edison innovation foundation

1

Prepared by:Harry T. Roman

Educational Consultant, Teacher and Inventor

© Charles Edison Fund, 2009

Presented by:Charles Edison Fund

Edison Innovation Foundation

2

Chairman’s Letter...........................................................................................................................3

Part I--About the Invention/Disclosure Notebook.....................................................................4-7

Background............................................................................................................4

What is an Invention Disclosure/Notebook?................................................................5

Why is an Invention Disclosure/Notebook Important?................................................6

What This Invention Notebook Will do for Your Students..................................7

Part II--Learning More..............................................................................................................7-9

Patents and What They Are...........................................................................................7

Commercializing Your Patents.......................................................................................8

Learn More About Thomas Edison.............................................................................................10

Part III--The Invention Notebook..........................................................................................11-12

Some Tips to Using the Invention Notebook................................................................11

Some Invention Challenges to Get Student Creativity Rolling!.................................12

Getting Started........................................................................................................................13-55

1)UnderstandingandDefiningtheProblem................................................................13

2) Solving the Problem..................................................................................................15

About the Author / EIF..................................................................................................................56

3

Invention drives our economic engine as entrepreneurs convert their raw ideas into useful and practical new products. Over 60% of the annual growth of the U.S. economy is directly attributable to advances in science and technology. This invention notebook will help students understand how inventors studiously develop their ideas. The booklet is designed for classroom use by teachers, as well as individual student and home school learning and experimentation.

If Thomas Edison were alive today, he would be an ardent enthusiast of teaching the invention process to young folks. He was the world’s greatest inventor. His name is synonymous with creativity and innovation. Thomas Edison not only recognized opportunity, he created it. As the man responsible for the invention of the motion picture, recorded sound, power generation and the light bulb, and the creation of the first extensive R&D facility, he has arguably created more value than any other single human in history. It has been said that Edison is responsible for anywhere from 3% to 5% of the world’s GNP, over $500 billion for the U.S. alone. Two scientific discoveries in his laboratories later led directly to radio and modern electronics, paving the way for today’s telecommunications boom.

So join us in this spirit of Thomas Edison. Students can now plan and organize their thoughts into tomorrow’s practical products. Have fun and learn!

The Charles Edison Fund (“CEF”), incorporated in 1948 by Charles Edison was, and continues to be, an endowed philanthropic institution dedicated to the support of worthwhile endeavors generally within the areas of medical research, science education and historic preservation. It both operates programs and makes grants to support these endeavors. Since its inception CEF has served as an extension of the benefactions and aspirations of its Founder, a man of discerning foresight, rare achievement and background. The undersigned, as Chairman and President of CEF, committed the funding to create and print this booklet.

The Edison Innovation Foundation (EIF), a sister organization to CEF, is a not-for-profit organization that supports the Edison legacy and encourages students to embrace careers in science and technology.

You can learn more about Thomas Edison and how to support our non-profit efforts through our website at www.charlesedisonfund.org and www.thomasedison.org.

John Keegan Chairman & President, Charles Edison Fund Chairman & President, Edison Innovation Foundation

4

Throughout his phenomenally productive and creative life, Thomas Edison followed four basic principles, enumerated by his mother and home educator:

Read across the entire panorama of literature, not just technical things;•Learn from life as well as books;•Always keep trying in spite of failures-learn from failure; and,•Never stop learning-keep improving yourself.•

Many photos show Edison at various stages of his life busily recording his experimentsandideasinhislaboratorynotebooks.Infact,Edisonfilledabout4,000 laboratory notebooks, the legacy of which is now being analyzed by scholars and technology historians. This was in addition to many other written documents, the combined total of which produced a written legacy in excess of 5 million written documents.

Thomas Edison’s rich and productive life, 1847-1931, marks the emergence of the U.S. from an agricultural society to an industrialized world power. The greatinventorhelpedpositionourcountryforaninnovationfilledfuture.His 1093 inventions paved the way for recorded sound, the electric light bulb and utility industry, motion pictures, and so important of all….a process of industrial research and development that are literally the blueprints for

perpetuating the industrial revolution, right to this day. Today, his past accomplishments are responsible for contributing over $500 billion to our GNP.

