Patents are part of the intellectual property landscape along with copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. A patent is a legal and technical document that gives the owner the right to exclude others from making, using or selling their inventions for a limited period of years. You can let someone practice your invention through licensing (you still own the patent and collect a royalty) or assigning the patent to them (you give up ownership).
There are three main types of patents.
Drawings - illustrations of the invention; essential features usually indicated by reference numbers
Background - helps to explain what is known about the technical field at the time of filing; usually written without legal or technical jargon
Summary - summarizes the invention and explains how it solves the problem(s) identified in the background
Detailed Description - describes the invention in sufficient detail to enable a skilled person to perform the method and/or produce the product disclosed in the patent; may define certain terms used elsewhere in the patent
Claims - most important part of patent - they define the legal scope of the invention; all patents must include at least one claim
Style for a Reference List
Include the author, the patent title, the patent number, and the date it was filed. Note that patent numbering is specific to the country in which they were filed, so it is necessary to include the country in the patent number.
[#] Author, “Title”, Country Patent #, Month day, year.
[22] F. J. Smith and D. J. Smith, “Method of concealing partial baldness”, US Patent 4 022 227, May 10, 1977.
For more information about the IEEE citation style, see https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/ieee_style/ieee_overview.html