Hi Josh

We welcome any cottage industry serving the light-weight backpacking community. For obvious reasons we (BPL) can't get involved in or adjudicate in any commercial disagreements. We just look for good products, good quality and good support. They are what sells best.

I did a search at www.uspto.gov for the word 'tipi'. Zero hits. Interesting. Not sure exactly what that means though.

I was using the term 'Red Indian' in the context of Seton's books (1911). He was the American version of Baden Powell, and he merged his concept with the Boy Scouts idea very early on.

I eagerly await an article! I can help with the editing if you wish.

Cheers

Try teepee and tent.
I like the one from 1911 from an Australian.

Edited by asdzxc57 on 04/16/2012 07:21:44 MDT.

I just spit food all over the place, I'm laughing so hard. "For obvious reasons we (BPL) can't get involved" Roger suddenly doesnt have an opinion ;-) Obviously the opinions are reserved for the paid content(articles). So BPL(Roger) cant take a stance, but as a manufacture I can write articles, full of opinion, to be peddled to BPL customers? I am further out of touch with current business models than I thought :-) Rodger Dodger.

Hi Tim

OK, I found a couple under 'teepee'. But I couldn't get the images because the USPTO uses some variant of QuickTime which I couldn't download from Apple. WHY they can't use PDF for images I really cannot understand. Very bad decision I think.

The one patent (1988) I could read amazed me. Basically, the author is claiming the basic teepee design. How on earth did that get through????? Does this mean Kifaru, Rota L and SO are all in breach of that patent?

Couldn't find one dated 1911 though. Help?

Cheers

I dont know how that got through, I mean any pointy tent, is just a "tipi". Just like any roundy-round tent is just a tunnel tent, cant be anything unique there. Allot like back packs too, just bags with straps, I mean Otzi had one 5300 years ago, nothing new there. I bet he even had a water bottle holster, sorry Dan. Kinda like them there "Red indians" all the same, nothing distinguishing. I probably should not sweat it, and just go enjoy the 24-7-365 perfect weather outside. Have you ever been through the Patent process?

Hi Josh

To clarify, for everyone:

"For obvious reasons we (BPL) can't get involved"
The only person who can speak for www.backpackinglight.com is the owner, Ryan Jordon. Furthermore, I am not an employee of BPL. But I know what Ryan's policy is: BPL will not get involved in any disputes between competitors. I can state that.

"Roger suddenly doesnt have an opinion"
Er ... hardly! :-)
But my opinions are my opinions, not BPL's.

> Obviously the opinions are reserved for the paid content(articles).
Well, it would be a dead boring life if our articles did not have opinions, wouldn't it? So yes indeed, articles are expected to sometimes present opinions.
But I am sure 'a few' contributors to these Forum channels may also express their opinions at times ...

> So BPL(Roger) can't take a stance, but as a manufacture I can write articles, full of opinion,
Well, as explained above, 'Roger' is NOT the same thing as BPL.
'Roger', or any other contributor, can take a stance or express an opinion. And you as a manufacturer can also take a stance or express an opinion.

Hope this helps
Cheers

Hi Josh

Yes, there are a number of patents with my name on them. I wrote the drafts for some of them myself and had the patent lawyer finalise the claims.
Hard work.

Cheers

Roger --
www.google.com/patents

No quick time issues.

Use Google Patents https://www.google.com/?tbm=pts&hl=en

Using the search term "uspclass:135/100" gives 971 results; the US patent classification 135/100 is Cone-shaped type shelters, e.g., tepee: Shelter which is formed in the shape of an inverted cone.

The search included this result which may be the patent from 1910 being refered to in a previous post: US985243 (BAHAN) Feb 28 1911, a pyramid tent that has a collapsible pole structure where the poles are connected together at the apex.

Another interesting but OT patent is a combined shelter/cape US646421 from 1900.

Searching with "uspclass:"135/100" teepee" gives five patents showing teepee tents.

