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2021
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel
  • Patent number: 11039284
    Abstract: A system for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone in the vehicle as an active transponder, which is detected by roadside equipment is disclosed. In an embodiment, the system uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further embodiment, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and only then responds with its identification information. Processing can be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or central office equipment as is the case in prior art active or passive transponder-based tolling systems. Vehicle location detection can be enhanced through the use of directional antenna matrices such as a Butler matrix. The system can be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Amtech Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel
  • Publication number: 20200336879
    Abstract: A system is described for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone or similar device as an active transponder that communicates with roadside equipment. The system may uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth® LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further aspect, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and responds with identification information. Transaction processing may be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or back office equipment. The system may be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring and also for access control. A coded card may be scanned by the smart card to enter identification for access control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2020
    Publication date: October 22, 2020
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel, Yousuf Kamal
  • Patent number: 10708745
    Abstract: A system is described for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone or similar device as an active transponder that communicates with roadside equipment. The system may uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth® LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further aspect, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and responds with identification information. Transaction processing may be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or back office equipment. The system may be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring and also for access control. A coded card may be scanned by the smart card to enter identification for access control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Amtech Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel, Yousuf Kamal
  • Patent number: 10302756
    Abstract: A system is described for measuring distance between an RFID reader and an RFID backscatter tag, including an adaptive linear combiner, which is a tapped delay line with controllable weights on each tap, and outputs that are summed and subtracted from a reference to produce an error signal. After a sufficient number of cycles, the weight distribution indicates the delay of the received signal with respect to the reference, and by extension determines the distance between the tag and receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: AMTECH SYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: Michael George Melville, John Todd Elson
  • Publication number: 20190019362
    Abstract: A system is described for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone or similar device as an active transponder that communicates with roadside equipment. The system may uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth® LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further aspect, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and responds with identification information. Transaction processing may be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or back office equipment. The system may be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring and also for access control. A coded card may be scanned by the smart card to enter identification for access control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel, Yousuf Kamal
  • Patent number: 10134210
    Abstract: A system is described for tracking vehicle position using a smart phone or similar device as an active transponder that communicates with roadside equipment. The system may uses existing RF transceivers on the smart-phone, such as Bluetooth® LE or WiFi to periodically transmit an identifying message. Road-based equipment detects and locates the smart phone. In a further aspect, the smart phone is alerted by roadside beacons and responds with identification information. Transaction processing may be performed either on the smart phone or by roadside or back office equipment. The system may be used for automated roadway tolling and monitoring and also for access control. A coded card may be scanned by the smart card to enter identification for access control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: AMTECH SYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: Kelly Gravelle, John Todd Elson, Greg Lantz, Michael Melville, Paul Hamel, Yousuf Kamal
  • Publication number: 20180100919
    Abstract: A system is described for measuring distance between an RFID reader and an RFID backscatter tag, including an adaptive linear combiner, which is a tapped delay line with controllable weights on each tap, and outputs that are summed and subtracted from a reference to produce an error signal. After a sufficient number of cycles, the weight distribution indicates the delay of the received signal with respect to the reference, and by extension determines the distance between the tag and receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Publication date: April 12, 2018
    Inventors: Michael George Melville, John Todd Elson
  • Patent number: 9841500
    Abstract: The a system for measuring distance between an RFID reader and tag, including an adaptive linear combiner, which is a tapped delay line with controllable weights on each tap, and outputs that are summed and subtracted from a reference to produce an error signal. After a sufficient number of cycles, the weight distribution indicates the delay of the received signal with respect to the reference, and by extension determines the distance between the tag and receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: AMTECH SYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: Michael George Melville, John Todd Elson
  • Publication number: 20160187478
    Abstract: The a system for measuring distance between an RFID reader and tag, including an adaptive linear combiner, which is a tapped delay line with controllable weights on each tap, and outputs that are summed and subtracted from a reference to produce an error signal. After a sufficient number of cycles, the weight distribution indicates the delay of the received signal with respect to the reference, and by extension determines the distance between the tag and receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2016
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Inventors: Michael George Melville, John Todd Elson
  • Patent number: 9316728
    Abstract: The a system for measuring distance between an RFID reader and tag, including an adaptive linear combiner, which is a tapped delay line with controllable weights on each tap, and outputs that are summed and subtracted from a reference to produce an error signal. After a sufficient number of cycles, the weight distribution indicates the delay of the received signal with respect to the reference, and by extension determines the distance between the tag and receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Amtech Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Michael George Melville, John Todd Elson
  • Patent number: 9081088
    Abstract: The a system for measuring distance between an RFID reader and tag, including an adaptive linear combiner, which is a tapped delay line with controllable weights on each tap, and outputs that are summed and subtracted from a reference to produce an error signal. After a sufficient number of cycles, the weight distribution indicates the delay of the received signal with respect to the reference, and by extension determines the distance between the tag and receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Amtech Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Michael George Melville, John Todd Elson
  • Patent number: 8905176
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for remotely disabling a vehicle using modulated microwave energy. The modulation characteristics are preferably tailored for different types of vehicles. This approach enables the use of a low power radiation source, which minimizes injury to people and property and which enables the use of portable devices, such as for use on law enforcement or military vehicles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Fiore Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: John Todd Elson
  • Patent number: 8387735
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for remotely disabling a vehicle using modulated microwave energy. The modulation characteristics are preferably tailored for different types of vehicles. This approach enables the use of a low power radiation source, which minimizes injury to people and property and which enables the use of portable devices, such as for use on law enforcement or military vehicles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Fiore Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: John Todd Elson
  • Patent number: 8236237
    Abstract: A device and method for inactivating infectious biological or chemical agents using microwave-activated diazoluminomelanin (DALM). The agents are typically vacuumed into a load cavity, which is at least partially filled with DALM. The load is irradiated with microwaves via a cylindrical waveguide disposed under the load cavity, thereby inactivating or destroying the agents. The system is preferably temperature controlled and operation is preferably automated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Fiore Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: John Todd Elson, David E. Lane
  • Publication number: 20120171074
    Abstract: A device and method for inactivating infectious biological or chemical agents using microwave-activated diazoluminomelanin (DALM). The agents are typically vacuumed into a load cavity, which is at least partially filled with DALM. The load is irradiated with microwaves via a cylindrical waveguide disposed under the load cavity, thereby inactivating or destroying the agents. The system is preferably temperature controlled and operation is preferably automated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Publication date: July 5, 2012
    Applicant: FIORE INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: John Todd Elson, David E. Lane
  • Publication number: 20080223641
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for remotely disabling a vehicle using modulated microwave energy. The modulation characteristics are preferably tailored for different types of vehicles. This approach enables the use of a low power radiation source, which minimizes injury to people and property and which enables the use of portable devices, such as for use on law enforcement or military vehicles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2008
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Applicant: FIORE INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventor: John Todd Elson