Knowledge spillovers, peer effects, and telecommuting: Evidence from the U.S. Patent Office

This paper presents a new mechanical freezing concept for freezing alum or other hydroxide sludges as a conditioning step for dewatering. The basic concept is to freeze a thin layer of sludge on a continuously moving fabric belt. Sludge is attached to the belt by a vacuum drum belt filter which also removes one-half of the water and thus reduces the amount of sludge to be frozen. Filter leaf tests were conducted to determine the operational parameters and approximate production rates of this concept. These tests show that freezing alum sludge in thin layers will separate out the water as ice crystals and transform the solids into the same type of granular material produced in natural freezing beds. The average production rate of frozen sludge was 6.5 kg/hr.m2 at −20°C. The belt area needed for a 10,000-m3/day plant was estimated to be 48 m2. This concept has been patented by the U.S. Patent Office.

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Procrastination in the Workplace: Evidence from the U.S. Patent Office

10.3386/w22987 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Michael Frakes ◽

Melissa Wasserman

Keyword(s):

Patent Office ◽

The U.S

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Patents and the U.S. Patent Office

The Foundations of Vacuum Coating Technology ◽

10.1016/b978-081551495-4.50008-5 ◽

2003 ◽

pp. 10

Author(s):

Donald M. Mattox

Keyword(s):

Patent Office ◽

The U.S

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Synergism in Technology Assessment

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462300008400 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 477-479

Author(s):

Ted R. Tyson

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Costs ◽

Technology Assessment ◽

National Economy ◽

Medical Technology ◽

Health Care Industry ◽

Patent Office ◽

Care Industry ◽

Care Costs ◽

The U.S

In 1899, Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, urged President McKinley to abolish the Patent Office by saying, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Fortunately for the health care industry, there have been more significant “medical inventions” in the 89 years following Duell's utterance than in all of recorded history preceding it.There is now a crisis in medical technology, and it has not been caused by a lack of ideas from innovative clinicians, inventors, and scientists. Instead, it is a result of sincere, but often spasmodic, efforts to control health care costs, which in the minds of many observers threaten the national economy, if not the country's survival.

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Procrastination in the Workplace: Evidence from the U.S. Patent Office

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2888061 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Frakes ◽

Melissa F. Wasserman

Keyword(s):

Patent Office ◽

The U.S

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Time In Purgatory: Examining the Grant Lag for U.S. Patent Applications

Topics in Economic Analysis & Policy ◽

10.2202/1538-0653.1329 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

David Popp ◽

Ted Juhl ◽

Daniel K.N. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Patent Office ◽

Learning Effects ◽

Distributional Effects ◽

Policy Debates ◽

Patent Applications ◽

Examination Process ◽

The U.S ◽

Over Time

Abstract As patent applications increase, and the range of patentable technologies increases, the length of time it takes for an invention to go through the examination process at the U.S. Patent Office has increased. Concerns over the distributional effects of these changes have been expressed during policy debates. We use data on U.S. patent applications and grants to ask who is affected by longer grant lags. We augment this analysis with interviews of patent examiners, leading to a better understanding of the examination process. Our analysis finds that differences across technology are most important. These differences do not erode over time, suggesting that learning effects alone will not reduce grant lags. Inventor characteristics have statistically significant effects, but the magnitudes are small.

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