Barry

It just cant be, nothing new since some "Red indian" invented hundreds of years ago.

Rodger

If you have been through the process, as have I, as have many here, quit acting like you dont understand the subject matter.

So you do, or you dont have an opinion, as a free born individual? I know you do, I've read it a number of times, as have many people on this board. So the opinions are reserved to be sold as "state of the market" "reports" or as "technology" "reports", but they are not excersized on the forum? Or are there some exceptions based on circumstance?

Maybe there was a time when those opinions, sold as something more than, were worth something. My money says thats no longer the case, and is clearly evident.

And yes I'm expressing my opinions, and I'm not dancing around that either.

Hi Barry

Thanks!

It can be fascinating to trawl through the patent data base, and the Google access seems to be vastly better than going direct to USPTO.

Apart from the many wierd and wonderful variants disclosed, what did strike me after a while was the fact that those older patents were no more than a couple of pages of text, with a couple of diagrams. Compare that with some modern patents which manage to exceed the size of an encyclopedia.

Cheers

"Compare that with some modern patents which manage to exceed the size of an encyclopedia"

Hmm, I wonder why, could it be that the sum of the parts that made older patents obtainable, were simple and fewer. But with allot of ground being covered, in design and innovation over time, showing novelty requires more. No, NM, that cant be it.

Hi Josh

If I understand you correctly - yes, I have opinions. We all know that! And I am happy to post them too. Feel free to shoot them down.

What is the difference between an article and a posting on a Forum channel? Fair question.

I would say that an article is much longer, has numerous illustrations, and has to be far more 'composed' that a posting. It can take me many months of work to develop all the data for an article - some of my stove testing articles illustrate that very well. The layout and grammar and clarity have to be worked over into 'good English'. Wandering around the subject, or going OT, is not acceptable in an article. In fact, I try to write my technical articles to a standard comparable with a paper published in a refereed science journal - but in far easier-to-read English!

Postings ... well, we do wander a bit OT at times, don't we all? That's OK for the Forums. Also, many people can contribute to a Forum discussion: that's what the Forum is for, after all. I learn quite a bit from other people's postings.

Cheers
Edited for grammar and spelling...

Edited by rcaffin on 04/17/2012 05:43:38 MDT.

"The layout and grammer and clarity have to be worked over into 'good English'."

Spelling also.

--B.G.--

Bob, It is spelled correctly.

I learn allot from posters here too. I learned that them there "Red indians" built the perfect tent, it could not be improved upon in any way. But I am baffled as to why they did, based on North American weather reports that I recently read, they did not even need tents.

"Bob, It is spelled correctly."

Josh, what year did you drop out of school?

--B.G.--

Hey, I remember seeing the first cylinder stove in 2007 I believe, driving through Utah on my way home after pulling the plug on my brain-dead father. I remember thinking how it was a huge leap over anything out there. Several years later, I copied it, but I did NOT go into business with it. I did give one away though, and the guy ended up posting a link to TiGoat rather than copy the design. I was glad to see that.

This whole thing reminds me of when I was a research scientist, groveling for money by writing Federal grant proposals, getting them uniformly triaged, and then seeing my ideas in print about a year later by several other groups. It eventually put me out of that business.

Life goes on.

Josh, you stayed silent on this for much too long. I was wondering what the hey about all this. Hope that thing I sent worked out for your family.

Vaya con Perro,

Red Indian

Bob

I'm pretty sure dodger is spelled correct, is there an alternate spelling?

No I dont spell very well, TBIs can do that to you, oh well.

"Josh, what year did you drop out of school?" Officially or unofficially? Officially and completely in '95, though I did not attend much from ~'92-'95. I had my first engineering job in '97, I beat out 19 other applicants. I should probably clarify, I dropped out of an alternative high school, the 19 applicants had degrees. In 2008 I tested in the top 1% of graduate MEs(job requirement). I did not even get a T-shirt though :-(

What year did you get your degree?