January 10, 2018

Patent Prosecution Word of the Day: “Infundibuliform”

Today’s A.Word.A.Day from Wordsmith.org is “infundibuliform,” a neat word for funnel-shaped.  The word has been used in at least two dozen patents and in the claims of five: 6,276,549; 4,747,343; 4,416,404; 4,288,982; and 4,054,970.  In U.S. Patent No. 4,747,343, claim 6 is directed to the infundibuliform shape of the end of an auger, which is described in the specification:

4747343 Fig 6 | Intellectual Property Law Firm | Harness IP

One can imagine circumstances where a fancy word like infundibuliform might enhance the prestige of an invention, but for most applications, good old “funnel-shaped” is probably the best choice.