Second Report of Violation of Science

Registered Mail on 12/15/06 RA156480521BR

http://tubarc.blogspot.com/

General Counsel
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450

SECOND NOTIFICATION OF PERSISTENT MASSIVE IP VIOLATION

It took me two hours to convince an employee of Pennsylvania State University that I would prefer to be expelled from my Ph. D course and sent back home to my country rather than to collect $50 fine of late payment of a ZERO dollar fee. I failed to return a bill in the second semester charging no debt. The issue was not the money or my career, but the CORRECTNESS because sometimes institutions overstep boundaries of their duty. It is like an economic miracle of modern world being charged for not paying a debt of ZERO dollar and I never imagined somebody could do that. As a tolerant and reasonable person I accepted to pay the fine if appropriately corrected expressing my mistake since I was a sponsored student. The fine was cancelled but I knew later that other students paid a similar fine without questioning the coherence.

How long will it take to convince USPTO that common knowledge holding for more than a century in the Text books of Soil Physics need to be honored and respected when approving new patents?

Taking USPTO to the Supreme Court would not solve the issue also. First I do not have millions of dollars to file lawsuits, not even earning to raise my family; second the Justices are not versed in science. I read this from The New York Times on Dec. 5, 2006: When Questions of Science Come to a Courtroom, Truth Has Many Faces - ‘“Troposphere, whatever,” Justice Scalia said. “I told you before I’m not a scientist.” Science is not decided by an impartial jury, but the simple coherent functioning of nature. Science is above The Law deciding what exist in nature and how it works. As matter of fact, Nature does not care about human legal system. Science is untouchable because man cannot overlay Nature. Who would dare to abolish Gravity Law?

A faculty from my thesis committee refused to sign my PhD dissertation unless I removed a statement saying that ‘the soils in the Amazon were the most fertile of all environments for having the highest biomass production’. It does not make sense a soil from a desert being fertile while a soil in a rainforest with three levels of canopy being poor. He coerced me to change my line in order to prevent me from giving a bad idea about Amazon soils for agriculture. We never distort science, not even for ecological reasons. The graduate program rules required me to have signatures of at least two-third of my committee members, so, when I asked him to sign it without changing my statement I already had necessary approval for my dissertation. This faculty today is an Editor of an important journal. He signed my thesis and sent a letter to my advisor saying that I was a difficult person. Indeed it is difficult to be honest not giving in to deviating pressure, demanding the system to be always coherent and fair.

Indeed science if much more than the ‘scientific method’, since before proposing any hypotheses to test it needs a thorough analysis about their coherence toward nature functioning. The quantitative system cannot be unleashed freely to those ones unskilled to open black boxes. The overall sea temperature may not be increasing, but localized climatic anomalies could be the smoking gun that a spatial applied analysis by nonparametric statistic and GIS could capture. Even more, sometimes understanding and comprehension is far more important than proving any evidence, being able to explain the issue and all pertaining interactions. Philosophy provides the guidelines for science, but unhappily I figured out that few PhDs learn about Theory of Science. Just as an example, spreading obesity requires no proof, but a deep understanding on the roots to bring solutions tenable to solve the aggravating problem. Obesity should be solved in some hundreds years down the line when man realizes that providing food is easier that producing it excessively and requesting people to eat moderately, as well as producing machinery to replace human mechanical work and alerting people that their physiology demand their muscles to keep working. This is not a surprise since man had always hunted food during its evolution and now modern society allows food to chase man at every corner and machinery makes man so flaccid and impotent that running away from food is indeed farfetching.

How much can Science and Law prevent man from spoiling its own existence from its blind curiosity and some distorted technological development? What will inventors do to keep man on the course of balance with nature?

USPTO is disrespecting scientific common knowledge of fluid moving on porosity with the following long standing historic profile resting on text books taught in Soil Physics and Hydrogeology:

1. 1856 – Saturated Hydraulic Flow; Henry Darcy in France introduced the first conceptions of fluid moving on porosity when he was studying water flow dynamics on sandy filters. He proposed his famous Darcy's Law equation for Saturated Hydraulic Flow: ' the velocity of flow is proportional to the hydraulic gradient'.

2. 1907 – Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow: Near a century ago in order to describe water flow through unsaturated soilEdgar Buckingham proposed a modification of Darcy's Law in 1907 trying to describe mathematically fluid flowing on porosity which is above the water table

3. 1958 - Evaporation from a Water Table: An upward flow from a water table to a bare soil surface was studied by Gardner and Fireman.

4. 2004 – Unsaturated/Saturated Hydraulic Flow: US Pat. 6,766,817 p.1 line 65 : 'A fluid that possesses a positive pressure can be generally defined in the field of hydrology as saturated fluid. Likewise, a fluid that has a negative pressure (i.e., or suction) can be generally defined as an unsaturated fluid. Fluid matric potential can be negative or positive. For example, water standing freely at an open lake, can be said to stand under a gravity pull. The top surface of the liquid of such water accounts for zero pressure known as the water table or hydraulic head. Below the water table, the water matric potential (pressure) is generally positive because the weight of the water increases according to parameters of force per unit of area. When water rises through a capillary tube or any other porosity, the water matric potential (e.g., conventionally negative pressure or suction) is negative because the solid phase attracts the water upward relieving part of its gravitational pull to the bearing weight. The suction power comes from the amount of attraction in the solid phase per unit of volume in the porosity'.

Buckingham, E. 1907. Studies of the movement of soil moisture. Bulletin 38. U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Soils, Washington, DC.

Darcy, H. 1856. Les Fontaines Publiques de la Ville de Dijon. Dulmont, Paris.

Gardner, W.R. 1958. Some steady state solutions of the unsaturated moisture flow equation with application to evaporation from a water table. Soil Sci.85:229-232.

