i. Abstract

ii. What is used

iii. Disclaimer

Abstract: This brief is designed to assist those performing an electrical/electronic prior art search. A variety of search engines are referenced as well as some classifications as referenced by the PTO. A majority of the information was acquired through corporate of law firm patent attorneys located in Texas or Washington D.C. Patent Examiners were also interviewed via the telephone, as well as librarians in the PTO libraries. The database company Derwent® was an extremely helpful and useful source, as will be seen throughout the paper. This brief is designed with the assumption that those who use this brief have a basic knowledge and understanding of patent/prior art searching and databases in general. Thus, many search engines, which don't host a particular file/index for electrical or electronic subject matter, are not discussed in this brief. Furthermore, this brief is NOT a report on patent searching in general (ie, query searching, searching by patent number, etc.) and general knowledge of the subject matter and the process of prior art searching via the specified search engines and databases in this report is understood. This brief is designed to give specific and particular information on those files and resources designed for electrical/electronic subject matter.

Back to Table of Contents

What is used: This brief uses resources, on which there is found certain files or information, directed to electrical/electronic subject matter. As will be noted, many of the files are those corresponding to non-patent prior art publications. Though extensive research of the field, there was only one particular files/indexes that solely dealt with electrical/electronic patents. However, that one index, EPI, was found to be extremely extensive and helpful.

Back to Table of Contents

1. This Web Site has been compiled in good faith by David Wier (Hereinafter "I") for a project for Franklin Pierce Law Center, from internal and external sources. However, no representation is made or warranty given as to the completeness or accuracy of the information that it contains. In particular, you should be aware that this information may be incomplete, may contain errors or may have become out of date. You should therefore verify information obtained from this Web Site before you act upon it by contacting the cited references - Derwent®, Dialog®, STN®, Questel-Orbit®, Lexis-Nexis®, The USPTO Index and Manual of Classification (hereinafter 'The Cited References').
2. The material contained on this Web Site is obviously put here in good faith as being referenced and cited from The Cited References. On many occasions throughout this brief, text was either taken exactly ("word for word") or paraphrased from The Cited References. I was able to construct this page with the express agreement that the material used from The Cited References would not be used for commercial purposes and that The Cited References would get their due representation on the material referenced. Thus this material may not be copied, in any form or fashion, for commercial purposes. Also, if this paper is copied for non-commercial purposes, then it is protected by the copyright laws of the several companies of The Cited References, and due representation should be made to those several companies. Hence, I am not liable for inducement, contributory infringement, or any other type of infringement of material belonging to any one of the The Cited References with respect to the material of this paper.

EPI - The EPI Manual Codes are intended to be used to assist subscribers in making the best possible use of the the intellectually-assigned indexing applied by Derwent® to electrical and electronic patents. The EPI codes may be thought of as a form of technical shorthand, being an economical way of conveying often very specific information about a patent. Manual codes are chiefly intended to serve as an online retrieval tool. By highlighting the novel aspects of an invention and its applications, a highly focussed search can be conducted.

In assisting users with the retrieval of these codes, Derwent® has published a 2 volume EPI Manual Codes User Guide. Both volumes should be used in conjunction with one another for the maximum possible. The EPI is an extension of Derwent World Patent Index and classifies these codes by their International Patent Code (IPC).

A1. Patents are included in EPI in two ways:

1. Automatic inclusion based on the assigned IPC - Some sections of the IPC relate to subject matter that is always of relevance to EPI. Thus, assignment of any IPC from section H will result in automatic inclusion. Patents bearing certain other IPC subsections are also automatically included, to ensure that all disclosures received by Derwent can be assigned to at least one part of our overall classification system.

Below is a list of IPC sections and subsections, given in the EPI Codes Manual, that normally guarantee the inclusion of a patent in EPI. The EPI Codes Manual can be used for further details of the relation between IPC and EPI classes and for details of the correspondence between IPC and manual codes.

