ENG 1102 Renaissance Engineering 2: Engineering Design Principles.
Assignment #5B or 5C – Due April 9 at 11.59pm
Assignment 5B (Individual Assignment)
Student Name:
Guild No:
Number: Mark: ___ /85
Section: Project Title:
If more than one student is completing this assignment, add additional student names:
Assignment 5C (Guild based assignment – two or more guild members)
Student Name: Christopher Enriquez-Birch
Number: 218212589 Mark: ___ /100
Student Name: Nima Jadidian
Number: 218228148 Mark: ___ /100
Student Name: Rayyan Makda
Number: 218377911 Mark: ___ /100
Student Name: Shikhar Patel
Number: 218114017 Mark: ___ /100
Student Name: Zehra Jilani
Number: 218313056 Mark: ___ /100
Guild No: 15 Section: Q Project Title: Mobile School – bringing education and healthcare to remote
communities
(Image Source: http://www.eustartupservices.eu)
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”
Steve Jobs
This assignment can be done as an individual assignment (answer questions 1–6, submit to Assignment
5B submission portal on eClass) or with members of your guild (answer questions 1–8, each guild
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member submits a copy to Assignment 5C submission portal on eClass). If you are answering with other
members of your guild, you need to list who else is included in the submission, and each of you needs to
submit a copy under Assignment 5C. Individual assignments will be marked out of 100, team assignments
(2 or more guild members) will be marked out of 120.
1. Your Tasks
This assignment is to help you better understand the patenting process by having you develop a patent
for the solution that you have developed as part of this course. We recognize that while in some
circumstance your solution may be patentable but that in most cases it will not, either because it does
not meet the “test” for patentability, or because someone else has already patented it. However, this
assignment is not designed to enable you to patent your innovation, but rather to understand the
process and there are no marks deducted if you are unlikely to obtain a patent. Submission should be
completed by April 9, and include one pdf version of this document, with the answers, and one additional
document to include the drawing/schematic. Drawings can be by hand and photographed or created
using CAD software. They can either be representations of a physical solution or a flowchart to show the
process works. If you feel that you need to add additional drawings or flow charts, please submit them
also.
2. Resources
Watch the video with Prof. Andrew Maxwell discussing the principles of patenting with a well-known
patent lawyer (https://vimeo.com/118745434) to understand the important aspects of protecting
intellectual property. This will reinforce the concept of intellectual property as a critical component for
development of a commercially viable technology that was discussed in class. As a guide to how to create
a patent, and what might be included in the abstract, features, drawings, and claims you can see an
example from Dr. Maxwell’s WorkOnce Wireless patent, which is available on eClass.
The Appendix includes details from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) website
(http://www.cipo.gc.ca/) that explains in more details each of these aspects of the patent. Other
resources are linked at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr01477.html.
For questions about You can search the CIPO website (link above) or Google Patents
(https://patents.google.com/) for examples of patents, their structure and to identify similar patents and
prior art.
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Part A: Patentability (12 marks)
1. Evidence of patent eligibility – may require some background research
a. Evidence your solution is new/novel (i.e., did not already exist): (4 marks)
In developing Central Africa alone, a staggering 33 million primary school-aged children do not
have access to basic elementary schooling (TheBorgenProject, https://borgenproject.org/aboutschools-in-africa/), and it is likely that millions more children are also lacking in fundamental health
care. The far distances that lead to inaccessible education and healthcare is a major contributor to this
issue.
Our design brings doctors, teachers, and engineers to work together and brighten the future of
children in isolated and remote communities. The Mobile school has the ability to tackle 2 SDG goals
simultaneously; access to education and good health and well-being. How will we do this? Simple, a
portable school on wheels. Teachers will teach the principles of reading and math, as well as skills to
live healthy. With the assistance of the Canadian Government and other stakeholders, doctors will be
able to diagnose patients with diseases, prescribe medicine, organize nutritious meals and provide
access to required health resources to children and their families for an improved quality of life. Last,
but most certainly not least, engineers will be able to deliver water filters and solar panels to supply
communities with clean drinking water and electricity.
Our Mobile School performs many functions. There is no solution quite like ours, as our
implementation to tackle good health along with access to education in isolated communities takes our
solution to the next level. The Mobile School addresses the issue in a new way by bringing school to
the children, and by not sacrificing the standard of education and resources in the process.
b. Evidence your solution is creative/innovative (i.e. non-obvious): (4 marks)
Remote communities lack access to well-established schools and education programs. The
Mobile School design aims to serve dozens of remote communities, whereas a single school that is
highly expensive to build and maintain can only serve one. With a plan to revisit those communities in a
path that would be efficient for travel, we are able to continue the necessary hands-on education that
these children desperately need.
