If your search returned no matching records, or did not return the results you expected, review the following search criteria. This information is designed to assist the researcher of Lighting Patents by defining the parameters upon which the search is based.

• The default all will query your searchword in all the searchable categories. If you select all and do not specify a searchword (leave the searchword blank), the query will return all of the records in the database! Twenty-five (25) records will be displayed at a time. For additional options, see Sort Options below.

• To view additional information, click on the Full Record icon. It will display additional fields contained in the full record.

• If you are searching the Patent Date field, please use the following format: YYYY-MM-D, where YYYY represents the full year, MM is the numerical equilavent of the month (April = 04, October = 10), and D is the day. Example: 1887-10-5, represents October 5, 1887. Some patent dates may only return one record, while others may return many. The number of records is determined by how many lighting-related patents were issued on that particular date.

  If you know the year and month, you can enter it YYYY-MM and the search will return all patents submitted in that month and year. Likewise, if you know the month and day, you can enter MM-D and the search will return all patents entered on that month and day in every year in the data base.

  If you are relatively certain of your date(s) and they don't return the expected results, check out the Perpetual Calendar to see if they fall on normal Patent Issues days.

  Here's another handy table, Patent Table, that lists patent sequences by year of invention, design, and reissue.

• If you are searching the Patent Number field, enter digits only. Do not use commas or spaces. If your search does not return a record, it may not be a patent that pertains to lighting, or it may have been an oversight of our research team. Our team searched thousands of patent records to compile this database, and it is possible that some were overlooked. Please inform us if we have omitted a known lighting-related patent from the database.

• If you are searching Patent Classification field, enter the classification as it appears on the USPTO website, e.g., 431/321. The search of the patent classification field will return the primary classification. Many patents are cross-referenced under a number of classifications. If the patent is listed under other classes, they will be noted in the Additional Patent Classifications section of the full record (click on the icon).

• If you are searching the Patentee/Maker or Patent Description field, enter a search word. The search performs a character string search, so if you are looking for all patents pertaining to Extinguisher Mechanisms on Lamp Burners, you could enter the word extinguisher. The search should return all the records that contain the word extinguisher in their description. Likewise, a search for Smith in the Patentee column should return all patents granted to people with the surname Smith.

• The guidelines for searching the Search Class field are the same as above. This field contains choice descriptors or keywords similar to those in the Patent Description. This field may help narrow down your original search if your search returns a large number of records.

• There are a number of Sort Options available:

  1. You can sort by Patent Number (default), Patent Classification, Patent Date, or Patentee.
  2. You can order the sort in Ascending (default) or Descending order.
  3. You can specify the number of records to return per page. This is especially helpful if there are a large number of records returned as it breaks the results into more manageable pieces.

   

For additional help, or to report errors or omissions, contact the Database Administrator