Creative Solutions Come From....?

I use a small software application called "Patent Grabber" on the
Macintosh which will take a list of patent numbers and then
automatically download selected or all pages in one or more formats,
without me manually downloading myself, all from the USPTO.gov. That
program can download 50 patents in 10-15 minutes.

Other similar programs exist for the PC. www.versiontracker.com will
let you find them.

Bo

 

Patents are also the only way for a company with a small amount of
funds to try to protect and give value to their innovations.

Patent litigation insurance can be purchased.

I have had a VP of a large competitor tell me he did NOT knock off a
primary product of ours because of the patents.

Dare I jest and say, "Wake up and smell the flowers"?

I refuse to see doom everywhere.

Thanks - Bo

 

Patents are what come after the creativity to be able to justify the
capital to bring the creativity to market.

I just pointed out to a Pysicians Assistant the other day, that his
idea for combining a number of items into one would be neat and likely
possible, but that to make a sub-$2.00 disposable that had a decent
50%+ GP to get the return to pay for the upfront automation & launch
costs of about 5-10 million, the entity putting in the heavy money
would NOT do it without patent applications in place.

And for more inspiration, you can get NASA Tech Briefs for free:

http://www.nasatech.com/

It is just another of many sources that can lead to inspiration.

Bo

 

Very nice list, Ed.

Personally, my strong point is lifting ideas from other people. All of my
best ideas have been suggested to me by listening to someone else, usually
people that other engineers aren't listening to.


Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"

 

Mine usually come when I'm pedaling my bike home.

I'm also reminded that back in the old days of pencil and paper, the first
thing I would do every morning was pick up my electric eraser and erase the
previous days mistakes, which had also become obvious to me on the ride home
or in the middle of the night.

Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"

 

A big problem for me is myopia. I will get focused on one or a few aspects
of a problem and fixate on solutions that meet those criteria, whether they
are the most important or not. Usually someone else has to come along to
point out that I am missing the forest for the trees.

Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"

 

Wayne & Jerry,

I couldn't agree more. I have solved so many problems in the 10 minutes
or so between lying down and falling asleep. There have been many times
that I've gotten a sketch from a client in the afternoon or evening, and
virtually built it in my head while trying to fall asleep, so that in
the morning it's all done, I just have to now go through the motions.
It sounds crazy I know but it works for me.

Muggs

 

LOL! Yeah, I've only done that (wake up form a nap to a client on the
other end of the phone) one time. That's why I keep a pad and pencil by
my bed.

Muggs

 

I can just see the motivational speakers now saying "Earn money by
sleeping on the job as Muggs and John Layne do."

Bo

 

I remember reading some years ago about someone (like Einstein, or someone)
that found a lot of inspiration just as they were falling asleep. So to
capture that, they would hold a glass in hand such that as they fell asleep,
it would fall to the floor and awaken them. Then they would write down the
ideas that had just happened. I kind of wondered how they knew when to stop
and really get a night's sleep.

WT

 

Judging by Einstein's hair, maybe he didn't get so much sleep.

Bo

 

Interesting!
I know that Thomas Edison almost never slept more that 2 hours at a
stretch, but did that around the clock.

Muggs

 

The way I heard it was that Edison would sit down in a chair and hold a
pencil in his hand. When the pencil fell, he would get up and get back to
work. Since either Edison or Einstein would most likely have had real glass
glasses, not this plastic stuff, I find it easier to believe the pencil.

Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"