Super small electronic variable resistor -- Exists?

[jim hardy]

I think he should build something anyway. We learn so much more from doing than from just reading about doing.

 

[Baluncore]

I believe its possible to design an analog neural network that can out perform a digital representation. Ofcourse if I can build it all, my first version won't out perform anything, but maybe after I build it, I can build it again, faster, with smaller components. Kind of like how vacuum tubes advanced.
Also I have an invention idea whoch requires a neural network that can be trained very fast, and very responsive.

The OP will not identify the conceptual model of the synapse or Neural Network that might use the component.

Nope it looks like what I wanted to create has already been invented so it's kind of pointless to continue, besides, I live in Edmonton Canada and I wouldn't be willing to share my idea with someone unless it was in person anyways...
Thank you everyone for the ideas, keywords to research and suggestions. Perhaps I will come back in the future and revisit this when I have a better understanding of the technical aspects.

The OP also admits that someone else has already invented the idea. But it is still kept a secret to PF.

To the small inventor, a patent is financial death. It costs real money to establish, then any challenge will destroy the small inventor with the incredible cost of the legal defence. The invention will then be available to all, without licence.

Publication of the idea is the best solution for all. That way no one can patent the idea, while others design the solution. But here the OP has chosen obscurity.

It is interesting to observe that this thread is a bit like a UFO sighting. The less information the OP provides the more interpretations are possible and the longer the suggestions and discussion will continue.

 

[davenn]

+1 what he said ^^^

and because of that I find these types of threads so pointless as everyone stumbles around in the dark
trying to outguess everyone else

 

[jim hardy]

To the small inventor, a patent is financial death. It costs real money to establish,

I'll vouch for that.
Though US patent office now has reduced rates for small entities .
Still it'll probably cost at least ten grand , much of that to a patent lawyer to translate your writeup into patent office jargon . It's a pretty strange dialect .

US7177383 is my $15K 'vanity press' misadventure .. Never again.

Get it working, submit an article to a hobby magazine, have fun.

old jim

 

[dlgoff]

US7177383 is my $15K 'vanity press' misadventure .. Never again.

At least you have a patent.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...50&s1=7177383.PN.&OS=PN/7177383&RS=PN/7177383

 

[CraigHB]

There's a huge problem with patents and consumer products. It makes them ineffective even if it's not a matter of money. A lot of the theft of IP occurs in China where US patents are not enforce-able. So you can spend all that time and money on a patent only for some Chinese outfit to copy your product and sell it for a tenth the cost. Granted the quality is almost always a lot better with an original product and that can count for a lot, but an inferior copy for a fraction of the cost deeply cuts into product sales for the original.

I've developed a couple consumer products myself and people often say to me, "you should get a patent on that." I don't bother to explain why it's a complete waste of time and money. The false paradigm in the US is that a patent actually provides some protection of IP to an individual. If an offending company does business in the US a patent is enforce-able, but still it's cost prohibitive. The only people that can benefit from the US patent system are the larger corporations that keep a team of lawyers on staff.

 

[anorlunda]

How to fix US Patent law sounds like a good thread for general discussions.

 

[Baluncore]

A lot of the theft of IP occurs in China where US patents are not enforce-able.

The problem of international asymmetry in patent law cuts both ways. For example, a US citizen could provide a signed statement, without proof or evidence to the US patent office that stated they were working on an invention before a foreign registered patent priority date. Preferred treatment to US citizens prevents some foreign patents in the USA.

If you patent your invention, the Chinese will have the information needed to copy it.

I did not patent my most profitable invention, but I hid the IP deep inside the product. Patents on other parts of the product expired in 1998. But the product then won UK trade awards in 2002 for “the most innovative product”. I manufacture ever increasing quantities of “the magic ingredient”.

There have been several failed attempts by others to clone the product, but without a patent they have no clue what a reliable solution entails, or how the hidden IP might overcome some quite surprising problems that I anticipated. After disappointing their customers in the first year, the clone manufacturers abandon the field to cut their losses.

My design has outlasted two eras of PCB manufacturing technology, so I am now completely replacing my PCB design software for the second time. I buy some electronic components from Britain and the USA, then manufacture in Australia. I also ship a finished electronics and interface kit back to British manufacturers for final assembly with steelwork. They export most of their finished product directly into Europe. China is not in the loop.

Originally, compliance with EU regulation was interesting. Now the thoughts of Brexit keep it interesting.

 

[anorlunda]

Happy 4000th post @Baluncore