Gardner, W.R. and M. Fireman, 1958. Laboratory studies of evaporation from soil columns in the presence of water table. Soil Sci. 85:244-249.

Recently the information technology by Internet has changed very deeply increasing accessibility to gather and process information letting all patents be read instantly online. With a few strokes on the keyboard any patent can be thoroughly screened for trends of IP violations when trespassing technical boundaries since their functioning has to be expressed by strong expressive key words unavoidable in the specialized technical writing. This new approach restrains the circumvention of IP limits by shallow technical expressions or optional etymology.

There is a strong continuation on IP violation likely hurting basic principles of Hydrology that any time can be checked online by the word searching bellow (# at Nov. 29, 2006):http://tubarc.blogspot.com/.

1. Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow ....................................... 3
2. Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity.........................17
3. Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ........................... 24
4. Hydraulic Conductivity ............................................. 404
5. Capillary pumping ......................................................214
6. Capillary/capillarity/wick/wicking ................... 93,314

1. Heat/Thermal Conductivity ................................61,033
2. Wick/wicking .........................................................21,784
3. Heat Pipe/Wick ........................................................1,169

It can be observed above that the conduction of heat is mentioned in 61,033 issued patents while the conduction of fluid is mentioned only in 404 issued patents while Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow only 17.

Hydrology has been deeply neglected on patenting affairs since 93,314 issued patents on porosities but only 9 of them measured Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow.

If the massive IP violation in Hydrology regarding the fluid moving on porosity is not prevented the content of US Pat. 6,766,817, 6,918,404, and 7,066,586, may become useless during the patent time showing a malfunctioning of the IP system that disrespects common knowledge and allows distortion from lay people.

Regrettably people behind IP affairs have different attitude of disrespect toward science and knowledge. For example, another party developing a spatial porosity for heat pipe US 2005/0126757 Fig 4 bumped to the same hydrology of US pat. 6,766,817 without any awareness of a deep hydrodynamic functioning of fluids moving on porosity. The patent had just two pages of text and a few lines on hydrology showing that the authors were not aware to the common knowledge of fluids moving on porosity and US pat. 6,766,817 with 32 pages of text explaining deep details important for controlling hydrodynamic properties and increase reliability.

I contacted the company to offer an advanced hydrology long standing on text books of Soil Physics and Hydrogeology. It could promote the technological development on the hydrodynamics side for heat pipes which uses thermodynamics and hydrodynamics to transfer heat. I contacted inventors, the patent attorney prosecuting the patent, and managers for decision making but got no response even from IDS requests that is a due obligation under the Law. This behavior indeed challenges my simple reasoning. Why?

A year later the company contacted me back just after the pat. Application US 2005/0126757 was rejected by USPTO but all parties failed to file my requested IDS under IDS 37 CFR § 1.56 (d). Even the US 2005/0126757 was rejected I think that the Patent Attorney filing it should get the consequences for violating the Law.

I got surprised when the Patent Attorney filing US 2005/0126757 said that he did not file the IDS because he saw that was no conflicting matter. I requested a formal IDS to the inventor, to his boss, and to the Patent Attorney. I checked his professional profile at his homepage and he is just a Mechanical Engineer B. Sc. with a Law School degree. Even the Supreme Court Justice has no proficiency in science, I am curious why he violated IDS 37 CFR § 1.56 (d) as a Patent Prosecutor aware of the rules. We always get advantages by obeying the Law even Laws of Nature.

Why is the soap bubble round?
Just because it is the most energy efficient configuration – Tubarc couldn’t be squared!
This is a very common knowledge in Biological sciences but my feeling is that people working with microfluidics are not aware of such subtle conceptions on nature functioning. Perhaps thousands of patents are useless for not considering such simple principle in nature designing most of the microfluidic geometry squared. The truth is that nature does not like much squared formats since near everything we see around designed by nature has curves.

My point here is that this is the tip of the iceberg showing a system that is highly malfunctioning neglecting Hydrology deeply on the roots more than a century. Does Law School teach Soils Physics and Hydrogeology? How much scientific support does USPTO have internally to ensure that science is not violated when IP is handled?

Pennsylvania State University let me get my PhD and I completed it 3.5 years later with honors and by chance President Bill Clinton was there on my commencement releasing his first speech for reelection on May 10, 1996. He said that some of us would be creating jobs that nobody had ever imagined yet. I may do it Mr. President only if USPTO stop violating science and respect common knowledge resting for decades on the books of Hydrogeology at my PhD. I have this feeling that the President of the US care for higher education. Mr. President I have more patents waiting USPTO mend itself so that the system start rewarding sound science from higher education that you said is important for the future of your nation.

I am disappointed because I do not make money in the last 9 years pursuing a sort of ‘scientific discovery’ hurting my family need. It took 4 years to have my first patent approved and two year later a company that bumped to the same insights with a lousy patent application bearing poor hand drawing having shallow approach making around ₤8 billion a year and hiring thousand of employees is refusing to pay IP rights stepping over the Law and disrespecting science and knowledge. I do not understand why they want so much money since when they die everything is left behind. Well, there are others doing the same approach of never paying anything at any cost unless as the last option.

Perhaps, people behind IP and Law need to understand that invention is not the art of creating different names for the same existing objects in order to get Patent numbers. When a fluid moves through porosity it is called Saturated Hydraulic Flow since 1856, when it moves through porosity under negative pressure it is called Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow since 1907. When a fluid moves upward to a flame on a wick it can be called wicking as the hydrology of oil lamps by lay people. Wicks that fail on oil lamps betray Etymology. US pat. 6,766,817 is the first patent to mention the expression ‘Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow’ near 100 years later after it appeared on scientific literature (at least from the present search).