A61N, G01, G02B6, G02F, G03G, G04, G05B, G05D, G05F, G06, G07, G08, G09G, G10H, G10L, G11, and G12 H

2. Intellectual selection based on technical content - Patents are included on this basis provided that at least one of the following criteria, taken exactly from the EPI Codes Manual, is satisfied:

1. Relevance to an electrical industry - This may involve the product of an industry itself, or manufacturing methods and equipment used in that industry.
2. Significant electrical content - Patents included on this basis may relate to any field of technology, provided that any electrical aspect forms a significant part of the invention, and is not just an incidental feature. It is noted in the EPI Codes Manual that the electrical content required must normally be a claimed feature of the invention. Thus process, or method claimed, patents using an electrical apparatus would normally not be included. However, disclosures with considerable electrical content in a detailed description of the invention that is clearly referred to in general terms in the claims would be included.
3. Relevance to automotive electrics - Any patent of this type with electrical content - not necessarily claimed – is included in EPI.
4. Relevance to domestic electrical equipment - All aspects of domestic electrical equipment are selected, including purely mechanical details such as refrigerator door seals or shelves for electric cookers.

A2. EPI manual codes** are normally assigned based on the 2 criterion:

**The following general points come exactly from the Manual (Appendix 2) and should be noted regarding the assignment of EPI codes:

A3. There are a number of ways in which the codes appropriate to a particular search may be determined by means of the of the EPI Manual Codes User Guide; the main ones being listed below:

The EPI, a WPI subsidiary, database is produced by Derwent®, and is currently available via the on-line hosts Dialog®, STN® and Questel/Orbit®.

Back to Table of Contents

1. Databases: These are some abbreviated content descriptions of some of the more comprehensive files on electrical/electronic prior art searching. I found these files to be the most pertinent when discussing Electrical/Electronic subject matter. With a very special thanks to Dialog® I have been able to provide a basic description of each database. These descriptions are written exactly as they appear in Dialog® Bluesheets, which I have also provided in hyperlink for each individual relevant file. Obviously, all of these data bases are carried by Dialog®; {Part 4 of this section (section B) contains similar databases that are not carried by Dialog®, however, they are carried by STN®, another search engine company.}

