The patent is not on how to make a sandwich with knives, mayonaise, etc in a person's home.
From the text of the patent, McDonalds has created some sort of machine that has a place to put mayo, ketchup, mustard, special sauce, etc. You stick the bread/bun in the machine, it squirts it up, and takes care of whatever else it's supposed to do, then pops out a finished product for you.
They are patenting the machine, and how to use this machine. The flow chart is steps for determining how long to use the machine for one sandwich, essentially. Slashdot just gave a wacky interpretation.
Kyle argued that "the text is very vague," but that's just the way all patents are (Try this one from Pepsi/Lipton about adding sugar to their drinks (http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/fetch.jsp?LANG=ENG&DBSELECT=PCT&SERVER_TYPE=19-10&SORT=41235313-KEY&TYPE_FIELD=256&IDB=0&IDOC=1184009&C=10&ELEMENT_SET=B&RESULT=2&TOTAL=4&START=1&DISP=25&FORM=SEP-0/HITNUM,B-ENG,DP,MC,AN,PA,ABSUM-ENG&SEARCH_IA=US2002013433&QUERY=%28FP%2fpepsi%29+) ). When I read the McDonald's patent, it sounds like they are very distinctly talking about some sort of machine (think of those Seen on TV omelette cooker things, or a waffle maker) bred with something right out of Steve Urkel's lab. Open up the machine, put in bread. Close machine, then the ketchup tube on top will apply a precice amount of ketchup to the bread. Kind of in the same manner that a digital pipette works, I would assume. According to the flow chart (made simple to allow McDonald's workers of all levels to follow it) more or less things will have to be performed.
So, nobody needs to worry about their knife wielding powers being taken away. This is for a machine and how to use the machine. The flowchart is part of the description of how to use the machine - not how to use your own hands.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-11-25 03:52 pm (UTC)From the text of the patent, McDonalds has created some sort of machine that has a place to put mayo, ketchup, mustard, special sauce, etc.
You stick the bread/bun in the machine, it squirts it up, and takes care of whatever else it's supposed to do, then pops out a finished product for you.
They are patenting the machine, and how to use this machine. The flow chart is steps for determining how long to use the machine for one sandwich, essentially. Slashdot just gave a wacky interpretation.
Kyle argued that "the text is very vague," but that's just the way all patents are (Try this one from Pepsi/Lipton about adding sugar to their drinks (http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/fetch.jsp?LANG=ENG&DBSELECT=PCT&SERVER_TYPE=19-10&SORT=41235313-KEY&TYPE_FIELD=256&IDB=0&IDOC=1184009&C=10&ELEMENT_SET=B&RESULT=2&TOTAL=4&START=1&DISP=25&FORM=SEP-0/HITNUM,B-ENG,DP,MC,AN,PA,ABSUM-ENG&SEARCH_IA=US2002013433&QUERY=%28FP%2fpepsi%29+) ).
When I read the McDonald's patent, it sounds like they are very distinctly talking about some sort of machine (think of those Seen on TV omelette cooker things, or a waffle maker) bred with something right out of Steve Urkel's lab. Open up the machine, put in bread. Close machine, then the ketchup tube on top will apply a precice amount of ketchup to the bread. Kind of in the same manner that a digital pipette works, I would assume. According to the flow chart (made simple to allow McDonald's workers of all levels to follow it) more or less things will have to be performed.
So, nobody needs to worry about their knife wielding powers being taken away. This is for a machine and how to use the machine. The flowchart is part of the description of how to use the machine - not how to use your own hands.