CONTEST
Competed
$3,000
This contest is closed.
Paton Paton
technologyDayan S
technologyNYC IP
technologyKrish Dev
technologyProblem
If you are new, check out our tutorial contest first, and refer to the submission notes below. The following questions will help you understand specifically what we are looking for in this study.
We request previously undiscovered prior art including products, patents and non-patent literature which can help invalidate 8,070,319 and 7,837,355 -- “Kinetic Flame Device.” This patent describes a simple, low-power mechanism for visually simulating a flickering flame.
The device creates this visual effect through chaotic motion of a pendulum driven by a time-varying electric field. It comprises a pendulum with magnetic material on one end and a reflective surface on the other, an electromagnet for generating an electric field, and a light source for illuminating the reflective surface. A simple schematic of this device is shown below.
Figure 1: Kinetic flame device of 8,070,319. Adapted from Fig.7
The pendulum is suspended from the housing of the device so that it can swing freely, with the pendulum’s magnet near the electromagnet. The electromagnet generates an electric field in which the pendulum’s magnet is either repelled or attracted. As the pendulum swings under the influence of gravity and interacts with the time-varying magnetic field, its motion is random. The reflector on the other end of pendulum also moves randomly and is illuminated by a light source, creating a flickering effect similar to that of a flickering flame.
Sources included in contest submissions should clearly describe the flame simulating device described above. Source material can include patents or patent applications filed before September 30th, 2007, or non-patent literature (for example advertisements, product documentation, technical descriptions, etc.) published before that date.
Questions
The following questions will help contestants identify and clarify the specific criteria we’re looking for, as well as help us selected winning prize entries. The winner will be the first submission to answer at least questions 1-4 and provide a clear, concise indication of where in each source we can find the pertinent support for each question answer. All sources must be clearly dated before September 30th, 2007, otherwise they will not be considered for contest prizes.
- Does this reference describe an apparatus for simulating a flame contained within a housing?
- Does the apparatus include an electrically-driven mechanism for generating a time-varying magnetic field?
- Does the apparatus include a pendulum with a magnet on one end and a reflective surface to simulate a flame on the other?
- Does the apparatus include a light source which transmits light onto this reflective surface?
- Does the apparatus include a support thread or wire on which the pendulum is freely suspended?
Questions
| # | Question | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Does the reference describe an apparatus for simulating a flame contained within a housing? | 0 |
| 2 | Does the apparatus include an electrically-driven mechanism for generating a time-varying magnetic field? | 0 |
| 3 | Does the apparatus include a pendulum with a magnet on one end and a reflective surface to simulate a flame on the other? | 0 |
| 4 | Does the apparatus include a light source which transmits light onto this reflective surface? | 0 |
| 5 | Does the apparatus include a support thread or wire on which the pendulm is freely suspended? | 0 |
Additional Notes
Selection Criteria and Prize Distribution
Patexia will evaluate each response to ensure each question has been satisfactorily answered. We will determine the contest winner and runners-up based first on the number of correct "yes" responses and second on the order responses were submitted. We will award 80% of the contest prize to the winning submission, and will distribute the remaining 20% amongst the qualifying runners up. If the winning entry was referred by another user, a $500 referral prize will be subtracted from the 80% winner's award. Winner selection is based on community responses to Patexia's research questions, and does not constitute a legal opinion on patent validity or related litigation.
Known References
The following US patents are known prior art related to ‘319 and ‘355. Please do not resubmit them. Entries relying on known references will not be considered for contest prizes.
- 2,435,811 2/1948 Waters
- 2,976,450 3/1961 Benoliel et al.
- 3,233,093 2/1966 Gerlat
- 3,384,774 5/1968 English
- 3,514,660 5/1970 Kopelman
- 3,639,749 2/1972 Beckman
- 3,681,588 8/1972 Lee
- 3,814,973 6/1974 Thouret et al
- 4,026,544 5/1977 Plambeck et al.
- 4,328,534 5/1982 Abe
- 4,477,249 10/1984 Ruzek et al.
- 4,550,363 10/1985 Sandell
- 4,551,794 11/1985 Sandell
- 4,617,614 10/1986 Lederer
- 4,777,571 10/1988 Morgan
- 4,866,580,9/1989 Blackerby
- 4,965,707 10/1990 Butterfield
- 5,097,180 3/1992 Ignon et al.
- 5,381,325 3/1995 Messans
- 5,707,282 1/1998 Clements et al.
- 6,257,755 7/2001 Sevelle
- 6,302,555 10/2001 Bristow
- 6,312,137 11/2001 Hsieh
- 6,454,425 9/2002 Lin
- 6,461,011 10/2002 Harrison
- 6,511,219 1/2003 Sevelle
- D486,924 2/2004 Skradski et al.
- 6,688,752 2/2004 Moore
- 6,712,493 3/2004 Tell et al.
- 6,757,487 6/2004 Martin et al.
- 6,953,401 10/2005 Starr
- 6,955,440 10/2005 Niskanen
- 7,080,472 7/2006 Schroeter et al.
- 7,083,315 8/2006 Hanslet et al.
- 7,093,949,8/2006 Hart et al.
- 7,111,421 Corry et al.
- 7,125,142 10/2006 Wainwright
- 7,159,994 1/2007 Schnuckle et al.
- 7,261,455 8/2007 Schnuckle et al.
- 2002/0080601 6/2002 Meltzer
- 2003/0041491 3/2003 Mix
- 2003/0053305 3/2003 Lin
- 2004/0165374 8/2004 Robinson
- 2005/0097792 5/2005 Naden
- 2005/0285538 12/2005 Jaworski et al.
- 2006/0034079 2/2006 Schnuckle et al.
- 2006/0034100 2/2006 Schnuckle et al.
- 2006/0101681 5/2006 Hess et al.
- 2008/0130266 6/2008 DeWitt et al.
- 2009/0135586 5/2009 Yang
- EP 0138786 4/1985
- JP 06052709 2/1994
- WO 8202756 8/1982
- DE 1489617 11/1965
- LittleBrightLights.com; Vaughan Safety, Inc., http://www.littlebrightlights.com/site/1435548/product/V-0101, retrieved Oct. 3, 2006.
- International Search Report PCT/US2009/054404. Aug. 20, 2009.
Submission Notes
- The contest will be open for submissions between April 2nd, 2013 and April 30th, 2013.
- All work must be prepared by a single researcher.
- Maximum of one entry per person allowed.
- If you were referred, the referral prize ($500) will be paid to the referring user from the total prize pool of $3,000.
- Entries must be in English.
- Please make sure to answer all the questions and clearly explain how the reference supports each question.
- In case you are submitting foreign references, please provide a translation of key sections.
- If your reference has already been submitted by another researcher before you or is among the known references, it will not be considered for the contest.
- Please use “Ask a Question” to post general questions or feedback about the contest to the community.
- For specific questions, you can contact us directly by email at contests@patexia.com.
- All submissions are subject to Patexia's contest legal terms. Failure to follow these rules may lead to disqualification from the contest.
