Quote:
Originally Posted by older racer
hi, they claim , they have a patent or getting one. those take about 2 to 3 years to get. they are not givin out on a whim! they have to have a patent lawer do a search , then the patent process can begin. just sounds soo fishy!! nhra can let us make our own! we'd have to give them a kickback prob?
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A patent takes around 4 to 6 years to get issued, if valid.
I am currently a co-author in 3 patents and they were submitted 3 years ago and it will take about 2 more until issued.
Like I said before, the tether concept and means, is not patentable. The components being used, are not either.
If you just look at excerpts of the definition of a "tether" in Wikipedia, you can see why.
A tether is a cord, fixture, or signal that anchors something movable to a reference point which may be fixed or moving. There are a number of applications for tethers: balloons, kites, tethered wind-energy conversion systems, anchors, tethered water-flow energy conversion systems, towing, animal constraint, and power-kiting. Tethers may break by various means; if a tether is a signal, then interruption by signal barriers breaks the tether. If the tether is a cord or rope, then upon reaching the breaking strength of the tether, the tether fails in its function. Failure modes for tethers are considered when designing arrangements where a tether is needed. When a tether or line breaks suddenly, backlash of the segments may cause severe damage or loss of life; safety links are sometimes used to prevent excessive tension in a tether involved in towing objects or persons, like in the towing of sailplanes; the safety link in a tether is thus a tether itself. Tethering objects to prevent theft of an object like a computer at a school or library is now commonly seen.