1. INSPEC - INSPEC (The Database for Physics, Electronics and Computing) corresponds to the three Science Abstracts print publications: Physics Abstracts, Electrical and Electronics Abstracts, and Computer and Control Abstracts. The Science Abstracts family of abstract journals began publication in 1898. Approximately 16 percent of the database's source publications are in languages other than English, but all articles are abstracted and indexed in English. Author-prepared abstracts are used when available. The INSPEC Database utilizes controlled vocabulary from the INSPEC Thesaurus. A single classification scheme is used for all records from 1969 to date. The special DIALOG online thesaurus feature is available to assist searchers in determining appropriate subject terms and codes. Beginning in January 1987, INSPEC records also include chemical substance indexing and numerical index terms. As of November 1990, over 4,100 journals and serials are scanned, of which 750 are abstracted cover-to-cover. These contribute 82% of the database, including 6% which are conference papers reported in journals. A further 16% comes from conference proceedings. Other source materials include books, reports, and dissertations. Up to 1976 a small number of patents were covered.
2. NTIS : National Technical Information Service - The NTIS: National Technical Information Service database consists of summaries of U.S.government-sponsored research, development, and engineering, plus analyses prepared by federal agencies, their contractors, or grantees. It is the means through which unclassified, publicly available, unlimited distribution reports are made available for sale from agencies such as NASA, DOD, DOE, HUD, DOT, Department of Commerce, and some 240 other agencies. Additionally, some state and local government agencies now contribute summaries of their reports to the database. NTIS also provides access to the results of government-sponsored research and development from countries outside the U.S. Organizations that currently contribute to the NTIS database include: the Japan Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI); laboratories administered by the United Kingdom Department of Industry; the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT); the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS); and many more.
3. Ei Compendex® - The Ei Compendex® database is the machine-readable version of the Engineering Index (monthly/annual), which provides abstracted information from the world's significant engineering and technological literature. The Compendex database provides worldwide coverage of approximately 4,500 journals and selected government reports and books. Subjects covered include: civil, energy, environmental, geological, and biological engineering; electrical, electronics, and control engineering; chemical, mining, metals, and fuel engineering; mechanical, automotive, nuclear, and aerospace engineering; and computers, robotics, and industrial robots. In addition to journal literature, over 480,000 records of significant published proceedings of engineering and tech. conferences formerly indexed in Ei Engineering Meetings® are included in File 8.
4. Ei Engineering in Brief &sm - The Ei Engineering in BriefSM database provides brief bibliographic descriptions of the world's major engineering and technological literature. Included are references to the journal articles, technical reports, engineering society publications, books, and individual conference papers held in the collection of Engineering Information Inc. (Ei). The Ei Engineering in Brief database contains the citation portion of Ei Compendex® (File 8)records, plus many additional records from the DIALOG OnDisc™ Ei Page One database from January 1991 forward.
5. IHS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS - The IHS International Standards and Specifications database is comprised of two subfiles: STANDARD and MILSPEC. The STANDARD subfile contains references to voluntary engineering standards. It includes 90% of the world's most referenced standards from over 350 United States domestic societies and nearly 40 non-United States national and international standardizing bodies. The MILSPEC subfile consists of references to the largest commercially available collection of unclassified active and historical United States military and federal specifications and standards.
6. JICST-EPLUS - JAPANESE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - JICST-EPlus - Japanese Science & Technology is a comprehensive bibliographic database covering literature published in Japan from all fields of science, technology, and medicine. The file contains both the JICST-E and the PreJICST-E files from Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Information Center for Science and Technology (JICST). JICST-E contains bibliographic data, abstracts (when available), and indexing from 1985 to the present. PreJICST-E covers from 1994 onward and contains no indexing, but does include bibliographic data and abstracts (when available). Many, but not all, of the articles appearing in PreJICST-E will later be replaced by JICST-E records. JICST-EPlus covers over 6,000 journals and serials, in addition to conference papers, preprints, technical reports and other non-periodicals published by the Japanese government or local governments.
7. WILSON APPLIED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ABSTRACTS - Wilson Applied Science & Technology Abstracts provides comprehensive abstracting and indexing of more than 400 core English-language scientific and technical publications. Non-English-language periodicals are indexed if English abstracts are provided. Periodical coverage includes trade and industrial publications, journals issued by professional and technical societies, and specialized subject periodicals, as well as special issues such as buyers' guides, directories, and conference proceedings.
8. ENERGY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - Energy Science & Technology (formerly DOE ENERGY) is a multidisciplinary file containing worldwide references to basic and applied scientific and technical research literature. The information is collected for use by government managers, researchers at the national laboratories, and other research efforts sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the results of this research are transferred to the public. Abstracts are included for records from 1976 to the present. The database corresponds in part to Energy Research Abstracts and INIS Atom index, as well as to other publications. An online thesaurus is available; the hardcopy thesaurus is available from the National Technical Information Center (NTIS).
