I often think about how GreenTech overlaps with plain old engineering. GreenTech is not just about paradigm-shifting technologies like heliostats; GreenTech also recognizes that it is important to provide even small gains in efficiency. GreenTech does not always give us the transformer, but it may give us a transformer that is slightly more efficient.
Better than good enough is generally a fun thing to pursue for inventors. That’s why I think inventions like the one claimed in U.S. Patent 7,927,049 to James Adams of Frisco, Texas are interesting. Sure, it may increase safety by providing a visual indicator of a detorqued wheel fastener (“lug”), but it also would arguably result in a truer wheel, which could decrease rolling resistance or the amount of energy absorbed by vibration.
It appears that the device provides an opportunity for a vehicle user to quickly perform a visual inspection to ensure that wheel fasteners are torqued as desired.
Mr. Adams has sued SKF USA, Inc., for infringement. SKF USA, Inc. sells the following device:
Image from SKF USA website
Upon visual inspection, do you think the devices are similar? I am curious to see what the court finds.