Weird and Wacky Engineering
Comment
Michael Lorello
Upon further review of the patent (4,455,816 issued June 26, 1984), there is a ...
peter.clarke
What were they thinking: mowing a lawn
Brian Bailey
6/15/2012 9:31 AM EDT
Child labor laws are somewhat strict in this country, but after you see how much energy kids have, it seems a shame not to try and capture it in some way. Let’s face it; they are the closest thing to perpetual motion machines that we know how to create. Yes, they require fuel quite regularly but after that they turn that fuel into a constant source of motion.
I love this patent, so it is not really a what were they thinking in that regard. This is simple and fun, but – there is one small problem! (Anyone who was at the Synopsys Primetime SIG event at DAC may remember the one small problem presentation) How do you get a small child to go up and down a lawn in nice straight lines? They are far more likely to make something like – well a childish doodle on your lawn and as for the edges – we all know that kids can’t keep within the lines! So along with having some parts of the lawn short and others long, you are potentially going to be missing a number of flowers. Perhaps this is intended more for people who have really big yards and then they can invite lots of friends over and at the end of the cycle-a-thon take a picture and sell it as artwork.
Now, I do have to take exception to the first paragraph of the disclosure. It says: An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a pedal operated mower hat does not consume fuel or make noise corresponding to engines for mowers, but provides an arrangement that is conveniently an exercise assembly for operators, both young and old.
Hmm – no fuel and no noise.
Another advantage of the present invention: operator need not be required to start an engine and to endanger pulling his arm out of socket in order to crank the mower…
Any ideas for a guidance device that we could attach to this?
Brian Bailey – keeping you covered
If you found this article to be of interest, visit EDA Designline where – in addition to my blogs on all sorts of "stuff" – you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to all aspects of Electronic Design Automation (EDA).
Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for the EDA Designline weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).
I love this patent, so it is not really a what were they thinking in that regard. This is simple and fun, but – there is one small problem! (Anyone who was at the Synopsys Primetime SIG event at DAC may remember the one small problem presentation) How do you get a small child to go up and down a lawn in nice straight lines? They are far more likely to make something like – well a childish doodle on your lawn and as for the edges – we all know that kids can’t keep within the lines! So along with having some parts of the lawn short and others long, you are potentially going to be missing a number of flowers. Perhaps this is intended more for people who have really big yards and then they can invite lots of friends over and at the end of the cycle-a-thon take a picture and sell it as artwork.
Now, I do have to take exception to the first paragraph of the disclosure. It says: An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a pedal operated mower hat does not consume fuel or make noise corresponding to engines for mowers, but provides an arrangement that is conveniently an exercise assembly for operators, both young and old.
Hmm – no fuel and no noise.
Another advantage of the present invention: operator need not be required to start an engine and to endanger pulling his arm out of socket in order to crank the mower…
Any ideas for a guidance device that we could attach to this?
Brian Bailey – keeping you covered
If you found this article to be of interest, visit EDA Designline where – in addition to my blogs on all sorts of "stuff" – you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to all aspects of Electronic Design Automation (EDA).
Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for the EDA Designline weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).
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seaEE
6/17/2012 1:03 PM EDT
Hmmm...I believe the "guidance device" would involve a lawn chair and a can of beer. :)
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bk1
6/20/2012 9:13 AM EDT
Wouldn't the gap in the blades where the chain passes through leave a strip unmowed?
Apparently I've been in design review mode too long!
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BrianBailey
6/20/2012 9:31 AM EDT
But we are talking kid power here. Have them go around again!
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MarvA
6/22/2012 9:07 PM EDT
I pushed a mower for years when I was a kid. A serious problem with the design as shown is that the RPM of the blade is the same as that of the wheels. That doesn't work.
My recollection is that the reel was always geared up at least 2x with respect to the wheels. There are obvious ways to rectify that flaw.
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JefW
6/23/2012 9:54 PM EDT
Is this really a patent? in the 20th or 21st century? If so it's an example of all that's wrong with the patent system. This is hardly innovative. This is an un-developed doodle that picks up on an idea common to every kid who ever had to stop playing and mow the lawn. These nuisance patents seem to be given more and more encouragement as the decades roll on and in so many ways they are stifling progress and innovation!
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Fabio007
6/27/2012 4:14 AM EDT
Completely agree, patents like this indicate that the patent office is not doing its job properly. Yes, this may have an inventive step (adding a grass cutter and driving mechanism to a child's bike), but seriously, who as a kid has never thought of that before, ie: where is the novelty, aka: lack of obviousness? I'm sure you could find "prior art" for this in a children's cartoon!
Of course, the true test of a patent is in a court, so if you actually start selling something like this and then get sued for infringement by the patent owner, the cost of arguing the patent is invalid in a court would be prohibitively high. Besides, the patent owner gets to chose the court and there are now many pro-patent courts which tend to dramatically favour the holders of patents to the detriment of those without the patents.
Then there is the true innovator, the scientist or engineer, slaving over a workbench for a lifetime, developing new products for his employer... who gets the benefit of that work? Not the engineer; its the owners of the company, who more often than not put in place an incompetent board that hire socio-pathic bosses who just want to hit share-price targets by firing legions of said good engineers, these bosses who then walk away massive bonuses just before the company crashes, leaving destroyed lives and wrecked companies in their wake... and then the same boss gets paid twice that amount to do the same thing to yet another unsuspecting company...!
Yes, the patent system is broken, and I don't see anyone trying to fix it. Time for all of engineers and scientists to rise to the challenge. Yes, there is money to be made in engineering, but it isn't us engineers getting any of it. Anyone up for a financial revolution?
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Michael Lorello
6/27/2012 7:57 AM EDT
Here is an EE's reply to the issues brought up by bk1 and MarvA:
Use a jack shaft driven by the pedal crank to transfer the power to the side right next to the wheel. Using two sprockets, drive the blades with a 1:1 to get the higher RPMs and a 1:3 to drive the wheels (perhaps a shaft within a shaft to allow the blades to spin faster than the drive axle, thus allowing both wheels to be driven). I suggest the 1:3 because you do not want this to be a fast vehicle, or else the grass cut quality will suffer. Now, where do I send my consulting bill? :)
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Michael Lorello
6/27/2012 8:05 AM EDT
Upon further review of the patent (4,455,816 issued June 26, 1984), there is a gear reduction using pinion gears to drive the wheels. However, I stand by my suggestion to use a jack shaft to eliminate the gapping issue.
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peter.clarke
6/27/2012 8:03 AM EDT
I met a patent engineer recently...
He pointed out that usually a patent is granted not for an obvious thing (like putting grass cutters on tricycle -- Boudicca and many Roman charioteers had thought of human cutters) but for something complex -- such as how the the chain drive copes with going in reverse or some other such item.
But he fully acknowledged that often patents are granted for technologies for which there is prior art.
He told me that patent attornies cannot know all the prior art that is out there. The result is multiple conflicting patents that have to be tested in court.
However, they only get tested if a significant market develops around the technologies.
The problem is that the situation as it stands encourages expensive patent filing and eventually the waste of large amounts of money in the global legal system.
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