Florida Intellectual Property Law Blog

The alternative transportation pioneer ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) has been awarded a patent as well as a trademark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its city speed electric car and truck, ZAP XEBRA.

According to an article in www.marketwire.com, XEBRA from ZAP has been designed to become a new class of affordable vehicle to fill in the growing demand for gas-free motorized transportation. Thus, ZAP takes pride in being able to present the first practical as well as cost-effective vehicle in the form of XEBRA.

According to ZAP Chairman Gary Starr, the electric cars are different from the gas cars, and this has encouraged them to bring up something with a unique approach. He further adds that users purchase the electric cars as a second car and go on to use them as a first car, while the gas cars get used occasionally.

ZAP has also planned to market fuel-efficient vehicle technologies globally through auto distributors and dealerships under the ZAP brand.

A U.S. company, AFS Trinity Power Corporation, has filed a car patent for a hybrid car recently.  AFS Trinity Power Corporation, the developers of this car has filed a patent application disclosing the concept of “Extreme Hybrid” vehicles.  The Hybrid Car can be plugged into domestic electricity supply overnight to run without ethanol or gasoline as reported in an article in www.newcarnet.co.uk. The supply would be enough for 40 miles a day normally driven by American consumers. For longer trips, the vehicle would operate as a conventional hybrid.

AFS Trinity Power has plans to build a XH drive train in collaboration with Ricardo, a UK-based company. Both the companies have signed up an agreement for mutually exclusive technology partnership to offer a combined effort to develop a plug-in hybrid technology. It is expected that with sufficient funding XH demonstration vehicles could be in the hands of fleet owners in two years and could possibly be licensed for mass production in the following year.

As a Florida patent attorney, I take an interest in news regarding Florida patent disputes and recently posted a blog regarding a Florida patent infringement lawsuit against Toyota over the Florida patent on electtric drive motor technology.

It seems the patenting of automobile innovations is in the spotlight again with Eester's innovative new ultracapacitor.   Considering the thousands of inventions getting patents issued by the U.S. patent office each year, EEStor's technology for replacement of electrochemical batteries is one of the latest hooplas to join the league. The invention is expected to bring an end to the internal combustion engine, as mentioned in an article in www.technewsworld.com   

EEStor's new product is essentially a material compressed between thousands of wafer-thin metal sheets, in a series of foil-and-paper gum wrappers stacked one on top of the other. The ultimate outcome is an ultracapacitor - battery-like device that is capable of storing and releasing energy quickly. The technology is expected to stimulate the renewable-energy sector by allowing efficient, lightning-fast storage for solar power. Further it could lo be used on a smaller scale in a flash-charge for laptops and cell phones.
   
However, the speculation and dubiety hovers over the invention, backed by the company's original claim of making batteries to obsolete. The assertion still resonates, Joseph Perry and the other researchers at Georgia Tech using the same material to double the amount of energy a capacitor can hold, claims the improvements can hardly be realized.

According to Perry, EEStor is saying a lot about how they're making these things. He feels "With these materials (described in the patent), that is a challenging process to carry out in a defect-free fashion."

Joint patenting by the Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, has earned them their first joint patent to replace the parts of the car made of lighter-weight plastic composite materials with parts made of steel. According to a New York Times Report this step facilitates the improvement of the fuel economy.

The United States Council for Automotive Research had been started last year by the Big Three automakers and according to it, the patent symbolized the first time the automakers had produced an original technology. However, the US Council for Automotive Research further adds that it could take some years before the technology is applied to auto making. According to John Fillion, an engineer for the Chrysler Corporation, at present it is not possible to make one part every two minutes, though the engineers can make use of the technology to build a part of composite material in the laboratory.

The new technology enables composite parts to form around a hollow mold without a core - this reduces their weight to 10 percent or more.

Think automotive and automobile patents and Honda Motor is sure to come to mind. Herald Tribune reported that the world's largest automobile engine maker, Honda is poised to come up with the first diesel car for complying with environmental pollution standards worldwide.  Adding to its list of patented automotive technology, the company is credited for inventing a way to curtail the smog-forming gases. This technology claims to bring about faster acceleration of diesel cars and greater fuel economy. Honda is confident that this all new technology will gain a lot of customers.