I am a PhD with a strong background of Philosophy of Science. Knowledge cannot be destroyed and canceling my patents would not erase the knowledge revealed by them mainly the huge technological gap dealing with new conceptions in hydrodynamics. Every week I can keep track of patenting approvals and violation of science. All violation notice letters and related documents are available on line at http://tubarc.blogspot.com/.

The hydrological gap is huge since 93,314 issued patents on related fluids moving on porosity (wick/wicking/capillary/capillarity) extensively failed to apply deep knowledge from Soil Physics and Hydrogeology like measuring fluid conductibility by Hydraulic Conductivity as well as to model porosity and take advantages of hydraulic zones.

My suggestion to USPTO is to hire many PhDs. with strong background in Theory of science so they can learn the boundaries of knowledge and precise limit of Metaphysics portraying the achievement of existence of objects. I have doubts if Law schools teach that because even high education in the US is giving PhD diplomas to people that are not attending disciples of Philosophy of Science since I had to school myself on the subject. It is very likely that people earning a PhD degree become philosophy doctors without mastering philosophy of science.

Anybody around the world by internet can read and check all patents at the USPTO faster than standing up and opening a book in a shelf. USPTO should consider the fact that science and technology is under a strong revolution by information technology that allows important information to move fast and be crossed and understood far beyond possibilities a few years ago. This outcome leads to a trend that a good science prevails since cheating and distortions become easy to detect, document, notify, and correct.

I refuse to believe that I should have paid a fine of $50 for late payment of ZERO dollars. I refuse to believe that USPTO is not going to honor common knowledge of fluids moving on porosity from the text books I earned a PhD. When advanced updated Hydrology is enforced by USPTO there is a chance that in less than 18 years some positive result may come out since science is very strong rewarding coherence because nature principles are resilient.

I could quit this project and do something else in my life if what I learned at Penn State University is not valid and respected by USPTO. The problem is, what will USPTO tell millions of students in the US that their text books may not be considered on IP affairs? What will USPTO tell thousands of professionals in Hydrology that their area is being distorted by lay people with shallow or not enough knowledge to develop the full extent of applied hydrology even after my official written complaint it seems that nothing is coming to fix a persistent violation of science? Should I believe that American President was there just pretending on my commencement?

I happen to be a knowledgeable person and I have no interest in getting rewards after my death like Van Gogh who was a great painter living a miserable life never selling anything till he killed himself at the age of 37. I can wait 18 years to have my patents licensed in case advanced hydrology of fluids moving on porosity can provide a technological edge to many fluidic devices, but USPTO should stop violating science immediately and honor common knowledge on text books and my issued patents.

It is uncomfortable being incisive with my rights as a PhD for reporting violation of science and demanding due correction. I believe all parties filing patents for devices in hydrological applications of fluid moving on porosity are not hiring professionals with appropriate background in Hydrogeology or Soil Physics to fully understand and apply common knowledge already available as well as take advantages of claims at my patents. I could be more tolerant if I were getting some reward and be able to raise my family decently but it seems that the overall policy trend is never paying unless they must do it in the last instance. It is time to cancel thousands of patents and expel dishonest people that should not be there working with IP affairs. Nature never forgives mistakes because all missteps can lead to the ground for disrespecting gravity and inertia laws.

When I get a due economic reward from my ‘scientific discovery’ I will reapply to Tubarc Technologies, LLC helping develop around 100,000 new patents which can use an advanced hydrology standing on text books for a long time and replace around 90,000 useless issued patents than never gauged spatial dynamics of fluid conductivity and other important features to turn products more reliable having innumerous advantages to consumers.

It does hurt when sound and long standing scientific knowledge being desecrated by narrow-minded laypeople curbing a technological development for meaningless profitability having a negligent institution behind it that their president may not endorse.

I do have more patents ready for filing in case a positive response results as the system mends itself becoming able to reward good deeds. One of them is on energy cycle saying that energy in the organic matter can be converted to rotating power curbing obesity and providing fuel to move machinery. Why to produce alcohol if the whole plant could have its energy harvested? A solution to last till the sun shines in the sky, when electromagnetic radiation harvested by photosynthetic biology is converted continuously to rotation by a curving geometry.

Nature gives simple solutions to wise people that respect the principles. I am not an inventor, just a scientist that borrows some insights from Nature to make human lives more humane because life goal is not packing wealth, but developing happiness and balance till the end of each cycle that never stops.

Wick/wicking is a terminology of lay people and capillary/capillarity is a former boundary of science that advanced Hydrology is demanding from now forward a change in a gap long neglected. “Capillary pumping” is a flaw and breach to vocabulary precision, etymology, and common knowledge at Soil Physics.

Perhaps it is time for USPTO not only canceling thousands of patents but also to learn that invention is an activity highly dependent on understanding deeply boundaries of knowledge (Epistemology) and what really exists in the universe (Metaphysics) and the progression of technological advancement (History) as well as the best way to express everything (Logics). Law schools do not teach science, but graduate programs for PhD also need some special attention to Philosophy of Science when educating Philosophy Doctors.

Lawyers think that diversion of vocabulary is a tool to avoid IP conflicting by having multiple ways to say the same thing while science demands conversion of vocabulary toward precision employing strong and deep technical words to better express the core of the principles in order to achieve high loyalty to Nature functioning. It is not a surprise that Tubarc (US pat. 6,766,817) is the first patent to fully employ the expression ‘Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow’ hanging on scientific literature of Soil Physics near a century. It is evident that Lawyers are perverting science on IP affairs simply because they are no scientists. A Patent Attorney was trying to take me to court because I was delivering an IDS to him by email on spam grounds.

Can I be sued for asking people to obey The Law?

Is USPTO going to sue me or cancel my patents because of my reports of scientific violations neglecting common knowledge on my text books that are a century old?

