ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,280,541, issued on April 22, was assigned to ALCHEMIE TECHNOLOGY Ltd. (Cambridge, Great Britain).

"Apparatus and methods for dispensing powder" was invented by Jonathan Waite (Cambridge, Great Britain), Simon Kew (Cambridge, Great Britain) and Alan Hudd (Cambridge, Great Britain).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Apparatus and associated methods are provided for digitally controlled powder deposition. The apparatus comprises a supply chamber configured to maintain a reservoir of powder in a fluidised state, and one or more dispenser elements. The supply chamber is further configured to direct a flow of the fluidised powder from the reservoir ...