Our education program is not only a one-day classroom however, the Mobile School supplies
children with resources and booklets of math and reading problems to promote self-education. Through
the Mobile School, children will learn to take initiative and responsibility of their own education, which
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will reward them with invaluable life skills. We aim to teach mathematics, reading, writing,
comprehension, and standard practices that promote healthy living (such as the importance of proper
hygiene, sanitation, meditation, maintaining an active lifestyle, etc).
With the assistance of the Canadian government and other stakeholders, doctors and engineers
can educate, provide access to, and play a role in the distribution of vital resources to these isolated
communities in regular visits.
c. Evidence your solution is useful: (4 marks)
The overhead costs of building several schools in different remote areas would not be feasible
and near impossible to manage with current available resources in these developing countries. Instead,
one Mobile School can function to meet the needs of remote learning in dozens of communities.
As it stands, the UN access to education goals are expected to be a huge failure, as $30 billion
dollars is short on what needs to be spent to reach the goals. This will result in an estimated 250 million
children to still be out of school by 2030 (DW News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vD2ufL_3Z4).
However, our Mobile School program provides the necessary solution to help accommodate this issue
as it promotes and delivers access to remote learning and builds independence in children of all ages.
By providing them with reading and math booklets, pencils, and other resources, children will finally
have the education and resources required to study. The in-person lectures held regularly (on a
monthly or bi-weekly basis) by qualified teachers will support and motivate children, something that
online learning cannot provide.
In conclusion, education is severely important for the security of any child’s future. Our solution
is economically feasible compared to public schools and has the potential to serve many communities
rather than one. Additionally, education has the ability to address many different UN SDGs because it
has the power to lift people out of poverty, assist in economic growth, contribute to a peaceful society,
etc. Therefore, our solution and its impact on the lives of children in isolated communities will be of
extreme value.
Part B: Prior Art (30 marks)
2. Identify three patents in the field that are in the same areas as your proposed patent, include:
a. Patent 1 (10 marks):
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(i) Patent number (2 marks): 2446746
(ii) Patent title (2 marks): System and Method of Virtual Schooling
(iii) Date of filing (1 mark): 2002-05-09 (May 9, 2002)
(iv) Name of filer(s) (1 mark): Packard, Ronald (United States of America)
Saxberg, Bror Valdemar HAUG (United States of America)
(v) Patent description (4 marks): It is a method of virtual schooling. This system is capable of providing
a unique internet based elementary and secondary education. The service offers comprehensive
powerful education to all children, no matter where they live or what their financial status is. Lessons
integrate off-line instructional materials as well for a well-rounded learning experience.
b. Patent 2 (10 marks):
(i) Patent number (2 marks): 2386637
(ii) Patent title (2 marks): Interactive Patient Educational Tool
(iii) Date of filing (1 mark): 2000-10-05 (October 5, 2000)
(iv) Name of filer(s) (1 mark): Packard, R. Andrew (United States of America)
(v) Patent description (4 marks): The doctors and nurses in the medical industry have not been entirely
effective at educating their patients, even though its importance. Such education from doctors would
benefit their patients to lead healthier lives, diminish the need of emergency medical treatment, and
lower costs to medical care. Due to a lack of time and in some cases, a lack of responsibility, important
health-related subjects such as preventive healthcare methods, and full aspects of the client’s medical
problems are not adequately educated. This invention uses a modern computer technology to truly
educate and change patient behaviour with documented statistics and information.
c. Patent 3 (10 marks):
(i) Patent number (2 marks): 2939724
(ii) Patent title (2 marks): A Secure Education Platform for Geographical Areas with Limited Internet
Access
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(iii) Date of filing (1 mark): 2016-08-03 (August 3, 2016)
(iv) Name of filer(s) (1 mark): BENALI, MEJDA (Not Available)
BENSEBAA, FARID (Canada)
FOUZAR, YOUCEF (Not Available)
MOKHTARI, YASSINE (Not Available)
(v) Patent description (4 marks): To reduce the disparities for quality education, this invention provides
the opportunity for any student to have access to the best courses. This is the development of a USB
flash drive that could be used by students who have no internet access at home. Video educational
content and course materials selected by teachers are included in this interactive parent-student
approach to learning.
Part C: Basic Information (25 marks) (follow guide in Appendix and example patent on eClass):
3. Provide an abstract describing the main parts of your innovation and how they work (10 marks):
For students living in isolated remote communities, we provide necessary and vital resources for
a positive impact on living conditions and also provide in-person learning and hands-on experience for
a significant education.
Our design consists of educating children and parents and building a plan that they could
adhere to without our assistance. This process will be implemented through a portable school that
travels to remote communities to provide a quality education, as well as resources such as water filters,
solar panels, and vaccines to improve health and well-being (provided with the assistance of the
Canadian Government, stakeholders, etc).
