6th Annual Michigan Inventors Expo by Michigan Inventors Coalition.
Join the Michigan Inventors Coalition on Thursday, September 6th at the Kellogg Conference Center in Lansing, MI for our 6th Annual Michigan Inventors Expo! Come showcase your product and network with fellow inventors & business professionals. Booth space is limited to 50 this year, so be sure to sign up early. We look forward to seeing you there!
They Invented What? (No. 53)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,672: Metal wire paper clip structure.
JW Note: The paper clip – patented in 1994. Many thanks to Michael Barclay at WSGR for bringing this one (and many others) to our attention!
We claim:
1. A metal wire paper clip comprising
a unitary length of spring-quality metal wire bent into an elongated configuration presenting an elongated U-shaped inner loop, an elongated U-shaped outer loop, and an arcuately-curved interconnecting portion therebetween;
each such U-shaped loop having an open end, a closed end, and a pair of longitudinally-extending legs;
such closed end of the elongated U-shaped outer loop defining one longitudinal end of such bent wire elongated configuration, such inner loop being nested within such outer loop with such open end of each such U-shaped loop facing in the same longitudinal direction;
such pair of longitudinally-extending legs of each such U-shaped loop including a free leg having a…
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They Invented What? (No. 52)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,677: Process for removing flatulence-causing sugars from bean products.
MD Note: I think we would all agree this solves a long-felt need.
Abstract:
Flatulence-causing sugars can be removed from beans that contain such sugars through ultrafiltration. An ultrafiltration membrane system with a molecular weight cut-off between 30,000 and 100,000 daltons will permit the sugars to permeate through it, but it will retain most proteins.
Claims:
What is claimed is:
1. A method of processing navy beans, including the steps of:
- (a) grinding the beans to produce a particulate bean product;
- (b) suspending the particulate bean product in water to produce a filterable feed, the water to bean product ratio being between approximately 10:1 and 60:1 by weight;
- (c) ultrafiltering the filterable feed using an ultrafiltration membrane system which as a molecular weight cut-off between approximately 30,000 and 100,000 daltons, thereby producing a permeate and a retentate…
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INVENTORS REQUEST CORRECTION TO COVER OF 10 MILLIONTH PATENT
Via press release from US Inventor today:
INVENTORS REQUEST CORRECTION TO COVER OF 10 MILLIONTH PATENT
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced issuance of the 10 millionth patent. But inventors complain that the language on the face of the new patent design is legally incorrect. They say the patent includes a false promise – that the patent grants to inventors “having title to this patent the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention.”
In a petition filed under the Administrative Procedures Act, they remind new USPTO Director Andrei Iancu of the 2006 Supreme Court decision in Ebay which eliminated the right to injunctive relief for patent holding inventors. This error was further highlighted by the recent Supreme Court decision Oil States which held that patents are not property rights with the right to exclude, but are instead “public franchise rights” like the right to erect a toll bridge, which can be given or taken at the pleasure of the federal agency, without a judge or jury. The petition goes on to ask the Director to correct the wording so that inventors are no longer misled into believing that their U.S. patent provides an exclusive right to their invention.
“I hope that Director Iancu will continue to lead the USPTO to increase the reliability of the patent grant, first and foremost by being truthful,” US Inventor President and petition signatory Randy Landreneau said. “The Supreme Court has said that a patent is not a right to exclude. Until Congress restores to inventors the right to injunctive relief, the words on the patent, while being in agreement with the US Constitution, are legally incorrect.”
The petition is also signed by Gary Stecklein (Inventor and President of Inventor’s Association of South Central Kansas), Stephen Lyon (Inventor and President of Inventor’s Network of Minnesota), Adrian Pelkus (Inventor and President of San Diego Inventors Forum), Tom Woolston (Inventor from Virginia and CEO of MercExchange), Joachim Martillo (Inventor and Patent Agent from Massachusetts), Josh Malone (Inventor from Texas), and Paul Morinville (Inventor from Indiana).
The petition is posted at http://www.usinventor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Patent-Text-Correction-Rulemaking-Petition.pdf.
U.S. Patent No. 10,000,000 – June 19, 2018
U.S. Pat. No. 10,000,000: Coherent LADAR using intra-pixel quadrature detection
What is claimed is:
1. A laser detection and ranging (LADAR) system, comprising: a two-dimensional array of detector elements, each detector element within the array including: a photosensitive region configured to receive return light reflected from a target and oscillating local light from a local light source, and local processing circuitry coupled to an output of the respective photosensitive region and configured to receive an analog signal on the output and to sample the analog signal a plurality of times during each sample period clock cycle to obtain a plurality of components for a sample during each sample period clock cycle; a data bus coupled to one or more outputs of each of the detector elements and configured to receive the plurality of sample components from each of the detector elements for each sample period clock cycle; and a processor coupled to the data bus and configured to receive, from the data bus, the plurality of sample components from each of the detector elements for each sample period clock cycle and to determine an amplitude and a phase for an interfering frequency corresponding to interference between the return light and the oscillating local light using the plurality of sample components.
USPTO’s 10 Million Patents Website
As we rapidly approach the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 10,000,000, the USPTO is taking full advantage of the opportunity educate the public about the history and importance of patents to the United States, and to generate excitement about the U.S. patent system in general.
Check out this new website: https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov/, and the associated video show below!
They Invented What? (No. 51)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,620: Electrified table cloth.
Abstract:
An electrified table cloth for preventing crawling insects from gaining access to the consumer’s food or drink comprises a cloth formed of electrically insulated material which has at least one pair of parallel electrically conductive strips secured to the edge or border of the cloth to completely encircle the cloth and which are connected to a low voltage DC battery also secured to the cloth. The strips of electrical conductive material are spaced apart sufficiently to normally prevent completion of a circuit across the strips and for completion of a circuit across said strips through an insert’s body as the insect attempts to traverse the strips when crawling acorss the edge of the cloth. The current passing through the insect’s body is sufficient to produce a sensation which will discourage further travel across the edge of the cloth. A consumer…
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They Invented What? (No. 50)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,396: Method for the humane slaughter and processing of domesticated ostrich.
1. A method for humanely slaughtering and efficiently processing ostrich on a large scale in a facility, comprising the steps of:
stunning said ostrich via an electrical discharge;
hanging said ostrich in an inverted position by placing a first shackle around one leg of said ostrich, hoisting said ostrich to an inverted position, affixing said shackle to a rail system to permit mobility, placing a second shackle around the free leg of said ostrich, and affixing said second shackle to said rail system to enhance the stability of said ostrich hanging in said inverted position;
bleeding said ostrich by cutting the arteries in the neck region and the windpipe of said ostrich and permitting the blood of said ostrich to leave said ostrich;
decapitating said ostrich;
de-feathering said ostrich…
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