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Forensic Electrical Engineer
Forensic electrical engineering is a branch of forensic engineering, and is concerned with investigating electrical failures and accidents in a legal context. Many forensic electrical engineering investigations apply to fires suspected to be caused by electrical failures. Forensic electrical engineers are most commonly retained by insurance companies or attorneys representing insurance companies, or by manufacturers or contractors defending themselves against subrogation by insurance companies. Other areas of investigation include accident investigation involving electrocution, and intellectual property disputes such as patent actions. Additionally, since electrical fires are most often cited as the cause for "suspect" fires an electrical engineer is often employed to evaluate the electrical equipment and systems to determine whether the cause of the fire was electrical in nature. Goals The ultimate goal of these investigations is often to determine the legal liability for a f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forensic Engineering
Forensic engineering has been defined as ''"the investigation of failures - ranging from serviceability to catastrophic - which may lead to legal activity, including both civil and criminal".'' It includes the investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate or function as intended, causing personal injury, damage to property or economic loss. The consequences of failure may give rise to action under either criminal or civil law including but not limited to health and safety legislation, the laws of contract and/or product liability and the laws of tort. The field also deals with retracing processes and procedures leading to accidents in operation of vehicles or machinery. Generally, the purpose of a forensic engineering investigation is to locate cause or causes of failure with a view to improve performance or life of a component, or to assist a court in determining the facts of an accident. It can also involve investigation of intellect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claim (patent)
In a patent or patent application, the claims define, in technical terms, the extent, i.e. the scope, of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application. In other words, the purpose of the claims is to define which subject-matter is protected by the patent (or sought to be protected by the patent application). This is termed as the "notice function" of a patent claim—to warn others of what they must not do if they are to avoid infringement liability. The claims are of the utmost importance both during prosecution and litigation alike. For instance, a claim could read: * "An apparatus for catching mice, said apparatus comprising a base, a spring member coupled to the base, and ..." * "A chemical composition for cleaning windows, said composition substantially consisting of 10–15% ammonia, ..." * "Method for computing future life expectancies, said method comprising gathering data including X, Y, Z, analyzing the data, comparing the analy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire Investigation
Fire investigation, sometimes referred to as origin and cause investigation, is the analysis of fire-related incidents. After firefighters extinguish a fire, an investigation is launched to determine the origin and cause of the fire or explosion. Investigations of such incidents require a systematic approach and knowledge of basic fire science. Investigating fires The difficulty of determining whether arson has occurred arises because fire often destroys the key evidence of its origin. Many fires are caused by defective equipment, such as shorting of faulty electrical circuits. Car fires can be caused by faulty fuel lines, and spontaneous combustion is possible where organic wastes are stored. A fire investigator looks at the fire remains, and obtains information to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the fire. One of the challenging aspects of fire investigation is the multi-disciplinary basis of the investigator's job. As fires can be caused by or involve many i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Origin And Cause Investigation
Fire investigation, sometimes referred to as origin and cause investigation, is the analysis of fire-related incidents. After firefighters extinguish a fire, an investigation is launched to determine the origin and cause of the fire or explosion. Investigations of such incidents require a systematic approach and knowledge of basic fire science. Investigating fires The difficulty of determining whether arson has occurred arises because fire often destroys the key evidence of its origin. Many fires are caused by defective equipment, such as shorting of faulty electrical circuits. Car fires can be caused by faulty fuel lines, and spontaneous combustion is possible where organic wastes are stored. A fire investigator looks at the fire remains, and obtains information to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the fire. One of the challenging aspects of fire investigation is the multi-disciplinary basis of the investigator's job. As fires can be caused by or involve many i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arc Mapping
Arc mapping is a technique used in fire investigation that relies on finding the locations of electrical arcs and other electrical faults that occurred during a fire; the locations of the electrical faults can then, under some circumstances, indicate the progression of the fire over time. It is usually performed by a forensic electrical engineer. It The technique relies on the assumption that, when heat from fire (or from hot gases caused by the fire) impinges on an electrical line (whether or not protected by a conduit), it will melt the wire insulation and cause an electrical fault at the first point that it reaches on the electrical line. For this to occur, the electrical line must be energized at the time that fire hits it. Origin of fire Arc mapping often aims to determine the point of origin of the fire. A common assumption used in reaching this goal is that the fire expands uniformly in all directions as it burns, and maintains a circular shape centered on the point o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John DeHaan
