| PATENTLY CLEAR |
| Its patently clear why you need to use a library... |
| Imagine every Patented invention in the last 100 plus
years, each one occupying at least one box file, from every country
in the world...Just imagine the ones from the UK - there are hundreds
of thousands from the UK and millions from around the world. Each
country needs to have all Patents from other countries in their archives
ready to be accessed by the Patents Examiners within minutes. |
| These archived Registered Patents fill a number of buildings,
the main one being the United Kingdom Patents Office (UKPO) in Newport,
South Wales, tens of thousands of metres of floor space, stacked to
the ceiling in rolling cupboards, researched every day by hundreds
of Patents Examiners ensuring no two ideas that are the same are registered.
And that's just the UK Patents!. |
| As two of the worlds largest Patent registers grow at
an increasing rate (Japan and USA) the need to store and retrieve
the information in a structured manner. |
|
|
The paper archives of the UKPO, this is less than one
quarter of one room - there are over 10 rooms |
 |
The initial libraries installed on the IBM Patent Server.
All the free floor space is now occupied by 6 more libraries. |
|
In the 1980's Patent archiving was
one of the first and largest applications to use CD-ROM as the storage
platform for searching this vast array of data.
|
| The UKPO started with single CD-ROM drives, and progressed
through 100 disc libraries, which were literally modified pub jukeboxes,
through to larger adapted audio jukeboxes. In 1998 the UKPO decided
to invest in an IBM developed Patent server, based on an IBM SP/2
AIX CPU with an 80Gb array holding the index of all the Patents within
the original 8 CD libraries attached to the SP/2 storage module. |
| Each of these libraries is a JVC MC series CD-ROM or
DVD-ROM library supplied, installed and maintained by OptoMedia Storage
Solutions. Since then a further 4 libraries have been added to the
Patent Server, of which two are DVD-ROM libraries with an incredible
storage capacity of 2.5Tb each. |
| Combined with the Patent printing system, attached to
a Xerox Docutech printer, in one room the UKPO have the largest working
library system in the United Kingdom. |
| Any Patent can be searched for, located, viewed and
or printed within seconds, and without the operative leaving their
desk. No more wandering the corridors of the huge Concept House, home
of the UK Patents Office to locate either a single, or group of Patents.
|
| Recently additional JVC libraries have been added to
the print system in order that a stable 24 hour data retrieval service
may be offered to the London offices of the Patents office for round
the clock local re-production of Patents without the need to print
in Newport and then mailing or faxing urgent requests through to London.
|
| For more information on how OptoMedia can improve your
storage systems, please contact
OptoMedia now to discuss your needs further |
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