It is one again time to take pause and try and have a little bit of fun patent style. From time to time I like to profile specific patents, so what better way to kill two birds with one stone than to look for holiday themed patents? OK, maybe not your particular cup of tea, but work with me here and get into the spirit (pun intended).
Today is Halloween, as if you didn’t already know or figure out. Wikipedia explains: “Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.”
The holiday patent du jour gives us the opportunity to explore the candy collecting aspects of trick-or-treating. More specifically, U.S. Patent No. 7,594,669 is for a portable container having wheels and a handle. What makes it worthy note on Halloween is that the container itself is either a pumpkin, witch, ghost, goblin, monster, vampire or werewolf. And yes, that is required in the broadest claim, claim 1. The pictures in the patent show a jack-o’-lantern version of the invention.
As a patent searcher from time to time in my daily activities I will stumble across a patent that is, shall we say, rather unique. Just in time for the gifting season for Moms and Dads I happened to stumble across a gift suitable for both Mothers Day and Fathers Day. Yes, this gift would kill two birds with one stone, perhaps quite literally.
In keeping with the age-old tradition of inventing by juxtaposition (see, for example, hamburger earmuffs), this highly functional and aesthetically pleasing invention “Cigar Lighter and Perfumery Ejector Combined,” which was patented on August 31, 1886, and combines the lighting of cigars with the dispensing of perfume. So if you’re a cigar and perfume enthusiast on a budget, it’s nice to know you have the option of getting a device that addresses all your cigar-lighting and perfume-spraying needs in one. And as the inventor Henry Munk of Fremont, Ohio points out, you can now put perfume on your cigars “to enhance the odor and consequent value of the cigar.”
It is time once again to profile some patents in honor of the festive day. While many might not consider Valentine’s Day to be a major holiday worth of profiling patents, allow me to suggest that you test the theory by failing to acknowledge the amorous sentiment of the day and see just exactly how much of a major holiday your significant other considers it to be! Not that I would suggest giving heart shaped pepperoni slices to the love of your life (yes, patented, see below), but Valentine’s Day does need a proper celebration. In addition to the patents listed below be sure to also check out the Love Box, a patent from Valentine’s Day past.
“The present invention provides a florists’ gift box support that can be conveniently used to securely attach a rectangular gift box to an open-mouthed container simultaneously being used to hold a bouquet of flowers. The support holds the gift box adjacent to the flower bouquet so that the flowers compliment the gift box, thereby providing an attractive presentation of the gift to the recipient. More importantly, because the support allows quick and easy assembly of the floral kit, floral employees of even low skill can quickly and properly assemble the kit for delivery. Yet another advantage is that the support securely holds the gift box within the assembled kit so that the bouquet of flowers and the gift become one easily deliverable unit. Upon delivery, the recipient can easily remove the gift box from the support and there is no unsightly sticky residue left on the gift box… A method of assembling a floral kit is also provided.”
In something of a switch for Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the company known for such popular devices as the iPad, iPhone and the iPod, has obtained a patent on a glove. Yes, the company known for pushing the envelope with high tech gadgets has entered the clothing market with a patented glove. Not just any glove mind you, but rather one that will be sure to help you keep your hands and fingers warm while still being able to use your favorite smart-gadgets.
The patent issued to Apple earlier this week was U.S. Patent No. 7,874,021, which is titled “High tactility glove system.” Don’t let the title fool you though. I turned to the patent to see what kind of high-tech glove gadgetry Apple had come up with and to my surprise what was invented was a glove with openings at the top of the index finger, middle finger and thumb so as to allow skin to actually be able to touch the screen of your iPhone, iPad or iPod.
From US Patent No. 4,113,020, titled "Fire safety Christmas ornament."
It is that time of the year where when we prepare our homes for the arrival a jolly old magical chief elf who despite his enormous girth is still able to make his way down our narrow chimneys lickedy-split, while somehow managing not to get any soot on his pristine red and white trousers and overcoat.
In order to celebrate holidays I always like to profile some patents relative to the festivities, proving once and for all that the entire world does revolve around and can be answered by the creative and awe inspiring power of the patent system! Okay, maybe a touch of hyperbole there, but what do you expect? In any event, feel free to visit our growing list of Holiday Patents.
This year I asked Glen Kotapish of Planet Patent if he could provide me some examples of interesting or bizarre US patents that somehow relate to “Christmas trees.” I figured that Glen, the owner of a patent search firm, probably had come across an interesting Christmas tree patent or two over the years. Glen did not disappoint! Incidentally, if you are into bizarre patents I highly recommend visiting his Bizarre Inventions Weird Inventions page.
Two months ago I wrote about one of my favorite patents — The Animal Toy — which is U.S. Patent No. 6,360,693. See Patent on a Stick: Learning from the Animal Toy Patent. Shortly after writing that article, which was not intended to poke fun at the Patent Office but to merely teach a point relative to claim drafting, I received an e-mail from Stephen Kunin, who is a partner at Oblon Spivak, LLP. Steve wrote to me indicating that this patent was reexamined by the Patent Office and none of the claims exited reexamination. This in and of itself may not be very odd, but something didn’t seem quite right.
