Invalidity dossier
US 1125325
Pawl-and-ratchet mechanism.
Current assignee: Individual
Added 9/23/2026, 4:05:53 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 1125325
Title: Pawl-and-ratchet mechanism.
Inventor/Assignee: William Hood, of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Original assignee listed as "Individual"; no corporate assignee appears in the supplied record.
Key dates: Application filed January 12, 1914 (Serial No. 811,684); patent granted and published January 19, 1915. Legal status: expired — lifetime. The source labels these dates as assumptions, not legal conclusions.
Purpose: The patent states three objects: (1) a primary object of using two pawls spaced apart so that one pawl engages the space between two ratchet teeth while the other engages the outer face of one tooth; (2) a secondary object of providing improved means for retracting the pawls and retaining them retracted; and (3) a further object of providing a clamp for applying the device to the steering lever of a detachable boat motor.
Plain-language scope: Per the description, the device generally comprises a clamp (1) attachable to steering lever L; pawls (2) slidable in bores of the clamp's upper section (5); a longitudinally expansible link (3) for retracting the pawls; a thumb lever (4) actuating that link; and an arcuate rack (R) fixed to the motor bracket's studs, coacting with the pawls. A cross head (11) connects the pawl inner ends to the link. Springs (15, 15a) and stops (13, 14) control pawl projection/retraction. Leaf springs (27) bias the thumb lever, and a spring-projected catch (29), with a cam ring (32), can hold the pawls retracted. Fig. 9 shows an alternative mounting using screws in pawl notches.
Partial claims quoted in the source recite, among other things, a thumb lever pivoted to a back plate with connections for retracting the pawls; a sectional clamp with parallel bores, notched pawls, and screws; and a slotted longitudinal link with a transverse cross head. The excerpt is incomplete — it ends mid-claim and mid-description ("Figure 1 is a side elevation of the rear end of a boat showing a deta...").
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not show the complete claim set, full description, all drawing details, the full claim language ("A. device of the character described" appears as OCR text), any prosecution history, validity, enforceability, or prior art beyond the classifications listing.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:51:08 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.