Research Guides: Mechanical Engineering: Standards, Patents, Reports

Useful definitions

Code - A standard that has been adopted by one or more governmental bodies and has the force of law (ASME definition). One example is the Boiler and Pressure Vessel code.

Patent - An intellectual property right granted by the government to an inventor for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted (USPTO definition).

Specification - describes a product or system in terms of what it is capable of doing. These are often refined during the design process.

Standard -

ASME definition: "'how to' instructions for designers, manufacturers and users"

ISO definition: "a document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context"

NIST (US National Institute of Standards and Technology) definition: "developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies, through the use of a voluntary consensus standards development process"

Standards are voluntary guidelines but using them is highly recommended because they promote safety and are widely used across industry.

Technical Report - a document that describes the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem

Find standards

ANSI Standards The UH Manoa Library has many ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standards shelved on the 4th floor of Hamilton Library Addition at T 59 .A44. A complete listing of the ANSI standards held at the library is at the Science & Technology Reference desk, where staff can help you. The library holdings goes up to 1996. If you need standards from 1996 to the present, these can be requested through Interlibrary Services if you are a member of UH Manoa campus.

ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital Library The ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital Library is a vast collection of industry-leading standards and technical engineering information. The Library covers a broad range of engineering disciplines, including aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, geological, health and safety, industrial, materials science, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, soil science, and solar engineering.
IEEE/IET Electronic Library The IEEE/IET Electronic Library provides full-text access to IEEE and IET journals, magazines, transactions and conference proceedings from 1872 to present, plus active IEEE standards.

Standard organizations

About U.S. standards

Developing standards for products began in the 1900s in the United States, driven by private industry. Safety and conformance were the focus of product standards. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the body that coordinates the voluntary standards development among the many specific industries. ANSI was founded in 1918 by the U.S. government and standards developing organizations.

ANSI represents the U.S. in the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is focused on trade barriers stemming from standards. NIST and ANSI work to bridge the private sector voluntary standardization and the government interests in a global economy. In the U.S. there are 600+ organizations that develop voluntary standards.

The U.S. Department of Defense has separate standards for products used in military practices. More information can be found at ASSIST-QuickSearch. Provides direct access to Defense and Federal specifications and standards available in the official DoD repository.

Find patents

USPTO Patent Full Text Database
START HERE. Search US patents and applications.
U.S. Patent & Trademarks Office (USPTO) The U.S. Patents from 1790 to the most current submissions are available on the from the USPTO website in full-text. See The 7-Step U.S. Patent Search Strategy for a structured approach to searching the USPTO.
European Patent Office This is a database that offers international coverage, though they note that it is not comprehensive. Information about 81national patent offices is available from this site at Global Patent Data Coverage, July 2011.
The Lens A search tool for patents world-wide that searches the European Patent Office’s DocDB bibliographic data from 1907 to present, EP Grants from 1980 to present; U.S. Patent Applications from 2001, Grants from 1976 to present; and WIPO PCT Applications from 1978 to present.

SciFinder-n
First time users must create a FREE account through UHM before gaining access.

First time SciFinder-n user (Create an account)
Google Patent Search Google provides a google interface to explore the USPTO patent database.

Mechanical Engineering: Standards, Patents, Reports

Useful definitions

Find standards

Standard organizations

About U.S. standards

Find patents

Find technical reports