9. AEROSPACE DATABASE - The Aerospace Database provides references, abstracts, and controlled-vocabulary indexing of key scientific and technical documents, as well as books, reports, and conferences, covering aerospace research and development in over 40 countries including Japan and eastern European nations. This database supports basic and applied research in aeronautics, astronautics, and space sciences, as well as technology development and applications in complementary and supporting fields such as chemistry, geosciences, physics, communications, and electronics. The Aerospace Database is the online equivalent of International Aerospace Abstracts (IAA), published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It also contains reports issued by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, international institutions, universities, and private firms.
10. PASCAL - PASCAL is multidisciplinary, covering the core of the world's scientific and technical literature. The principal subject areas covered are: the fundamental disciplines of physics and chemistry; life sciences (including biology, medicine, and psychology); applied sciences and technology; earth sciences; and information sciences. In addition, a number of fields are covered exhaustively, often in cooperation with a variety of specialized research organizations. These fields are: energy; metals and metallurgy; building and public works; earth sciences; biotechnology; fundamental and applied zoology of invertebrates; agricultural sciences (specifically plant production); tropical medicine; and information science documentation. Fields not covered by PASCAL include: nuclear physics (study of the nucleus); military applications of aeronautics and space techniques; pure mathematics; veterinary pathology (except infectious aspects); animal husbandry (since 1979); and odontology (since 1982).
11. MICROCOMPUTER ABSTRACTS™ - Microcomputer Abstracts contains abstracts and citations to the literature on the use of microcomputers in business, industry, education, libraries, and the home. Over 90 traditional and cutting-edge publications are covered, including widely read mass-market computer publications, as well as those focusing on specific topics, such as hardware platforms, operating systems (Windows, DOS, UNIX, Macintosh, etc.), online systems, management, networks, and electronic publishing. Informative abstracts summarize software, hardware, and book reviews; feature articles; news; columns; program listings; product announcements; and buyer/vendor guides. A controlled vocabulary of descriptors is used for indexing. The database is produced by Information Today, Inc. and corresponds to the quarterly print publication Microcomputer Abstracts.
12. MATHSCI® - MathSci®, produced by the American Mathematical Society (AMS), provides comprehensive coverage of the world's literature on mathematics, statistics, and computer science and their applications in a wide range of disciplines, including operations research, econometrics, engineering,physics, biology, and many other related fields. Coverage is international, with nearly one third of the documents indexed originally published in languages other than English. MathSci consists of eight subfiles: Mathematical Reviews (MR), 1940-present; Current Mathematical Publications (CMP), a current awareness index; Current Index to Statistics (CIS), 1975-present; Index to Statistics and Probability (TUKEY), a retrospective index to the literature from 1910-1968; ACM Guide to Computer Literature (GCL) 1981-1989; Computing Reviews (CR) 1984-present; Technical Reports in Computer Science (STR) 1954-present; and STRENS Recreational Mathematics (SRM).
13. IAC COMPUTER DATABASE™ - IAC Computer Database™, File 275, provides comprehensive information about the computer, electronics, and telecommunications industries. Coverage includes detailed information about the evaluation, purchase, use, and support of computer and other electronic products. IAC Computer Database is designed to answer the questions of business and computer professionals about hardware, software, networks, peripherals, and services. Lengthy abstracts are available for most records from 1983 to present. Complete text is fully searchable for many records from 1988 to present.
14. SciSearch®: A Cited Reference Science Database is an international, multidisciplinary index to the literature of science, technology, biomedicine, and related disciplines produced by the Institute for Scientific Information® (ISI®). SciSearch contains all of the records published in the Science Citation Index® (SCI®), plus additional records from the Current Contents® publications. SciSearch is distinguished by some important and unique characteristics. First, journals indexed are selected on the basis of several criteria, including citation analysis, resulting in coverage of the most significant publications in the scientific, technical, and biomedical literature. Second, in addition to the more conventional retrieval methods, SciSearch offers citation indexing, which permits searching by cited references. For records added since January 1991, author abstracts, author keywords, and KeyWords Plus™ may be searched. SciSearch indexes all significant items (articles, review papers, meeting abstracts, letters, editorials, book reviews, correction notices, etc.) from approximately 4,500 major scientific and technical journals. Some 3,800 of these journals are further indexed by the references cited within each article, allowing for citation searching. An additional 700 journals indexed have been drawn from ISI Current Contents® series of publications.
15. CMP COMPUTER FULLTEXT - CMP Computer Fulltext provides timely, relevant information about the computer, communications, and electronic industries. The file includes fulltext, cover-to-cover coverage of twelve top rated newspapers and magazines published by CMP Media Inc.
16. Energyline® - Energyline® is the online version of Energy Information Abstracts® and also includes 8,000 energy- and environment-related records dating back to 1971 from The Energy Index. Energyline provides a primary source for information relating specifically to energy. Its data is drawn from many conventional discipline-oriented fields such as chemistry or engineering but is incorporated into Energyline only as it relates to energy issues and problems. Its coverage includes books, journals, Congressional committee prints, conference proceedings, speeches, and statistics.
17. Abstracts in New Technologies and Engineering (ANTE ) - Abstracts in New Technologies and Engineering (ANTE), formerly Current Technology Database, is an abstracting and indexing service covering approximately 350 journals from the U.K. and the U.S. in technology, engineering, and allied subject areas. The file corresponds to the printed products Abstracts in New Technologies and Engineering (ANTE) (formerly Current Technology Index) and Catchword and Trade Name Index. Abstracts are available from January 1993 to the present.

