SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
In 2015, 4,700 people in the US lost a finger or other body part to table-saw incidents. Most of those injuries didn't have to happen, thanks to technology invented in 1999 by entrepreneur Stephen Gass. By giving his blade a slight electric charge, his saw is able to detect contact with a human hand and stop spinning in a few milliseconds. A widely circulated video[1] shows a test on a hot dog that leaves the wiener unscathed.
Now federal regulators are considering whether to make Gass' technology mandatory in the table-saw industry. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced plans for a new rule in May, and the rules could take effect in the coming months.
But established makers of power tools vehemently object. They say the mandate could double the cost of entry-level table saws and destroy jobs in the power-tool industry. They also point out that Gass holds dozens of patents on the technology. If the CPSC makes the technology mandatory for table saws, that could give Gass a legal monopoly over the table-saw industry until at least 2021, when his oldest patents expire.
At the same time, table-saw related injuries cost society billions every year. The CPSC predicts switching to the safer saw design will save society $1,500 to $4,000 per saw sold by reducing medical bills and lost work.
"You commissioners have the power to take one of the most dangerous products ever available to consumers and make it vastly safer," Gass said at a CPSC public hearing on Wednesday.
[1] SawStop Hot dog Video - Saw blade retracts within 5 milliseconds of accidental contact - YouTube.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday August 12 2017, @02:35PM (6 children)
It costs $65 to add this tech to a saw. How much is your hand worth? How much will the hospital bill be? I really don't think a study is needed to determine that fire is hot and water is wet.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday August 12 2017, @10:40PM (5 children)
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Sunday August 13 2017, @05:32PM (4 children)
The patent expires shortly. It will be expired, along with the monopoly, before congress can pass a law. Congress moves slowly.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 14 2017, @01:03AM
Now I know you are being disingenuous. First, Congress doesn't have to pass a law, the SawStop people are seeking an administrative rule, which, by law, takes a handful of months, unless Congress or the President take active steps to stop. Second, is just because the first patents expire around 2021 (based on a quick analysis of priority date), that doesn't mean that all patents expire then, and he and his company have a lot.
Of course, you'd probably be OK with them requiring all books have special anti-papercut paper invented by Bob's Paper Co.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday August 14 2017, @03:52AM (2 children)
A patent expires shortly, but he has more such.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday August 14 2017, @02:12PM (1 child)
The basic patent is set to expire. Afterwards, anybody can make one who has the tools, plans, and expertise.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday August 15 2017, @02:16AM
As long as they don't violate the other patents that this inventor has on the device. It sounds like he has plenty of blocking patents in place.