Beginning at NYU in Jan 2013 within the context of a Patents Translation course delivered online, this blog seeks to uncover the patents that rock our daily lives....
The patent cover sheet drawing, depicting the front and top down views of the bottle, is included below, together with an image of the marketed product and conditioning.
As a reminder: “a utility patent” protects the way an article is used and works (35 U.S.C. 101), while a “design patent” protects the way an article looks (35 U.S.C. 171) [MPEP Chapt. 1502.01; [R-07.2015]].
Note
(1) The Fragrance Foundation (TFF) is the non-profit, educational arm of the International Fragrance Industry Association (IFRA), founded in 1949. The Fragrance Foundation Awards, known as the FiFi Awards, are the industry’s equivalent of the OSCARS. The event is held in New York City every year, since 1973. In 2022, the FiFi awards will be held on June 9th, at Lincoln Center, in NYC.
KENZO™ Jeu d’Amour Eau de Parfum was launched in 2015. The perfume bottle, created by Karim Rashid, was granted the US design patent USD723374S1, titled Perfume bottle, on March 3, 2015.
The patent cover sheet drawing, depicting the front view and top down view of the bottle, is included below, together with an image of the marketed product and conditioning.
As a reminder: “a utility patent” protects the way an article is used and works (35 U.S.C. 101), while a “design patent” protects the way an article looks (35 USC 171) [MPEP Chapt. 1502.01; [R-07.2015]].
The poppy appearing on the bottle and packaging of the hugely popular KENZO™ Flower perfume bottle and packaging, was trademarked as follows:
The color(s) red pantone 2035, green pantone 3308, and black is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The poppy is in red, in its center the pistil is in black, the stem is in green. The mark consists of a poppy on a stem and on which the petals are in shades of red, the pistil is black, and the stem is green.
The trademark was registered on May 12, 2020, with the registration number: 6050423. The perfume was released in 2000 as the fragrance of the poppy, a flower without a scent.
The eau de parfum Flower by KENZO™ was released in 2000. Flower by KENZO™ is an amber floral fragrance, inspired by the color and natural beauty of the poppy wildflower, which is otherwise scentless. The stunning design of the bottle by Serge Mansau, an acclaimed French artist and designer, was awarded the US design patent USD611836S1, titled Flask for perfumery products. Below, a drawing extracted from the patent, and an image the perfume bottle, as it is marketed to date.
For your information, the famous fashion designer, Kenzo Takada, trademarked KENZO™, was Japan-born and educated, although he lived and worked in Paris, France, where he died from complications of COVID 19, in 2020, at the age of 81. Takada opened his first store in Paris, in 1971. The KENZO™ flagship store opened in 1976. Beginning with women’s fashion, the House of KENZO™ expanded to men’s and children’s fashion, including a less expensive Album collection sold in The Limited® stores. In 1993, the House of KENZO™ was acquired by the French luxury fashion group, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), where KENZO™ continues to operate under its own brand name, together with other iconic French fashion Houses, such as Christian Dior, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, as well as a few additional, international members, such as Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, and Tiffany’s.
Beyond the blockbuster perfume Flower by KENZO™, the House of KENZO™ released several popular perfumes. In 1980, KENZO™ first released King Kong, and later such celebrated perfumes as KENZO™Parfum d’été (2005), KENZO™Jeu d’amour (2015) and KENZO™Homme (2021). In 2022, KENZO™Memori was released to celebrate the fashion designer's life and work.
Designed to prevent slipping on a contact surface, during the varying shifts, or hold in position, of a yoga pose, YogaPaws® also provide cushioning. Thus, YogaPaws® are variously marketed as: mini yoga mats, wearable yoga mats, or the practitioner’s mat away from home, considering how bulky a mat might be to pack (YogaPaws®). Conceived by expert yoga professionals in every detail, YogaPaws® are a patented invention. The US utility patent, US7383591, titled Exercise mitt, was granted on June 10, 2008, to Gail Getzwiller and Regina Igini.
Below, two of the patent figure drawings. The patent figures respectively depict a perspective view of the YogaPaws® invention on a practitioner’s hand (FIG. 1a), and on a practitioner’s foot (FIG. 1B).
In particular, the patent Figure 1a depicts a YogaPaw® hand mitt 10, comprising a sleeve 12. The sleeve 12 has a rear opening 15, enabling the practitioner to insert his/her/their hand. The sleeve 12 is designed to enable the practitioner’s fingers to extend outside of the sleeve. Accordingly, the sleeve comprises an opening for the thumb and another opening for the remaining four fingers, at the front 21 of the sleeve 12. In this way, practitioners retain the feel of working with bare hands. This aspect of the invention also reduces the bulk and weight of the YogaPaw®.
The hand sleeve 12 in Figure 1a, otherwise comprises a stretch component 11, and a perforated foam component 13. The stretch component, made of a woven blend of cotton and/or polyester, is designed to provide a snug fit, stretching and tightening around the practitioner’s hand. The perforated foam component 13 is coupled (stitched) to the stretch component 11. The perforated foam component 13 comprises both inner 14 (not shown) and outer surfaces. The outer surface 16 of the perforated foam component 13 is designed to come in contact with support surfaces, invoked for the positions of particular yoga poses, in view of preventing slipping, whereas the inner surface is designed to prevent the palm of a hand from slipping inside the mitt. The hand YogaPaws® also comprise, preferably a Velcro wrist flap (not shown), enabling to widen and tighten the opening of the mitt 15, for ease of putting on, or taking off, the mitt.