Sometimes I try to find ways to convince myself that I am just a stupid person, but I never find grounds for it. I ran two half-marathons during my PhD and I eat lots of fruits having a BMI of 23.5. I’m not even a nerd since I am married and have three children. I was coerced once when my due job was wasted and I said that there is no other way to protect my family unless for being honest.

I have no problems facing the consequences of my honesty, even if my issued patents cannot reward my work since it is worth trying.

Kind regards,

Campinas, Brazil, December 14, 2006

Elson Silva, Ph. D.
Tubarc Technologies, LLC
Av. Dr. Júlio Soares de Arruda, 838 Parque São Quirino
CEP 13088-300 - Campinas - SP - Brazil
Phone 55 *19 3256-7265
Email: el_silva@uol.com.br
http: www.tubarc.com
http://tubarc.blogspot.com/

Playing with Advanced Gardening

Self-Watering Systems

Laypeople and experts can learn and play with an advanced gardening by employing a self-watering system. Such complex hydrology linked to the principles of life is called Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow first studied by Edgar Buckingham in 1907. People handling ornamental plants can have so much joy for science and gardening learning new ways to tender plants easier to have around. Science can be entertaining for those ones that admire simple miracles of nature when working with ornamental plants handling life forms so diverse from many kinds of environments molded by a a diversified creation of Nature. A constant water supply in the rooting media ensures that plants receive continuously water uptake and reduces the stress of regular watering operation cycle by wetting and drying processes. It reduces the risks of sometimes getting soggy for excessive watering or dry for lack of enough water as consequence of fast drying conditions. Self-sustaining systems are more independent allowing more units needing less attention.

During 10 years hundreds of experiments were carried out with around 3,000 prototypes undergoing meticulous evaluation regarding soil types, plant physiological response, and applied hydrology. It seems that all plants enjoy a luxurious water supply for continuous easy uptake, even those ones from arid climates like succulent types used to the scarcity of rigorous water recharge regimes. Historically, the hydrology of potted plants have not changed since man removed plants from the ground and started growing them on clay pots around 6,000 years ago in Babylon. Modern technology allows us to have ornamental plants easier to tend with an advanced hydrological functioning exploiting new conceptions in Hydrodynamics so long ignored on patenting affairs.

Soil-water-plant device is a very complex system able to continuously self-serve according to its water requirements accordingly always offering the same amount of water available in the rooting system for plant growth allowing a constant replacement of plant losses. As consequence plants may develop a sort of turgidity expanding stronger and larger the aerial part since a higher hydromechanical support endows an enhanced display of leaves and flowers.

Since the rooting system is constantly connected to the water compartment by a flexible porous interface capable of replacing water lost by evapotranspiration, the systems can offer to the plant a continuous luxurious water supply for easy uptake. Even cacti approves a self-watering system because of the ensured aeration in the rooting system providing oxygen for root metabolic respiration. As matter of fact, all succulent plants approves a luxurious water supply if the rooting system is unsaturated having plenty of air.

The amount of water and air in the rooting system varies according to the absorbing capacity of the rooting material determined by its granular texture. Usually soils have around 50% of solid on volumetric basis while the other 50% part is filled by interchangeable ratios of air and water. After attaining some balance assembled as self-watering system, usually clayey soils would have around 45% of water, while sandy soils about 32% and pure sand 22% on v/v basis when assembled in similar conditions like the potted plants in the pictures. Consequently, soils with smaller granulometry can have higher ratios of water for having smaller pores more connected and higher volumetric solid surface easier to retain unsaturated water. But, such outcome may not be that relevant since water in the deposit provides continuous supply to any demand. Perhaps there is no optimum condition when many variable ways can deliver excellent results.

The self-watering system becomes very practical because the watering operation becomes a simple routine of refilling the water deposit before it empties. Each refilling operation can last some weeks or months depending on the water deposit size employed and water loss regime by the plant attended. The water deposit needs to display the water level status in some extent noticeable so that users can refill it before drying out. It can be totally or partially transparent, or have a section, or detail that allows a visual perception of water status in the deposit to facilitate refilling operation when necessary.

To assemble such device the rooting media should have two holes in the bottom so that the cord ends are inserted downward to the holes like an upsided 'U' having two legs hanging long enough to reach the bottom continuously connecting to the water. This arrangement of the cord laying in the bottom of the upper part rooting compartment under the rooting material provides a safe connection to the rooting media for transfer of water continuously by unsaturated flow. Shaking or handling the device as disturbance always tend to improve the hydraulic functioning by settling down by gravity the rooting media over the cord improving contact among them.

Gardening rules suggest that besides the water regime the plants also require a good location where it can receive appropriate amount of light. A regular maintenance also suggests some attention to pests and disease that may appear once in a while. The nutrition requirement is lower than regular planting systems since there is no losses of nutrients by run off. Just some minerals are lost in the shed plant parts as organic material is regularly discarded as old leaves or flowers.

It is important to emphasize that African Violet are originated from the Usambara mountains of Tanzania of Africa around 5 degrees South latitude. It took place in the upper slopes between 1,000 and 2,000 meters of altitude providing a continuous fresh tropical climate at moderate temperatures. It means that such plants can bloom all year around due to the absence of seasonality effect and that they were used to grow at a bounty vegetation with some shadow under the big trees enjoying straight sun light in the early morning or late afternoon due to the terrain geometry. In their natural environment African Violets were used to grow under the canopy of larger trees.

The system can be built so simple that even children and laypeople can play at home using disposable bottles, but the complexity of water moving through the nylon cord porosity is technically described as Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow in Soil Physics as it was first mentioned in the Scientific Literature in 1907 by Edgard Buckingham. The expression 'Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow' was first mentioned at USPTO patents database search at US pat. 6,766,817 issued on Jul 27, 2004.

