ClaimMaster includes a number of helpful patent application drafting tools. For example, it lets you to quickly generate draft flowcharts from method claims, either in Visio or PowerPoint format. Individual method steps will be converted to flowchart boxes and numbered according to your selected numbering scheme. You also can control the overall flowchart layout and style.
To generate flowcharts, perform the following steps:
- Launch the Figure-Generating Tool
In ClaimMaster Ribbon, click on the Time-Saving Tools menu, then select Create Flowchart Figures from Method Claims:
- Adjust Output Settings
Once this option is selected, ClaimMaster will bring up a dialog displaying the first identified method claim with individual limitations broken out into separate boxes.
Here you can specify the desired figure # and increments used for numbering sequential boxes (e.g., step of 5 will result in boxes labeled as 5, 10, 15 …). In addition, you can make text edits in the preview window – the edited text will be used to fill out the actual flow chart.
- Select Output Settings
Once you are done editing the text of each flowchart section, you can configure the output settings at the bottom section of the dialog. Here you can specify whether to output the chart in Powerpoint or Visio format. In addition, you can specify whether to place step numbers inside or outside boxes, whether to include the “Start” bubble in the beginning of the flowchart, and also adjust the relative box width to page width ratio.
- Generate Flowchart
Finally, click on the Generate Flowchart button to generate the flowchart in the desired format. It will look like this, for example:
For more information on this feature, please check out our Online Manual