What is being patented on a Hammock?

Why this Patent?

I recently saw a newstory about an inventor in Utah who has a patented idea for a hammock.

I thought, I wonder what they are patenting in a hammock?  Hammocks are well known.  What is in this patent that makes it different?

So, I used the inventors name and looked up the patent.  The inventor is Derek Tillotson.

He is listed on US patent number 11,008,772.

Here is the patent: Link

Here is the top of the first page:

In the US, patents are awarded to the inventor or inventors who come up with the idea.  Here you can see Derek’s name and that he is from Utah.  So, I knew I had found at least one of the patents of this inventor that were referred in the news story.

What is Claimed?

To find out what is claimed as the new technology, the invention, we have to look at the claims.

This tells us what this inventor wants to protect as their own invention or innovation.

Typically, the first claim is the broadest and will give you a good idea of what the invention protects.

Here’s claim 1:

What is claimed is:

1. A hammock tent, comprising:

a ridgeline; and

a tent body attached to the ridgeline and comprising:

a platform comprising;

to end sections; and

a central section between the two end sections, the two end sections each relatively wider than the central section;

opposing sides attached to first opposing edges of the platform;

support structures attached to the opposing sides and each comprising ends attached to the ridgeline and an apex proximate the central section of the platform; and

opposing ends positioned between the opposing sides and attached to edges of the opposing sides and second opposing edges of the platform.

 So, this patent claim is to a hammock that includes a ridgeline and a tent body.  Those are the two main parts of this claim.

The tent body includes: a platform, two opposite sides, support structures, and opposing ends.

After listing the platform, Claim 1 has a typographical error in it.

The central section is between two sections, but these are not introduced in the claim. The first red underlined part should say “two end sections”. Then, later references to “the two end sections” makes sense.  The patent owner has since corrected this typo, so that is good.

What is New or Unique?

This patent application was initially rejected by the USPTO. However, the inventor revised the claim to include a requirement that the two end sections be “relatively wider than the central section.”

What does that really mean?

You can see this aspect in Figure 3 of the patent.

Here I have outlined the hour glass shape of the “Central Section” and the two “End Sections” in green.

I have circled approximately where each end section is outlined in blue. Interesting how a feature like this can mean the difference between getting an allowed patent and not getting the patent allowed.

Where is this idea protected?

The idea is currently protected in the US. Also, a patent for the ideas has been filed in CA, AU, EPO, JP, and CN.  The patent is allowed in AU, JP, and CN. The patent is still in the process of being reviewed in CA, and EPO.

I hope this helped explain some of the details that can make a difference in getting a patent and not getting a patent.

• Originally Published on blogger.com Nov. 18, 2022