The education will be regularly recurring (bi-weekly or monthly) and our qualified teachers will
provide necessary utensils and paperwork so that children can learn independently. The doctors will
professionally deliver the essential health resources that are desperately needed by these
communities, as many in these communities have no access to healthcare. Our engineers will provide
water filtration systems and solar panels that are regularly maintained on our regular visits to the
community, for an improved quality of life.
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4. Provide a description/list of key features for your innovation clear enough that someone else
could make/use the invention using only description provided (15 marks):
The mobile school is designed to provide education to several remote communities by creating
a school that can be relocated in order to be easily accessible. Our invention would be a one room
classroom that would be adapted to be collapsible in order to allow for it to be driven across a region.
This would be done by implementing a similar design to that of an RV where the sides of the
classroom would be brough inwards in order to minimize the size of the classroom during travel but
expand to maximize the size during educational use. One side of the Mobile School would expand
outwards in order to make the space larger while the other side would open up via sliding doors and
create a roofing in order to provide structure. The mobile school would have a semi-detached cab that
would be used to drive the classroom from community to community.
Another key feature of the Mobile School is its safety features. These are implemented in order
to keep all users safe, such as how the mobile school can only expand and collapse when the stability
anchors are engaged or disengaged. The stability anchors controller would be only accessible from the
cab and would provide a one minute warning to all users prior to being engaged or disengaged. Further
safety features would be an emergency failsafe in 3 accessible locations, one being located in the cab,
one located in the classroom, and one being a handheld controller. The emergency failsafe would
completely prevent any modifications from occurring and could only be disengaged by entering a
passcode.
Additionally, the mobile school would have to have a way to power itself by implementing solar
panels on the roof of the school. It will be able to power all functions needed in the classroom and cab.
An additional minor feature that would be applicable in the Mobile school would be the solar panel
battery located under the classroom floor and accessible via a small locked hatch. Furthermore, having
power outlets in order to have a small computer setup with wifi in the back of the classroom would allow
for education on technology.
Finally, quality of life features would be implemented such as a small one person bathroom with
a septic tank underneath it located in the back of the classroom, shelving in order to store first aid
supplies, food and water, and a chalkboard located in the internal wall of the classroom.
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Part D: Claims (18 marks) (follow guide in Appendix and example patent on eClass).
Should include one aspect of the innovation only, be clear and provide context. Might require evidence
to support claim (for example performance or results):
5. Provide three claims about your innovation (6 marks each part):
a. Claim 1 (6 marks)
We allow our users to start taking responsible for their own health and education. This is done by
educating the students and their parents and making a plan that they can adhere to without our
guidance and assistance. These plans help assist people who would otherwise be unable to make
those decisions themselves. Using our platform and services, we provide access to required
fundamental academics and to health care resources to begin this initiative.
b. Claim 2 (6 marks)
Bring the school to them instead of bringing the kids to the school. This process will be implemented
through a portable school that travels to isolated remote communities to provide a quality education.
This is innovative, functional, and feasible as schools are not always close to their serving communities
and can take up to a day of on foot travelling. As most residents of these developing countries do not
have access to their own motor vehicles, nor live close enough to cities with some sort of public
transportation system, our Mobile School platform and services would be the perfect solution to the
demand of accessibility.
c.
Claim 3 (6 marks)
We provide quality assistance, personalized education tailored to individual students, and the
necessary resources required to succeed academically. The service will provide resources such as
water filters, solar panels, and vaccines; that are provided with the assistance of the Canadian
Government, stakeholders, etc. Teachers will also provide necessary utensils and paperwork that the
children can use to work independently. These physical resources cannot be attained through online
virtual systems.
Part E: Drawings and Schematics
6.
Provide relevant drawings, diagrams or flow chart for your innovation (minimum 2) on a
separate page or attach as a separate file (15 marks)
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Bonus questions for team submissions only. Each guild member should submit a copy
of the assignment under their own name using the Assignment 5C submission portal
on eClass.
Part F: Influence of prior art and likelihood of patentability (20 marks):
7. Link to prior art (10 marks):
Using one of the prior art patents identified in question 2 and explain how your patent is different from
their prior art (noting that this should be linked to one of your claims). You should identify one thing
that your solution does, that the original patent does not:
For this question we will be comparing our patent to patent #3 identified in question 2. Patent #3
describes the use of a USB loaded with educational content for students who do not have access to
internet or proper education. The student can load up the content without the need for internet and
learn on their own based on the videos and content in the USB.
While this is a great solution for students without access to internet, there are a few things our
solution builds on and does differently. Our patent is different because tutoring sessions will be
scheduled for in person learning. Therefore, the teacher and resources are accessible to the students
in case they have questions or cannot completely understand a topic. It reduces some stress and
difficulties of learning independently or online. Another thing our patent does differently that
corresponds to our third claim, is that we can provide physical resources for the students to use such
as math and reading booklets, pencils, and other fundamental materials. This is more useful for
students as they do not need any technology to learn using these resources. As for the USB, the
student would need a computer to access any of the materials whereas in our solution, the children do
not need any prior technology or other requirements to learn.
