Invention and Innovations

7th Grade

Patent

• A record explaining an invention. It protects an invention from being stolen.

First Patent

• Issued to Joseph Jenks

U.S. Patents since 1646

• 5 Million +

History of Invention

• Inventions of the:• Stone Age: axes, and tools made of stone

People invented ways of creating pottery

• Bronze Age: wheel, plow, irrigation and writing. These were the building blocks for later inventions.

• Iron Age: the screw pump,

History of Invention

• Inventions of the:• The Industrial Revolution: (1750-

1850) • Steam engine, telegraph, better ways

to plant and grow crops• Information Age: vacuum tubes,

transistors, used in television, computers

Discovery

• A discovery is made when something that naturally occurs is first noticed.

•Electricity 1752•Vacuums•Newton’s Laws of Motion 1666

Invention

• An invention is a new idea, process, or device. Humans design and create inventions

Devices and Machines

• Devices and machines. These are inventions with moving parts or electrical circuits used to do work.

Products

• Products. These are manufactured artifacts. Examples of products include:

• ink pens• sporting equipment• clothing• even artwork• pieces of music• food

Processes

• Processes. These are new techniques and ways of doing things.

• Processes can be changes in the way products are manufactured.

• They can also be new techniques for performing surgeries, growing crops, or making medicines.

Processes

Problem Solving

• Inventing follows a set of steps. It is a process. The process begins with a problem and ends with a solution.

Trouble Shooting

• A technique used to find the cause of a problem in a technological system.

Experimentation

• Problem solving step that is used to carry out tests on technological products and systems.

Identify the problem

Collect Information

Review

Think

CreativelyExperiment

Problem

• A problem is anything that can be made better through change.

• Example: the time and effort it takes to mow the lawn is a problem.

Challenge

• A challenge is also a problem.• A challenge is an obstacle or

goal that needs to be met.

• Example: to safely travel to the planet Mars.

Collect Information

• Research Techniques used by Inventors:• Interview Experts.

• Read Books, Magazines, and Academic Journals.

Inventors keep up with and record their progress by keeping notebooks or personal journals.

Think Creatively

• Requires the human brain.

• Inventors create:

o sketches

o drawings

o charts

o graphs

To aid in the creative process.

Experiment

• In this step the inventor builds inventions. They use drawings created in the last step.

• This step may take weeks or even years.

Review

• After the invention works, inventors review their notebooks. They make sure that the invention solves the problem.

• If the invention does not solve the problem, the inventor starts over again with step one.

• If the problem is solved, the invention process is solved.

Why People Invent

• #1 Social Inventions

• #2 Financial Inventions

• #3 Leisure Inventions

Social Inventions

• Social inventions are created to help the inventor or other people. They make our lives better. These inventions impact society.

• Example: a jar opener for the elderly,

vaccines for children

Financial Inventions

• Most inventions are created to make money. These are called financial inventions.

• Financial inventions often make things faster or easier to do.

• Example: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin to process cotton faster.

Leisure Inventions

• Leisure inventions are created for the pleasure of inventing. Inventors who like to tinker create things.

• Example: Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who drew funny leisure inventions.

Innovation

• Inventors do not always invent new devices. They often create innovations.

• Innovation is the process of altering an existing product or system to improve it.

Adaptations

• Adaptations are developed when inventions are used for something other than the purposes for which they were intended.

• Medicines are adapted when used to treat ailments besides the one they were meant to cure.

Spin-offs

• NASA has created over one thousand inventions that have been adapted to solve other problems.

• These adaptations are known as spin-offs.• Racecar drivers now use technology from space

suits worn by Apollo astronauts. • Cordless power tools were first used in space.• The suits firefighters wear are NASA spin-offs

• Spin-offs are inventions that have been adapted to solve other problems.

Innovations and Adaptations

• Innovations and adaptations make devices, products, and processes easier to use. They help to make inventions better and more useful.

• Innovations are an important part of invention

Important Inventions

• 20th Century Inventions

Thank you

Go Out and Invent Something