Anticipating an information rich world like we have today, a full century before its coming, the great inventor had a profound understanding of the importance of information in technological innovation and marketing. So visceralwasthisappreciationofinformation,thatEdisonplacedhisofficerightinhisspaciouslibraryinhislegendary West Orange labs, in West Orange, NJ. Experts believe this may have been the birth of the corporate research library. The library in combination with a vast array of skilled human talent gave Edison an incredible advantage in the business world. He knew that:

The laboratory notebooks of Edison were the basic repository of his raw ideas and organized knowledge in the form of experiments and analysis.

5

His staff would add the know-how and marketing thrust to bring his visions to light. It was a potent combination that brought the Edison name worldwide recognition.

As the newly renovated West Orange Laboratories are set to re-open in the Spring of 2009, we are reminded how this site is the “mother-ship” of American technological prowess. All this sprang from the careful writings andnotebooksofanunusualmid-westernfarmboy,whosefirstloveswerechemistryandtelegraphy.Howfortunate we are to have his quintessential labs so carefully preserved for viewing by the public. There are enduring lessons to be learned here, among the very artifacts he touched and created.

******************************************************************************************

Simply stated, an invention notebook is a chronologically kept diary of the inventor’s ideas, experiments, analyses, and ruminations of the development of an invention. There is no limit as to the size or number ofvolumescomprisingaspecificinvention.Itmaybeasinglepage,asingle book, or a body of many volumes. When Edison developed his nickel-iron storage battery, it required 10,000 experiments, so we can imagine how many notebook volumes were involved. Some inventions can be discussed and clearly explained on as little as the back of a napkin.

Think of it this way, an invention disclosure is the central kernel of a new invention….. sort of like a super abstract, written clearly and concisely,orperhapsportrayedinadefinitivediagram,schematic,orillustration. It captures the uniqueness and non-obvious nature of the invention.Itmayrequiresomeadditionaldocumentationtofullyfleshit out so a patent application may be written.

For a complex invention, invention notebooks are often used, especially if a period of experimentation and laboratory work is necessitated to initially formulate the invention disclosure. Invention notebooks are usually chronologically assembled with all pages intact. This notebook articulates the idea or creation and “reduces it to practice”.

When people discuss a reduction to practice it means that all the technical details of how to make the invention are described. A patent is essentially a full disclosure document describing how others may replicate the invention. It is formalized know-how, a blueprint that others may follow to do what the creative individual has done. In exchange for this public disclosure, the creator is given, through the granting of a patent, a monopoly on producing and commercializing their creation for a designated period of time, typically 20 years from the timethepatenthasbeenappliedforthroughtheU.S.PatentOffice.

6

Within an invention notebook, pages may be crossed out or sections of them crossed out, but the chronological trail of documentation traces the thinking of the inventor, the evolution of the invention, establishing that inventor’s own unique trail of development of an idea into an invention, its reduction to practice.

Ideally, each page of an invention disclosure or notebook should be counter-signed and dated by colleagues and co-workers to validate the time-stamp of the author’s work; and to provide legal witnesses to the work. Witnesses to important events and document signings is a long-accepted standard for such things as notarized forms, contracts, marriages, and wills. By counter-signing an invention disclosure or notebook, witnesses attest to the validity of the work, their understanding of it, and its proper place in the timeline of invention.

Integral to an invention notebook are diagrams, sketches, schematics, line drawings, and other graphic materials that embellish and augment the invention and its development. Laboratory data, experiment descriptions, analysis of the results, and discussions and conclusions should also be included. Actually, the more relevant information that can be included the better, as it strengthens the case supporting the inventor’s work.

******************************************************************************************

An invention disclosure or notebook establishes the priority of the work of an inventor, documenting that inventorasthebonafidecreatorofthatwork.Aninventiondisclosureornotebookisalegaldocumentandassuchhasstandinginacourtoflawintheeventotherinventorschallengeaninventor’spriorityinafieldof invention. Patent attorneys refer to the information contained in an invention notebook or disclosure as intellectual property. The inventor adds value to a raw idea by bringing her creativity, knowledge, insight and understanding of the problem to be solved…..as well as the potential markets to be served by the invention.

An invention notebook or disclosure formalizes and organizes an inventor’s work. As such, it is the primary document used in a patent argument to settle which inventor did indeed embody the main principles of the invention, when they did accomplish this work, and how they reduced the invention to practice. Any inventor who has been in the position of defending her patent in a lawsuit knows how valuable a well-kept invention notebook or a patent disclosure can be. Patent lawsuit challenges can easily run into the millions of dollars just for the attorneys involved and court-related costs.