Back to Table of Contents

2. Dialog® OneSource®: Dialog® has made the job of patent searching easier by providing these Onesource® categories. These categories virtually group databases of similar subject matter together into one big file. Under Onesearch® you can search up to 60 databases. Onesearch® allows you to do a comprehensive search on files within a particular subject matter area. These files can be found using the Complete Database Catalog published by Knight-Ridder® Information. An easier way to locate the Onesearch® files is through the Dialog Onesearch® webpage.

Listed below are the OneSource® categories relevant to electrical/electronic subject matter. The files listed above appear in these various categories, with all of them in EECOMP, which is the most comprehensive on electrical/electronic subject matter. It is also noted that many of the categories comprise the same files. However, some of the categories also comprise some files that do not encompass electrical/electronic subject matter. These OneSource® categories were chosen for this brief because each one included a significant number of relevant files such that a conglomeration of all of the categories together provide a solid research tool for electrical/electronic subject matter. Also hyperlinks are provided when applicable.

1. Electrical Engineering & Computer Science [EECOMP]

2. Electronics Industry [ELECTRON]

Databases: ABI/INFORM [ 15]; BUSINESS & INDUSTRY [ 9]; BUSINESS DATELINE [ 635]; CMP COMPUTER FULLTEXT [ 647]; COMPUTER NEWS FULLTEXT [ 674]; DELPHES EUROPEAN BUSINESS [ 481]; DIALOG INVESTMENT RESEARCH INDEX [ 514]; DIALOG TELECOMMUNICATIONS NEWSLETTERS [ 696]; FUJI-KEIZAI MARKET RESEARCH [ 508]; IAC F&S INDEX [ 18]; IAC INDUSTRY EXPRESS [ 12]; IAC NATIONAL NEWSPAPER INDEX [ 111]; IAC NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS/PLUS [ 621]; IAC NEWSEARCH [ 211]; IAC NEWSLETTER DATABASE [ 636]; IAC PROMT [ 16]; IAC TRADE & INDUSTRY DATABASE [ 148]; IAC; COMPUTER DATABASE™; [ 275]; ICC INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS RESEARCH [ 563]; INDUSTRY TRENDS AND ANALYSIS [ 192]; INVESTEXT [ 545]; JUPITER MARKET RESEARCH [ 769]; KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE BUSINESS NEWS [ 608]; MICROCOMPUTER ABSTRACTS [ 233]; McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES PUBLICATIONS ONLINE [ 624]; SOFTBASE: REVIEWS, COMPANIES, AND PRODUCTS [ 256]; THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE [ 637]; WILSON BUSINESS ABSTRACTS FULL TEXT [ 553]; WORLD REPORTER [ 20]

