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Patent MarketPlace: Construction Patents and Building Trades Technology Patents for Sale

Intelligent Construction Lien Tracking and Resolution (Nelson): U.S. Patent Application 20230206367

It is a common practice for suppliers to a construction project to secure liens against the project to insure that they get paid. As a building or other project nears completion, it can have dozens of liens from dozens of suppliers and subcontractors. The building cannot be sold or refinanced until all those liens are paid, and determining which liens were paid and which were not, and what the true value of each lien is, and how to get it paid, can be a rat’s nest!

This patent application addresses this situation by creating a computerized database that accurately records each lien, prioritizes them, tracks and records all lien-related activities, and manages the mediation and settlement of each lien. Using machine learning, this patented technology guides the user through the entire process of filing a lien to getting paid. It can be used by the general contractor to track liens against a project, or by a contractor or supplier to track liens against the projects for which it is owed money. It even goes so far as to predict the likelihood of payment and to assist in mediating a settlement!

Rather than simply sell or license U.S. Patent Application 20230206367 for a “Smart intelligent lien dispute mediation system,” the inventor is seeking an investor that can enable the inventor to build a business based on this cutting-edge technology.

Improved Insulator Cleaning System (Zbinden): U.S. Patent Nos. 11,148,174 and 11,358,181

In addition to generating electricity and delivering it to its customers, electric utilities have a huge infrastructure to maintain. One of the many challenges facing electric utilities is keeping all those insulators clean. Insulators prevent current from the power or distribution line from going into the utility pole and ultimately into the ground. The dirt, dust, grime, and other debris that collects on insulators can create a path for the electrical current to bypass the insulator and escape into the ground, resulting in a serious loss of deliverable electrical current for the utility.

This patent family addresses the challenge of keeping insulators clean by creating a device that scrubs both the outside of the insulator and the surface between the insulator disks. A utility worker standing on the ground uses the device to remove dirt, dust, grime, and anything else that has collected on the insulator. A sponge and flexible rubber blade both insulate the worker and remove any foreign material from the insulator. The tool has threaded attachments that adjust it to the desired length. The tool created by this patent can be used to clean insulators at substations as well as on distribution and power lines.

U.S. Patent No. 11,148,174 for an “Electrical insulator manual cleaning device” and U.S. Patent No. 11,358,181 for an “Extendable cleaning device for electrical insulators” would enable any manufacturer of tools for the electric utility industry to offer its customers a next-generation solution to cleaning their insulators.

Utility Pole Removal and Inspection Auger (Falkenhagen): International Patent Portfolio

One of the most common sites around the world today are utility poles. They dot the landscape as they carry electricity, telephone service, and cable content to homes and businesses. There are 180 million utility poles in the U.S., over 500 million in China. With an average life of just 30 to 40 years, the utility that owns and maintains this important infrastructure item is always removing old poles and replacing them with new. And then there are all the road-widening projects that require utility poles to be uprooted and replaced with new ones farther into the right-of-way. On top of this, utility poles need to be periodically inspected.

Utility poles are currently removed by digging with shovels around the perimeter of the pole until it is loose enough that the pole can be lifted up and out of the ground. The current method is back-breaking, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and not very efficient. This international portfolio creates a tool that quickly, efficiently, and economically removes utility poles. It attaches to the perimeter of the pole and a threaded sleeve drills down and removes the soil and rock from around the buried portion of the utility pole about 10 inches out so it can be easily lifted up and carted away. The whole process takes just a few minutes!

This auger created by this portfolio also has applications for the utility pole inspections that are mandatory in most countries. In the U.S., for example, utility poles must be inspected every seven years. The auger provides inspection depth two feet down. By replacing having to remove dirt from around the utility pole by shovel, this tool dramatically increases productivity! This patented tool can excavate approximately 160 poles in an eight -hour shift compared to just 20 poles when they have to be dug out with a shovel.

Patent Portfolio

This portfolio will enable any supplier of tools to the utility industry to offer a time-saving, money-saving solution to removing and inspecting utility poles.

Extremely Durable, Non-Combustible Building Panels (Dopp): U.S. Patent No. 11,560,716

There are areas of the country – such as California – where a house being destroyed by a forest fire is a not an unusual event. And when a forest fire gets out of control – as they so often do – and burn down hundreds or thousands of homes, all those structures are totally losses that have to be completely rebuilt from the ground up. As an added tragedy, the contents of the destroyed homes – including irreplaceable items like family photos and mementos – are lost forever! Surely there must be a solution.

There is. This patent introduces technology for floor, wall, and roof panels that are not just fire-resistant, they are non-combustible! Built with steel frames and cementitious sheathing, these construction panels are lightweight and durable, and will withstand a forest fire. Since the exterior of the house is non-flammable, the fire will pass by the house for lack of fuel, saving not just the house from total destruction, but also protecting the contents of the house. Other than smoke damage, a building constructed with these patented panels will withstand any forest fire with NO substantial damage to the structure or its contents!

To build a structure using this technology, the architectural plans are submitted to the manufacturer, and CAD software configures the dimensions of the panels that will be needed. The panels are manufactured, shipped to the construction site, lifted into place, and bolted together. The doors and windows, plumbing and wiring, duct work, and fixtures are then installed just as they would be in a conventionally constructed house. U.S. Patent No. 11,560,716 for “Methods and apparatuses for facilitating producing of an insulated panel” will enable any housing materials manufacturer to introduce the next generation in modular housing components.