Likewise, the Figure 1b depicts the YogaPaw® invention foot mitt 30, configured for a practitioner's foot, with a construction similar to the YogaPaw® hand mitt 10, configured for a practitioner’s hand. The foot YogaPaw® comprises a sleeve 32, with stretch material 31, coupled (stitched) to a perforated foam component 33, made of the same types of materials, as those of the hand YogaPaw®. A construction designed to enable a snug fit around the ball of a foot, and to prevent slipping, both inside the foot sleeve 32, and on the outside of the foot sleeve, in contact with the support surfaces for yoga poses.
The front end of the YogaPaw® foot sleeve 32 also has an opening, through which the practitioner’s toes extend. An aspect of the invention designed to contribute to the feel of working barefoot in yoga, analogous to the YogaPaws® bare hands feel. A strap separates toes from the big toe.
Without departing from the specification of the invention, variations exist in the marketed embodiments of the YogaPaws®. Such variations, for example, as an additional back strap in the YogaPaws® Elite model, further securing the YogaPaw® foot sleeve to the practitioner's foot, or absorbant material added on the inside of the foot sleeve.
Below, the abstract of the invention.
An exercise mitt is provided for a hand or foot, and which is particularly useful in an exercise form such as yoga in which a practitioner maintains a pose or shifts body position while his/her hand or foot is in contact with a support surface. The exercise mitt is specially configured to address the problem of slippage when the practitioner is practicing an exercise form such as yoga, where the practitioner exerts pressure on a support surface in both downward and outward directions as the practitioner is practicing the exercise form. The mitt comprises a sleeve configured to fit snugly about a portion of a human extremity while permitting portions of the human extremity to extend out of the sleeve. The sleeve has inner and outer surface portions with the outer surface portion configured to contact the support surface as the wearer takes predetermined positions relative to the support surface, the outer surface portion being further configured to resist the human extremity from sliding against the support surface, and the inner surface portion being configured to resist relative movement between the human extremity and the sleeve as the wearer applies pressure against the surface and takes predetermined positions relative to the support surface. [Abstract US7383591]
Some people might cringe at the idea of a fitness tracker associated with Yoga. A 5000 year old body and mind practice, meaning “unity” in Sanskrit, the sacred language of India, where the true names of the “asanas” (poses) are found. According to Forbes, a yoga fitness tracker might also be especially troubling for those practitioners, who turn to yoga to precisely disconnect from all of their electronic bits and bytes. At the end of the day, however, the Apple Yoga fitness tracker perhaps testifies to the beauty of yoga, its capacity to transcend the ages through the human body, to become relevant in 2022, in new ways, new cultures, new languages, and in new conversations that also celebrate health.
Consequently, for those interested in electronically monitoring their yoga practice, as part of an overall health and fitness program—or for any other reason, Apple created a native Apple Watch yoga app, with the capacity to measure energy expenditure during a yoga session. The app measures heart rate in beats per minute (BPM), active calories (generated in movement), and total calories (combining active and resting calories.)
A new and non-obvious device, since unlike fitness trackers for aerobic exercise routines, like biking, running
or swimming, where heart rate is correlated to calories burned in repetitive,
high intensity movement, many different sorts of yoga exists, combining both movement and pause. An apparent inactivity between yoga asanas, where regular aerobic fitness trackers might also pause, until activity is resumed. Not to menton the confounding variable of increased ambient temperature, causing increased heart rate, during some types of yoga sessions, without increased intensity of
movement. Thus, the Apple watch yoga fitness tracking app qualified as an
invention, earning the US utility patent US10709933B2, titled Pose
and heart rate energy expenditure for yoga.
The Figures 4 and 6 are included below, together with the patent abstract.
The patent Figure 4 depicts exemplary yoga poses, in view of reciting four yoga movement models, deemed relevant in the calculation of yoga energy expenditure. The first model recited as Power yoga (e.g.,Vinyassa, Ashtanga or Acro yoga) is one where each of the poses 402, 404, 406 and 408 are continuous, flowing from one to the other. The second model, recited as Wellness yoga (e.g., Hatha, Iyengar Anasura, Jivamukti, Forrest, Sivananda or Svaroopa yoga), is one where movement from one pose to another is disconnected. In other words each of the poses 402, 404, 406 and 408 might be held for a given amount of time. The third model recited as Hot yoga (e.g. Bikram® yoga) is a version of the second model, performed under much higher ambient temperatures. The fourth model, recited as Meditative yoga (e.g., representing Vini, Kundalini, Integra or Tantra yoga), is depicted with pose 410, which invokes little, or no movement.
