Experiment No.

03
NOVELTY

1. Objective(s):
This activity aims to determine if the invention is novel.
2. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):
At the end of this activity, the student shall be able to
1. Check if the invention is novel
2. Determine if the invention is patentable
3. Discussion
An invention must be regarded as novel or new to qualify for patent protection. An invention cannot be
patented if specific public disclosures of the invention have been made, according to this novelty criteria.
The statute (35 U.S.C. Section 102) that specifies when a public disclosure has been made is complex
and frequently necessitates a thorough examination of the circumstances and the law. But the most
crucial rule is that innovation won't often qualify for patent protection if:
● the invention was known to the public before the applicant filed for patent protection.
● the invention was described in a printed publication before the applicant filed for patent
protection, or
● the invention was described in a published patent application or issued patent that was filed
before the applicant filed for patent protection.
4. Resources:
Computer with internet
Free Patent Database

5. Procedure:

1. Provide a brief background of your topic in Project Design 1.

● Title
● Brief Introduction
● Objectives
● Project Scope and Limitations
2. Determine the closest prior art from the patent and non-patent documents. Paste your results.
3. Make a comparison table of the closest prior art from the patent documents to the claimed
invention. Is your design novel and patentable?
4. Make a comparison table of the closest prior art from the non-patent documents to the claimed
invention. Is your design novel and patentable?
Course: ECE 414 Experiment No.: 3
Group No.: - Section: ECE41S1
Group Members: Date Performed: September 8, 2022
Basilio, Gicel Ashley Date Submitted: September 10, 2022
Mendoza, Reggie Marg Instructor: Engr. Valondo

6. Data and Results:

Title: Portable Palay Drying Device Integrated with Moisture Sensors and Heating Chamber System

Brief Introduction:

According to reports, the Philippines is one of the top 9 rice producers in the world. However,
there are numerous steps involved in producing rice, commencing with the harvest and continuing
through the drying stage. While several issues may arise, drying the palay is one of the most crucial.
There are risks involved in drying palay on public roads, and not all farmers can use a drying facility.
Drying also affects the moisture content of the grain, which might be problematic for some producers as
it lowers the market price.
One approach is to design a portable and accessible grain drying apparatus that can be used in
remote parts of the Philippines and is integrated with moisture sensors and heating chamber systems to
improve the efficiency and accuracy of the results.

Objectives:

The general objective of the project is to help increase the efficiency and accuracy of palay
drying by integrating the moisture sensors and heating chamber systems which are both under the
Electronics Engineering concepts. The specific objectives of the project are
1. To effectively dry the palay while preserving its high quality.
2. To minimize palay drying time while retaining the desired moisture content.
3. To include electronic engineering concepts into the project.

Scope and Limitations:

This project aims to develop a prototype that will help increase the efficiency and accuracy of
palay drying. Generally, the scope of the project is the Agriculture Industry, but specifically, the Palay or
Rice Grain Industry of our country since we are trying to increase the efficiency and accuracy of palay
drying. Currently, we have three possible clients which are the Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) located in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, the Philippine Rice
Research Institute located in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, and the Rizal Agricultural Research and Experiment
Station located in Tanay, Rizal

The limitations of the project are other industries outside the scope of our study, and the
possibility of limited financial resources because we are not sure if the project will be funded by the
government since PhilMech is under the Research and Development sector of our country. Moreover,
time will be our primary limitation because the complexity of the project may cause us technical problems
which can result in delays.
Closest Prior Art: Patent Document

1. WIPO IP PORTAL - Patenscope

2. Google Patents
 3. Espacenet

Closest Prior Art: Non-Patent Document

Comparison Table: Patent Document and Claimed Invention

Patent
Title Similarities Differences
Database

• Our claimed invention is a

more portable device.
• The related patent document
• Both have the purpose
device is bulky.
to dry rice / palay.
RICE DRYING • The claimed invention will be
Patenscope
MACHINE equipped with a better heating
• Both are equipped with
system.
moisture sensors.
• The claimed invention will
also have a grain moisture
sensor.

• The related patent document

device has a screening function
and trash chamber.
• Both have the purpose
• Our claimed invention is a
to dry rice / palay.
more portable device.
Google Rice Dryer with
• The claimed invention will be
Patents Screening Function • Both are equipped with
equipped with a better heating
moisture sensors and
system.
heating chambers.
• The claimed invention will
also have a grain moisture
sensor.

