Conceptual Drawings
Some inventors stop at the concept phase to get opinions from lawyers, marketers, family, and friends about the product idea. Once everyone is in agreement, the project continues into development. I like to provide a color 3D view and point out features and benefits that need to be part of the product. This is especially true for products that have assemblies or require electronics. The images below are examples of conceptual drawings.
Patent Drawings
The patent laws require that a patent applicant to furnish at least one patent drawing (sometimes referred to as a patent illustration) of the invention whenever the invention is capable of illustration by way of a drawing. Said another way, whenever a drawing would assist in the understanding of an invention you need at least one patent drawing. Based on my experience I can say that patent drawings are almost always required, and the easiest best way to create a better, strong application is to include many patent drawings.
Product Design & Development
Product Design and Development of your Idea begins now! This is a very exciting phase, because your idea is finally becoming a reality.
Product Development is the creation of products with new or different characteristics that offer new or additional benefits to the customer. Product development may involve modification of an existing product or its presentation, or formulation of an entirely new product that satisfies a newly defined customer want or market niche.
There are many factors that determine the time it takes to develop a product. Some ideas take eight hours to work from a sketch to a 3D CAD file that will be used for your prototype and tooling. These are the general stages of the product design and development phase:
BRAINSTORM
CONCEPTS
3D MODEL
DESIGN
PROTOTYPE
TEST & REVIEW
REDESING 3D MODEL
Production Drawings
Production Drawing is a type of technical drawing that is used to convey information about an object. A common use is to specify the geometry necessary for the construction of a component and is called a detail drawing. Usually, a number of drawings are necessary to completely specify even a simple component. The drawings are linked together by a master drawing or assembly drawing which gives the drawing numbers of the subsequent detailed components, quantities required, construction materials and possibly 3D images that can be used to locate individual items.