The patent Figure 6 shows the app flowchart. The flowchart recites means 602 to detect the beginning of a yoga session, means 604 to detect
the ambient temperature of the session, in view of determining 606 whether the session is Hot yoga, and of scaling 608 Heart rate measurements
accordingly. Most importantly, the flowchart depicts means 610 of determining the sort of ongoing yoga session, based on motion sensing and a pose–detection algorithm, so that a corresponding
energy expenditure model 612 might be applied to the incoming motion sensor data.
A method and a system for determining an energy expenditure of a user while practicing yoga are described. A heart rate sensing module can measure the user's heart rate. A temperature sensing module can measure ambient temperature. A motion sensing module can collect user's motion data. In some embodiments, a hot yoga session can be detected based on measured ambient temperature. In some embodiments, a yoga type can be detected based on the motion data. In some embodiments, an energy expenditure model can be applied based on the determined yoga type. [AbstractUS10709933B2]
References
Bell, L (Dec. 31, 2018). How to use
Yoga App on the Apple watch to track your practice.
Borne out of necessity, within the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, the GEL EXPRESS “totem” station brings mass distribution of sanitizing gel, at warp speed. Indeed, the GEL EXPRESS dispenser not only enables much faster dispensing of sanitizing gel (1000 doses per 5 minutes vs. an average of 60 doses per 5 minutes in conventional dispensers), it also handles much larger 80L reservoirs, dispensing up to 40,000 doses. As a result, the largest 80L GEL EXRESS stations are suitable for high pedestrian traffic at conventions and conferences. The 20L models (see image) are suitable for train stations, or sports stadiums. Whereas the medium 10L models are suitable for small businesses, and the smallest 5L models for buses.
To perform at such speed (1 dose dispensed in .3 seconds), the GEL EXPRESS invention increased both the device’s sensor detection speed and dispensing speed, which in turn increases the number of users, who never have to wait in long lines for sanitizing gel. The device is also contactless, which increases the number of users, otherwise reluctant to use dispensers with push button delivery.
The GEL EXPRESS invention, hailing from France, is recited in the French patent FR3109288A1, titled (in French) Dispositif pour délivrer une dose d’une solution désinfectante, granted on October 22, 2021. The United Nations (UN), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), patent WO2021214021A1, was also granted for this invention. This Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent provides an official translation (to English) of both the title of the invention Device for delivering a dose of a disinfectant solution, and of the abstract (included below).
The patent recites an automated device comprising a hand reception area, and a sensor able to detect the presence of a user’s hand in the reception area. The device further comprises a hydraulic system with a tank, containing the sanitizing solution, configured to dispense a pressurized dose, when the sensor has detected a hand. The dispensing nozzle is further designed to spray a particular volume of the sanitizing solution. Different sorts of sensors are recited. One preferred sensor is a break-beam sensor, comprising a transmitter and reflecting mirror on each side of the hand reception area, such that when a hand travels in the reception area, it breaks or interrupts transmission of the beam, which triggers the distribution of a dose of sanitizing solution. The beam might be infra-red or visible. Collection means for any unused spray of sanitizing solution are also recited.
The patent Figures 1 and 4 are included, together with an image of the 20L “totem” station (above), installed outdoors.
Specifically, the patent Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of the invention device 1, comprising an upper section 41 and lower section 42, respectively with front surfaces 410 and 420. A middle section 43 connects the upper section 41 to the lower section 42. The middle section 43 is designed to clear the maximum amount of space required for the projection cone 100 of an aerosol dose of sanitizing solution, within a reception area, enabling through-travel of a user's hand. The sanitizing solution is delivered downward, parallel to a Z axis. The user's hand, traveling through the cleared reception area, intercepts the downward flow of the sanitizing aerosol. Hands, belonging to different individuals, travel on different paths that are parallel to the X and Y axes of a Cartesian plane (designated XO, YO and ZO).
The top down patent Figure 4 shows how individual hands, coming from different directions, might consecutively all intercept the downward flow of a dose of sanitizing solution. Specifically, the Figure 4 depicts extended hands, belonging to three separate individuals, traveling on the path 49, and another individual's extended hand, traveling on the intersecting path 46. The hands travel parallel to the X and Y axes shown.
The non-obstructed space, within which hands are able to travel, comprises intersecting directions within the open, 250 to 270 degrees angle theta [Ѳ], formed by the intersecting lines 48 and 47, extending from the edges of the middle device section 45, connecting the device top and bottom sections. The two paths shown (46 and 49) intersect under the downward flow of a dose of sanitizing solution.
The abstract of this invention is included below.
A device for delivering a dose of a disinfectant solution (22), characterized in that it comprises: - a receiving zone (Zc, 41, 42, V1, V2) designed to receive a hand (44) of an individual; - a sensor (34) designed to detect the presence of a hand (44) in said receiving zone (Zc, 41, 42, V1, V2), - a hydraulic system (10) comprising a reservoir (11) of said disinfectant solution and configured to distribute a pressurized dose of said solution when the sensor detects the presence of a hand; - a dispensing head (18) for distributing said dose (22) in the form of microdroplets. [English Abstract - WO2021214021A1]
%20Jeu%20d'amour.jpg)
.jpg)
%20image%20flower.jpg)
%20figure%20-%20Flower.jpg)
