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 |
| 4026371 | Pilot head for laying pipes in the ground There is disclosed a pilot head used for laying small-diameter pipes such as gas, water conduits or the like precisely in position in the ground. The pilot head comprises an expandable and contractable pilot jack disposed within a pilot casing, a pivoting... | 05/31/1977 |
| 4018290 | Hydraulically driven vibrator A hydraulically driven vibrator, for example, of the kind used for driving or extracting sheet piles comprises a number of out-of-balance masses which are all rotatably mounted side by side for rotation about a common axis. The masses are arranged in at l... | 04/19/1977 |
| 3986568 | Apparatus for making underground passages The apparatus has an annular body of reinforced centrifugally cast concrete. The leading axial end of the body is provided with a cover of sheet steel which forms a soil-penetrating cutting edge, and the trailing axial end of the body is provided with a s... | 10/19/1976 |
| 3961671 | Earth anchor drive process A medium duty earth anchor of the type having one or two single turn helixes near the lower end of a rod is driven into the earth by means of a hand-held drive tool having a vertical quarter horsepower split phase motor, a step-down gear train which reduc... | 06/08/1976 |
| 3952523 | Method of installing a screw-type anchor The method of securely placing a screw-type anchor in the earth without unduly disturbing the surrounding soil, including the step of enveloping the anchor's shank in a special tubular mandrel. The mandrel has a helical flight near its bottom end, with a ... | 04/27/1976 |
| 3952813 | Percussive device for driving holes in soil A percussive device comprising a housing with a pointed front end and a hammer piston accommodated in the housing to form a front working chamber therewith. The hammer piston is provided, in the rear portion thereof, with a cavity in permanent communicati... | 04/27/1976 |
| 3941101 | Impact action mechanism An impact action mechanism of the type wherein the impact member is propelled by a combustible matter combusted in the combustion chamber of the mechanism. The impact action mechanism includes a hollow housing receiving therein a reciprocating impact memb... | 03/02/1976 |