A simple home made self-watering system teach us some wisdom of coherent insights that life form flourish bounty when their basic requirement is carefully attended. As a PhD is Soil Science I learned so much working with disposable material understanding that simple principles can be found everywhere even in the trash the place I was a kind of disposed to simply because my dignity is non negotiable since a real science cannot depend on wealth or fame but a strong loyalty to nature functioning. Newton also saw important insights from a falling apple but he was a Sir while Lavoisier could apply economic theories to Alchemy not that hard coming from a noble family ancestry. Mr Nobel also had an easier adventure since selling WMD to governments is highly appealing as they enjoy helping nature by shrinking our numbers on mindless quarrels. I pray to Alberto Santos Dummont who invented the airplane but saw his invention taking off as an outstanding technological need from governments using human creativity to spread death from the sky during two world wars. He hang himself toward human misery to comprehend nature and work on more humane grounds. Initially his creative success gave tools to annihilate millions. He did not know that high power is committed at very short knowledge grounds because intelligence requires independence and loyalty to coherence.

Nature is very subtle on its principles since man wanted more food and now it cannot run away from it. Man wanted machinery for mechanical work and now is discovering that our muscles cannot be replaced. Slowly we are learning that betraying nature is the same as neglecting our existence toward the mold we came out. Denying our origins is the same as violating our goals toward a balanced life since our answers come from the past molding our inheritance.

Helpful Tips

1. When cutting plastic bottles use scissors as it allows straight cuttings and safe operation as well.

2. Hard plastic can be handcrafted using a very high speed hand-held drill. I use a drill that runs up to 25,000 rpm.

3. Test many kinds of synthetic cords before using them. Simple tests like a upsided 'U' over a glass working as Unsaturated Reversible Hydraulic Siphon can provide input about fluid transmissibility like on the right.

4. Algae growth making water green is not a problem, but can be cleaned by washing once in a while if necessary.

5. No need to wet the cord in advance since water can move upward through the cord porosity by itself any time as required. No need of priming the cord.

6. If the rooting media gets dry sometimes, watering on the top may help to rescue water connectivity and restore the hydraulic functioning.

7. Some special features like holes or fissures can be added to the device in order to facilitate water refilling operation important when having innumerous systems.

8. Recycling material like disposable bottles or containers can be used for building self-watering pots reducing cost and reusing disposable material.

9. Self-watering can be used to near all kinds all plants including succulents and edible plants, observing the potting dimensions and water requirements.

10. The self-watering pots can be hanging or standing. Hanging systems just need three insertion points to hold it hanging from ceiling or walls.

11. It is possible to make arrangements in order to have a self-watering pot or planter becoming auto-refilling by employing continuous water supply by piping straight o the water deposit which could be smaller in such cases.

12. Edible plants can be grown on self-watering pots for green gardening

13. Self-watering pots helps to curb the spread of diseases avoiding the proliferation of mosquitoes or other animals on platters of common pots.

14. During wintertime self-watering systems can be used as humidifier and easily a water balance can predict the amount of water it evaporates to humidify the air.

15. Self-watering systems can be good options for science classes teaching students the dynamics of soil, water, and plants growing in a small device allowing them many studies like water and nutrient balance as well as plant physiological performance.

16. Another important option for a self-watering system employing the rooting media expanded like a tray is for growing green vegetables, or seedling, as well as for propagation during sprouting staying.

17. Losses of water by evaporation at the top of the rooting compartment can be reduced by adding some coarse granular material or pebbles. This prevent water to rise to the top surface for evaporation bringing minerals along in the unsaturated flow.

18. Sometimes colorful rocks on the top or even inside the water deposit can provide interesting alternatives for improving the display fashion and overall appearance.

19. Turgidity of leaves and flower provides a stronger plant parts for mechanical support and lasting longer as well as a larger spatial distribution of flower arrangement. Also, pots allow a higher devices since water deposit under the rooting system make the system larger than conventional flower pots.

Fundamentals of Inventing in Hydrology

Business of Inventions

Until I bumped to this sort of 'scientific discovery' I had never being involved with inventions and patenting activities . So far I had just been used to the style of technical writing requirements at the scientific community for technical papers as well as the underlying functioning of science.

As matter of fact my first impression after reviewing the technical background of some patents was disappointing regarding the technical approach employed to flower pots Hydrology. I felt that inventors, patent attorneys, and patent examiners were missing high education in the matter missing common knowledge already available on text books. My first impression was that less than 10% of such issued patents that I reviewed should have been approved for simple and clear technical mistakes for ignoring common knowledge. It was intriguing the reasoning of why to approve so many inventions that should not have been approved since such inventions would not end as reliable products. Was it taking place just as a consequence of a minor institutional negligence toward science or perhaps the Intellectual Property business is forcing a more lenient system letting issued patents to become a marketing product sometimes spoiling common knowledge? The system is promoting a clear trend having a high number of patents being approved when technically few would have chance to reach a product some day for simply being faulty on their inner conceptions regarding the functioning of nature. I felt a sort of opportunity to bring a 'scientific discovery' forward and perhaps leave important insights on the subject.

A self-watering system is much more complicated than initially we may assume since it is a complex soil-water-plant system combining an intricate hydrology plus physiological performance of a plant with a growing rooting system and variable water requeriments as well as evapotranspiration regimes. Initially I thought that Horticulturists would be the most appropriate professionals to deal with such device. But, later I figured out that in general regarding the academic backgrounds they have around 90% of dedication toward the plant part and around 10% to the soil part and probably nothing to the hydrology. It is very unlikely that any Horticulturist have neither attended disciples in Soil Physics nor in Hydrogeology.

