coming soon to a school near you - my invention!

When I last posted about my invention, I bore glad tidings.
The Utility Patent application had been filed and time was marching on.
Then, the recent government shutdown mandated by our current President slowed that progress to a standstill.
Now, bear in mind that an application usually takes about one year to be processed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
However, I now have proof positive that my application is still in the works!
In early February of this year, I received the USPTO's Updated Filing Receipt from my attorney, Aaron Cramer - in the mail, no less, so I could hold it in my hands and feel the realness of it!
Yes, indeed, proof positive!
That means I can talk about my periodic table!
I've stated doing that very thing on its website, making my first blog post there.
I must say, writing there truly did make this more real for me...
not just a dream, but something that is going to happen.

This is the Periodic Table of the Representative Elements which I first created in the summer of 2016. I did so for my blind student, who first used it for the exam on June 16, as well as all other exams that semester.
I was trying to enable that student to have available the same resources given to the other students for their test.
My mother and father would be so very proud of my accomplishment!
Now, I should make copies of the Updated Filing Receipt and share it with my investors, those people who have had faith in my invention for the past two years, giving me not only their support, but also their money.
I am so blessed to have these living angels.

utility patent for my invention has been filed!

Hallelujah!
For the last five months of hard work, emails have been flying back and forth between me and Cramer Patent & Design.
But, good news!
The finalized Utility Patent application has been e-filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office... and well before the August deadline!
That includes fifteen pages of the application itself, five pages of drawings, one page of addendum, one page for an oath, and four pages for the power of attorney for Aaron Cramer to represent me to the USPTO.
I must say, this has certainly been a learning experience for me.
Trying to explain an educational tool for blind and low-visioned students to a group of people who have full sight has certainly been a daunting task...
but, worth it.
Yes, it's been worth every minute, every hour, every day.
I had hoped for my invention to be available to students this coming academic year.
That will probably not be the case, given that August 2018 is a mere two months away.
That's fine... August of 2019 for its launch will be fabulous!
Hold on, chemistry students of the world - it's coming to you soon!

speed bump for my invention

Exactly one month ago, I had submitted the initial paperwork to Montgomery Patent & Design to go forward with the application for the Utility Patent for my invention.
Then, I had received a letter that shook me deeply.
The US Trade & Patent Office required that Bob Montgomery, the man behind For Sale By Inventor as well as Montgomerty IP Associates, separate himself from my patent application.
Oh, no! What did that mean???
Did I need to start this process anew and with a stranger at the helm?
Gratefully, that was not the case.
His assistant, Aaron Cramer, would be forming Cramer Patent & Design and I would simply be transferred to him and his firm.
As Mr. Cramer has been the one I've been working with for much of this process, then I should see no changes in progress of my application.
A new letterhead would be the most marked difference in operation.
What a relief!
And progress marches onward!
I do hope students will soon be able to have this educational tool at hand!

periodic table goes video!

Today is the first day of classes for 2018 and I realized that I had not yet shared some news here about my invention.
Sure, I had posted an update last month, but not about the video.
Why had I omitted that from my talk of my Periodic Table for the Visually Impaired?
I have no idea.
After all, now that my invention for chemistry students is officially Patent Pending, I can freely talk of it.
So, with no further ado, here's the scoop:
I now have a marketing video to let the world know about it!
I truly could not be more pleased with it!
I had been working with For Sale By Inventor on this one video since November 10 of last year.
The process has been akin to "Goldilocks And The Three Bears".
The first video was definitely not the one for me. For the voice-over, they had chosen a young woman whose tone had not been correct for such a serious piece. having been wed for fifteen years to a radio man, I had explained and they had tried again for me.
The second video, on December 11th, had a male voice which was much better suited for my periodic table! That's when I noticed that my name was listed oddly and someone in their graphics division had added Braille dots on the images. So, that bowl of porridge was not quite right, either.
(smile)
But the one completed right before Christmas was just right!
Good pacing by the male vocalist, images dot-free, and my name not catawampus - beautiful!
As well as being posted on FSBI's page for me, I have it right here, too!
That's a little inside joke to my bfe, the physicist.
(smile!)
The Elements of Touch Periodic Table is the new name I devised, too.
I very much like it!
Not only does it appeal to my tactile nature, but the name also has chemistry built in!
The folks at FSBI also thought it was rather clever.
(smile!)

provisional patent for my invention: done!

