Advantages of Professional Patent Drawings
Patent drawings are one of the key components of a patent application.
Professional drawings help to completely cover the invention and all permutations.
Detailed patent drawings can save you if a key component or feature was
accidentally left out of the written disclosure. The USPTO frequently views
drawings in order to determine what was disclosed at the time the application
was filed.
There are several key components to creating patent drawings that the inventor,
patent attorney, and ultimately the USPTO find readable, understandable, and
aesthetically pleasing.
A patent drawing must be accurate. It should reflect the form, surface finish,
and material of the subject matter. A patent drawing must be clear. Certain
elements of the subject may be omitted, phantomed, or sectioned for increased
clarity. The composition must be pleasing. How the subject fills the space and
the choice of viewing angle contribute to the overall effect. The drawing
technique should be appropriate. Line weights, tone, and shading should relate
to the scale, mass, and surface of the subject.
Number of Views
There should be as many views drawn as needed to clearly disclose the invention
and its novelty, i.e., front, rear, right and left sides, top and bottom. While
not required, it is suggested that perspective views be submitted to clearly
show the shape and appearance of three-dimensional designs. For design patent
drawings, if a perspective view is submitted, the surfaces shown would normally
not be required to be illustrated in other views if these surfaces are clearly
understood and disclosed in the perspective.
Drawing Preparation
The drawings should be done in black and white, unless color is needed to
illustrate specifics of the invention or idea. The scale should be large enough
to show the mechanism without crowding when the drawing is reduced in size to
two-thirds in reproductions. Patent drawings should be done on high quality
paper that is strong and non-glossy. All sheets must be free from cracks,
creases and folds. Only one side of the sheet may be used for the drawing. Each
sheet must be free from erasures and free from alterations, overwritings, and
interlineations.
This is why it is best to hire a professional draftsman to do this work as it
can be difficult to do for those who are not experienced with scaled drawings,
multiple views and patent office standards.