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39-561: Locking pliers (also called Vise-Grips , Mole wrench or Mole grips ) are pliers that can be locked into position, using an "over-center" cam action. Locking pliers are available with many different jaw styles, such as needle-nose pliers, wrenches, clamps and various shapes to fix metal parts for welding. They also come in many sizes. The first locking pliers, with the trade name Vise-Grip, were invented by William S. Petersen in De Witt, Nebraska , United States in 1924. Later, in 1955, in

78-552: A 1959 Australian decision ("NRDC"), they believe that it is not possible to grasp the invention concept in a single rule. A British court once stated that the technical character test implies a "restatement of the problem in more imprecise terminology." In the United States, all patent applications are considered inventions. The statute explicitly says that the American invention concept includes discoveries (35 USC § 100(a)), contrary to

117-480: A new kind of abstraction by dripping, pouring, splashing and splattering paint onto un-stretched canvas lying on the floor. Inventive tools of the artist's trade also produced advances in creativity. Impressionist painting became possible because of newly invented collapsible, resealable metal paint tubes that facilitated spontaneous painting outdoors. Inventions originally created in the form of artwork can also develop other uses, e.g. Alexander Calder's mobile, which

156-458: A nut or bolt that has been 'rounded', helping pull out nails, holding pipes without squeezing them, and acting as temporary substitute levers or knobs on equipment and machinery. Pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing

195-496: A wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other side. This arrangement creates a mechanical advantage , allowing the force of the grip strength to be amplified and focused on an object with precision. The jaws can also be used to manipulate objects too small or unwieldy to be manipulated with

234-449: Is also an important component of artistic and design creativity . Inventions often extend the boundaries of human knowledge, experience or capability. Inventions are of three kinds: scientific-technological (including medicine), sociopolitical (including economics and law), and humanistic, or cultural. Scientific-technological inventions include railroads, aviation , vaccination , hybridization, antibiotics , astronautics, holography ,

273-427: Is also an important legal concept and central to patent law systems worldwide. As is often the case for legal concepts, its legal meaning is slightly different from common usage of the word. Additionally, the legal concept of invention is quite different in American and European patent law. In Europe, the first test a patent application must pass is, "Is this an invention?" If it is, subsequent questions are whether it

312-612: Is new and sufficiently inventive. The implication—counter-intuitively—is that a legal invention is not inherently novel. Whether a patent application relates to an invention is governed by Article 52 of the European Patent Convention, that excludes, e.g., discoveries as such and software as such . The EPO Boards of Appeal decided that the technical character of an application is decisive for it to represent an invention, following an age-old Italian and German tradition. British courts do not agree with this interpretation. Following

351-461: Is now commonly used over babies' cribs. Funds generated from patents on inventions in art, design and architecture can support the realization of the invention or other creative work. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi 's 1879 design patent on the Statue of Liberty helped fund the famous statue because it covered small replicas, including those sold as souvenirs. The timeline for invention in the arts lists

390-459: Is often called diagonal pliers . Some pliers for electrical work are fitted with wire-cutter blades either built into the jaws or on the handles just below the pivot. Where it is necessary to avoid scratching or damaging the workpiece, as for example in jewellery and musical instrument repair , pliers with a layer of softer material such as aluminium , brass , or plastic over the jaws are used. Much research has been undertaken to improve

429-450: Is orthodox in the United States. The spelling " vice " can be traced back to 1584, for the clamping sense of the word. This is the current spelling in the English speaking world except for the United States. Locking pliers remain clamped to an object without requiring continuous pressure on the handles based on the "over-center" principle. After being properly adjusted using a threaded screw,

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468-895: The Baháʼí Faith . Some of these disciplines, genres, and trends may seem to have existed eternally or to have emerged spontaneously of their own accord, but most of them have had inventors. Ideas for an invention may be developed on paper or on a computer, by writing or drawing, by trial and error , by making models, by experimenting , by testing and/or by making the invention in its whole form. Brainstorming also can spark new ideas for an invention. Collaborative creative processes are frequently used by engineers, designers, architects and scientists. Co-inventors are frequently named on patents. In addition, many inventors keep records of their working process – notebooks , photos, etc., including Leonardo da Vinci , Galileo Galilei , Evangelista Torricelli , Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein . In

507-611: The Latin verb invenire , invent- , to find. Although inventing is closely associated with science and engineering, inventors are not necessarily engineers or scientists. Due to advances in artificial intelligence , the term "inventor" no longer exclusively applies to an occupation (see human computers ). Some inventions can be patented. The system of patents was established to encourage inventors by granting limited-term, limited monopoly on inventions determined to be sufficiently novel, non-obvious, and useful . A patent legally protects

546-719: The United Nations , the European Union , and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , as well as movements such as socialism , Zionism , suffragism , feminism , and animal-rights veganism. Humanistic inventions encompass culture in its entirety and are as transformative and important as any in the sciences, although people tend to take them for granted. In the domain of linguistics, for example, many alphabets have been inventions, as are all neologisms ( Shakespeare invented about 1,700 words). Literary inventions include

