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! LeafFilter®

Copyright © Francoise Herrmann

Guaranteed for life, LeafFilter® offers “gutter protection perfection”! Indeed Leaf Filter® is the largest gutter protection company in the United States. They have installed 269,592,100 feet of LeafFilter® gutter protection (and counting) to 1,797,250 customers, with zero clogged gutters. 

Difficult to clean and dangerous to access for cleaning, clogged gutters also cause roof and siding damage, basement flooding, and even foundation damage. Compared to existing gutter protection systems: hood, foam, screen and brush, LeafFilters® are installed on a pitch, on existing gutters, with no gaps, large holes or openings. Comprising a patented three-piece system (micromesh to screen even shingle grit, a temperature-resistant unplasticized polyvinyl [uPV] frame, and hangers inside the gutter to secure the filter), LeafFilters® cause debris to simply roll off, and only water to collect inside gutters. Debris that includes dirt, leaves, pine needles, even grit and seed pods,

The following are a few of the LeafFilter® utility patents, covering various aspects of the LeafFilter® gutter protection system: 

• US10633868B2 - Main bodies with securing features for use with modular platform for gutter guard systems with interchangeable components. 
• US10655334B2 - Adjustable width gutter guard systems. 
• US11078670B2 - Systems and methods for modular platform for gutter guard systems with interchangeable components.
• US11591800B2 - Gutter assessment and method. 

The below patent Figure 1 is extracted from one of the design patents, USD885533S1, titled Gutter guard assembly. This patent was awarded on May 26, 2020, to the LeafFilter®  inventors, Michael Gori, Michael J. Peck,  and Scott M. Garbe. The patent was then assigned to LeafFilter North, LLC. The patent Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the gutter guard system.  An image of the installed, marketed, and pitched LeafFilter® is also included below. Specifically, the image shows the micromesh on top of the uPV frame, installed on a pitch, on a gutter.

Reference
LeafFilter®
https://www.leaffilter.com/

Oh, patents! Allbirds® (shoes)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Allbirds® are all about sustainability with a net zero Mo.onshot set for 2025. A Mo.onshot that will make Allbirds® the first ever net zero shoes of the industry. As Allbirds puts it: “one small footprint for a shoe, one giant leap for the shoe industry."

With uppers made of New Zealand merino wool, or TENCEL™ Lyocell tree fiber, shoelaces made from recycled plastic bottles, eyelets made from Bio TPU (bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane), SweetFoam® soles made from sugar cane, and midsoles made with castor oil, each pair of Allbirds® uses natural materials to replace the high-carbon footprint of petroleum-based synthetics. The Allbirds® natural materials are also sourced from nature, using multiple best practices in sustainability. 

Best practices in sustainability, such as certification from the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), to ensure that the trees harvested meet the strictest standards to protect forests, the animal habitat, and the people who depend on them. Likewise, the company works with organizations such as ZQ that monitor farming, land management, and animal welfare, when harvesting sheep wool in New Zealand. The Allbirds® company is also B-certified®, which means that it is a Business for Good, a for-profit company that meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Allbirds® are also designed to be “the most comfortable shoes in your closet” with optimized fit, cushioning, and breathability. Patented comfort with a stellar portfolio of testimonials, both from the press and individual customers.

For example, the women’s Tree Breezers®  (a knitted pump) has a patented elastic region all around the perimeter of an opening, designed to receive the user’s foot. This elastic region ensures comfort, support, and durability,  replacing laces or other means of securing the shoe on the user's foot. The US utility patent US11206899B2, titled Knit shoes with elastic region, recites the details of this invention. Assigned to Allbirds® Inc, the patent was awarded on December 28, 2021, to a group of eight inventors: Jamie McLellan, Thomas Jad Finck, Lisa Halbower-Fenton, James Romero, Timothy Brown, Dennice Quijano Barerra, Talia Rapier and April Gourdie.

Specifically, in light of the below-extracted patent Figures 2A, 2C, and 2D, the shoe 100, comprises a structural region 106 forming a cavity, an elastic region 104 at the border of the structural region 106, and a sole 108. In the unworn configuration depicted in Figure 2A, the elastic region 104 elevates both the front 222 and rear 224 sections of the tread surface 220 from the planar surface 228. Thus, the tensile force of the elastic region 104 pulls both the front 230 and rear 232 tips of the sole 108 inwards, causing them to curve towards the center of the shoe.

Conversely, in the worn configuration, depicted in Figure 2C with a wearer’s foot 110 inside the shoe, the intermediate 224, front 222 and rear 226 sections of the tread 220 become coplanar with the surface 228. In the worn configuration, depicted in Figure 2C, the elastic region 104 extends to the metatarsal bones, exerting a tensile force that supports the user's foot 110, while maintaining a wide opening. A tensile force, also exerted on the structural region 106 and the sole 108, different from that which is exerted in the unworn configuration. 

