Patent US5356330 allows one of the best forms of greetings to be more effective and accurate for an individual. What the device does is assist a artificial arm and hand to perform the task of a high-five. Breaking it down to its technical components, the device is an apparatus that attaches to the upper part of the artificial arm and the artificial lower arm portion. The elbow joint allows pivoting through a secure spring. Adjustments can be made for the most effective alignment.
The purpose of the device, stated by patent owner Albert Cohen, is to allow lonely people to have something to high-five with when they are alone. This is particularly useful when watching a sports game alone, he noted.
To be honest I have never had the urge to high-five someone when I am alone. The high-five gesture is a social interaction, not something that needs to be simulated. I would not be depressed if I do not have a high-five buddy. I would be more depressed if I owned a device like this.
It seems pretty amusing the patent owner states the high-fiving could be useful when watching a game by yourself. Although I agree we may feel the need for company and some validation when we are alone, I doubt I would feel any satisfaction when I know the arm is artificial. Nonetheless, I have heard about physical interaction with other people remotely through devices which have pressure sensors and motors. Thus, we can shake hands and feel a real handshake with somebody remotely. Although that is still through a device, at least we feel a connection with another human being.
ReplyDeleteI think that while this invention may seem novel initially (who would think of creating a machine that would high-five you when you're alone?), I think that this patent may infringe on prior arts which involve prosthetics. The arm is a very common prosthetic limb and many of the functions of this high-fiving arm are also performed by a prosthetic arm. The only difficulty would be to search through the database of patents to find the exact patent for a prosthetic which has similar functionality.
ReplyDelete"I would not be depressed if I do not have a high-five buddy. I would be more depressed if I owned a device like this."
ReplyDelete^I seriously and thoroughly echo your thoughts. I really think that the staff at the USPTO need to be trained more rigorously (or maybe less rigorously) so that they are allowed to use their common sense before granting certain patents.
I actually wrote about this patent as well for one of my silly patent blogs, and found the prior art citations, which come from a variety of different sources, particularly interesting. From a self-erecting football dummy to a "doll giving particular vocal responses on movement of particular appendages", each citation seemed to come from a different industry, but I could see how they all had an effect on the patent's novelty.
ReplyDeleteThis patent is in fact quite ridiculous. I guess the invention could appeal to a small portion of the population that resonates with the inventor's need for high fiving a hand when watching games alone. But what are the chances that someone will actually experience a similar issue and feel the need to buy this product? When inventors patent these inventions, do they ever think about the existence of a market for such things? Filing a patent is expensive and it really doesn't make that much sense to me to create something that almost no one has a need for and not receive any return from it.
ReplyDelete