The United States Patent and Trademark Office has
granted Patent Number 6,668,412 to Dr. Mantu C
Baishya on December 30, 2003. The title of the patent is
"Continuous Prestressed Concrete Bridge Deck Subpanel
System". Dr Baishya had done this work when he was at
University of Nebraska, Lincoln. First time Dr Baishya had
applied for this patent was in 1998. It has taken 5 years to
grant him the patent. The patent is on a unique bridge
system, which can be used for bridge replacement in
heavy traffic areas, e.g., in New Jersey, New York, and
California. The system is both continuous in longitudinal
and in transverse direction. Currently, there are two
demonstration projects under construction in Nebraska.
Below is an excerpt from a Question and Answer session
that I had with him.
Q1: What is your patent for?
A: Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Missouri and several other states provide a
thin solid precast prestressed panel of 3 to 4 in. to
function as a form for the cast-in-place topping and also
to house the positive moment reinforcement. The precast
panels are butted against each other without any
continuity between them. This system has several
drawbacks, which include the need to form overhangs
and to install a relatively large number of precast panels.
Also, the discontinuity of both prestressing strands over
the girder lines and between adjacent precast panels can
be a disadvantage. We (Dr. Maher K Tadros, Dr. Sameh
Badie and I) developed a continuous stay-in-place (SIP)
system that eliminates all the disadvantages of the
current system. The new system is proven to have the
following advantages: (1) it eliminates field forming of
deck overhangs; (2) for rehabilitation of bridge decks, it
saves the time and labor needed to rearrange the shear
connectors, this is due to the optimized spacing between
the reinforcement in the gaps; (3) it saves time and labor
because the SIP panel covers the entire width of the
bridge. Therefore, there is no need to handle a large
number of pieces, as in the case of conventional SIP
precast panels. Besides those mentioned, this system
has several other advantages.
Q2: How long did it take to go through the patent
process? How did you even know how to go about
getting one?
A: Initially, we applied for this patent in 1998. The patent
was awarded to us on December 30, 2003. The
information about how to go about getting a patent is on
the United States Patent and Trademark Office website
(http://www.uspto.gov/). Besides, there are different
private offices around the country that help achieve one's
objective. One must get representation from an
Intellectual Property Rights lawyer to apply for a patent
from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Q3: Why do you want a patent?
A: The three main aspects one tries to establish through
getting a patent are (1) intellectual ability and vision, (2)
monetary gain and (3) to make this world a better place in
which to live. However, in our case, it is mostly the first
and the third reasons, more than the monetary gain. We
applied for our patent through the Regents of University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, so the University is the monetary
beneficiary of this patent.
Q4: Why is this bridge design any different than a regular
bridge?
A: See response to Q1.
Q5: When did you have the time to come up with a new
bridge design and what circumstances made a new
design needed?
A: The fundamental vision of doing research is to
enhance knowledge and eliminate disadvantage or, in
other words, create convenience. Researchers encounter
disadvantages of a system or a product by studying
literature, by talking to users' groups and by one's
intellectual ability and vision. Once parameters are
established, it is the researchers' duty to eliminate these
disadvantages. During this elimination process one can
come up with an idea or product that is unique. In our
case, we tried to eliminate the drawbacks of the current
system cited in the response to Q1. All of a sudden, we
developed a product, which is diverse and unique from
the current system.
Q6: What are the benefits of this new design?
A: Eliminate inconvenience and ease of use. Also see
response to Q1
Q7: Now you have a patent! What's next? How will this
design be used in the real world?
A: This research was performed under the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) titled
"Rapid Replacement of Bridge Decks". This work was
documented in NCHRP Report 407, "Rapid Replacement
of Bridge Decks." The NCHRP has its own marketing
tools to market their research products. We are trying to
make this system popular through writing articles in
Journals, Trade Magazines, delivering speeches, and
talking to Department of Transportation personnel.
Q8: Has anything happened since you got the patent? A
ceremony? Notoriety in the engineering world? Articles in
publications, etc.
A: We have received congratulatory messages from
several sources. The kind words I received from my
colleagues and bosses, here at KM, are very
overwhelming. Also, it was a very good end to a difficult
2003 for me. Besides, nothing major happened
immediately after we received the patent. However, we
have published an article titled "Innovative Bridge Panel
System a Success", in Concrete International, in June
1999. This article was rated as best published article in
1999 and based on that, we received American Concrete
Institute's Structural Engineering Award in 2000.
Mantu C Baishya obtained his PhD from the University of
Colorado at Boulder. He is a civil engineer residing in
Omaha, Nebraska with wife Silpi and daughters Monalisa
& Shikha.
Contributed by Satyam K Bhuyan, Ames, Iowa.
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