 

Figure 2D depicts the Detail 1-1 marked on Figure 1C. The Detail 1-1, shown in Figure 2D, illustrates the knitted ribs 236 and depressions 238, of the elastic region 104, on a border 234 with the structural region 106. Figure 2D also indexes the perimeter 116 of the elastic region 104, through which the wearer’s foot will enter the cavity of the shoe 100.

The patent further describes the features of the Tree Breezers® that improve performance, increase manufacturing efficiency, and provide environmental benefits, compared to traditional shoemaking. 

Below, the abstract of the invention.

A shoe may include an upper portion constructed from a continuous textile (e.g., a knit textile) that includes an elastic region and a structural region. The elastic region may be positioned about a perimeter of an opening into a cavity configured to receive a wearer's foot, and the elastic region may be configured to secure the shoe to a wearer's foot. The elastic region may have a first elasticity that is greater than a second elasticity of the structural region. In an unworn configuration, the elastic region may cause a tread surface of a sole of the shoe to have a continuous curvature. In a worn configuration, substantially all of an intermediate section of the tread surface may contact a surface on which the shoe is placed. The elastic region may improve the performance of the shoe, including the comfort and durability. [Abstract US11206899B2]

References

Allbirds® (website)

www.allbirds.com
B Corporation® Business for Good
https://usca.bcorporation.net/
Forest Stewardship Council®
https://fsc.org/en
Mo.onshot Recipe Book
https://tinyurl.com/3zwatxav
ZQ - The New Zealand Merino Company. Ltd.

https://www.discoverzq.com/

Oh, patents! Kiziks, no hands slip-on footwear

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Kiziks are no hands, slip-on shoes. Kizik heels not only collapse, enabling feet to slip inside Kizik shoes, Kizik heels also spring back, recovering their original shape, again and again. Indeed, Kizik heels are subjected to compression forces with spring back, at least 30,000 times during testing. 

The collapse and spring-back heel technology, and many additional aspects of the Kizik shoes, are patented. For example, the original lattice heel spring-back technology, marketed as the Cage®, was awarded, on May 2020, the US utility patent, US10638810B1, titled Rapid-entry footwear having a compressible lattice structure.  

The patent recites rapid-entry shoes defined as various types of shoes, such as athleisure, casual, formal, dress, sports, including tennis, golf, bowling, running, football, basketball and soccer shoes, as well as walking shoes, sandals or other types. Rapid-entry shoes with “a compressible lattice structure in the heel portion to facilitate rapid, easy donning and doffing of shoes”. A compressible lattice heel structure 110, comprising a closed position with a smaller shoe opening to retain the user’s foot inside the shoe, and an expanded open position to let the user’s foot in, respectively illustrated in the below Figures 2a and 2b of the rapid-entry shoe 100.

The Figures 2a and 2b further depict apertures 112 of the compressible lattice heel structure 110. The apertures 112, whether void, or filled with a polymer or material substructure, are designed to accommodate compression forces. The patent further recites that the compressible lattice heal structure 110 might be molded or 3D printed. The Figures 2a and 2b also show a stabilizer 120 designed to prevent inward deflection or buckling of the heel.  

Below, a short video shows how easy it is to slip on a pair of Kiziks. However, according to the patent specification, not only were the Kizik rapid-entry shoes designed for convenience, they were also designed for those without the mobility required to slip on a pair of shoes. 

Below, the abstract of the invention.

Disclosed is a shoe having a compressible lattice structure in a heel portion to facilitate rapid, easy donning and doffing of shoes. In example embodiments, the lattice structure includes a plurality of interconnected, overlapping, intersecting and/or woven ribs defining a plurality of apertures. The lattice structure has an open position in which the shoe opening is expanded to facilitate reception of a foot of an individual wearing the rapid-entry shoe, and a closed position in which the shoe opening is smaller to retain the foot within the rapid-entry shoe. [Abstract US10638810B1] 

Reference
Kizik (website)
www.kizik.com  

Oh, patents! Carolina Herrera Good Girl stiletto perfume bottle

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

In the fashion House of Herrera, lightning-bolt Bad Boy perfume is the perfect match for the stiletto heel Good Girl perfume. Indeed, the beautiful Carolina Herrera Good Girl perfume bottles are exquisitely made of Italian-designed glass, in a tradition that dates back to the glass artisan Guilds of the Middle Ages, when glass was first discovered and manufactured, in the Republic of Venice.

The Carolina Herrera Good Girl stiletto glass bottles are designed and manufactured using several patented glass manufacturing processes, belonging to the famous Italian glassmaker Luigi Bormioli. Whether it is the opal/stone effect of some of the glass stiletto bottles, or the internal coating of the glass, ensuring that the vibrant color of the glass is uniformly applied to every part of the stiletto-shoe-shaped bottle, each Carolina Herrera Good Girl glass stiletto bottle, also subsumes several Bormioli glass-manufacturing inventions.

