Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Past and Future of U.S. Patent Drawings

Today, Wired featured a great article about the artistic de-evolution of patent drawings.
Some of these images were just too unique and beautiful to pass up.


Read the article here.


From the article:




Flying Machine, 1869

This drawing of a flying machine shows great detail in the man’s hair and even his arm muscles. The rear perspective of the man even shows the edge of his mustache and the slight appearance of eyebrow hair. How’s that for attention-to-detail?
Of course, the patented invention itself is drawn with care, showing exactly how a person would fit inside the flying machine, and where strings attach to his body. The drawing also has the advantage of using color to show different types of material -- from wood to metal to the cloth on the wings. Eventually, the USPTO enforced a rule that patent drawings must be done with black ink in order to make them easier to reproduce. Even today, applicants can only submit a color drawing if they file a petition and pay an extra fee.

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