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Charles Walton, the Father of RFID

Posted by simoniker on from the rtfm-on-rfid dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "In a very interesting article, the San Jose Mercury News tells us about Charles Walton, the man behind the radio frequency identification technology (RFID). Since his first patent about it in 1973, Walton, now 83 years old, collected about $3 million from royalties coming from his patents. Unfortunately for him, his latest patent about RFID expired in the mid-1990s. So he will not make any money from the billions of RFID tags that will appear in the years to come. But he continues to invent and his latest patent about a proximity card with incorporated PIN code protection was granted in June 2004. Maybe he'll be luckier with this one. This overview contains some excerpts of the original article. It also contains tips to search for Walton's patents and an image of the front page of his first patent."

7 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. goodnight john boy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    goodnight charlie

  2. When I first saw that headline.... by Altima(BoB) · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    When I first saw that headline I thought it said he invented "RTFA."

    I was so ready to create the most ironic uninformed post ever, then again, I haven't read this article, and I can hardly be considered on-topic, maybe my dream can be realized.

    --
    Yup...
  3. The IP problem becomes apperent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    when you burn your nuts easing into a hot bath.

  4. You assume they know.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    You'll have to explain to Slashdot what the term bath means.

    1. Re:You assume they know.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      The noun "bath" has 6 senses in WordNet:
      1. bath -- (a vessel containing liquid in which something is immersed (as to process it or to maintain it at a constant temperature or to lubricate it); "she soaked the etching in an acid bath")
      2. bath -- (you soak your body in a bathtub; "he has a good bath every morning")
      3. bathtub, bathing tub, bath, tub -- (a relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body)
      4. bath -- (an ancient Hebrew liquid measure equal to about 10 gallons)
      5. Bath -- (a town in southwestern England on the River Avon; famous for its hot springs and Roman remains)
      6. bathroom, bath -- (a room (as in a residence) containing a bath or shower and usually a washbasin and toilet)

    2. Re:You assume they know.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      http://www.damascus-online.com/se/hist/baath_party .htm

    3. Re:You assume they know.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      the term bath Surely they all know its Sadam Hussain's political party. No wonder they want nothing to do with it!