An additional difference is that our solution can deliver crucial resources for the health and wellbeing of our students who live in remote communities. Doctors can examine and give medical
prescriptions, engineers can supply water filtration systems and solar panels for electricity, and the
Mobile School can act as a pathway for these students to achieve their biggest dreams by providing
them a plan (educational and health-wise) that they could adhere to.
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8. Reasons not to grant a patent (10 marks):
Lack of creativity/ too obvious:
It is evident that there have been previous ideas for the concept of transporting essential
services to communities, as concepts that were executed before are currently in use. Also, the concept
of a classroom that moves around may appear to lack logical thinking, as it is potentially unfeasible and
will not be as effective at achieving the objectives as planned.
Lack of usefulness:
The traditional concept of providing education in schools and accessibility to sufficient health
care has not yet been normalized as mobile. The idea of not having a designated space may not be
ideal in some scenarios.
Lack of novelty:
The mobile school is not the first idea of its kind. Other forms of mobile services for education,
such as private one-on-one tutoring cases, are already in existence and appear far more often than
expected. This shows the potential significance that people and organizations are utilizing them, but
lacks ability to be expanded to the idea of Mobile School or Mobile Health Care.
Based on prior art:
There are already multiple ideas in forms of "School Bus", "Turn-Key Schools in Trailers",
"Container Schools", and "Mobile Labs". These ideas are similar enough that the concept could look
like a copy of the current implementations of mobile school.
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Turn-Key Schools in Trailers:
School Bus:
Container Schools:
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Appendix (Details of patents from Canadian Patent Office)
Prior Art:
Prior art consists of all information/documentation that has been disclosed with the public about an
invention before the filing date of the patent in question. Patentability (novelty, utility, and
inventiveness) must be assessed during the examination process in view of the prior art as it could impact
the eligibility for a patent. Specifically, the patent filing has to both review (and include) information on
relevant prior art (especially previously issued patents). (Note in the US people filing a patent must
include any relevant prior art – while this is not a requirement when filing a Canadian patent). It is
important in a patent filing to show how your patent is different from previous patents. Information
contained in a filing of prior art is taken into account and will be used during examination if it is found to
be pertinent by the examiner.
Abstract:
The abstract is a short summary (150 words or fewer) that describes your invention and says how it can
be used. Abstracts are mainly used for searching patent databases.
In your abstract:
•
Describe the main parts of your invention and how they work
•
Avoid referring to any claims, or other parts of your application. Since your abstract may be
read on its own, the reader will not understand if you discuss other parts of your application.
•
Write your abstract so that those with a background in the field can easily understand it.
Description/Features:
The description must be able to answer the questions of "what is your invention" and "how does it
work." It should be clear enough that someone else could make and use the invention using only the
description you provide.
Make sure your description is a complete and full description. This is important because you can't add
any new information to your patent application once you have filed it.
•
Start with general background information and then move on to more detailed information
about your invention and its parts.
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•
Any changes that you make must be in line with what was originally there. Nothing new can be
added.
Claims:
The claims you make in your application are the legal foundation that protects your invention. They
form a boundary around your patent defining your invention. They let others know when they are
trespassing on your rights. When you write the claims section, consider the scope, characteristics and
structure of your claims.
Scope
Each claim should have only 1 meaning, which can be either broad (general and high level) or narrow
(more specific), but not both at the same time. Writing many claims, where each has its own scope,
means you can get legal title to several aspects of your invention.
Characteristics
When you are writing your claims, make sure that they are:
•
clear—so that you do not cause the reader to wonder about the claim (avoid using words such
as "thin," "strong," "a major part," "such as" or "when required" as these words force the
reader to make a judgement based on their opinion rather than on objective observation: be
specific)
•
complete—so that it covers an inventive feature and has enough elements around it to put the
invention in the proper context
•
supported—by the description (your claim should be clear and easy to understand by the
average person working in your field based on your description)
Structure
A claim is a single sentence (statement) made up of 3 parts:
a. Preamble (or introductory phrase)
The preamble names the category of the invention, and sometimes the purpose (for example, a
machine for waxing paper, a composition for fertilizing soil).
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b. Purview (or body)
The purview lists the main parts of the invention, such as parts of a device, steps of a process or
method, ingredients of a composition or groups in the chemical formula of a compound.
c. Transitional phrase
The transitional phrase describes how the body of the claim relates to the introductory phrase.
It helps assess the scope of the claim as the phrase can be restrictive or permissive in nature. It
joins the previous 2 parts. It is made up of words and phrases such as:
•
"which comprises"
•
"comprising"
•
"including"
•
"consisting of"
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