Inductive digital isolator

Looks like you have re-invented the inductive proximity sensor :-)

Dnia 25-09-2012 o 00:17:39 Joerg napisa=C5=82(= a):

Well, there were other inspirations as well. But the application area ma= y =

also matter - I don't think this was a known method for data transmissio= n, =

so it might have been patentable. Now it surely isn't ;-)

ae

My method as well... keep it _art_, but _privately_ documented.

I'm expert witness in a case right now where a heathen patented a block diagram... science fiction, then is suing now that technology has caught up with fiction :-( ...Jim Thompson

you're too late! way to late.

Jamie

"Andrzej Ekiert" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@jabba.lan:

Use an ethernet isolation transformer, they come in very small footprints and are made for the purpose (datatransmission with isolated in/out).

Not nearly as much isolation as FR-4, though -- certainly not reinforced. With that kind of isolation, you can drive IGBTs on any supply with impugnity.

Tim

You could put an LED on one side of the board and a photodiode on the other. Punch a hole in any power/ground planes to let the light through the FR4.

The only thing that matters in the patent is the "claims" section.

Incidentally, if you don't want someone to patent an idea but rather have it open source, just patent it yourself and don't enforce the patent. There is no better prior art than a patent with that prior art.

To the best of my knowledge, one cannot patent a block diagram - not even as a design patent. And design patents are essentially worthless since one minor aspect can be changed to generate a new design patent. Crudely put, the shape of a paper clip cannot be patented in a way to protect its use; change the wiggle or bend here to make a different design and thus create competition that cannot be negated by "interference".

But they did. Your patent office at its finest.

We go to court Nov 5 ...Jim Thompson

It might well be the best way to stop someone else patenting it.

But it would not be a good way to let other people use it who might want to. The mere fact that it is patented would put off most people I think. What about explicitly releasing it into the public domain? Although this seems to be discouraged for some reason. A better way might be to use one of the "open hardware" sites that are springing up.

Dnia 25-09-2012 o 03:39:18 Sjouke Burry napisa=C5=82(a):

The whole point of this method is not to use any components one needs to= =

buy. You only pay for circa 3cm2 of PCB space, so building an isolated =

data link between two microcontrollers is almost free.

Regards, Andrzej

Or just use the built in magnetometer on your iPad.

(lots of Android devices too)

Dnia 25-09-2012 o 06:15:52 miso napisa=C5=82(a):

I did talk to a patent lawyer to estimate costs involved in having =

something patented internationally. A costly hobby I would say. And if i= t =

comes to court, then a small company cannot afford to defend.

My opinion on patents is that the whole purpose of this system has been = =

circumvented in the recent decades. Patents now do not protect individua= l =

inventors. They are only useful to corporations that already have money = =

and lawyers. Also, the patent databases are polluted with useless or =

obvious "inventions". Worse - anything you do, you may fall into a paten= t =

trap. I would like to see this whole system thrown to trash.

Regards, Andrzej

On a sunny day (Tue, 25 Sep 2012 08:30:17 +0200) it happened "Andrzej Ekiert" wrote in :

Not new I think, you could do it capacitively too, 2 close PCB layers,

PIC out--- | |------ PIC in | R | ///

Before you burn all your assets, have a look at Analog Devices ADUM -series devices.

You can't patent a block diagram, per se, and it would be silly to do so. You certainly can use a block diagram in the teachings. The claims section is text, so no, a block diagram won't do there, either. Why would you want to?

Depends on what it is. Design patents certainly are worthwhile in some circumstances, like the shape of the iPhone.

Of course, it would be stupid to file a design patent when the function needs protection.

There are places to publish such things that are far cheaper than a patent.

See above.

They're certainly nice but they cost like they have part numbers starting with "LTC".