Analysis of US Patent application 20080926, Electric iron + MP3 player, and US Patent Application 20040085337, Video enhanced grave marker.
I recently came across a patent application that at first glance seems completely obvious to the extent that it could be unethical for the lawyer involved to have accepted money to file the application.
The application is 2007/218960, "Combined electric iron and audio device", and that's pretty much the invention - sticking something like an MP3 player inside the housing of an iron. Abstract and claims below. Claim 1 attempts to proclaim:
1. A combined iron and audio device, comprising:
an electric iron having a housing;
an audio device configured into the housing;
a control system for the audio device, said control system
being configured to operably control said audio device;
and a power source to power the audio device.
First question - where's the new useful synergy between the iron and the audio device, other than one of X being housed in Y? There isn't any, and most of the submitted claims deal with the functionality of the audio device, and not with any "functional" (whatever that means - the PTO
continues to illegally refuse to define the term despite using it in its examination guidelines and for rejections) interaction between the iron and the audio device.
What might a functional interaction be? For example, "... wherein the output of the audio device is connected to the heating element of the electric iron", that is, instead of the iron providing a steady level of heat, the iron's heat output is modulated by whatever music is playing.
Admittedly, that's idiotic as well, but at least its functional (a more practical version of this is Apple's upcoming patent application for a vibrator-shaped iPod :-).
But as is, I see no interaction, in particular, no new useful result. The iron still irons, the audio device still audios - the whole does not exceed the sum of its parts - there is nothing greater than expected. I argue the invention, as so claimed, flunks paragraph 101 of the US Patent law.
One claim does suggest some interaction:
10. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the power
source comprises a power converting circuit, the circuit converting
the electrical power used by the iron into a form suitable for use in
the audio device.
but then this seems completely obvious to any consumer electronics engineer - tapping a main unit's power supply to supply a secondary unit - done all the time in personal computers, with peripherals drawing power from the main power supply. So I argue this claims flunks 103. And if I search around, I suspect I can find some 102 prior art. This patent application, if it manages to somehow issue, will never be successfully asserted against anyone. Making it a waste of time and money to file.
And I argue that these claims so blatantly fail 101 and 103 that the lawyer should have refused to file the patent application on the inventor's behalf. The inventor is just wasting his money, and this application is yet one more that clogs the system to the detriment of all (though the big
companies clog the system with orders larger amounts of crap applications). I argue there are times when lawyers should refuse to file crap, explaining why to the inventor (starting with "What's the new useful result here?").
Or not. What do you think?
And this is not an isolated example. An earlier filed patent application swaps out the iron, and swaps in a tombstone:
United States Patent Application 20040085337
Video enhanced grave marker
I claim:
1. A tombstone for communicating audio and visual data related to the
deceased from the tombstone to a user, the tombstone comprising:
an indicia bearing and viewing portion;
a visual display;
an audio transmitter for communicating sound waves to a user;
data related to the deceased, the data comprising audio and visual
images of the deceased, the data stored within storage media;
and
means for reproducing the audio and visual images of the deceased
from the data related to the deceased utilizing one or more players,
readers or drivers for the one or more of the storage media.
Again, what's the new useful result achieved by the audio device being
embedded into the tombstone? Besides, there is an old episode of "Star
Trek" which has such a device, I think, an audiovisual projection of
some dead person is triggered when the Star Trek crew walked by.
United States Patent Application 20070218960
Combined electric iron and audio device
Abstract
A combined iron and audio device is described, having an audio device
incorporated into the housing of an electric iron. The audio device
can be any audio playing device (e.g., an AM/FM radio receiver, a
satellite radio receiver, a radio, cassette player, USB audio player,
and an MP3 player, etc.). The controls of the audio device may be
located on one of the exposed surfaces of the housing and/or the audio
device may be controlled by a wireless remote controller.
_________________________________________________________________
Inventors: Bernardino; Noel Nunez; (Bacolod City, PH)
Correspondence Name and Address:
BAY AREA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP, LLC
PO BOX 210459, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121-0459
_________________________________________________________________
Claims
_________________________________________________________________
1. A combined iron and audio device, comprising:
an electric iron having a housing;
an audio device configured into the housing;
a control system for the audio device, said control system
being configured to operably control said audio device;
and a power source to power the audio device.
2. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the audio
device is selected from the group consisting of an AM/FM radio
receiver, a satellite radio receiver, a radio, a cassette player, USB
audio player and an MP3 player.
3. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the control
system comprises controls, which controls include a volume control, a
on/off control, a tuning control, or a play/stop control.
4. The combined iron and audio device of claim 3, in which at least
one control of the controls is disposed in or on an exposed surface of
the housing.
5. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the control
system comprises wireless remote control receiver operable for
receiving control commands from a corresponding wireless remote
control transmitter.
6. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, further comprising
means for protecting the audio device and all its components from
water damage.
7. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, further comprising a
jack to plug in headphones and wireless headphones.
8. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the power
source is a battery.
9. The combined iron and audio device of claim 8, further comprising a
battery compartment operable for safely holding the battery in
cooperation with the housing.
10. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the power
source comprises a power converting circuit, the circuit converting
the electrical power used by the iron into a form suitable for use in
the audio device.
11. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the audio
device is located in the back side of the iron housing.
12. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, further comprising
an audio output unit that is configured to receive output audio
signals from said audio device, said audio output unit being operable
to communicate to a user audio signals based on the output audio
signals.
13. The combined iron and audio device of claim 12, in which said
audio output unit is a speaker configured into the housing such that
the audio output of the speaker can be made audible to the user.
14. The combined iron and audio device of claim 12, in which said
audio output unit is a wireless speaker configured such that the audio
output of the wireless speaker can be made audible to the user.
15. The combined iron and audio device of claim 1, in which the
control system is configured to control the audio device in response
to usage of the iron.
16. A combined iron and audio device, comprising: an electric iron
having a housing; means for configuring an audio device into the
housing; means for controlling said audio device; and means for
powering the audio device.
