The precision of your device influences how it will sell, but the precision of your patent determines whether you’ll sell it. Whether you’re developing a new probe, gauge, meter, scanner, or other instrument, you can assume a larger, better-funded competitor is waiting to poke holes in your IP-protection strategy.
That’s exactly why early patent protection matters. As an Orange County patent attorney since 2004, one with an engineering background, I understand the mechanical, electronic, and systems-level challenges behind measurement and inspection technology and can draft claims that accurately capture what makes your invention distinct and defensible. This field often involves real patent-office complexity: prior art from scientific instruments, software-hardware hybrids, and multi-component systems that span both a physical device and a method of use.
I have helped inventors in this field apply for and be granted patents on electrical probes, underground inspection systems, motion control and scanning apparati, medical sensing devices, and more. Below are examples of granted and pending patents I have secured.
Do you have a testing, measurement, or inspection invention you’d like to protect? Contact me, James Yang, for a free initial consultation. I work with inventors throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, and across the United States.
My Experience in Testing, Measurement & Inspection Patents
The following are examples of patents in this space that I have helped secure. Click any patent number to view the full record on Google Patents.
Granted: Patent No. US 11,320,462. An electrical test probe with a hinged, rotatable tip, so when a technician needs to touch a conductive surface that’s blocked by a component or tucked behind an obstruction, they can bend the probe around it rather than fighting for a straight-line approach. The probe body pivots relative to the main body at a joint, letting the user reach awkward spots one-handed without repositioning the whole tool. It can also combine a contact probe tip with an inductive current clamp in one device.
Granted: Patent No. US 12,313,649. A continuation of the rotatable probe concept above, this one adds a second independent pivot joint — so the probe body can rotate along two separate axes instead of one. That lets a user snake the tip around obstacles in a U-shaped path, reaching behind corners that would stump even the first-generation rotating probe. This continuation-in-part patent builds the family of protection around this product line.
Granted: Patent No.US 11,850,740. A system for inspecting underground utility vaults – the below-street enclosures that house electrical, gas, communications, and data equipment – without sending a worker down into them. A frame is set up over the vault’s access opening, and a pole with an inspection head attached is lowered through it. The frame positions the pole so it won’t knock into vault components on the way in. The inspection head can be a compact robot or a collapsible camera system that folds to fit through the opening, then expands inside the vault for a wider view. Inspection positions can be saved and repeated on future visits.
Granted: Patent No.US 8,612,173. A six-axis motion control apparatus for non-contact scanning of an object’s surface. The object being scanned sits on a support that moves linearly along two axes and rotates about a third, while the volumetric scanner itself traverses along a fourth axis and rotates about a fifth and sixth. The result is a system that can reposition both the object and the scanner independently, giving the scanner access to every surface of a complex three-dimensional part, the kind of full-coverage scanning typically reserved for much more expensive industrial equipment.
Granted: Patent No. US 7,828,729. A method for measuring how quickly a patient’s blood is clotting, which is useful in surgical settings and trauma care where knowing a patient’s clotting status quickly can inform treatment decisions. Rather than sending a sample to a lab and waiting, this approach allows the measurement to be made more directly, giving clinicians faster access to actionable data.
Granted: Patent No. US 8,261,859. A motor-powered bicycle trailer that adjusts its own speed based on real-time force feedback from a gauge at the hitch point. The trailer senses how hard it’s pushing or pulling on the bicycle and adjusts its motor output to reduce that force, effectively measuring the hitch load continuously and using that measurement to control behavior. The force-metering aspect of this invention is what ties it to the measurement and instrumentation space.
Granted: Patent No. US 7,450,025. A level and position sensor with associated electronic circuitry, originally developed for use in an interactive toy, that generates different output signals depending on the orientation and movement of the device. The sensing architecture here – detecting position, tilt, and motion state and converting those into discrete electronic outputs – has broad applicability beyond its original consumer context.
Pending: Application No. US 20230389872. A foot-mounted control system that lets a clinician operate medical equipment without using their hands. Sensors and switches are embedded in or on the clinician’s shoes, so they can trigger device functions through foot movements while keeping their hands free and their eyes on the patient. The system is designed to work without requiring the clinician to look down or shift attention away from the procedure.
Pending: Application No. US 20250325444. A system and method for accurately locating acupuncture points on a patient’s body. A probe connected to an electrical driver applies a small pulsed current to the skin, and the system uses the response to identify the precise location of the treatment point, taking some of the guesswork out of a process that has traditionally relied on practitioner experience and anatomical landmarks alone.
Related Industries
- Medical Products & Devices Patents
- Electronics Patents
- Software & App Patents
- Mechanical & Machinery Patents
- Construction Patents
- All Industries →
Ready to Protect the Measurement or Inspection Device You’ve Invented
Whether you’ve developed a new sensing system, a smarter inspection tool, a precision measurement device, or instrumentation for medical or industrial use, I can help you navigate the patent process from search to grant. Contact me for a free initial consultation.