I decided to write a patent because there was plenty of scientific insights to expand the boundaries of knowledge introducing new Hydrological conceptions like the figure on the right giving new ideas for an enhanced porosity connecting pores longitudinally and also multidirectional unsaturated flow. Such approach of having only a moderately discussion was needed going straight to the point of suggesting new assumptions to the fundamentals of fluids moving on porosity as well as the spatial geometric features to an advanced porosity. My proposals was more toward coherence and technical need not paying much attention about manufacturing feasibility even though I always believed that boundaries of feasibility can change over time when there is enough economic pressure to deliver more reliable products providing more advantages to consumers. Also, what is not feasible today can be tomorrow considering the constant advancement on technological boundaries.

Is it a 'Scientific Discovery"?

As scientist and inventor neither dreaming for recognition nor wealth I feel some satisfaction for being able to have a higher understanding on nature processes promoting a sort of aimed balance. My dream have been to be able to sponsor my own scientific curiosity the way I think science should be made. If by chance I scored financially higher than my need I would try some ideas about a new economic order where capital rewards would flow more toward working than ownership. I would spread some seeds that should sprout and grow depending on its potential.

It could be considered an outstanding 'scientific discovery' such importance for the following reasons below:

1. This sort of 'scientific discovery' was born from deep insights taking place at home playing an advanced gardening of self-watering system using a nylon cord as a 'wick' by laypeople that I realized that it certainly would fail on oil lamp functioning.

2. Heat conduction is easier to measure than fluid conduction on porosity, but USPTO issued 61,033 patents on heat and only 17 on fluid as Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity portraying a hug technological gap neglecting hydrology very deeply.

3 So far no patents has ever exploited the hydraulic dynamic functioning between saturated and unsaturated zones for fluid conduction

4. Fluid can be transfered reversibly between compartments on demand.

5. Porosity geometry can be designed as an advanced spatial geometry to allow a high control on hydrodynamic properties of fluid moving on porosity as well as an advantageous anisotropic unsaturated flow for higher longitudinal conductivity.

6. Capillarity deficiency can be corrected eliminating the restrictions of tube theory for multidirectional flow.

7. Wick/wicking becomes important devices for oil lamps and laypeople outside hydrology wanting to combine Thermodynamics with Hydrodynamics.

8. Dynamics of molecular connectivity can be exploited on mass flow.

9. Molecular drainage brings another conception on fluid removal with multiple applications.

10. The system is highly complex even though children and laypeople can play with some simple versions learning with a sort of advanced gardening employing self-watering features.

11. There is a sort of 'scientific flaw' in Soil Physics regarding the different functioning between saturated and unsaturated flow that is part of the technological and scientific gap letting down hydrology for fluid moving on porosity systems.


Circumventing vs. Endorsing

Nature is constantly telling us that in order to harvest plenty we need first to sow wisely.

The company group that bumped to Tubarc similar geometry has an annual budget of around £8 bn per year. There was no initial recognition for a need of deep hydrology to apply to heat pipes on heat transfer technology. It is not surprising since more than a thousand of patents on Heat Pipe and Wick, none of them ever measure Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity. The truth is that experts behind heat transfer working on heat conduction were not aware that fluid on porosity also has conductibility that can be quantified.

Unhappily there is a considerable scientific and technological misunderstanding that encourage people think that they can betray nature functioning and use the manipulation of the Law to take advantages on IP affairs bypassing or skirting around advancing technological edge. The advantages is supposed to be greater when people respect nature rules having higher control of fundamental of technological processes leading toward more production. This rule is the mainstay of western society principles. The calendar was developed in the beginning just to let farmers understand the appropriate time to sow making the plant grow matching with the marching of the seasons consequently resulting in more productive harvests.

A new idea that matches with coherence of nature functioning has the potential to bring new technological edges. Such response has a potential to bring a strong financial reward to new products with enhanced functioning bearing lots of new advantages to consumers. But, the recognition of such outcome may be attached to the skillful background of experts to appreciate and assess new frontiers. Unhappily Hydrology has a huge gap showing that expertise around is in shortage and also it may result in poor assessment toward the real potential for advanced new products.

It is complex evaluate the outcome of inventions and their reward. Sometimes the inventors are not capable of manufacturing the products. Also, it happens when the inventor even being a manufacturer may license its ideas to competitors and both companies together exploit new claims issued by a patent like it happened to flash memory that was invented by Toshiba and licensed to Samsung.

Since Hydrology has being neglected for a long time on patenting affairs, people working with fluidic devices are not educated in Geo or Soil Sciences learning deeply the complex hydrological functioning taught at Hydrogeology and Soil Physics. The wicking hydrology has prevailed outside Hydrology by professionals not aware about Thermodynamic compliances associated to the functioning of oil lamps regarding Etymological requirements.

Patent Application Publication US 2005/0126757 ‘Internally enhanced tube with smaller groove top’ Jun 16, 2005 assigned to Outokumpu Copper Franklin, Inc.

The figure on the right is an important case to illustrate the evolution of porosity when experts are not aware of a deep hydrological functioning. Experts behind heat transfer found out that changing smooth surfaces of heat pipes to rough ones using many designs like ridges, bumps, rugs, etc. can increase the efficiency of heat surface up to three times. It happens mainly because of an increase flow turbulence as well as larger surface area. But, US pat. application 2005/0126757 by chance bumped to the same structure of Tubarc as portrayed at Fig. 4. Even the Patent Attorney filing such patent insisted that there was no conflict and did not file IDS as required by the Law, the patent was reject needing no further attention besides showing how people far away from Hydrological deep background are prone to reject deep teaching that is different of their background. As shown in other posts experts behind heat transfer working with heat pipe never gauged Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity with is the conduction of fluid on porosity in a similar conception to thermal or heat conductivity.

I am aware how science and court of the Law works. After all I have many scientific publications and defended two thesis, for master and PhD. It is very important to be loyal to science and functioning of nature to get important credits when writing and defending a idea. One of my papers is in the cover of the journal; Silva, E. D. 'Nutrient dynamics between human nutrition and food productions systems'. Ciencia e Cultura 51(2):81-7. 1999.

