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Patents

Searches Patent Title, Abstract, Body, Technology Type, and NIST Inventors

The United States Patent and Trademark Office defines a patent as, “…a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States…”.

NIST has licensed numerous technologies for multiple industry sectors (e.g., healthcare, homeland security and cybersecurity) and seeks government, industry, and academia to partner and license NIST technologies. Visit the NIST Technology Partnerships Office section to explore the most effective partnering models and technology transfer mechanisms for your organization.

Take a moment now and explore NIST patented technologies and envision what could take your enterprise to the next level. Use “Patent Database” to search for patents issued starting fiscal year 2018 or see what technologies were patented in fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020 by accessing their individual links. View all of NIST patented technologies prior to FY20 by visiting the Federal Laboratory Consortium website.

Explore Patents by Topic

Recent Patents

Picture of the Ice Maker with the words "Ice Maker" displayed above it

Icemaker, Process for Controlling Same and Making Ice

NIST Inventors
David A. Yashar
Patent Description The primary function of a domestic refrigerating appliance is to maintain a low temperature within a cabinet. The desired set temperature is generally maintained by cycling the appliance's refrigeration system (compressor, fans, etc.) on and off. Automatic icemakers are commonly
Image of 2 security officers inspecting packages

Authentication Article and Process for Making Same

NIST Inventors
Yaw S. Obeng and Joseph J. Kopanski
Patent Description This invention provides for a new and useful metrology to enable counterfeit detection system capable of uniquely marking items by encoding information in their physical structure at the nanoscale. The system depends on rapidly encoding information in the physical structure of an
A photo of the noncntact dielectric and conductivity meter for high-throughput processing and a circuit diagram of the circuit used to track the resonant frequency and quality factor of the microwave resonator.

Noncontact Resonameter, Process for making and use of same

NIST Inventors
Jan Obrzut , Nate Orloff and Chris Long
Patent Description A noncontact resonameter includes: a resonator to: produce an excitation signal including a field; subject a sample to the excitation signal; produce a first resonator signal in a presence of the sample and the excitation signal, the first resonator signal including: a first
Image of diagrams for the Classic Mach - Zehnder interferometer, Microwae transmission line based vserion, and guided wave probe tip interacts with sample

Phase Shift Detector Process for Making and Use of Same

NIST Inventors
Kin (Charles) Cheung , Jason Ryan and Jason Campbell
Patent Description The new NIST detector senses very small phase shifts in a highly balanced microwave bridge. An electric field optimized microwave probe, in close proximity to a sample, serves to perturb the degree of bridge balance due to a change in effective dielectric constant of the sample
Image of a spreadhsheet with some records

Next Generation Access Control System and Process for Controlling Database Access

NIST Inventors
Joshua Roberts , Gopi Katwala and David Ferraiolo
Patent Description The Policy Machine is an access control framework that served as the basis for the development of an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS – the central U.S. forum dedicated to creating technology
Image of an map view with the text "Natural gas extraction east of Platteville Colorado. DCS could monitor over 100 sites from central location. Overlapping fields could ensure complete coverage".

Hub and Spoke System for Detecting and Locating Gas Leaks

NIST Inventors
Greg Rieker , Ian Coddington , Nathan R Newbury , Kuldeep Prasad and Anna Karion
Patent Description The current practice for detecting methane leaks is still in its infancy. There are several environmental regulations that have driven the development of Forward-looking Infrared (FLIR) cameras, thermographic cameras that senses infrared radiation, for detection of Volatile
Image of devices on a table

Optical Parametric Oscillator

NIST Inventors
John T. Woodward IV
Patent Description This invention is a light source that provides high-power (1W to 5W), narrow line-width (<1 nm), quasi-continuous wave (80 MHz) light that can be tuned in wavelength from 340 nm to 2300 nm. See figure below. The light source is fully automated, solid state, and fits on a
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