• The related patent document

device is bulky.
• The related patent document
device is equipped with a
• Both have the purpose temperature sensor.
to dry rice / palay. • Our claimed invention is a
Espacenet Rice Dryer more portable device.
• Both are equipped with • The claimed invention will be
heating chambers. equipped with a better heating
system.
• The claimed invention will
also have a grain moisture
sensor.
Is your design novel and patentable?
Yes, because the features of our claimed invention are not exactly similar or present to a device
in the documents we searched. Also, the title is not similar to any document. It is also patentable
because the claimed invention is proven to be novel, but the need to satisfy the remaining factors is to be
considered.

Comparison Table: Non-Patent Document and Claimed Invention

Title Similarities Differences

● Our claimed invention would

Design and Development of be more accessible and
● Both have a moisture
Solar Powered Automatic Grain reliable for market use.
detecting sensor to detect
Dryer for Storage ● Our claimed invention will
moisture of the grains.
By have a better heating
● Both have a heating
Aditya Jain, Aftab Pasha, V system.
chamber mechanism to dry
Balaji, R Rohitha, Kiran Kumar ● Our claimed invention will
the grains.
BM have a grain moisture meter
implemented than a soil
moisture sensor.

● The primary objective of the

Design and Development of
Grain Dryer
By
K.D. Ganvir, Pravin Aswar,
Prajwal Zamare, Virendra
Mehar, Nayan Sahare
non-patent document is to
remove moisture content by
drying.
● Our claimed invention would
● Both are portable be more accessible and
● Both have temperature reliable for market use.
and moisture content ● Our claimed invention will
control. have a better heating
system.
● Our claimed invention will
have a grain moisture meter
implemented than a soil
moisture sensor.

Is your design novel and patentable?

Yes, as our claimed invention's features do not directly match those mentioned or similar ones in
the publication we sought. Furthermore, the title is not identical to any other paper. The claimed invention
is also patentable because it has been determined to be novel.
7. Interpretation

The first part of our data and results showed a piece of brief information about our topic in
Project Design 1. Our claimed invention is entitled “Portable Palay Drying Device Integrated with
Moisture Sensors and Heating Chamber System”, we also included information about it, our general and
specific objectives, as well as the scope and limitations of the project.

The second part of our data and results showed screenshots of the closest prior art from patent
documents. We provided three screenshots using different patent databases for us to determine the
similarities and differences between those patent documents to our claimed invention. We utilized
Patenscope, Google Patents, and Espacenet which are all free patent databases.

The third part of our data and results displayed screenshots of the closest prior art from
non-patent documents. The non-patent document was retrieved from IEEE, and we made sure that it is a
non-patent document by searching it in patent databases.

The fourth part of our data and results showed a table comparing the closest prior art from
patent documents from our claimed invention. After utilizing three free patent databases, we were able to
distinguish the similarities and differences among them. Their similarities and differences can be seen in
the table above. Moreover, we were able to answer the follow-up question which is about the novelty of
our claimed invention and if it is patentable.

The fifth part of our data and results showed a table comparing the closest prior art from
non-patent documents from our claimed invention. We were able to identify the differences and
similarities between the non-patent documents and our claimed invention. The non-patent documents
were obtained from the IEEE website. The table above illustrates their similarities and differences. In
addition, we were able to respond to the follow-up question regarding the novelty and patentability of our
claimed invention.

8. Conclusion:

Basilio, Gicel Ashley

This activity attempts to establish the novelty of the invention, which is the subject of our Project
Design 1. We were also able to ascertain the novelty of the invention and whether it qualifies for patent
protection. To assess the novelty of the claimed invention, we search the patent database for documents
that are linked to patents and the IEEE for non-patent publications. This allowed us to confirm that our
stated invention is novel and patentable.

We were successful in achieving the activity's goal and planned to learn outcomes at its
conclusion. Additionally, this activity greatly aids Project Design 1, particularly in assessing its novelty to
support our project.
Mendoza, Reggie Marg

This experiment aims to determine if our claimed invention is novel. The said claimed invention
is our topic in Project Design 1, and this experiment can help us test its novelty.

At the end of this experiment, we were able to verify if our claimed invention is really novel, and
we were able to discover whether our claimed invention is patentable. Moreover, we were able to utilize
the patent database for searching patent-related documents, which helped us verify our claimed
invention's novelty. We were able to use IEEE for searching non-patent-related documents, which also
helped us check the novelty of our claimed invention.

Conclusively, this experiment is a great help, especially to our Project Design 1 journey. I also
believe that these precautionary measures (patent searching and novelty proving) that we did in this
experiment helped us to solidify the idea of our project.

Honor Pledge:
“We affirm that we have not given or received any unauthorized help on this experiment and that all
work is our own.”