11 – Patents

Background

SafeBike was formed in 1996. The company was founded after G.H. (later a founder member of the company) had a mountain bike accident in which the front forks of the bicycle broke on a fast and rough downhill section. G.H. went forwards over the handlebars and struck his head on the ground. Even though he was wearing a conventional cyclist’s safety helmet the shock cracked a vertebra in his neck. The crack caused pain and discomfort and reduced freedom to move and incline the head. It would only have needed a slightly more aggressive fall and the spinal column could have been damaged leaving G.H. a quadriplegic – or dead. Surprised that the safety helmet had not provided much protection, G.H. and his friend T.S. investigated head injuries to cyclists. They were amazed to find that many types of head injury suffered by cyclists in accidents had not declined even though the use of cyclist’s safety helmets had increased considerably. Their analysis indicated that the designs of safety helmet for cyclists were not satisfactory – they merely moved injuries from the head to the neck – with potential fatal consequences. They set about solving the problem.

The problem

At first, a solution to the problem appeared impossible. On the one hand the helmet must allow free movement of the head and neck and on the other it should restrict movement to prevent damage. After some trials they hit on the idea of making the helmet behave differently at high accelerations. Their first idea was a kind of air bag. However, they found that the air bag was activated when they dropped the helmet on the floor. This was obviously a possible but not very practical solution.

The best idea was the use of materials that became stiffer when the helmet was subjected to rapid movement. A way of doing this was to use a pressurised gas cartridge that injected gas into a hollow textile material. The textile would work as a sunshade for the back of the neck under normal conditions but then become stiff when injected with high pressure gas. Unlike an air bag, the cartridges could be replaced cheaply (even if accidentally set off) and the helmet then reused. Although the speed of operation was not as high as an explosive charge, the speed of impact in bicycle accidents is generally low. They have applied for a grant from an entrepreneurial support program and they have been advised to file patents on their designs.

The challenge

• Is the design proposed by SafeBike sufficiently inventive to obtain a patent?
• Does the design infringe other existing patents?
• How should G.H. and his friend T.S. arrange for the necessary prior art searches?

The solution

If these are the kind of problems that you have, please contact BIRD GOËN by email (ipadmin@birdgoen.com) and refer to “case study 11” to arrange for consultation.