The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on innovations related to conduit identification tags. The innovation was created by Dr. John T Finnell of the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Conduits are used to deliver electrical signals, electrical power or a substance over a distance. Often, numerous conduits are used in close proximity to one another. Identifying the function of a plurality of conduits can be difficult, especially when they become entangled or obscured from view. Sometimes users apply pieces of tape with handwritten identifiers, but the adhesive degrades over time, and the tape can fall off. Also, the tape’s sticky residue can cause conduits to become even more entangled.
The IU innovation consists of a series of tags and apertures that allow a user to identify the ends of the same conduit by matching identifying features, namely shapes.
The innovation was disclosed to the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office. The mission of the office is to drive innovation to the market for the benefit of the public, the university and innovators for state, national and global commerce. IU personnel can disclose an invention online.
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