Oh, patents! Noguchi's Cyclone™ table

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Isamu Noguchi’s Cyclone™ table was directly inspired by his Rocking stool. Designed for Knoll, the table was produced in varying sizes with veneer core plywood and high-pressure laminate top, mounted on a base of steel wires, and set into a cast iron foot.  

The design of the Cyclone™ table was patented. The US design patent, USD182037S, titled Table or the like, was awarded on February 4th, 1958, to Isamu Noguchi. The patent Figure 1, depicting a perspective view of the table, is included below. An image of a marketed embodiment of the Cyclone™ table with a white laminate top, is also shown beneath. 

As a reminder, a US design patent covers the ornamental aspects of an invention, or how the invention looks. In contrast, a US utility patent covers how an invention works, or is produced.

Reference
The Noguchi Museum (The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, in Long Island City, NY.)
www.noguchi.org

Knoll Cyclone™ dining table

https://www.knoll.com/design-plan/product/cyclone-dining-table?section=design

Oh, patents! Noguchi's Rocking stool

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Isamu Noguchi’s Rocking stool, designed for the Swiss furniture company Vitra in the 1950s, was re-issued by the American furniture company Knoll, from 2001 to 2009. The stool was manufactured in two sizes, low and high, made of maple on top and chrome-plated steel rods. The stool rocks gently as the base is cambered. 

The Noguchi Rocking stool design is patented. The US design patent, USD182038, titled Stool, was awarded on February 4,1958, to Isamu Noguchi. As a reminder, a US design patent only covers the ornamental aspects of an invention, or the way the invention looks. In contrast, a US utility patent covers the way an invention works and/or is produced. 

The patent Figure 1 show a perspective view of the inventive design. An early advertisement of the rocking stool is also included.

References
Knoll (company website)
www.knoll.com 
The Noguchi Museum (The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum in Long Island City, NY.)
https://www.noguchi.org/
Vitra (company website)
www.vitra.com

Oh, Noguchi! Akari sculpture production process

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The YouTube video  below shows the internal wooden frames used to make one version of the many different Akari sculptures. The sculptures were produced at the Ozeki Jishichi Shoten (later Ozeki & Co., Ltd.), founded in 1891. A company that partnered with Isamu Noguchi to manufacture his Akari sculptures. The video also shows the stringing of bamboo ribbing onto the frames, and then the traditional art of hari (attaching paper) onto the ribbing. Both processes shown were invoked in ancient Japanese lantern-making and used for producing Noguchi’s Akari sculptures. The video concludes with images of several different Akari sculptures that Isamu Noguchi designed. 

In showing the Akari sculpture production process, this YouTube video is consonant with Isamu Noguchi words (2021): 

“I like to show the making of a thing. …A thing that continues to be made as a person looks at it.”

(1951) - Production of Akari light sculptures

https://youtu.be/hQ8SbDJ7Cck 

Reference

Noguchi in his own words. (Nov. 22, 2021). YouTube video. [04:26]. Barbican Center, London, UK. 

https://youtu.be/IbcleKnGEMU

Oh, patents! Isamu Noguchi Akari (sculpture) lamps

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The famous and prolific Japanese American sculptor, Isamu Noguchi [1904-1988], created a series of lamps that he called Akari sculptures. A series of sculptures that would bring together traditional Japanese craftsmanship with Western modernism, in new functional ways of lighting. The Japanese term “akari” means light with associations similar to English that include both “illumination” and “weightlessness”.

Noguchi’s light sculptures were consistent with his belief that art should be made accessible for everyone to enjoy. In Noguchi’s own words (2021): 

“...The Akari lamps for instance were partly motivated by wanting to have my art in everybody’s home. The smallest can be got for less than 10$. And I think they are as much an expression of myself as anything else I do.”

The functional aspects of Noguchi's Akari sculptures were patented inventions. For example, among several Akari lamp patents awarded to Isamu Noguchi, the US utility patent US2781444, titled Lamp construction, was granted on February 12th, 1957. The patent recites the means to mount an electric bulb onto a Japanese lantern-type lamp, with a scope extending to floor, table, ceiling, wall or bed lamps. Thus, the new patented electric design seeks both to modernize and to preserve the simplicity and compactness of traditional Japanese, candle- or oil powered lanterns. Lanterns that were also made to collapse flat, so they might be shipped in envelopes. As a result, the invention comprises rapid assembly and disassembly, lightness for storage and shipment, also built into every aspect of the new electrical mounting. 

The patent Figure 2 below depicts a side elevation view of the lamp construction. The construction comprises a distensible lampshade 24. The lampshade 24 is secured above by a reduced section 36, resulting from the symmetrical convergence 55 of the vertical, upside-down U-shaped frame 22. A “spider” frame 23, attached to the lowest lampshade ring 49, further secures the lower end of the lampshade 24. Inside the vertical, upside-down U-shaped frame 22, a bulb 21 is mounted on a socket 20. The socket 20, slips through an opening, at the lower curved end 38 of the vertical, upside-down U-shaped frame 22. 

An image of a marketed floor lamp embodiment of the invention is included below the patent Figure 2, as well as the open "pizza box" conditioning for the compact Akari floor lamp 5A and its assembly. 

Akari 5A with box and elements (designed 1952)

References

The Noguchi Museum (The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, in Long Island City, NY.)

www.noguchi.org

Noguchi in his own words. (Nov. 22, 2021). YouTube video [04:26]. Barbican Center, London, UK. 

https://youtu.be/IbcleKnGEMU

Oh, patents! Roche Bobois™ vintage coffee table

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The timeless Roche Bobois™* marble sphere and square glass coffee table is an invention that was patented in Spain. The invention was granted the Spanish utility patent, ES294084, titled Mesa, in Spanish (meaning “table” in English). No other patent family members were filed. As a result, the only official version of the patent is in Spanish. The patent was granted on September 1st, 1986. The applicant was Roche Bobois Espana S. A. The company’s legal representative was Don Ignacio Ponti Grau. The inventor is unspecified. 

According to the specification of the disclosure, the marble sphere and square glass coffee table invention was intended to resolve the complexity invoked in the design of prior art coffee tables and to reduce associated production and lead time costs. A prior art that required several parts and processes (i.e., table top and table legs, plus tools and means to connect the table top to the table legs, using such items as srews, staples, braces, or soldering).

The patent Figure 2, included below, illustrates the simplicity of the invention that does not necessitate small parts and associated tools for fabrication. A sloped plate 1, advantageously made of thick glass, has a lower edge 2 covered with protective grips 3 to prevent the sloped glass 1 from contacting the floor 4. An opening 5 on the sloped plate 1 is designed to accommodate the sphere 6. The upper edge 9 of the sloped plate 1, and the top of the sphere 6, both at the same level, are secured to the tabletop plate 10, with a slip-resistant compound 7. The slip-resistant compound 7 also secures the sphere 8, contacting the floor 4, to the sloped plate 1.

An image of the marketed marble sphere and square glass Roche Bobois™ coffee table is included below the patent Figure 2. The scope of the invention extends to other materials that might be used for fabrication.

-----
* Roche Bobois™ is a French, luxury, home furnishing company; an international leader presenting collections that result from collaborations with renowned European designers and architects.

Reference

Roche Bobois™ (website)

https://www.roche-bobois.com/en-US/