585-814: The fingers . Diagonal pliers , also called side cutters , are a similarly shaped tool used for cutting rather than holding, having a pair of stout blades, similar to scissors except that the cutting surfaces meet parallel to each other rather than overlapping. Ordinary (holding/squeezing) pliers may incorporate a small pair of such cutting blades. Pincers are a similar tool with a different type of head used for cutting and pulling, rather than squeezing. Tools designed for safely handling hot objects are usually called tongs. Special tools for making crimp connections in electrical and electronic applications are often called crimping pliers or crimpers ; each type of connection uses its own dedicated tool. Parallel pliers have jaws that close in parallel to each other, as opposed to

624-428: The parachute became more useful once powered flight was a reality. Invention is often a creative process . An open and curious mind allows an inventor to see beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility, connection or relationship can spark an invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves combining concepts or elements from different realms that would not normally be put together. Sometimes inventors disregard

663-479: The "abstract idea" test, which suffers from abstractness itself, but none have succeeded. The last attempt so far was the "machine or transformation" test, but the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2010 that it is merely an indication at best. In India, invention means a new product or process that involves an inventive step, and capable of being made or used in an industry. Whereas, "new invention" means any invention that has not been anticipated in any prior art or used in

702-484: The European invention concept. The European invention concept corresponds to the American "patentable subject matter" concept: the first test a patent application is submitted to. While the statute (35 USC § 101) virtually poses no limits to patenting whatsoever, courts have decided in binding precedents that abstract ideas, natural phenomena and laws of nature are not patentable. Various attempts have been made to substantiate

741-857: The Nobel Prize in 2000 and has led to innovative lighting, display screens, wallpaper and much more (see conductive polymer , and organic light-emitting diode or OLED ). Invention is often an exploratory process with an uncertain or unknown outcome. There are failures as well as successes. Inspiration can start the process, but no matter how complete the initial idea, inventions typically must be developed. Inventors may, for example, try to improve something by making it more effective, healthier, faster, more efficient, easier to use, serve more purposes, longer lasting, cheaper, more ecologically friendly, or aesthetically different, lighter weight, more ergonomic , structurally different, with new light or color properties, etc. In economic theory , inventions are one of

780-547: The United Kingdom, M K Mole and Son, a hand tool manufacturing company, under the managing direction of Thomas Coughtrie , began making nearly identical pliers. In the United States, the brand name " Vise-Grips " is close to a generic name for this type of pliers. The same is true in the United Kingdom of the brand name " Mole Wrench ". The spelling " vise " is mentioned in Samuel Johnson 's 1755 dictionary. This spelling

819-785: The atomic bomb, computing, the Internet , and the smartphone. Sociopolitical inventions comprise new laws, institutions, and procedures that change modes of social behavior and establish new forms of human interaction and organization. Examples include the British Parliament , the US Constitution , the Manchester (UK) General Union of Trades, the Boy Scouts, the Red Cross , the Olympic Games ,

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858-487: The boundaries between distinctly separate territories or fields. Several concepts may be considered when thinking about invention. Play may lead to invention. Childhood curiosity, experimentation, and imagination can develop one's play instinct. Inventors feel the need to play with things that interest them, and to explore, and this internal drive brings about novel creations. Sometimes inventions and ideas may seem to arise spontaneously while daydreaming , especially when

897-554: The case of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon). Insight can also be a vital element of invention. Such inventive insights may begin with questions, doubt or a hunch . It may begin by recognizing that something unusual or accidental may be useful or that it could open a new avenue for exploration. For example, the odd metallic color of plastic made by accidentally adding a thousand times too much catalyst led scientists to explore its metal-like properties, inventing electrically conductive plastic and light emitting plastic—an invention that won

936-517: The chief examples of " positive externalities ", a beneficial side effect that falls on those outside a transaction or activity. One of the central concepts of economics is that externalities should be internalized—unless some of the benefits of this positive externality can be captured by the parties, the parties are under-rewarded for their inventions, and systematic under-rewarding leads to under-investment in activities that lead to inventions. The patent system captures those positive externalities for

975-482: The conscious mind turns away from the subject or problem when the inventor's focus is on something else, or while relaxing or sleeping. A novel idea may come in a flash—a Eureka ! moment. For example, after years of working to figure out the general theory of relativity, the solution came to Einstein suddenly in a dream "like a giant die making an indelible impress, a huge map of the universe outlined itself in one clear vision". Inventions can also be accidental, such as in

1014-473: The country or anywhere in the world. Invention has a long and important history in the arts . Inventive thinking has always played a vital role in the creative process . While some inventions in the arts are patentable , others are not because they cannot fulfill the strict requirements governments have established for granting them. (see patent ). Some inventions in art include the: Likewise, Jackson Pollock invented an entirely new form of painting and

1053-487: The design of pliers, to make them easier to use in often difficult circumstances (such as restricted spaces). The handles can be bent, for example, so that the load applied by the hand is aligned with the arm, rather than at an angle, thus reducing muscle fatigue . It is especially important for factory workers who use pliers continuously and helps prevent carpal tunnel syndrome . Invention An inventor creates or discovers an invention. The word inventor comes from