According to a U.S. patent derived from Bloomberg News, the automaker boasts of a treatment system, which makes the exhaust flow via a plasma reactor or a layer of gas containing electrically charged atoms. Through this system, hazardous Nitrogen Oxides are separated to form Nitrogen Dioxide, which is finally decreased or absorbed by silver and alkali metals. Nitrogen Oxides are responsible for causing asthma, cancer, heart and lung diseases.

Honda has plans to sell its U.S. diesel model by 2009. However, the automaker has not revealed the models that will be available with its brand new engine.

Patenting inventions have taken another big leap with the invention of a computer algorithm by the Ford Motor Company.  According to nytimes.com, this computer algorithm for a traction-control system is advanced and is expected to stop a car from spinning its wheels in case a driver steps too hard on the gas. The patent covers a chain of mathematical procedures or an algorithm, which enables a computer process to calculate the slope of the road as well as its friction.

Computerized anti-lock brakes are great for preventing a car from sliding into an uncontrollable skid. This patent invention is a more complex system, which is able to analyze the road conditions and can depict whether the wheels of the car will slip.

According to Roger May, a patent attorney for Ford, the company is scheduled to introduce the traction-control system on its 1998 or 1999 models. He further adds that 'peeling rubber' will be impossible with this system.

The automobile patent for an Intelligent Valve Actuation or IVA technology  granted to Camcon Technology was reported in engineeringtalk.com. According to the article in engineeringtalk.com, IVA is supposed to be offering a low-cost, compact, and a low power consumption mechanism, which has the ability to improve the efficiency of engine combustion. The technology will also be increasing the fuel economy and engine performance of the automobiles and will cut down the emissions from the engine.

A number of lift positions are compatible in the IVA technology and this in turn allows energy recovery for supporting low power consumption. The low seating velocities provided by the technology also makes sure that there is minimum noise and good durability. 

The technology further allows each valve of the engine to be controlled independently.

According to Ian Anderson, Chief Operating Officer, Camcon, "IVA being a riotous technology has the ability to change the car engine essentially for the first time in 90 years". The European patent has been awarded in the UK, Sweden, Portugal, France, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

Major acquisitions like Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. taking over the assets of Auto Panels Plus, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma have given a new shift to the patented automobile parts market.  Auto Panels Plus operating in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets, recorded an estimated sales of $5.0 million for the past twelve months that ended on March 31, 2007. However, the terms of transaction are yet to be disclosed as reported in an article in www.primenewswire.com

With its 136 distribution facilities (22 of them serving as regional hubs) located across 38 states as well as Canada, Keystone Automotive Industries distributes its products to the collision repair shops. Keystone's product line includes bumpers, remanufactured alloy wheels, automotive body parts, paint and other such materials used to repair a damaged vehicle.

The acquisition is expected to promote Keystone's existence in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City regions and better company's potential to offer patented quality parts and best service. Rick Keister, Chief Executive Officer of Keystone feels, ''We look forward to capitalizing on opportunities to expand our customer base in this region."

Car accessory patent for ASAR Group’s Emergency Light Blanket (ELB) is pending, as the company is all set to test market the product. According to an article in www.send2press.com, ELB made its debut in June, 2004 at the Minnesota Inventors Congress (MIC) in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. 

The product is said to be inspired by a tragedy that occurred on Interstate I-80 west of Omaha, where a man was fixing his tire along the roadside on a dark night when he was run over by a truck driver who was unable to see him. 

The ELB embossed with high intensity low energy LED lights and reflective arrows can function on a  vehicle's electrical system or a 9-volt battery. In the case of a breakdown or an accident, the ELB can be folded out , attached to the vehicle, and activated within minutes. Once lighted, it would be visible for up to three miles.                

Charles Mueller, President of ASAR Group, Incorporated plans to establish assembly and distribution centers in Nebraska in the near future to market the ELB.