PREFACE 



This report describes the preparation and use of a collection of 

 patents on coastal engineering issued by the U.S. Patent Office from 

 1967 to 1976 and of an annotated bibliography of the collection. Prep- 

 aration of the collection and bibliography was carried out under the 

 coastal engineering research program of the U.S. Army Coastal Engineer- 

 ing Research Center (CERC) . The bibliography, contained in three 

 volumes, has been published as a limited-edition appendix to this report 

 due to its large size. 



The report and its appendix were prepared by Robert E. Ray, Hydraulic 

 Engineer, with the assistance of Michael D. Dickey and Annie M. Lyles, 

 Civil Engineering Technicians, under the general supervision of R.A. 

 Jachowski, Chief, Coastal Design Criteria Branch, Engineering Development 

 Division. A. Szuwalski and T.J. Lawler prepared the computer programs 

 that generated the keyword index to the bibliography, and W.T. Whitt 

 assisted in preparing the annotations. 



The authors gratefully acknowledge the efforts of T.O. Maser, C.L. 

 Pistorino, and other personnel of the Office of the Chief Counsel, Office 

 of the Chief of Engineers, for their guidance in choosing a method of 

 searching for patents, their provision of publications used in the search, 

 including arranging loans from other service libraries, and their help in 

 obtaining high-quality copies of patents from the U.S. Patent Office. 



The collection may be extended to earlier and more recent patent if 

 use of the collection by coastal engineers in the Corps justifies the 

 effort. The topics of an expanded collection may cover a broad range, as 

 in the present collection, or may be more limited, depending on the needs 

 of the Corps. Inquiries and comments about this publication and the col- 

 lection are invited. 



Approved for publication in accordance with Public Law 166, 79th 

 Congress, approved 31 July 1945, as supplemented by Public Law 172, 88th 

 Congress, approved 7 November 1963. 



TED E. BrSHOP 



Colonel, Corps ofEngineers 



Commander and Director 