3. Energy [ENERGY]

Databases: AEROSPACE DATABASE [ 108]; AESIS (Australia's Geoscience, Minerals, and Petroleum Database) [ 105]; API ENCOMPASS: NEWS [ 257]; APILIT [ 354]; APIPAT [ 353]; ELECTRIC POWER DATABASE [ 241]; ENERGY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [ 103]; ENVIROLINE [ 40]; ENVIRONMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY [ 68]; Ei Compendex [ 8]; Ei Engineering in Brief &sm; [ 78]; Energyline® [ 69]; FEDERAL REGISTER [ 669]; GEOBASE [ 292]; GEOREF [ 89]; GLOBAL MOBILITY DATABASE [ 64]; GeoArchive [ 58]; IAC NEWSLETTER DATABASE [ 636]; IAC TRADE & INDUSTRY DATABASE [ 148]; INSIDE CONFERENCES [ 65]; INSPEC [ 2]; JICST-EPLUS - JAPANESE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [ 94]; MIDDLE EAST NEWS [ 750]; McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES PUBLICATIONS ONLINE [ 624]; NTIS: NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE [ 6]; NTIS: NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE [3006]; NUCLEAR SCIENCE ABSTRACTS [ 109]; PARIS INTERNATIONAL [ 49]; PASCAL [ 144]; POLLUTION ABSTRACTS [ 41]; THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE [ 637]; TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INFORMATION SERVICES (TRIS) [ 63]; TULSA™; (PETROLEUM ABSTRACTS) [87]; WILSON APPLIED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ABSTRACTS [ 99]

4. Energy + File 987 [ENERGYP]

Databases: All files listed in ENERGY (except 87) plus TULSA™ (Petroleum Abstracts)

5. Engineering [ENG]

Databases: ABSTRACTS IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND ENGINEERING (ANTE) [ 238]; AEROSPACE DATABASE [ 108]; ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY ABSTRACTS [ 33]; CERAMIC ABSTRACTS [ 335]; CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY ABSTRACTS [ 315]; ENERGY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [ 103]; ENGINEERED MATERIALS ABSTRACTS [ 293]; Ei Compendex [ 8]; FLUIDEX [ 96]; GLOBAL MOBILITY DATABASE [ 64]; ICONDA - International Construction Database [ 118]; IHS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS [ 92]; INSIDE CONFERENCES [ 65]; INSPEC [ 2]; ISMEC: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ABSTRACTS [ 14]; JICST-EPLUS - JAPANESE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [ 94]; MATHSCI [ 239]; METADEX: METALS SCIENCE [ 32]; NTIS: NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE [ 6]; NTIS: NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE [ 3006]; PAPERCHEM [ 240]; PIRA (PACKAGING, PAPER, PRINTING AND PUBLISHING, IMAGING AND NO [248]; RAPRA: RUBBER AND PLASTICS [ 323]; SCISEARCH - A CITED REFERENCE SCIENCE DATABASE [ 34]; TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INFORMATION SERVICES (TRIS) [ 63]; TULSA™; (PETROLEUM ABSTRACTS) [ 87]; WILSON APPLIED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ABSTRACTS [ 99]; WORLD SURFACE COATINGS ABSTRACTS [ 31]; WORLD TRANSLATIONS INDEX [ 295]

6. Telecommunications Technology [TELECOM]

Back to Table of Contents

3. STN® - STN® is a search engine company in conjuntion with Fiz Karlsruhe, Germany. It is very similar to Dialog®, and in fact uses many of the same databases. As compared to Dialog®'s OneSource® files, STN® has developed cluster files which group together databases of similar subject matter. The ELECTRICAL cluster was the only one of relevance that was needed for this brief. There were others of relevance, but they either included all of these databases together with irrelevant databases or they only covered a few of these databases together. Thus, in searching for electrical/electronic subject matter on STN®, the ELECTRICAL cluster yields all pertinent databases.

STN® ELECTRICAL Cluster File-

 Back to Table of Contents

**Below are abbreviated descriptions of the files found in STN® relevant to electrical/electronic subject matter. There were some similar files between Dialog® and STN®, even though the file names were not exactly alike. These similar databases are not described below in that they are described above. The databases below are not described in the above database descriptions because they are not supported by Dialog® OneSource®, however they are carried in the ELECTRICAL cluster of STN®:

 Back to Table of Contents

1. Questel-Orbit: This company is not on the web, so unfortunately, their databases are not as easily accessible. However, as noted above, the do host the Derwent® World Patent Index (DWPI). Thus the EPI is available through their services.
2. Lexis-Nexis: This company does not offer a whole lot that would be relevant to electrical/electronic subject matter. They do have several non-patent prior art publications databases, however they do not have an "easy access" file as so STN® and Dialog®. If you want to search these, you must search one at a time, which get very costly. Also Lexis-Nexis does not offer very much in the realm of technology, as does STN® and Dialog®. Most of the files dealing with electrical/electronic subject matter are more shaped to the business/financial side of the industry.

