System for facilitating the preparation of a patent application

• US 7,890,851 B1
• Filed: 03/19/1999
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harold W Milton Jr (Harold W Milton)
• Original Assignee: Harold W Milton Jr (Harold W Milton)
• Inventors: Milton, Harold W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): RIES, LAURIE ANNE
• Application Number:
  US09/273,021
• Time in Patent Office: 4,351 Days
• Field of Search: 715522-523, 715/507, 715/530, 715/509, 715/517, 715/533, 715/537, 715/224, 715/227, 715/243, 715/248, 715/255, 715/266, 707/530, 707/522, 707/507, 707/2, 707/7, 707/102, 704/9, 705/310
• US Class Current: 715/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

A computer program and a computer for drafting a patent application including a template memory for storing and duplicating standard headings and paragraphs of a patent and which interacts with other memories and processors to provide a structure and process to follow in preparing a patent application. An independent claim processor (12) duplicates an independent claim under the heading SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES and edits same into a grammatically correct sentence structure. A multiple claim processor (14) duplicates all of the claims under the heading DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT and edits same into grammatically correct sentence structure. A reference number processor (20) is responsive to a Figure number memory (18) for searching and adding reference numerals to the element names in the order of occurrence.

Claims

1. A method of preparing a patent application with a computer comprising the steps of:

storing a document template in a computer program which contains headings equivalent to;

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 including the steps of storing a duplicate of the independent claim in the computer program, retrieving the duplicate independent claim under the heading “

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES”

, and editing the duplicate independent claim copied under the heading “

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES”

into grammatically correct sentence structure including changing “

said”

to “

the” and

adding verbs without adding further description whereby the “

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES”

is commensurate in scope to the independent claim.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 including the step of storing each reference numeral recited in the “

CLAIMS” and

in the “

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE”

within parenthesis “

( )”

, searching and replacing each such reference number in the “

CLAIMS” and

in the “

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE”

with the corresponding stored reference number within parentheses “

( )”

.

4. A method of preparing a patent application with a computer characterized by performing the following steps:

storing a document template in a computer program which contains headings equivalent to,

5. A computer program and a computer comprising:

a template memory containing a document template containing headings equivalent to,

6. A method of preparing a patent application with a computer comprising the steps of:

storing a document template in a computer program which contains headings equivalent to;

7. The method as set forth in claim 6 including drafting the broadest independent claim ending in a novelty clause reciting and isolating the novelty and preceded by at least one clause reciting prior art elements to the extent necessary to support and provide antecedent basis for the novelty clause, storing a duplicate of the novelty clause in the computer program, retrieving the duplicate novelty clause under the heading SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION, and editing the duplicate novelty clause copied under the heading SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION into grammatically correct sentence whereby the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION is commensurate in scope to the novelty clause in the broadest independent claim.

8. The method as set forth in claim 6 wherein the step of storing the element name of the first element recited in the duplicate claim copied and edited under the DESCRIPTION heading and shown in the drawings is further defined as using a first in the series of reference numerals that is above the highest numeral used to identify a Figure in the drawings.

9. The method as set forth in claim 6 including drafting an abstract under the ABSTRACT heading, and searching for each occurrence of each element name and replacing same with the respective element name followed by the assigned reference numeral to provide a reference numeral with the occurrence of each element name recited under the DESCRIPTION and CLAIMS and ABSTRACT headings.

10. The method as set forth in claim 9 including automatically adding parenthesis ( ) about each reference numeral recited in the CLAIMS and ABSTRACT headings.

11. A computer program and a computer comprising:

a template memory containing a document template containing the headings equivalent to;

12. A computer program and a computer as set forth in claim 11 including a Figure number memory for receiving and storing the highest Figure number used to identify Figures of the drawings, said reference number processor being responsive to said Figure number memory for replacing the occurrence of the first recited element name in said duplicate claim with said respective element name followed by the first number ending in zero following the highest Figure number to provide identifying reference numerals for said element names in the order of occurrence in said duplicate claim under the DESCRIPTION heading to avoid duplicating a Figure number as a reference numeral.

13. A computer program and a computer as set forth in claim 11 including a subprocessor for automatically searching for each occurrence of each element name and replacing same with the respective element name followed by the assigned reference numeral with the occurrence of each element name recited under the CLAIMS and ABSTRACT headings along with adding reference numerals to the element names recited under the DESCRIPTION heading.