How to do Preliminary Searches of U.S. patents and published applications:
Implementing the USPTO's Seven Step Patent Classification Search Strategy, Searching and Downloading Patents and Publications
based on United States Patent Classification System you can:
===>Access Classification Info by Class/Subclass.
===>Get US-to-IPC8 Concordance for any Class
===>Get US-to-Locarno Concordance for Design Patents
===>Get US-to-Locarno Concordance for Design Patents
===>Verify the relevancy/closeness of the Class/Subclasses by using the Patent Classification Schedule
===>Search the Issued Patents and the Published Applications databases by Current US Classification.
===>Instantly access and download full-text Patents and Published applications for that Classification.
USPC Seven Step Strategy : SEARCH TYPES
Once you identify the Terms that closely describe for your invention, You can start performing initial Searches at PatFT (Patents Full-Text) and AppFT (Applications Full-Text) databases using Patent Classification Schedule or by Keyword Patent Classification Index to the Patent Classification System.
US PATENT CLASSIFICATION INDEX
STEP 1:
Select Index to USPC Option to Search initial USPC class/subclass from the USPC Patent Classification Index based on the Terms for your invention.
Using this Option, You can Look up the words in the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification to find potential class/subclasses.
STEP 2:
Select the appropriate Letter
STEP 3:
Selecting the appropriate Letter will display the words and the corresponding Class-Subclass Number.
STEP 3: You can now Search PatFT (Patents Full-Text) and AppFT (Applications Full-Text) databases for the initial USPC class/subclass for the terms of your invention.
STEP 4: Select any of the Patents from the Search Result to Download for further investigation.
US PATENT CLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE Once you have your initial class/subclass, use this option to check their accuracy and relevance using the USPTO Patent Classification Schedule.
STEP 1:
Select Classification Schedule option.
STEP 2:
To Search for Utility Patents, Select Utility from the Class Type.
For searching the Publications, select Applications. To Search for Design Patents, select Design.
Depending on the Class type, USPTO Classification List is displayed
STEP 3:
You can Search for all the Patents/Publications by selecting your Invention Class from the List.
You can now confirm the scope of your subclass by Getting Subclasses(for Utility/Application) or by Getting US to IPC Concordances(for Design Patents).
Select the desired subclass and Narrow your Search based on Class/Subclass.
STEP 4:
You can now Search for all the Patents/Publications by selecting a Class(14) from the List or Class/Subclass(14/5).
STEP 5:
Select any of the Patent from the Search Result to Download.