Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8020496 | Retractable platform device for use with subway trains and associated method The device would be a metal or heavy-duty plastic retractable loading platform, designed to bridge the gap between the train car and the station platform. When not in use, the retractable platform would be retracted into a position of concealment beneath the door(s)... | 09/20/2011 |
| 7246559 | Elevated bus rapid transit system An elevated public transit bus system that increases the passenger capacity and decreases the passenger trip time of a fixed route bus service traveling in traffic on a city street to provide a high capacity rapid transit system. The high capacity buses are suspende... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7171908 | High/Low passenger ingress and egress conversion for transit vehicle A passenger ingress and egress system within a transit vehicle having a stairwell employs a movable platform apparatus in combination with at least one door of a sliding or plug type to accommodate variations in passenger ingress and egress platform facilities. The ... | 02/06/2007 |
| 6763768 | Ramp latching mechanism A latching mechanism for use with a raisable and lowerable folding ramp having a bridge section and a toe section, such ramp being carried on one end of a railway car. The latching mechanism comprises an arm-like member pivotally connected at one end thereof to a pr... | 07/20/2004 |
| 6599080 | Lifting device for railway vehicles In a device for transfering especially a person sitting in a wheel-chair between a platform and a passenger department of a vehicle having a floor on a higher level than the platform a first floor surface (5) is arranged inside the vehicle closest to an e... | 07/29/2003 |
| 5444885 | Platform edge warning ramp A stationary inclined platform is positioned along the edge of a train platform such that train passengers approach the edge of the train platform will notice the sudden uphill orientation of the warning platform and will realize that they are approaching... | 08/29/1995 |
| 5357869 | Device for facilitating access to a rail vehicle having extendable ramp assembly Access to a rail vehicle is effected by a board that is movable between a retracted position in which it is housed beneath the top face of the floor of the vehicle and an extended position in which it constitutes an access ramp between a platform and an e... | 10/25/1994 |
| 5230288 | Entering and exiting step system for vehicles with swingable platform for wheelchair bound passengers In order to board or exit a vehicle, one or a plurality of steps or plates are provided for negotiation of a possible difference of height by a person in a wheelchair entering or getting off between the level of the floor of the vehicle and a platform at ... | 07/27/1993 |
| 5010614 | Articulated bridge gangway between railroad cars An articulated bridge as a component of a detachable gangway floor plate between two articulated interconnected railroad cars, the bridge being provided with several elongated bridge elements arranged in succession laterally, and running transverse to the... | 04/30/1991 |
