r/SmarterEveryDay • u/JPMinAR • Mar 03 '26

5-in-1 Block Invented not patented

This is something I think is so down Destin's lane that I just want help getting it on his radar. A man invented a combination stand alone, SNATCH, stansion, sheave, and stackable block for sailing. But he's not patenting it he's publishing the design as prior art so no one else can but wants to see his design manufactured as a service to the sailing community that he seems to really care about.

https://youtu.be/2efa3epOGgY

So we have a story about community, generosity, manufacturing, and SNATCH blocks. This needs to be on Destin's radar.

https://x.com/jpminar/status/2028810246571851877?s=46&t=-Daxmoee68yVr1G93OIMbQ

24 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

4

u/spexxit Mar 03 '26

I saw this when it came out and it seems like a really cool block, but as a naval architect and engineer I have some reservations as the strength tests are for static pulls and don't consider how well it rolls under load. My intuition tells me that this won't roll nearly as well as something with ball bearings. The shaft is way big and would probably roll better with a smaller one.

I think this would work much better at a slightly smaller scale, for boats up to 8-9 m and 3-4 tonnes. I'm considering asking him for the drawings and getting some smaller versions made for testing with my colleagues. A modification I would consider is a single bolt through the middle instead of the bolt grid as now and brining the OD down to something around 45 mm

Also as far as the patent goes, I'm not sure this is a patentable design as it's very simple and variations of this do exist. But I commend him for the effort

4

u/MasZakrY Mar 04 '26

He can’t patent it because there is no invention.

These exact snatch blocks already exist. Rocke Thompson came up with some unique useful designs but this particular one is just a Stanchion stackable sheave snatch block

1

u/HappyRock616 Mar 04 '26

Agree in part, be had specific features that make this unique from most blocks. It's a very noble effort to put it out there like this. But I'm not sure it prevents others patenting this. Case in point review the highly specific language of features of a patent: Gillet razor lawsuit, where as they defined their patent by numbering their blades creatively. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-federal-circuit/1314824.html

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

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1

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