Patents


Halloween is fast approaching!  Check out some of these scary sites…

“Scientists [and Engineers] — dare yourself to begin the ghoulish journey through these exciting Halloween haunted links.  Symbols of Halloween are all around, but many of these symbols are waiting for you to unlock their deeper mysteries.  Maybe along the way you’ll uncover a mysterious project that brings the science of Halloween to life for you!  Get ready … masks on … lights out … let the journey begin!”

Check out what kinds of inventions have been created over the years with a Halloween theme.

“It’s time to blow things up, create bubbling potions and cultivate the ‘ooze and ahhhh’ response…Halloween parties consist of plenty of green and glowing slime, bubbling dry ice experiments and scary sounds to scare the trick-or-treaters.”

“Soaring to the depths of our universe, gallant spacecraft roam the cosmos, snapping images of celestial wonders.  Some spacecraft have instruments capable of capturing radio emissions.  When scientists convert these to sound waves, the results are eerie to hear.  In time for Halloween, we’ve put together a compilation of elusive ’sounds’ of howling planets and whistling helium that is sure to make your skin crawl.”

If you were a famous mad scientist, which mad scientist would you be?  Take this quiz and find out!

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) offers access to their patent databases. These databases provide full-text of patents from 1976 – present and full-page images from 1790 – present.

However, printing patents from the site is cumbersome. So we often direct searchers to visit the European site that provides PDF files of U.S., European, and WIPO patents: http://ep.espacenet.com/.

Pat to PDF: If you have a U.S. patent number, this site will provide a free PDF of the patent.

Fresh Patents: This site provides access to the latest published U.S. patent applications each week before the USPTO decision to grant/deny.

Google Patent Search: This site covers the entire collection of USPTO patents—from those issued in the 1790s through those issued in the middle of 2006. It does not include patent applications, international patents, or U.S. patents issued over the last few months. See About Google Patents for searching tips.

If you have other questions about patent searching, please feel free to contact me: harvey@andrew.cmu.edu