Faster, Cheaper Manhole Construction (Gilbert): U.S. Patent No. 10,458,093

Manholes are a common site across America. We ride over them and walk over them – or around them – without giving them much thought. Manholes provide access to the unseen underground infrastructure that makes life in the modern world possible. Clean drinking water, electrical power, sewage and waste removal, natural gas, telephone and Internet, and many other services are accessed from manholes. However, constructing a manhole has been an expensive and time-consuming process that includes fabricating a form, filling it with poured concrete, waiting for the concrete to harden and cure, and then detaching and removing the form and transporting one of the heaviest products imaginable to its next location. That has been the process…until now.

This patent dramatically simplifies the process, providing technology that saves time and material costs. The patented system uses a two barrel pre-fabricated mold that is made from common plastic materials. The inner and outer barrels are welded in place to secure them and the cavity between them is filled with concrete. When the concrete hardens, it creates a ready-to-use manhole. The manhole can be constructed in-place on-site or off-site and then transported and dropped into place. The form system becomes a permanent integrated feature of the finished manhole. This patent does not create a new type of manhole, but addresses a more cost effective and faster way to construct manholes.

U.S. Patent No. 10,458,093 for an “On-site manhole casting system” would enable any supplier of construction materials to offer its customers a device for fabricating manholes faster and cheaper than the current process.

Footless Concrete Foundations (ISBP): U.S. Patent No. 8,516,773

Concrete foundations for buildings have not changed much over the last 100 years. A process of formwork, pouring, and stripping is done twice – first for the footings and then, after they have cured, once again for the actual foundation walls. While this system does work, it is expensive, labor-intensive, and time-intensive.

This patent takes the pouring of foundations to a new level by eliminating separate footings. Conventional forms are used in a patented method that provides both the footing and foundation walls in one pour instead of two. And it does this using the same amount of concrete as is used in the slower two-part process. This new technology reduces construction time, saving an average of two days in the schedule. It also saves significantly on the basement slab since the pad is prepared only once for both the foundation and the slab – no coming back to fill, grade, and compact for the slab. And excavation cost are less, saving over 100 yards of removal and later fill.

U.S. Patent No. 8,516,773 for a “Foot free concrete foundation method and device” would be a valuable acquisition for any building supplies manufacturer that is ready to leapfrog the current technology and offer serious savings to contractors that are building concrete foundations.

Frameless Construction (ISBP): Nine U.S. Patents and Application Portfolio

Residential construction methods have not changed much over the years. The same joists, studs, trusses, and rafters have been used to build everything from houses to schools, hotels, and offices for centuries. In fact, the only major innovations were plywood/Oriented Strand Board and gypsum board, but they are both nailed to the same joist-stud-rafter frame. Current home construction is labor-intensive, highly inefficient, and far too expensive!

This portfolio changes all that by creating a frameless construction system in which 4 x 8-foot or longer panels are connected to form floors, walls, and roofs. The panels leave space that allows air to circulate – keeping the structure cool in the summer and warm in the winter – and accommodates plumbing and wiring. Holes are cut for windows and doors. These ventilated plenum panels are delivered to the construction site just as plywood or gypsum board would be, but NO joists, studs, trusses, or rafters are delivered as they are not needed. The panels are lifted into place and connected to each other to form a tight, solid, integral structure at less cost and in less time than convention “stick” construction!

Patent Portfolio

The acquirer of this portfolio will be able to offer a totally new, patent-protected, concept in construction that will dramatically reduce both labor and material costs, resulting in faster construction of buildings at less cost!

Mobile Tool Cart and Workbench (Mobile Designs): U.S. Patent No. 9,849,582

Performing any type of carpentry or other tradecraft work at a construction site usually requires lifting and transporting heavy power tools from a truck to the workplace and back to the truck. In many cases, this work is performed by a single worker without help. Moving tools and construction materials to the job site and back to the truck wastes time and is not productive. Lifting heavy loads exposes workers to injuries that add to the cost of the project. On site, the power tools must be mounted to a saw table that may not be sturdy, nor the ideal height, nor may provide proper support. These conditions compromise workplace safety and reduce productivity. Not good. Not smart. Not efficient.

The ideal solution would be sturdy mobile steel cart that can be moved in and out of a truck bed with a load of up to 350 pounds of tools on it without the worker having to lift all that weight. It would have fold-down legs like an ambulance gurney, it would incorporate a wood top for mounting power tools, and it would provide a flat working surface at the job site. It would have adjustable legs compatible with most truck bed heights, and its legs would have wheels that can be tailored to the job site terrain. At the end of the workday, it could be rolled back to the truck and slid into the cargo bay.

That is exactly the invention covered by this patent! U.S. Patent No. 9,849,582 for a “Rollaway storage cart with collapsible legs” creates exactly the perfect cart and workbench for any construction site. The inventor of the patent has manufactured prototypes already in use on job sites today. The invention would enable any seller or manufacturer of construction equipment or power tools to introduce a new product that saves time and improves workplace safety. The "video" link below shows a version of this invention, the “Work Sherpa,” in use.

Video


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