From Design patent D297,249, titled: Turkey hunter's safety placard
Earlier today President Barack Obama carried out a traditional Presidential duty of pardoning the National Thanksgiving Turkey. This year there were two pardons handed out by the President, one to the National Thanksgiving Turkey Apple, and one to his understudy Cider. Apple and Cider will live out their days at Mount Vernon, home of our nation’s first President, George Washington. I can assure you that in the Quinn household there will be no pardoning of turkeys, and we will consume copious amounts of the creature as we celebrate, give thanks and watch football.
The pardoning of the Presidential turkey caught my imagination as I was trying to figure out what holiday patents to profile for this Thanksgiving, something I always try and do whenever possible. So what better thing to focus on than on turkey patents, and there are many of them. I easily found multiple dozens of turkey callers and all kinds of turkey transportation devices used by hunters to carry their prey home, but these were the ones that really caught my attention for one reason or another.
TheAnimal toy patent, US Patent No. 6,360,693, is one of my favorite patents to discuss. The first thing to observe here is that on March 26, 2002, the United States Patent Office issued a patent on a what can only be described as a stick. In support of this conclusion, one need only look at the picture. Yes, I know that the drawings do not define the exclusivity provided, and only the claims define the scope of the right provided to the patent owner, but this is not a case where clever claim drafting and placement allowed a crafty patent attorney to get away with claiming something fundamental and overly broad. Rather, this is a case where the picture and everything in the application is directed to a stick and the examiner seems to have missed that fact. But like all patents the pieces and parts of the patent are present and provide a good learning opportunity given the invention is easy to understand. The fact that it is also rather humorous makes it all the more likely the lesson will stick — pun intended!
The end of 2009 is rapidly approaching, and with it will come the end of the first decade of the new century and millennium. I always try and find some interesting patents to help celebrate the holidays, and given that we are wrapping up the decade I thought it might be appropriate to limit these New Year Patents to those issued since 2000. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive list, here are a few that caught my attention.
We at IPWatchdog wish everyone a Happy New Year. May 2010 be filled with happy times and wonderful memories!
This invention, which was never patented, relates generally to illuminated celebratory devices and, more specifically, to a New Year’s Ball Dropping down a vertical support pole reaching the bottom at a predetermined time. Upon reaching the bottom lights are activated on a year display sign and flashing the ball lights to announce the onset of the New Year’s Celebration. According to the patent application the invention overcame the short comings of the prior art by providing a New Year’s Ball Drop having a timing device assure the ball reaches its destination at a precise moment of celebration and lighting up a New Year display sign. I suspect the pole and ball drop set up in Times Square in New York City was the prior art, among other things. According to PAIR the application was abandoned on August 22, 2005 for failure to respond to the non-final Office Action. A notice of abandonment was mailed on August 26, 2005.
It is hard to believe that this year is almost over, and it is Christmas 2009! It seems the older I get the faster the years pass, just like my parents always warned me would be the case some day. I still remember how the minutes would drag on forever on Christmas morning waiting for my parents to get moving, make sure the lights were on and film was in the camera. Those were the days! In any event, we at IPWatchdog wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and hope you all make some wonderful memories to cherish for a lifetime!
Without further ado, to help facilitate the spirit in a patent sort-of way, here are some patents that fit the season, and don’t forget to check out my all-time favorite – the Santa Claus Detector, which I profiled last Christmas.
Structural improvement of toy Christmas tree US Patent No. 6,053,798
Filing date: August 26, 1998
Issue date: April 25, 2000
I don’t have the box handy, it seems pretty clear that this device is the famous (or infamous) Dancing Douglas Fir (see YouTube Video), or an improvement thereof. The device is explained to be a structural improvement of toy Christmas tree. The lower part of the foundation unit has a motor with intermittent off-and-on rotation controlled by a control circuit board installed in the base. The motor being linked with a reduction gear and a spring to drive a toy lower jaw part at the lower part of the foundation unit, and a driving rod to activate a toy eyebrow. According to the patent “the control circuit board will play happy music and flash LED light… while the motor will drive the eyebrows and mouth of the Christmas tree to flip up and down and open and close, to create a fun image…” My parents have a Dancing Douglas Fir, so I will have to take a look and see if there is, in fact, a patent number when I visit next week.
How to Write a Patent Application is a must own for patent attorneys, patent agents and law students alike. A crucial hands-on resource that walks you through every aspect of preparing and filing a patent application, from working with an inventor to patent searches, preparing the patent application, drafting claims and more. The treatise is continuously updated to address relevant Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decision impacting patent drafting.
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It is one again time to take pause and try and have a little bit of fun patent style. From time to time I like to profile specific patents, so what better way to kill two birds with one stone than to look for holiday themed patents? OK, maybe not your particular cup of tea, but work with me here and get into the spirit (pun intended).
Floral arrangement with gift box support
New year’s ball drop
Structural improvement of toy Christmas tree