1092-839: The epic, tragedy , comedy, the novel , the sonnet , the Renaissance , neoclassicism, Romanticism , Symbolism , Aestheticism, Socialist Realism , Surrealism , postmodernism , and (according to Freud) psychoanalysis . Among the inventions of artists and musicians are oil painting, printmaking, photography , cinema , musical tonality, atonality, jazz , rock, opera , and the symphony orchestra. Philosophers have invented logic (several times), dialectics , idealism, materialism, utopia , anarchism , semiotics , phenomenology , behaviorism , positivism , pragmatism , and deconstruction . Religious thinkers are responsible for such inventions as monotheism , pantheism , Methodism , Mormonism , iconoclasm, puritanism , deism , secularism, ecumenism, and

1131-482: The handle needs to be pulled open to release the clamping pressure. In many modern versions an additional inner lever aids release. The bolt is used to set the jaws to a size slightly smaller than what is to be gripped. The jaws are then closed on the gripped object. Because of the lever action the jaws move only slightly but with much force. Locking pliers have four advantages: A typical use would be to hold metal parts in place for welding . Other uses include holding

1170-510: The intellectual property rights of the inventor and legally recognizes that a claimed invention is actually an invention. The rules and requirements for patenting an invention vary by country and the process of obtaining a patent is often expensive. Another meaning of invention is cultural invention , which is an innovative set of useful social behaviours adopted by people and passed on to others. The Institute for Social Inventions collected many such ideas in magazines and books. Invention

1209-441: The inventor or other patent owner so that the economy as a whole invests an optimum amount of resources in the invention process. In contrast to invention, innovation is the implementation of a creative idea that specifically leads to greater value or usefulness. That is, while an invention may be useless or have no value yet still be an invention, an innovation must have some sort of value, typically economic. The term invention

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1248-415: The mind is free from its usual concerns. For example, both J. K. Rowling (the creator of Harry Potter ) and Frank Hornby (the inventor of Meccano ) first had their ideas while on train journeys. In contrast, the successful aerospace engineer Max Munk advocated "aimful thinking". To invent is to see anew. Inventors often envision a new idea, seeing it in their mind's eye . New ideas can arise when

1287-402: The most notable artistic inventors. Historically, women in many regions have been unrecognised for their inventive contributions (except Russia and France ), despite being the sole inventor or co-inventor in inventions, including highly notable inventions. Notable examples include Margaret Knight who faced significant challenges in receiving credit for her inventions; Elizabeth Magie who

1326-867: The pair of handles , the pivot (often formed by a rivet ), and the head section with the gripping jaws or cutting edges forming the three elements. The materials used to make pliers consist mainly of steel alloys with additives such as vanadium or chromium , to improve strength and prevent corrosion . The metal handles of pliers are often fitted with grips of other materials to ensure better handling; grips are usually insulated and additionally protect against electric shock . The jaws vary widely in size, from delicate needle-nose pliers to heavy jaws capable of exerting much pressure, and shape, from basic flat jaws to various specialized and often asymmetrical jaw configurations for specific manipulations. The surfaces are typically textured rather than smooth, to minimize slipping. A plier-like tool designed for cutting wires

1365-413: The pliers are brought to bear by cam action. In the process of being closed on an object the mechanism passes through a point of maximum tightest clamping and as the handle levers are closed further, the jaws release slightly. This means that to open the jaws have to be tightened, thus maintaining the clamping pressure. The inherent flexibility of the pliers maintains a spring pressure on the jaws such that

1404-580: The process of smithing or casting . Development from wooden to bronze pliers would have probably happened sometime prior to 3000 BCE . Among the oldest illustrations of pliers are those showing the Greek god Hephaestus in his forge . The number of different designs of pliers grew with the invention of the different objects which they were used to handle: horseshoes , fasteners , wire , pipes , electrical , and electronic components . The basic design of pliers has changed little since their origins, with

1443-445: The process of developing an invention, the initial idea may change. The invention may become simpler, more practical, it may expand, or it may even morph into something totally different. Working on one invention can lead to others too. History shows that turning the concept of an invention into a working device is not always swift or direct. Inventions may also become more useful after time passes and other changes occur. For example,

1482-492: The scissor-type action of traditional pliers. They use a box joint system to do this, and it allows them to generate more grip from friction on square and hexagonal fastenings. There are many kinds of pliers made for various general and specific purposes. As pliers in the general sense are an ancient and simple invention , no single inventor can be credited. Early metal working processes from several millennia BCE would have required plier-like devices to handle hot materials in

1521-529: Was not credited for her invention of the game of Monopoly ; and among other such examples, Chien-Shiung Wu whose male colleagues alone were awarded the Nobel Prize for their joint contributions to physics. Societal prejudice, institutional, educational and often legal patent barriers have both played a role in the gender invention gap. For example, although there could be found female patenters in US patent Office who also are likely to be helpful in their experience, still

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