The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) awarded the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) a patent registration for a “hollow block wall” design, which was developed by professor and researcher Silverio Hernández Moreno from the UAEM architecture and design department. This is the first industrial patent registration that UAEM holds with IMPI.
UAEM has three other patents: an energy bar made from grasshopper flour with amaranth and chocolate, which is in the commercialization process; a deworming medication for sheep made from white willow bark; and a device for positioning surgical tools in patients’ bodies, which was developed with the University of Grenoble, France’s collaboration.
Silverio Hernández Moreno, level one member of the National Researchers System (SNI), explained in an interview that the block can be used in wall construction. It has two curves on its sides, which make it more aesthetically pleasing and it has two vertical perforations. The invention can be made from different materials like concrete, ceramics, adobe, wood or plastic.
Hernández Moreno said that the invention was approved because of its shape and aesthetic, which could improve wall construction. Additionally, the fact that it is hollow means that it also has important thermal and acoustic characteristics.
The professor said that it in order to arrive at the block’s current shape, studies and lab tests were carried out.
The next steps will be to make a prototype and do a pilot test. Later they will focus on commercializing the product.
Translated by Nicole DeFuria
