12.5 Patent Applications
371
Only a perfect product will never change, and there is no such thing as a perfect product.
■
A change in the customers’ requirements necessitating the redesign of part of the product.
■
A change in material or manufacturing method. This can be caused by a lack of material availability, a change in vendor, or to compensate for a design
error. To make a change in an approved configuration, an Engineering Change Notice
ECN, also called an Engineering Change Order ECO, is required. An ECN is an alteration to an approved set of final documents and thus needs approval
itself. As shown in the example in Fig. 12.3, an ECN must contain at least this information:
■
Identification of what needs to be changed. This should include the part number and name of the component and reference to the drawings that show
the component in detail or assembly.
■
Reasons for the change.
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Description of the change. This includes a drawing of the component before and after the change. Generally, these drawings are only of the detail affected
by the change.
■
List of documents and departments affected by the change. The most impor- tant part of making a change is to see that all pertinent groups are notified
and all documents updated.
■
Approval of the change. As with the detail and assembly drawings, the changes must be approved by management.
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Instruction about when to introduce the change—immediately scrapping current inventory, during the next production run, or at some other milestone.
12.5 PATENT APPLICATIONS
In Chap. 7, patent literature was used as a source of conceptual ideas. During the evolution of a product, new ideas, ones not already covered by patents, are
sometimes generated and a patent application developed. Just about any device or process that is new, useful, and not obvious is
patentable. In obtaining a patent, the inventor is essentially entering into a con- tract with the U.S. government, as provided for in the Constitution. The inventor
is granted an exclusive right to the idea for 20 years from the filing date.
1
In many cases, the contract is between the inventor’s employer—called the
1
Prior to 1995 patents were good for 17 years from the date of issue.
372
CHAPTER
12 Wrapping Up the Design Process and Supporting the Product
Engineering Change Notice
Design Organization: Date:
Subject of Change:
Reason for Change:
Description of Change include drawings as attached pages as needed:
Impact of change: Team member:
Bill of Materials Team member:
Team member: Team member:
Prepared by: Checked by:
Approved by: The Mechanical Design Process
Designed by Professor David G. Ullman Copyright 2008, McGraw-Hill Form 26.0
Figure 12.3 Engineering change notice.
“assignee”—and the government. Most employers require engineers to sign an agreement that says all ideas belong to the employer, thus most engineers names
appear as assignee. In return for receiving a patent, the inventor must make full public disclosure
of the idea through the publication of the patent. This system enables all of society to benefit from the idea and still protects the inventor.
12.5 Patent Applications
373
Patents give you bragging rights and a license to litigate. In reality, a patent is only as good as the inventor’s ability to enforce it.
In other words, if the holder of a patent is not capable of suing a party that is infringing on that patent, then the patent is virtually useless. Since lawsuits can
be extremely expensive, an individual or company holding a patent must decide whether it is better business to allow the infringement or to litigate. Being an
assignee to a patent owned by a large organization has a positive benefit when it is necessary to enforce a patent.
Whether applying for a patent or not, it is a good idea to write a disclo- sure
whenever a new, potentially patentable idea is developed. A disclosure is description of the idea that is signed, dated, and witnessed. The description of
the idea should be in terms of specific claims. Claims describe the new or unique utility or function of the device. A disclosure serves as a legal statement of when
the idea was first conceived.
There are essentially two types of patents: design patents and utility patents. Design patents
relate only to the form or appearance of the article. Thus, there are many design patents for the basic toothbrush, since each toothbrush has a different
appearance. Utility patents, on the other hand, protect utilitarian or functional aspects of the idea. The patent discussion in Chap. 7 and here pertains only to
utility patents. Utility patents are given for processes, machines, manufacturing techniques, or composition of matter.
Applying for a patent is time-consuming but not overly expensive. The pro- cedure outlined in Fig. 12.4 shows the steps involved, whether the application is
done by an individual or through a lawyer. The first step is the preparation of the specification or prospectus role in the
document that becomes the patent. The basic parts of the specification are shown in Fig. 12.5. When preparing a specification, it is best to seek help from a patent
lawyer or reference a book with details for writing claims and the proper patent format. Within three months of receiving the patent application, the patent office
will acknowledge its submission and accept the application for consideration. The term “patent applied for” can be used after the specification is accepted. The
term “patent pending,” often seen on products, has no legal meaning.
The second phase of the patent process begins after the application is filed. The patent office assigns the application to an examiner familiar with the state
of the patent art in the area of the application. This examiner then reviews the application and searches the patent literature. This initial study of the application
and the subsequent iteration with the applicant takes months or even years. Seldom does the examiner accept the first application outright. It is more likely that he or
she objects to the document itself or to the specification or rejects one or more of the claims.
Problems with the document usually stem from not following the rigid style required of patent text and drawings. Problems with the specification concern
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