My invention is officially protected by the USPTO!
Their Filing Receipt has assigned my application the number 62/547,390.
The "62" denotes that it is a Provisional Patent, which means that they are awaiting the Utility Patent to be filed by August 18, 2018, i.e., within a year of this filing date.
I had truly hoped to have the Provisional Patent application filed by my birthday, which was May 29.
That did not occur.
However, because of one delay or another, I did have time to make an addendum to my Periodic Table for the Visually Impaired.
The original invention did not include the Transitional Elements, nor the Lanthanides and Actinides.
As of a few months ago, the Transitional Elements are reunited with the Representative Elements!
I am so happy for them... and for the future students, both blind and sighted, who will be using this educational tool.
Of course, I can include another addendum for those f-block elements, usually shown in two rows below all of the others.
Those will be useful for studying radioactive elements, for those chemistry courses which include that topic.
However, they are not even necessary then, as there are plenty of Representative Elements, including Carbon-13 and Iodine-131, for the discussion of different types of nuclear emissions.
I am so excited for future students - and the teachers, too!

d subsection for my invention!

Late last night (or early this morning), I finally made an addendum for my invention, the Periodic Table for the Visually Impaired. Honestly, I had meant to do so weeks ago, but... well, let's just say I've been enjoying the time off since the spring semester ended.
(smile)
As timing seems to work for me, the readying of my invention for the Industrial Patent application fell just before I went on Barbara's mountain vacation. By the time the kinks were worked out a week ago Friday, Bob Montgomery of MIPA went on his vacation.
I hadn't known that part.
So, I returned last Tuesday thinking that things were rolling along.
But they were, instead, at a standstill.
That was really to my benefit.
Without those extra few days, I would not have had a more complete product to be patented.
i thank You, God.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
So, here is what I emailed (at 1:18 AM today) to Stephanie, my caseworker at MIPA.

"Stephanie,

I am again bringing up what I had written before,

'On page 2, line 26, it is specified - correctly - that "The device 10 provides a type of periodic table of elements (minus the Transitional elements) having features particularly suited for a visually impaired user."
Perhaps a line could be added that "The Transitional Elements can be added to 10 in the future, as a temporary attachment at fold line 50b. The attachment would be composed of the same materials as on 10. The Lanthanides and Actinides can be added to 10 in the future, as well, as a temporary attachment under fold line 50c."
I think that would add further protection, as it would extend the Patent to include an entire representation of the known Periodic Table.
Thoughts on that?'

This week, I have created the addendum with the Transitional Elements, for the "d" energy sublevel. It consists of four rows and ten columns, as well as a deliberately blank space on the left. (Please refer to Figure1-TransE.)

I designed the addendum to be able to be folded for storage within the hanging folder embodiment, as shown in Figure2-TransE and Figure3-TransE.

The fold line is located between the fourth and fifth column of the addendum. (The blank space on the left is not counted as a column.)

Rather than have it attach to the Periodic Table, the addendum can be simply inserted. The addendum has a deliberately blank space which is four inches in width along its left side. When the left edge of the addendum is against fold line 50a (of the Figure MIPA already created), and the lower edge of the addendum is aligned with the bottom of the Periodic Table, then the addendum is in perfect position and will extend over the right side of the Periodic Table. (See Figure4-TransE.)

The Periodic Table can then be folded along fold line 50b (of the Figure MIPA already created), such that the atomic numbers then run in the proper sequence. (See Figure5-TransE.)

Figure6-TransE shows the entire combination of the Periodic Table, with fold lines 50b and 50a in folded positions, and the ten columns of the addendum. Please note that the atomic numbers in place are all correct . (I have not included the Lanthanides and Actinides, which account for the jump in numbers seen in the lower two rows of the addendum. Again, the numbers I have in place are all correct.)

So... I am hoping this can be included in the Patent Application.
Please do call if there are any questions."

