Tosspot wrote:
On 16/04/2021 03:26, Ralph Barone wrote:
sms wrote:
On 4/15/2021 11:13 AM, Tosspot wrote:

snip

Let me get this straight.Â* Shimano have just patented a t-junction?

No. Shimano has patented a t-junction with a built in backflow preventer
valve.

Ok, you are correct, but what does it actually do over a t-junction if
the system is filled?

I’m not sure, since I don’t have a good idea of EXACTLY how disc brake
levers work, but I imagine that when the lever is fully in the off
position, that the reservoir is open to the brake line, so that pad wear
can be accommodated. If this is the case, then applying the brakes via an
auxiliary lever could force brake fluid back up into the reservoir instead
of down into the master cylinder.

Patents that would never hold up in court get issued all the time.
Shimano has the financial resources to fight someone else that uses a
hydraulic tee-junction for bicycle brakes, whether or not the patent
would eventually be upheld.

I once asked one of the attorneys at a semiconductor company that I
worked at why we were not defending a patent that several foreign
companies were openly violating. It was explained to me that if we went
to court and lost then all the companies that were paying us licensing
fees would stop paying and that it wasn't clear if our patent was
defensible.