My partners Patent Attorneys were scared after I demanded USPTO to cancel thousands of patents for violation of science. Their concern was a frivolous accusation eligible for litigation. As a scientist and inventor having three issued patents I have simple rights to report to UPSTO to stop violating principles of science. Science is above the Law because it decides what exists in the universe and how things work. There is no threat for litigation in science because things are correct or wrong to the functioning of nature. I think that no judge would dare to think about interfering with science functioning like abolishing Gravity Law. Well, Nature would not care if it happened.

Science is far beyond searching for a truth and the scientific method is inside a scope of Epistemology, Metaphysics, Logics, and History of Science. Before applying the scientific method it is necessary to understand if such hypothesis to be tested has logical coherence and the results defended in under a deep comprehension and understanding. Sometimes understanding is far more relevant than proving what could end up being quite obvious. For example, spreading obesity needs no proof of its existence regarding excessive food and reduced amount of body fitness. What are the main reasoning to control and reduce obesity is a challenge far beyond hypothesis, mathematical modeling, statical analysis, or application of the Law. Man always dreamed of having plenty of food and machinery to replace mechanical work. Now we are learning that food is chasing man which is unable to run away from it and our appetite was designed for scarce food during our evolution.

Obesity spreading around is a tip of the iceberg telling scholars that modern man is spoiling human existence for a while. The lesson is quite simple saying that it is easier to provide food than taking it away. It is easier to develop machinery than asking humans to keep working their muscles.

It is very disappointing when a good and sound science is violated by laypeople having no understanding and use double etymology or shallow and poor writing just to get a short cut from the conceptions and have intellectual property approved in name of profit avoiding paying the intellectual rights acquired with sound knowledge holding in the text books near a century or more. They miss a simple understanding that honesty and respect to nature, science, and society is the best policy to succeed and deliver enhanced products that deliver advantages to consumers.

A good side today is that all technological tools available to make science changed so much that easily such deviations pointing to a massive scientific violation can be detected and verified with simple strokes on a keyboard. In this case when the problem is found and the proof is available to any party wanting to investigate mending solutions are expected to come at hand faster since convincing of an institutional negligence becomes a simple reasonable mandatory consequence because public institutions cannot endorse wrongdoing openly. Also, science rules cannot be twisted since nature has its own way of functioning teaching us how important is to abide to the principles if we want to exist in balance protecting our precious survival down the line.

I happen to be a naturally curious scientist that pays attention to many details around. When something is not working I try to look at the reasons and find a solution to the problem. Epistemology already teach us that Nature can conceive many solutions to a unique problem if we know where to find it. Hydrology negligence in the patenting affairs will be fixed when USPTO hire Soil Physicists and Hydrogeologists to force the system to respect common knowledge already available in text books at Geo and Soil Sciences regarding fluid moving on porosity.

Background

Tubarc was designed after near five years of intensive research exploiting an accumulated background in Agricultural science plus PhD in Soil Science with a broad experience on applied spatial analysis in Hydrology. As dissertation of my doctorate I studied the spatial distribution of rainfall in the Amazon basin regarding dry and rainy season, as well as anomalies and their interaction with vegetation and soils molding a huge watershed due the variations of water regimes during the year.

It was possible to explore the interface interaction between saturated and unsaturated hydraulic zones and also develop a new porosity geometry to correct problems associated to capillarity conceptions regarding the tube geometry.

Why is the soap bubble round?
Just because it is the most energy efficient configuration.
This is a very common knowledge in Biological sciences but my feelings is that people working with microfluidics are not aware of such subtle conceptions on nature functioning. Perhaps thousands of patents are useless for not considering such simple principle in nature designing most of the microfluidic geometry squared. The truth is that nature does not like much squared formats since near everything we see around designed by nature has curves. I have this perception that nature is deeply fond of curves which can explain things much more than equations.

Microporosity Geometry

When I was studying water conduction on cords I figured out that continuous cylindrical structures of fibers was already an important enhanced geometry allowing pores to have a longitudinal continuity which is different from a random porosity formed by granular material common in soil science. After three years of continuous experimentation on more than 3,000 prototypes the results showed a reasonable reliability for the hydrology of flower pots which is a complex soil-water-plant system. The problems was to keep the fibers always at the same distance in a bulky composition. Root penetration as well as folding are introduced spatial disturbance highly prone to affect reliability of unsaturated flow on cords. A stable hydrological functioning was not always a tenable feature and some pots showed malfunctioning which could be recovered with a fluid recharge to recover fluid transmissibility. At least this model at Fig. 18 of US 6,766,817 offered already an advanced porosity with no dead ends or clogged region in the geometry in such a feature that nature only offers inside biological porosity of plants.

Tubarc was created from the expression combining the words 'tube' + 'arc' to increase reliability to fluid retention and/or conduction offering an enhanced porosity that always would have a sort of partial protected fluid that can easily transmit longitudinally withing a continuous cylindrical containment having a continuous slit for lateral flow. It solves the problem of capillarity which works inside cylindrical structures having problems of multidirectional flow due to the tube restrictions.

Tubarc geometry was a further step beyond anisotropy and removal of stagnant regions as well as dead end on random porosity. Initially there was some doubt about manufacturing capability to exploit such features. Afterwards I found many near similar patent features proving that Tubarc feasibility is very tenable according to an updated evaluation of technological capabilities.

US Pat. 6,093,491 ‘Moisture transport fiber’. Jul 25, 2000. Assigned to Basf Corporation but the special fiber section was sold afterwards to Honeywell International, Inc.

The geometry of the arcs was almost near to get the advantages of the molecular connection on rounded structures but there was not enough assessment on hydrology to suggest new conceptions replacing capillarity. Wicking property is not even mentioned in Hydrosciences which is called Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow. This format is not good for bulky assembling of a bunch of fibers taking full advantages of a tube in arc.