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

Mr. Montgomery will return to the office tomorrow.
I'll be hoping he likes my idea and can quickly draw it up for inclusion with the Patent application.
I'll be hoping...

my invention proceeds forward, with a little help from my friends

Last month, I signed a contract with Montgomery IP Associates.
The total sum I had needed for them to represent me during the patent application process had been daunting:
sixteen thousand, fifteen dollars.
For those who prefer it in numbers, that's $16,015.00, or more than I've made in a year since 2013.
I had not known how to proceed with my invention since November of last year.
That's when that price-tag had been told to me.
True, it would include their handling all of the legal documents needed for both the provisional patent and the industrial patent applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It would also include their handling of the legal paperwork for the copyright for my invention, as well as the search required prior to a trademark application. Their firm would create brochures and marketing materials to bring my invention to the attention of a multitude of businesses, to help find manufacturers and distributors on my behalf. Plus, they would create a website to bring more attention to my invention.
Even so, as elated as I had been back in October, I was quite downcast by the money that would be needed to make my invention public and protected.
The representative I had been talking to, Jim Jackson, suggested I offer shares in my invention, as a fundraising tool.
He told me the standard investment was $500 per share.
I was free to sell however many shares I wanted, he said, but remember that the total available was 100.
In other words, I'd be offering folks one percent of any future monies I might receive for marketing my invention.
I certainly had no problems with doing that... but who would take me up on the offer?
Almost everyone I know works for a living and certainly have other uses for that kind of money.
How could I even ask them to help fund my dream?
My unending gratitude to my dear friend, Cathy Weaver, in California. When I was talking to her during our holiday call in December, I spoke about my dilemma. Justthatfast, she offered to purchase five shares from me! She had just received the windfall as an unexpected bonus and had not earmarked the funds for anything she and Paul needed. She would prefer to know she had helped me in my quest to help students to further their knowledge of chemistry.
She is amazing!
Her belief in me encouraged me to believe, too.
In February, I had four more investors who believed in my invention. My brother, Harvey Smith, and his son, my nephew Zachary Smith, each purchased one share. Later in the month, my Aunt, Linda Walker, and her daughter, my cousin Penny Bos, also each purchased one share.
I gained self-confidence in telling others about my invention and asking them to invest.
Last month, Jeffery Secrest, my physicist bfe, purchased two shares.
Then, my ex-husband, Jeff McDermott, not only purchased two shares, but convinced his girlfriend, Amy Schmitt, to do the same! Then she convinced her roommate, Radonna Winters, to purchase two shares. Then, the roommate's brother, Craig Davis, purchased five shares!!! All because of the good word from my ex-husband.
I am truly touched.
Twenty-two shares had been sold, to ten investors, with three of those being people who had never even met me or spoken to me.
I am truly blessed.
I promise to continue to give this project my heart and my time to make good on your incredible faith in me.
Now, to get started on the copyright and the provisional patent!

dancing on the ceiling with my invention!

(This is reposted from my primary blog.)

When the man on the telephone asks, "Are you sitting down?", you should always sit down, then answer, "Yes".
The tremble in the voice is optional.
(smile)
What marvelous news Kurt Nelson had for me!
The precious funds spent to research my invention had returned favorable news: My design is unique!
Not only is it unique, but totally marketable, copyrightable, and patentable!
Yeah, I think I may be making up words now...
but I am so very excited!!!
What am I talking about?
My version of the Periodic Table!
The one I created this past summer!!!
The one original I had packed up in case I fled Hurricane Matthew.
The research had found that NO ONE ELSE has EVER had my idea!
Not ever!!!
Amazing, isn't it?
Honestly, I can't seem to wipe this smile off my face!
(SMILE!)

On Tuesday at two, I'll be chatting with Michael Meyers (no, not that one, and certainly not that one) about what to do next.
Soooooo excited!!!
I'll have to see about a crowd-sourcing campaign to raise the funds for the industrial patent - the twenty-year version which my invention warrants!!!!!
Mama and Daddy would have been so proud of me!!!
i thank You, God, for granting that inspiration!

my invention's journey begins

I don't think I'm allowed to say much about it at this time, but...
I have created an educational tool for one of my students!
For Sale By Inventor is handing the research - for $598 - to see if what I have created may already exist, somewhere, out there.
The only reason I am pursuing this course of action is because three people told me I should patent my invention.
My rule of thumb is this: if three people give me the same advice but on separate occasions, then that advice should be regarded as solid and true.
I just wanted to let y'all know that something was in the works.
(smile)