Patent Protection & Registration
Patentsgrant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. Utility and plant patents can last up to 20 years, while design patents can last up to 15 years. When a patent expires, the patented material enters the public domain, making it free to use by anyone without a license. U.S. patents are issued by theUnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
U.S. Patent No. 12,416,123entitled "Automated Sensor Switching" issued September 16, 2025 to Wirtgen GmbH of Windhagen, Germany. Invented by René Müller of Vettelschoss, Germany, Manuel Rossa of Aachen, Germany, Matthias Fritz of Hennef, Germany and Christian Berning of Zülpich, Germany.Abstract:A construction machine uses a controller configured to determine a cross-sectional profile of a design surface at a selected position and orientation of a milling drum of the construction machine. The controller automatically determines a preferred sensor sub-set from a plurality of possible sensor sub-sets selected from a set of available sensors. The preferred sensor sub-set must be usable to create at least a portion of the cross-sectional profile of the design surface. The controller automatically maintains or switches control of the milling depth to use the preferred sensor sub-set.
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