 Back to Table of Contents

Below is a list of classifications produced by the USPTO that deal in electrical/electronic subject matter. In order to do a comprehensive search, these classifications must be used in conjunction with the materials at a Patent and Trademark Depository Library. There is at least one PTDL in every state. The below classifications can be used with the Manual of Classifications for a searcher to further narrow his/her search to a particular area. In a sense, these classifications are similar to files or databases used online, with the difference being these are a much more manual search and there is no query interface to use to narrow down subject matter. The "narrowing down" must be done through the sub-classifications.

Class Number: 60 - POWER PLANTS

Class Number: 138 - PIPES AND TUBULAR CONDUITS

Class Number: 174 -ELECTRICITY: CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS

Class Number: 180 - MOTOR VEHICLES

Class Number: 191 - ELECTRICITY: TRANSMISSION TO VEHICLES

Class Number: 198 - CONVEYORS: POWER-DRIVEN

Class Number: 200 - ELECTRICITY: CIRCUIT MAKERS AND BREAKERS

Class Number: 204 - CHEMISTRY: ELECTRICAL AND WAVE ENERGY

Class Number: 205 - ELECTROLYSIS: PROCESSES, COMPOSITIONS USED THEREIN, AND METHODS OF PREPARING THE COMPOSITIONS

Class Number: 218 - HIGH-VOLTAGE SWITCHES WITH ARC PREVENTING OR EXTINGUISHING DEVICES

Class Number: 219 - ELECTRIC HEATING

Class Number: 220 - RECEPTACLES

Class Number: 235 - REGISTERS

Class Number: 236 - AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY REGULATION

Class Number: 246 - RAILWAY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS

Class Number: 250 - RADIANT ENERGY

Class Number: 285 - PIPE JOINTS OR COUPLINGS

Class Number: 290 - PRIME-MOVER DYNAMO PLANTS

Class Number: 307 - ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION OR INTERCONNECTION SYSTEMS

Class Number: 310 - ELECTRICAL GENERATOR OR MOTOR STRUCTURE

Class Number: 313 - ELECTRIC LAMP AND DISCHARGE DEVICES

Class Number: 314 - ELECTRIC LAMP AND DISCHARGE DEVICES: CONSUMABLE ELECTRODES

Class Number: 315 - ELECTRIC LAMP AND DISCHARGE DEVICES: SYSTEMS

Class Number: 318 - ELECTRICITY: MOTIVE POWER SYSTEMS

Class Number: 320 - ELECTRICITY: BATTERY OR CAPACITOR CHARGING OR DISCHARGING

Class Number: 322 - ELECTRICITY: SINGLE GENERATOR SYSTEMS

Class Number: 323 - ELECTRICITY: POWER SUPPLY OR REGULATION SYSTEMS

Class Number: 324 - ELECTRICITY: MEASURING AND TESTING

Class Number: 326 - ELECTRONIC DIGITAL LOGIC CIRCUITRY

Class Number: 327 - MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVE ELECTRICAL NONLINEAR DEVICES, CIRCUITS, AND SYSTEMS

Class Number: 329 - DEMODULATORS

Class Number: 330 - AMPLIFIERS

Class Number: 331 - OSCILLATORS

Class Number: 332 - MODULATORS

Class Number: 333 - WAVE TRANSMISSION LINES AND NETWORKS

Class Number: 335 - ELECTRICITY: MAGNETICALLY OPERATED SWITCHES, MAGNETS, AND ELECTROMAGNETS

Class Number: 336 - INDUCTOR DEVICES

Class Number: 337 - ELECTRICITY: ELECTROTHERMALLY OR THERMALLY ACTUATED SWITCHES

Class Number: 338 - ELECTRICAL RESISTORS

Class Number: 340 - COMMUNICATIONS: ELECTRICAL

Class Number: 342 - COMMUNICATIONS: DIRECTIVE RADIO WAVE SYSTEMS AND DEVICES (E.G., RADAR, RADIO NAVIGATION)