John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Epistle of John, often shortened to 2 John * Third Epistle of John, often shortened to 3 John People * John the Baptist (died c. AD 30), regarded as a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ * John the Apostle (lived c. AD 30), one of the twelve apostles of Jesus * John the Evangelist, assigned author of the Fourth Gospel, once identified with the Apostle * John of Patmos, also known as John the Divine or John the Revelator, the author of the Book of Revelation, once identified with the Apostle * John the Presbyter, a figure either identified with or distinguished from the Apostle, the Evangelist and John of Patmos Other people with the given name Religious figures * John, father of Andrew the Apostle and Saint Peter * Pope Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirk's Fire Investigation
''Kirk's Fire Investigation'' by David J. Icove and Gerald A. Haynes has long been regarded as the primary textbook in the field of fire investigation.J.F. Decker and B.L. Ottley, Arson Law and Prosecution, Carolina Academic Press, , 2009, p. 22. It is currently in its 8th edition (published in 2017, ). The book is now in close accordance to the 2017 Edition of NFPA 921 NFPA 921, "Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations", is a peer reviewed document that is published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Its purpose is "to establish guidelines and recommendations for the safe and systematic inv ..., Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation; the 2014 Edition of NFPA 1033, Standard for Professional Guidelines for Fire Investigators; and the model curriculum of the Fire Emergency Service Higher Education (FESHE) group. The title refers to Paul Leland Kirk (1902-1970), the author of the original text ''Fire Investigation'' that was the basis for ''Kirk's Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NFPA 921
NFPA 921, "Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations", is a peer reviewed document that is published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Its purpose is "to establish guidelines and recommendations for the safe and systematic investigation or analysis of fire and explosion incidents" (section 1.2.1). Familiarity with NFPA 921 is strongly recommended by National Association of Fire Investigators and the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI). NFPA 921 forms a large basis of the information which a professional fire investigator must know to pass the various Fire Investigator Certification (NAFI and IAAI) examinations. While not every recommendation in NFPA 921 will apply to any particular fire or explosion investigation, the document itself recommends that if a particular fire investigator does not apply certain sections to an investigation where they are called-for, the investigator must be prepared to justify the exclusion. This standard was lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Electrical Code
The National Electrical Code (NEC), or NFPA 70, is a regionally adoptable standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment in the United States. It is part of the National Fire Code series published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a private trade association. Despite the use of the term "national", it is not a Law of the United States, federal law. It is typically adopted by U.S. state, states and municipalities in an effort to standardize their enforcement of safe electrical practices. In some cases, the NEC is amended, altered and may even be rejected in lieu of regional regulations as voted on by local governing bodies. The "authority having jurisdiction" inspects for compliance with these standards. The NEC should not be confused with the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The NESC is used for electric power and communication utility systems including overh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NFPA 70
The National Electrical Code (NEC), or NFPA 70, is a regionally adoptable standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment in the United States. It is part of the National Fire Code series published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a private trade association. Despite the use of the term "national", it is not a federal law. It is typically adopted by states and municipalities in an effort to standardize their enforcement of safe electrical practices. In some cases, the NEC is amended, altered and may even be rejected in lieu of regional regulations as voted on by local governing bodies. The "authority having jurisdiction" inspects for compliance with these standards. The NEC should not be confused with the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The NESC is used for electric power and communication utility systems including overhead lines, underground lines and powe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inventive Step And Non-obviousness
The inventive step and non-obviousness reflect a general patentability requirement present in most patent laws, according to which an invention should be sufficiently inventive—i.e., non-obvious—in order to be patented. In other words, " henonobviousness principle asks whether the invention is an adequate distance beyond or above the state of the art". The expression "inventive step" is predominantly used in Europe, while the expression "non-obviousness" is predominantly used in United States patent law. The expression "inventiveness" is sometimes used as well. Although the basic principle is roughly the same, the assessment of the inventive step and non-obviousness varies from one country to another. For instance, the practice of the European Patent Office (EPO) differs from the practice in the United Kingdom. Rationale The purpose of the inventive step, or non-obviousness, requirement is to avoid granting patents for inventions which only follow from "normal product desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prior Art
Prior art (also known as state of the art or background art) is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria for patentability. In most systems of patent law, prior art is generally defined as anything that is made available, or disclosed, to the public that might be relevant to a patent's claim before the effective filing date of a patent application for an invention. However, notable differences exist in how prior art is specifically defined under different national, regional, and international patent systems. The prior art is evaluated by patent offices as part of the patent granting process in what is called “substantive examination” of a patent application in order to determine whether an invention claimed in the patent application meets the novelty and inventive step or non-obviousness criteria for patentability. It may also be consid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
