Free Tool · Drafting
Draft a provisional patent application.
A provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more → locks in your priority datepriority dateThe earliest date used to compare the patent against prior art. Usually equals the filing date.Read more → for 12 months — but only protects what it actually describes. Fill in each section and we'll assemble a properly structured, paragraph-numbered draft, scoring its readiness as you go. Then copy or download it.
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✓ Core sections present — a workable starting draft.
PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
Title: Self-Cleaning Solar Panel
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to the maintenance of photovoltaic solar panels.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Dust and soiling on solar panels can cut energy output by 20% or more.
[0003] Existing solutions rely on water and manual labor, which are costly, scarce in deserts, and risk damaging the panel surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An invention is disclosed for a solar panel with an electrostatic dust-repelling surface that cleans itself without water or moving parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0005] The panel includes a transparent electrode mesh embedded beneath an anti-reflective coating on the cover glass. A controller applies a periodic alternating voltage to the mesh, generating a travelling electrostatic wave across the surface. The wave lifts charged and neutral dust particles and transports them toward the panel edge, where they fall away under gravity — without water, brushes, or moving parts. The controller schedules cleaning cycles at dawn to minimize energy draw, and a photodiode senses output so that an on-demand cycle triggers whenever soiling reduces power beyond a threshold.
CLAIMS
1. A self-cleaning solar panel comprising a transparent electrode mesh and a controller configured to apply a travelling-wave voltage to the mesh.
2. The panel of claim 1, wherein the controller triggers a cleaning cycle based on a measured drop in output.
ABSTRACT
A solar panel that repels dust electrostatically via a travelling-wave voltage applied to a transparent electrode mesh, maintaining output without water or moving parts.
This is a drafting aid, not legal advice, and not a USPTO filing. You still file via Patent Center with the official cover sheet (form SB/16) and fee. A provisional only protects what it describes — and an attorney's review before you rely on it is money well spent. PatentBrief is not a law firm.
The 12-month clock
A provisional is a placeholder, not a patent.
Filing a provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more → starts a 12-month clock. To get an actual patent you must file a non-provisional (or PCT) application within that year, claiming the provisional's priority datepriority dateThe earliest date used to compare the patent against prior art. Usually equals the filing date.Read more →. The provisional is never examined and never grants on its own — its entire job is to plant a flag in time. So describe everything: anything not disclosed here can't claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → this early date later.