According to some Patent Drawing Specialists (PDS), Dimensioning is among the most important aspects of a patent design that should be performed accurately and exactly. In this post, we are going to exemplify and define experts' approaches to Dimensions of Patent Drawing.
Consequently, before we go deep into the details of patent design, let's establish what dimensioning is in a patent drawing.

Experts’ POV

In patent drawings or technical drawings, dimensioning is the art of presenting a clear and thorough description of an object. Unlike in the visual arts, where the artist has the freedom to allow his or her work to be interpreted in a variety of ways, we do not have that freedom in patent designs.
A patent design should be drawn in such a fashion that viewers can only understand it in one way and not in any other. If patent drawing specialists are to be believed, it should be done by engineering drawing criteria established by several government authorities such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Essence of Patent Drawings

In the case of patent drawings, this adage holds, "A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words". Drawings are often more effective in explaining an invention than reams of text. Patent applications benefit from accurate, unambiguous drawings, which assist overworked patent reviewers to understand inventions more quickly. Patent applicants should not overlook the value of drawings in their submissions. Patent offices have particular requirements for the technical features of drawings they accept, but more than merely achieving those standards must be considered. The safest option for a patent application is to hire a professional draftsperson who specializes in complex patent designs and is familiar with the various needs of patent offices.

Specific Technicalities

Many patent workshops now allow designs on a range of outlets, from printed media to digital media, but style, dimension, and format standards often differ. Likewise, some patent offices demand flexible sheets for paper filings, while others require stiff cardboard.
Aside from the surface, there can be substantial variances in the drawing parameters when it relates to surface coloring, broken patterns, and line thickness, for example. Drawings must comply with the standards of: 
 the country in which the patent is filed, 
 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for filings in the United States
 the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for international files. In its 142 contracting states, the PCT regulates how to patent drawings should be developed and submitted.
All patent offices have the same requirements: drawings must be clear, black and white, and have solid black lines. The dimension of the sheet on which illustrations can be filed differs significantly between USPTO and PCT submissions, for example. The USPTO accepts letter or A4 size paper, whereas the PCT only accepts A4 size paper. Whether you're filing on letter size or A4 sheets, the margins stay the same.

Utility Patents

Utility patent drawings must adhere to stringent guidelines. They should be made in the proper scale, with lines, numerals, and characters that are highly dense and darkish, uniformly dense, and well defined to ensure acceptable reproduction qualities. Charts, chemical or algebraic formulae, wavelengths of electrical impulses, and signs can all be employed depending on the innovation.
Drawings are typically created to correlate to the patent's specific claims. Specific views can be utilized to depict a problem the innovation solves, a specific benefit it provides, or a need it satisfies, detailing a new feature or how the innovation performs that duty. Prior art could be used to exhibit contrast or distinguish a great innovation from an existing one, or the illustrations can depict the improved section of the new invention with enough of the old invention to indicate the relationship if the new invention is an improvement to an existing one.
The inventiveness of a mechanical invention are often determined by fixing problem-solution statement and compare it with the prevailing art and make a claim strategy.

Placing an innovation in its intended setting can make it easier to understand, and the drawings themselves can be organized to aid readers in understanding the creation. It's also possible to use plan or raised perspectives, isometric views, and sectional views.
The draftsperson's advice for refining the designs and portraying the invention will be more valuable the more complex and difficult to characterize the invention is. If the applicant creates the drawings before the patent application is finished, he or she can save time by basing the comprehensive description on the order of the drawings.

Design Patents

Unlike utility patents, design patent applications rely entirely on illustrations. The illustrations in DPA (Design Patent Applications) constitute the full visual exposure of the claim, according to USPTO standards, and "the drawing disclosure is the most significant portion of the claim. Nothing about the invention intended to be protected is left to speculation" in well-executed illustrations.
In their recommendations, most countries have comparable restrictions. The USPTO, on the other hand, mandates that all surfaces of drawings be shaded properly and adequately: "Shading which clearly shows the character and contour of all surfaces of any three-dimensional feature of the design." Because they do not feature shading or broken lines, USPTO design drawings are more artistic than those of most other countries, which resemble engineering or technical drawings (but without the dimensions). Underneath the PCT, conceptual designs with surface shading and broken lines are permitted.
In most nations, a variety of perspectives in black-and-white simple lines are required to adequately reveal the innovation. If line art is not an option, pictures can generally be sent instead. If pictures are not permitted and an entrant is required to submit standard black-and-white designs, the claimant will not be permitted to fix any discrepancies in the illustrations after they have been filed, unless it is possible to do so without contributing new information. When replacing figures, nothing can be taken away or added. An inadequate or badly produced design may result in a critically deficient disclosure that cannot obtain a patent, according to the USPTO.
It can be difficult to create images or drawings for design patents that reflect exact views. For example, each photograph or graphic may only show one side of the innovation. Each photograph or illustration of a simple cube, for example, should show only one side — not the side and a bit of the top or another side. Any distortion in photographs must be addressed when utilizing them as a reference for drawings.

Have any further queries? Drop an email to info@thepatentdrawing.com, our patent expert will reach out to you soon

Related Links :

1.The Importance of Patent Drawings for Low-Tech Products
2. What patent should we apply A Design or Utility Patent? And how is Design Patent different from Utility Patent?
3. What can Patent Attorneys do in COVID-19 Pandemic disruption on the patent filing?