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 |
| 4652729 | Highway toll collecting system When a vehicle has reached an entry gate, toll information, such as the type of the vehicle, time and date, etc. are detected and printed on a passage coupon, which is automatically issued at a certain position corresponding to the type of vehicle to be t... | 03/24/1987 |
| 4647917 | Article control system having coded magnetomechanical marker An article control system has an encoded marker associated with an article appointed for passage through an interrogation zone. The marker resonates upon interrogation to provide a signal which is detected and compared against a code list containing at le... | 03/03/1987 |
| 4608488 | Document issuing apparatus A previous ticket is read by a previous ticket reader unit, and the contents of read information are displayed on a CRT display unit, and are modified by departure/destination station information input sections and a condition input section. Thereupon, a ... | 08/26/1986 |
| 4603390 | Computerized parking system A computerized parking system which includes a first camera for reading the license plate of a vehicle entering a parking area, and a second camera for reading the license plate of the vehicle as it leaves the parking area. In each instance, the letters a... | 07/29/1986 |
| 4571490 | Parking station supervisory system A parking station supervisory system particularly contemplated to avoid a traffic congestion when a vehicle is leaving is disclosed. It has a vehicle entry detector provided at an entrance, an automatic ticket issuance device installed close to the entran... | 02/18/1986 |
| 4555618 | Method and means for collecting highway tolls A system especially adapted for facilitating the collection of tolls on highways, includes the provision of exteriorly visible bar codes or other machine-readable customer account identifications, on vehicles using toll roads. Issuance of the account iden... | 11/26/1985 |
| 4549077 | Slip processing system A slip processing system operates to read necessary data from a separate sheet or sheets, and identifies, from the data read, certain letters or numerals that characterize the slip to be prepared. The apparatus includes a device selecting a predetermined ... | 10/22/1985 |
| 4535892 | Modularized ticket handling system for use in automatic ticket preparation system A ticket handling system for use in a ticket preparation system that includes a signal processor for providing print signals to indicate information to be printed on the tickets and write signals to indicate information to be encoded on the tickets; a pri... | 08/20/1985 |
| 4501958 | Verification system, for example for passing through a toll point A system for verifying an operation in particular one that includes payment, the system comprising at least one terminal (11) and a plurality of portable objects (10) which may be coupled, preferably without contact, to the terminal. The terminal emits re... | 02/26/1985 |
| 4493103 | Automatic toll-ticket issuing apparatus An automatic toll-ticket issuing apparatus includes a vehicle-type identification unit for identifying the type of each oncoming vehicle, a toll-ticket issuing unit installed ahead of the identification unit along the vehicle path, and a vehicle-start det... | 01/08/1985 |
| 4490798 | Fuel dispensing and vehicle maintenance system A method and apparatus for dispensing fuel has features to prevent theft of fuel and also control maintenance of authorized vehicles. The system includes a portable memory unit which remains with each vehicle. At the fuel dispensing site, a data processin... | 12/25/1984 |
| 4488035 | Through-ticketing in a passenger transport system A passenger-carrying vehicle (for example a bus) in a passenger transport system is equipped with a ticket reader (18) capable of optically reading information printed on a ticket (10) in bar-code and determining whether or not the ticket is valid. A tick... | 12/11/1984 |
| 4469149 | Monitored delivery systems A liquid fuel pump nozzle (11) carries an optical bar code reader (20). A vehicle fuel reservoir has an entry port (10) provided with an optical bar decode strip (14) having bars (15) extending circumferentially of the port so that the bars are axially sp... | 09/04/1984 |
| 4379966 | Receptacle for electronic information key Receptacle for a key-like device containing an embedded micro-electronic circuit component with leads thereto extending to the surface of the key. The receptacle defines a keyway in which a plurality of contact heads spaced to correspond to the spacing of... | 04/12/1983 |
| 4357530 | Modularized ticket handling system for use in automatic ticket processing system A ticket handling system for use in a ticket processing system that includes a transducer for reading an encoded ticket entered by a patron and for providing a read signal in response thereto and apparatus for subsequently passing the ticket to an exit po... | 11/02/1982 |
| 4303904 | Universally applicable, in-motion and automatic toll paying system using microwaves Toll collection facilities for tunnels, bridges and turnpikes slow traffic, waste time and fuel, and increase air pollution. Eliminating the need for a toll payment stop would avoid this waste and reduce toll facility operating costs. A single, universall... | 12/01/1981 |
| 4297569 | Microelectronic memory key with receptacle and systems therefor This invention relates to electrical key-like devices, to electrical receptacles for use in combination therewith and to electronic circuitry systems, such as computers and other operating circuits, that interface with the key-like devices through the rec... | 10/27/1981 |
| 4288688 | Toll road terminal machine A toll road terminal machine having dual functions as a transit ticket issuing machine at an entrance gate and as a transit ticket verifying machine at an exit gate includes: a main conveyor section provided with a magnetic read/write head assembly for wr... | 09/08/1981 |
| 3984660 | Apparatus for issuing a card having a predetermined monetary value An apparatus is described for issuing cards having recorded thereon a predetermined monetary value, which cards can be used by a customer to purchase tickets which are usable in automatic ticket gates of a commutation system. The apparatus receives, retai... | 10/05/1976 |
| 3958103 | Automatic ticket vending system An automatic ticket vending system in which a stored value card previously issued to a customer is used to purchase a ticket which can be used in the existing conventional automatic ticket gate in which the tickets purchased from an ordinary coin-actuated... | 05/18/1976 |