******************************************************************************************

7

With so much emphasis on integrating the curriculum, teachers are always striving to teach students how to integrate their learning. The invention process is an ideal way to accomplish this. Inventors must think across the fabric of society when transforming raw ideas into new products. They must confront how their creations might impact the environment, the economy, society, the safety of the user, and global cultures. Inventing is a multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional problem solving activity. Invention notebooks capture the data, knowledge, and information that will be needed to address the invention problem solving activity. It is very similar to how scientists keep notebooks of their experiments, with the added dimension of the marketing implementation of the new product.

Teaching your students how to keep an invention notebook will:

Foster better communication skills as they strive to make their writing clear and concise;•Build organization and planning skills as they think and logically plan their work and •activities;Givethemafirsthandappreciationofthedisciplineandprocessbehindinventionand•organized creativity;Motivate them to learn more about inventions and inventors; and,•Infuse a disciplined approach to thinking and reasoning.•

Use this invention notebook as a means to foster better understanding of patents and how they have changed our world and continue to do so. Encourage students to investigate such things as…….

HowdidtheU.S.PatentOfficestart,andwhy?•Why do inventors seek to gain patents?•How does having a patent increase the inventor’s ability to sell his ideas, and products?•How long does a patent stay in force?•How long does it take to receive a patent?•How many patents have been given?•Who can obtain a patent?•Who are some of our greatest living inventors?•Are there inventors in your neighborhood that you can invite to come to class and talk •about their inventions? How and why did they create their inventions? What are utility patents, design patents, and plant patents? •How are they similar and different?•

8

Encouragestudentstoresearchpatentstolearnhowtheyareconstructedandwritten;andwereinfluencedbyearlier patents. This can be done easily at http://www.uspto.gov and http://patft.uspto.gov/.Here students can search patents about everyday common products, or even complex technological systems. Have them take a look at patented items like:

Jeans•Electric guitars•iPod devices•Computers•Hybrid vehicles•Solar collectors•GPS navigation systems•

all the things they see everyday in their world.

Once they become accustomed to learning about patents and reading their technical jargon and appreciating their format and layout style, then students may research other types of patents like design patents and plant patents.

Here are some websites that can help promote an understanding of patents.http://www.google.com/patentshttp://www.njinvent.org/http://nationalinventors.com/http://www.nmoe.org/gallery/index.htmhttp://www.invent.org/http://inventors.about.com/od/competitionsprize/Student_Programs_for_Invention_Funding.htmhttp://www.eduplace.com/science/invention/resources/real_inventions.htmlhttp://www.ih.k12.oh.us/MSHERRMANN/Invent2.htmhttp://www.noogenesis.com/inventing/kids/kids_page.htmlhttp://inventors.about.com/od/kidinventions/Inventions_Made_By_Kids.htm

******************************************************************************************

In many ways, once a patent is obtained, the very real work of convincing the marketplace that your product is worthwhile far overshadows the work to obtain the patent. In fact, seasoned entrepreneurs and business people estimate that 90% of the cost of new product development is attributable to getting the product to market. Thismeanstheinventormustknowtheuphillfightassociatedwithmakingthemarketwanttheproduct.Onlyabout 2-3% of all the patents issued ever really become a big success in the marketplace. Experiencing success requires lots of hard work and money. This is where the investors in your invention efforts come into play.

9

Think about some of the costs associated with commercializing a new product:Marketing studies and economic analyses•Consultant costs•Advertising•Appearances at trade shows, expositions, conferences ... etc.•Travel costs to visit potential customers and investors•Manpower costs for sales agents and reps•Packaging and branding for the new product•Safetyandenvironmentaltestingbycertifiedagenciesifnecessary•Compliance with state and federal standards and regulatory requirements•Start-up costs for a new organization to manage the sales and production•Protecting and defending patents against infringers.•

These are just some of the costs facing the inventor with a dream of large scale commercialization. It is something an inventor does not enter into blindly. Much thought and planning goes into transforming an invention into an innovation. Ideally, early market assessment work should be performed during the conception anddesignoftheoriginalinvention,todeterminefirstandforemostifthereisarealneedfortheproductbeingenvisioned.