Among the inventions invoked to produce the Bormioli-manufactured, Carolina Herrera glass stiletto bottle, the following World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and US utility patents:

- WO2007006328A1 - Opacifying composition and process for the production of glass with an opal/stone effect or with a snow effect. (Granted January 18, 2007)

- US10118857B2 - Method for internally coating a hollow glass body. (Granted November 6, 2018)

- US10427967B2 - Process for the manufacture of a glass container, glass container and related uses. (Granted October 1, 2019)

The many existing editions of the Carolina Herrera Good Girl (and Very Good Girl) perfume were each designed by renowned perfumers, such as Quentin Bisch, Louise Turner, Shyamala Maisondieu, and Christophe Raynaud. Below, ten editions of the Carolina Herrera Good Girl perfume, each shown contained in its own variation of the Italian-glass stiletto perfume bottle, and accompanying conditioning.

- CH Good Girl (2016) Eau de Parfum
- CH Good Girl Légère (2018) Eau de Parfum
- CH Good Girl Suprême (2020) Eau de Parfum
- CH Very Good Girl (2021) Eau de Parfum
- CH Good Girl Superstars (2021) Eau de Parfum
- CH Good Girl Midnight (2022) Eau de Parfum
- CH Good Girl Gold Fantasy (2022) Eau de Parfum
- CH Very Good Girl Glam (2022) Eau de Parfum
- CG Good Girl Blush (2023) Eau de Parfum
- CH Good Girl Dazzling Garden (2023) Eau de Parfum

 

Also included, a Youtube video presenting the new Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl Glam fragrance for women. 

References

Carolina Herrera (website)
https://www.carolinaherrera.com/
Luigi Bormioli
https://luigibormioliusa.com/
Redding, M. (Jan. 20, 2021). A Lacquering Technique Makes Very Good Girl by Carolina Herrera Shine. Beauty Packaging. 
https://www.beautypackaging.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2021-01-20/a-lacquering-technique-makes-very-good-girl-by-carolina-herrera-shine/
Staff (Feb. 1, 2021). Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl goes red with Bormioli Luigi. Premium Beauty News. 
https://www.premiumbeautynews.com/en/carolina-herrera-s-good-girl-goes,17896

Oh, Lalique! Decorated glass and crystal

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Renowned innovator of Art Deco jewelry, René Lalique (1860-1945) also became a master glassmaker. Initially commissioned to create perfume bottles, he went on to create monumental glass structures such as fountains, church alters, and dining room chandeliers, for example, for such luxury liners as The Normandie. René Lalique even became famous for the car radiator caps that he created out of glass.

To obtain the poetically sculpted glass pieces that are so well known, René Lalique invented a way of producing decorated glass as a single piece using a waste-mold casting process.

The French patent FR475348, titled Procédé de fabrication d’objets en verre ou cristal décoré (Process for the fabrication of decorated glass or crystal objects), granted February 16, 1915, to René Lalique, recites the waste-mold casting process used to create the signature Lalique glass or crystal pieces. A process that enables the production of glass or crystal pieces with ornamental designs that appear sculpted on their surface, displaying all the finest details of the mold. 

The patent recites a process that subsumes the application of wax or wax-type decorations on the glass or crystal surface. The glass or crystal, and its wax decorations are then cast in a mold made of a substance capable of resisting high furnace temperatures, such as a clay or clay-type mold. The clay mold, containing the wax decorated glass or crystal object, is then subjected to high furnace temperatures, causing the wax to volatilize, and the glass to soften sufficiently for it to be blown into the recesses left empty by the volatilized wax. Once cooled, the mold is then broken, and the glass or crystal piece appears with its ornamental decoration, as a single sculpted piece, that includes all the finest details of the mold.

A variation of the process is also described for cases where the ornamental design is very large, and the glass object has a large opening such as a wide-rimmed vase or bowl. In this case, the whole object with the ornamental design is made of wax, then cast in a clay-type mold. The mold is then furnace-heated to the point where the whole wax model with decorations volatilizes. The temperature of the mold is then such that molten glass might be introduced directly into the mold, where it is blown into all the recesses left empty by the volatilized wax model. Finally, once cooled, the mold is broken, and the decorated glass piece appears sculpted with all of its detailed ornaments.

The patent figure 2 is included below, depicting a narrow-rimmed glass or crystal object (1) with ornamental decorations on the surface, within a mold (2). The rim of the glass or crystal object is connected to a cane (3), through which the glass blower will blow to push the softened glass into the ornamental recesses left empty by the volatilized wax, after the mold has been heated in a furnace.

The image of one of René Lalique's famous sculpted vases, called Les Bacchantes, is also included.

References
Musée Lalique
https://www.musee-lalique.com/en