A Ferrocement Patent for Emergency Housing: The Technological Hut

This article focuses on the comparison between the Spanish architects de La Hoz (Madrid, 1924) and José María García de Paredes (Seville, 1924) projects for ‘ultra-cheap’ housing in Cordoba, how it evolved from a British patent named Ctesiphon, and the study of some of existing buildings erected following this construction system. The aim of this article is to stablish the evolution of the system from the original patent into a new possibility for low-income social housing. This system was used to erect new developments in the 1950s that would relocate people living in huts during the dictatorship era in Spain, thus new “technological huts” were proposed and erected. The research process includes an analysis of the documents and literature available of the patent and the projects themselves, and in situ tests (infrared thermography and samples extraction) will allow to establish the relation between its original inventor, the dissemination of his works in publications from that era, and the Spanish company that subsequently, as a concession of the original patent, introduced that system in Spanish architecture. Analysis of the original patent document allows to study the primitive system as it was invented and for what uses it was conceived. Thus, such a methodology supports an establishment of the technical innovations achieved in order to adapt the system to the Andalusian environment at that time and its use for housing.

Patents, Invention and Democracy in Britain and the United States to 1852

This paper surveys the American and British patent systems in the period prior to the latter’s reform in 1852 and coinciding with the period of the first industrial revolution. It has been suggested that the British system’s archaic application procedure, extortionately high fees and hostile courts were indicative of an oligarchic socio-political system that purposively sought to restrict access to patent protection, as was apparently typical across Europe. Conversely, the American system was an open and democratic one, intended to provide patent protection to as many sections of society as possible. This paper argues for a less stylized comparison. British courts were not so hostile to patents (and patentees) as has been commonly supposed. Neither was it so difficult to obtain patent protection: for all its faults, the evidence that the British patent system was designed to restrict access to its provisions is nugatory. Consequently, explanations for America’s technological catch-up and eventual supplantation of Britain and Europe as global technological leader cannot invoke ‘superior’ patent institutions as a contributory factor.

14. Introduction to patents

This chapter introduces the reader to patents, how they work, and the laws governing them. It begins with a history of the patent system in the UK up to 1977. This is followed by a discussion of various justifications that have been proposed in support of the patent system, such as the natural rights of inventors to their work and the public benefits that flow from the grant of patent monopolies. It also considers the current regulatory regime governing the creation and use of patents in the UK and Europe, with particular reference to the European Patent Convention and the Patents Act 1977. Finally, the chapter discusses the impact of the European Commission on patent law and some of the international treaties that have influenced British patent law, including the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The chapter also speculates on the impact of Brexit on UK patent law.

Tunable sinusoidal Phase Gratings and sinusoidal Phase Zone Plates

We disclose the use of a suitable pair of phase-only masks for generating sinusoidal phase gratings, or sinusoidal phase zone plates, with tunable optical path delays. We show that these gratings can have either 1-D structure or a 2-D radial structure. Full Text: PDF ReferencesB. Berge and J. Peseux, "Variable focal lens controlled by an external voltage: An application of electrowetting", Eur. Phys. J. E 3, 159-163 (2000). CrossRef H. W. Ren, Y. H. Fan, S. Gauza, and S. T. Wu, "Tunable-focus flat liquid crystal spherical lens", Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 4789-4791 (2004). CrossRef T. Martinez, D. V. Wick, D. M. Payne, J. T. Baker, and S. R. Restaino, "Non-mechanical zoom system", Proc. SPIE 5234, 375-378 (2004). CrossRef D. Y. Zhang, N. Justis, and Y. H. Lo, "Fluidic adaptive zoom lens with high zoom ratio and widely tunable field of view", Opt. Commun. 249, 175-182 (2005). CrossRef B. H. W. Hendriks, S. Kuiper, M. A. J. Van As, C. A. Renders and T. W. Tukker, "Electrowetting-Based Variable-Focus Lens for Miniature Systems", Opt. Rev. 12, 255-259 (2005). CrossRef M. Duocastella and C. B. Arnold, "Enhanced depth of field laser processing using an ultra-high-speed axial scanner", Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 06113-1--06113-3 (2013). CrossRef Jorge Ojeda-Casta-eda, José Enrique A. Landgrave and Cristina M. Gómez-Sarabia, "Conjugate phase plate use in analysis of the frequency response of imaging systems designed for extended depth of field", Appl. Opt. 47, E99 (2008). CrossRef A.W. Lohmann, British Patent 998, 191 (May 29, 1964).A.W. Lohmann, Republic Française 1, 398, 351 (June 10, 1964).A.W. Lohmann, Italy Patent 727, 848 (June 19, 1964).A.W Lohmann, "A New Class of Varifocal Lenses", Appl. Opt. 9, 1669 (1970). CrossRef L.W. Alvarez, U.S. patent 3,305,294 (21 February 1967).L.W. Alvarez , W. E. Humphrey, U.S. patent 3,507,565 (21 April, 1970).L.W. Alvarez, J. Am. Optometric Assoc. 49, 24 (1978).S. Bernet and M. Ritsch-Marte, U.S. patent application 20100134869 A1 (June 3, 2010).Jorge Ojeda-Castaneda, S. Ledesma, and C. M. Gómez-Sarabia, "Tunable apodizers and tunable focalizers using helical pairs", Phot. Lett. Poland 5, 20 (2013). CrossRef J. Ojeda-Casta-eda, C. M. Gómez-Sarabia, and S. Ledesma, "Novel free-form optical pairs for tunable focalizers", J. Opt. 43, 85 (2014). CrossRef J. Ojeda-Castaneda, A. L. Barragán-Chávez, and C. M. Gómez-Sarabia, "Aberration generators in tandem", Phot. Lett. Poland 7, 8 (2015). CrossRef Adolf W. Lohmann and Donald A. Silva, "An interferometer based on the Talbot effect", Optics Comm. 2, 413 (1971). CrossRef S. Yokozeki and T. Suzuki, "Shearing Interferometer Using the Grating as the Beam Splitter", Appl. Opt. 10, 1575 (1971). CrossRef Jason Geng, "Structured-light 3D surface imaging: a tutorial", Adv. Opt. Phot. 3, 128 (2011). CrossRef Jorge Ibarra and J. Ojeda-Casta-eda, "Talbot interferometry: a new geometry", Opt. Commun. 96, 294 (1993). CrossRef J. Ojeda-Castaneda, C.M. Gómez-Sarabia, S. Ledesma, "Novel zoom systems using a vortex pair", Asian J. Phys. 23, 415 (2014). DirectLink J. Ojeda-Castaneda, C.M. Gómez-Sarabia, S. Ledesma, Asian J. Phys. 23, 535 (2014). DirectLink J. Ojeda-Casta-eda and Cristina M. Gómez-Sarabia, "Nonconventional optical systems using varifocal lenses", Phot. Lett. Poland 7, 14 (2015). CrossRef