[SEL] Patents

[Paul + Colleen Gray]

Rob-

This is a great start!!  Glad to hear you are taking on the project.
There is another way to search the USPTO database. If you click on :
http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/uspcindex/indextouspc.htm
you'll get the patent classification by subject. Then go to "I" and  
scroll down to class 123 for internal combustion engines
you can see all the sub classes. For example there is a class for  
non-compression engines. I usually jump to the end of the list of  
patents in a class/sub-class to see the oldies.

This will take you directly to all the IC patents:
http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/uspc123/sched123.htm

Like wise, this will take you to all the non-compression IC engine  
patents : Class 123/39
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph- 
Parser?Sect1=PTO2&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsearch- 
bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=123%2F39&FIELD1=ORCL&d=pall

To view patents on-line you will need a special TIFF reader.... a good  
one is AlternaTiff.com  and it is free
Once you have the list of all the classes for IC engines printed out,  
you can search directly by class in the search menu...
Still takes a lot of browsing but allows you to go by what interests  
you- a lot like fishing.
I do a lot with intellectual property and patents in my work......so I  
spend a lot of time searching the USPTO.
Here is one:
626,189   EJ Fithian , Bessemer Gas engine conversion cylinder w/  
pendulum governer

I will send you the list of what I have accumulated over the years-

Paul