It can be disastrous to invent something without any understanding of the marketplace, in the vain hope that people automatically will want it. This often is a major reason why inventions fail. Successful inventors do not invent because they can, but because there is a strong economic incentive to do so. They take the time to understandthemarketandwhatitneeds.Theirinventionfulfillsthatmarketneed.

Here are some websites that can help with understanding how to commercialize patentshttp://edisonnation.com/http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/inventing/inventionscolumnisttamaramon osoff/article179084.htmlhttp://www.rqriley.com/new-prod.htmhttp://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/05/25/focus1-Rapid-market-adoption-for-new-product-development.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/how_107742_market-invention.htmlhttp://www.business.com/directory/advice/startup/getting-started-basics/getting-your-invention-to-market/http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-article-a-41032-m-4-sc-25-should_you_license_or_manufacture_your_invention-ihttp://www.inc.com/guides/solo_business/invention-to-market.html

10

Here is a fun list of great reads about the famous inventor, spanning the ages from adults to young readers. Many of the earlier published works noted here have been updated and re-printed in paperback form as well. Check with your local bookseller or the Internet for updates, and even more reads about the great man. Better yet, visit the famous West Orange Laboratories in New Jersey and see the world’s greatest intact collection of Edison artifacts; and learn how he put them to use creating our modern world. See the website about the West Orange laboratories at the end of this section, and view information for visiting or contacting the site. School and group visits can be accommodated.

Baldwin, Neil; “Edison, Inventing the Century”; Hyperion, 1995.Conot, Robert; “Thomas A. Edison-A Streak of Luck”, Da Capo Press, Inc., 1979.Cook, James G.; “Edison-the man who turned darkness into light”; Thomas Alva Edison Foundation, 1978.Freidel, Robert and Israel, Paul; “Edison’s Electric Light: Biography of an Invention”; Rutgers University Press, 1986.Josephson, Mathew; “Edison”; McGraw-Hill, 1959McCormick, Blaine; “At Work with Thomas Edison”; Entrepreneur Press,2001.Millard, Andre; “Edison and the Business of Innovation”; John Hopkins University Press, 1993.Melosi, Martin; “T. A. Edison and the Modernization of America”; Scott Foresman & Co., 1990.Musser, Charles; “Thomas A. Edison and His Kinetographic Motion Pictures”, Rutgers University Press, 1995.Pretzer, William: “Working at Inventing: Thomas A. Edison and the Menlo Park Experience”; John Hopkins University Press, 2002.Stross, Randall E.; “The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World”, Three Rivers Press, 2008.

Adair, Gene; “Thomas Alva Edison-Inventing the Electric Age”, Oxford University Press, 1996.Burgan, Michael; “Thomas Alva Edison-Great American Inventor”, Compass Point Books, 2007.Dooling, Michael; “Young Thomas Edison”, Holiday House, 2005.Lewis, Floyd A.; “The Incandescent Light”, Shorewood Publications, Inc., 1961Palmer, Arthur J.; “Edison-Inspiration to Youth”; Thomas A. Edison, Inc., West Orange, NJ, 1954.Probst, George F. (Editor); “The Indispensable Man”, Shorewood Publications, Inc., 1962.

http://www.nps.gov/edis/home.htm (Edison National Historic Site - in West Orange, New Jersey)http://www.charlesedisonfund.org/ (The Charles Edison Fund)http://www.thomasedison.org/ (The Edison Innovation Foundation)

11

The pages that follow contain a format for an invention notebook that each student will use to document their creativity and idea generation. Students should pay strict attention to neatness and careful description of their idea(s). They should make every effort to make contributions to this notebook daily and may also record their ideas even when home in the evening.

Students should become disciplined to take their notebook with them after school in case an idea comes at a relaxed moment…..as it may often do. Creativity is not on a time clock, and it can be promoted by certain actions. There are ways to relax the mind to make it more receptive to the introduction of new ideas and concepts.Differentfolksfinddifferentwaystomaketheirmindsmoreopen.Hereareafewsuggestions.