US Pat. 6,551,353 ‘Synthetic fibers for medical use and method of making the same.’ Apr 22, 2003. Assigned to Hills, Inc.

The intention was a fiber formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending cavities which hold a medicament that is intended to be absorbed into tissue brought into contact with the fiber. It was not assessed for fluid transmission on the opened slits as an enhanced porosity to bring new conceptions in hydrodynamics. This geometry is very close to Tubarc and could be used to exploit Tubarc conceptions just increasing the size of the arcs to provide larger void ratio and area surface. Also, it is possible to have different numbers of Tubarc units. At least it is important to consider that US 6,551,353 provides a strong evidence about manufacturing feasibility of Tubarc conceptions.

US Pat. 6,855,425 ‘Polymer filaments having profiled cross-section’ Feb 15, 2005. Assigned to Invista North America.

This fiber from Invista shows that Tubarc is highly feasible technically and important to the textile industries. But, special geometry should deliver a higher hydrodynamic performance since it seem that Textile Engineers have low background on Hydrosciences, Soils Physics, and Hydrogeology since this patent had a half sentence in the text to address the hydrodynamic issue: ‘Furthermore, the yarn exhibits a high moisture wicking capacity.’

US Pat. 5,972,505 ‘Fibers capable of spontaneously transporting fluids’ Oct 26, 1999. Assigned to Eastman Chemical Company This fiber geometry does not take into account rounded geometry of porosity as well as an appropriate format for bulky assembly like in soil and biological porosity.

This patent belongs to a package that was donated to Clemson University estimated at 38 million dollars and having around 100 issued patents. The simple truth is that this geometry indeed has more area per volume to retain and transmit water than cylindrical fibers but when it is assembled in bulky composition stable reliability is compromised. It happens because self-entrapment can occur.

The main author has near 60 patents and spent his professional life searching for a fiber to transmit water but his background in fiber technology never suggested him to have a look how nature work such special porosities in soil, rock, and arrangement of cells and tissues inside plants and animals learning how physiology coped with such dilemma during millions of years in the past.

Experts working in fiber technology are not pay attention how porosity geometry works in other areas mainly Soil Physics and Hydrogeology. Also, it can be inferred that such experts are not learning from biological sciences regarding the internal hydrology of plants and animals regarding the complex porosity that nature designed internally to keep fluids cycling inside such beings.

US pat. 7,108,763 'Method for manufacturing an orifice mechanism capable of low fluid flow rates' Sep. 19, 2006. The channel is the same as mentioned at US 6,766,817 Fig. 18 as the porosity between cylindrical structures. Due to a need to have an enhanced porosity Tubarc was designed to cope such problems. It seems that US pat. 6,766,817 was totally ignore even the title is very easy to find by a search 'Fluid conduction utilizing a reversible unsaturated siphon with Tubarc porous microstructure'. Page 1, Line 27 ' . . .The ability to deliver proper amounts of fluid to plants, chambers, compartments or other devices in a constant and controlled manner is particularly important for maintaining constant plant growth or supplying liquid to devices that require fluid to function properly. . .The process of moving fluid as unsaturated flow also offers important features associated with characteristics, including the complex hydrodynamic interaction of fluid in the liquid phase in association with the spatially delineated porosity of the solid phase. '

Macroporosity Geometry

Wicking only allows upward flow toward the flame while Hydrogeology and Soil Physics teach about the interrelation between saturated and unsaturated hydraulic flow that has been on the scientific literature for more than a century.

Reversible Unsaturated Hydraulic Siphon complexity was far beyond the bare hydrological background of Inventors missing important background regarding the spatial dynamics of fluid matric potential between saturated and unsaturated zones as important features of fluid movement at macro scale. It seems that many inventors have tried to play with the hydrological zones without knowing about their spatial working dynamics failing to capture the conceptions accordingly.

US Pat. 6,811,842 ‘Liquid transport member for high flux between a port region and an opening’ Nov 2, 2004. Assigned to The Procter and Gamble Company. Like many other patents on such hydrodynamic functioning for not having accessed spatial dynamics of fluid matric potential according to the saturated and unsaturated zones this patent missed important conceptions on fluid delivery regarding unsaturated hydraulic flow.

US Pat. 6,178,984 ‘Self-priming siphon, in particular for irrigation’ Jan 30, 2001. French author. This patent is doing almost the same as Tubarc but since it does not employ spatial analysis to assess fluid matric potential it did not grab the fundamental dynamic conceptions.

When the inventor does not understand the functioning of hydrological zones regarding the fluid movement to attend a gradient of unsaturated hydraulic flow many simple phenomena can neither be explained nor be exploited according grabbing the hydrodynamic conceptions.

US 2006/0046123 'Passive fluid pump and its application to liquid-feed fuel cell system' Mar. 2, 2006. As stated in many place, Unsaturated Hydraulic Flow is not a pumping operation but just a fluid movement by a gradient of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.

It is important to consider that fuel cells is a fluidic device that highly can benefit from the hydrodynamic conceptions of Tubarc by moving fluids between compartments allowing a complex unsaturated zone, like in soil science, mixing a solid interface with air and fluid.

The Reversible Unsaturated Hydraulic Siphon can be employed to supply fuel or drain water in the functioning of fuel cells and simultaneously allow an interconnect air phase by a set of special Tubarc enhanced porosity geometry.

US 2006/0078477 'Methods and apparatus for a low-cost vapor-dispersing device' Apr. 13, 2006 assigned to The Dial Corporation. The device to connect the fluid between the ampule and the porosity is a wick which is supposed to work out on oil lamp if it wants to keep a loyalty to Etymological assumptions. The format is the same as Tubarc and the provisional application was filed on Sept. 8, 2,004.