Class Number: 343 - COMMUNICATIONS: RADIO WAVE ANTENNAS

Class Number: 345 - COMPUTER GRAPHICS PROCESSING, OPERATOR INTERFACE PROCESSING, AND SELECTIVE VISUAL DISPLAY SYSTEMS

Class Number: 348 - TELEVISION

Class Number: 356 - OPTICS: MEASURING AND TESTING

Class Number: 359 - OPTICS: SYSTEMS (INCLUDING COMMUNICATION) AND ELEMENTS

Class Number: 361 - ELECTRICITY: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND DEVICES

Class Number: 362 - ILLUMINATION

Class Number: 363 - ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION SYSTEMS

Class Number: 364 - ELECTRICAL COMPUTERS AND DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS

Class Number: 367 - COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL: ACOUSTIC WAVE SYSTEMS AND DEVICES

Class Number: 370 - MULTIPLEX COMMUNICATIONS

Class Number: 373 - INDUSTRIAL ELECTRIC HEATING FURNACES

Class Number: 375 - PULSE OR DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS

Class Number: 376 - INDUCED NUCLEAR REACTIONS: PROCESSES, SYSTEMS, AND ELEMENTS

Class Number: 377 - ELECTRICAL PULSE COUNTERS, PULSE DIVIDERS, OR SHIFT REGISTERS: CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS

Class Number: 378 - X-RAY OR GAMMA RAY SYSTEMS OR DEVICES

Class Number: 379 - TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Class Number: 381 - ELECTRICAL AUDIO SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS AND DEVICES

Class Number: 382 - IMAGE ANALYSIS

Class Number: 385 - OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES

Class Number: 388 - ELECTRICITY: MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEMS

Class Number: 392 - ELECTRIC RESISTANCE HEATING DEVICES

Class Number: 395 - INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM ORGANIZATION

Class Number: 399 - ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY

Class Number: 429 - CHEMISTRY: ELECTRICAL CURRENT PRODUCING APPARATUS, PRODUCT, AND PROCESS

Class Number: 438 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURING: PROCESS

Class Number: 439 - ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS

Class Number: 445 - ELECTRIC LAMP OR SPACE DISCHARGE COMPONENT OR DEVICE MANUFACTURING

Class Number: 455 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Class Number: 475 - PLANETARY GEAR TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS OR COMPONENTS

Class Number: 477 - INTERRELATED POWER DELIVERY CONTROLS, INCLUDING ENGINE CONTROL

Class Number: 701 - DATA PROCESSING: VEHICLES, NAVIGATION, AND RELATIVE LOCATION

Class Number: 704 - DATA PROCESSING: SPEECH SIGNAL PROCESSING, LINGUISTICS, LANGUAGE TRANSLATION, AND AUDIO COMPRESSION/DECOMPRESSION

Class Number: 707 - DATA PROCESSING: DATABASE AND FILE MANAGEMENT, DATA STRUCTURES, OR DOCUMENT PROCESSING

Class Number: 711 - ELECTRICAL COMPUTERS AND DIGITAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS: MEMORY

Class Number: 901 - ROBOTS

Class Number: 902 - ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER

Class Number: 976 - NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY

Class Number: D10 - MEASURING, TESTING, OR SIGNALLING INSTRUMENTS

Class Number: D12 - TRANSPORTATION

Class Number: D14 - RECORDING, COMMUNICATION, OR INFORMATION RETREIVAL EQUIPMENT

Class Number: D15 - MACHINES NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED

Class Number: D16 - PHOTOGRAPHY AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT

Class Number: D26 - LIGHTING

Back to Table of Contents