Take a long walk.•Play some sports and then shower and rest.•Listen to music.•Do some chores.•Make the creative problem into a humorous situation.•Make paper models of the problem/challenge to be solved.•Make a poem about the problem/challenge or a short story.•Toss the problem/challenge around with friends or classmates.•Watch a movie or play.•

Many inventors and designers have their own tricks when they encounter a mental roadblock. Perhaps your students might enjoy researching how creativity and invention can be promoted?

Students should remember that when keeping this notebook:

They must sign it every time they make an entry or add to it.•All work should be neat, as others are going to have to read their work and countersign •and date it.Entries must be chronological.•No pages are to be torn out or thrown away.•If mistakes are made, do not erase, but rather run a line through all parts that are not •relevant or cross out a diagram.

******************************************************************************************

12

Students enjoy a project challenge where they can let their imaginations soar and are free to be creative. Challenge them to develop ideas and inventions that solve everyday problems, and which people will want and use in their lives. Here is a starter list to get your thinking going. There is nothing wrong with polling your students to see what they would like to try and design. Have fun! Let students work in teams if they so desire. Remember, teams can be 10-12 times more creative than individuals.

Create a wheelchair that a disabled person can sit in that will automatically move them around a house, •taking them where they want to go without having to drive or steer.

How can police stop a stolen vehicle without having to dangerously chase the occupants along city •streets?

What uses can your students conceive for recycling old plastic soda bottles?•

Design a lightweight backpack that can be used by students to carry their schoolbooks.•

Select a real problem that exists in your local community, and unleash your students to try and •creatively solve it.

Design a medical emergency kit that can be easily carried in a hiking backpack.•

How can we recycle the massive amounts of old tires that clog our dumps and junkyards?•

What technologies can we use to bring health-giving electricity to isolated and rural communities in •developing nations?

Why not develop a paint that can be applied to a home to let the house generate electricity when the •sun shines on it?

Onceastudentorteamofstudentsdecideonaprojectchallengetheywillworkon,theyshouldfilloutpages13and 14 to begin organizing their thoughts.

Page 15 begins the notebook and all pages after that are duplicates of page 15, so students can keep a running hand written/printed log or invention diary of their work. Any drawings or diagrams they make can be done directly onto the pages or done separately and pasted into the notebook. Don’t forget to have the student(s) sign their daily entry!

******************************************************************************************

13

1)UnderstandingandDefiningtheProblem

a) What is the Problem I am Trying to Solve?

b) What do I Know About This Problem?

c) What Don’t I Know About This Problem?

d) Where Can I go to Get More Information About the Problem?

14

e) Has Anyone Tried to Solve This Problem Before and What Was Learned?

f) Are There Any Design or Other Limitations I Must be Careful of When Developing My Own Solution to This Problem?

g) Other Thoughts?

15

Here are my thoughts, ideas, and sketches shown below...

Signed and Dated by the Inventor ________________________________________________________

16



17



18



19



20



21



22



23



24



25



26



27



28



29



30



31



32



33



34



35



36



37



38



39



40



41



42



43



44



45



46



47



48



49



50



51



52



53



54



55

2) Solving the ProblemHere are my thoughts, ideas, and sketches shown below...


56

Harry T. Roman is a retired engineer, teacher, and inventor. He holds 10 U.S. Patents and has written and published over 475 papers, articles, and scientific essays, including 34 books and teacher resource/experiment booklets. His feature educational articles for teachers and students appear in Highlights for Children, The Technology Teacher, Techdirections, TIES, and Interface. His books have been published by Kelvin Publishing, Hearlihy/PITSCO, Nasco, PublishAmerica, Professional Publications, Inc., Gifted Education Press, and the Charles Edison Fund. Harry now serves as an educational consultant to the Edison Innovation Foundation. For the Foundation he has recently authored a seven volume resource book series for teachers about the application of alternate energy technologies. He is also a literary writer with over 800 poems, short stories, and 7 books published; and also recently published 4 new educational math games.

The Edison Innovation Foundation (EIF) was founded in 1996 as a non-profit operating foundation to preserve and promote the legacy of Thomas Edison, especially his historic laboratories at West Orange, NJ. The mission of EIF has evolved to include educational outreach programs tailored to inspire teachers, students, women, and minorities to pursue or continue careers in science, engineering, and technology.

Charles Edison FundRiverfront Plaza

1037 Raymond Blvd.STE # 340

Newark, NJ 07102www.thomasedison.org

edison innovation foundation

Documents