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 |
| 5694859 | Hole covering device for an auto rack car side wall panel A hole covering device attached to the sidewall panels or screens in an auto rack car to prevent the direct passage of air and air-carried contaminants into the auto rack car through the multiplicity of holes in the screens to prevent damage to the finish... | 12/09/1997 |
| 5687650 | Gap closing device for closing gaps in auto rack car side walls A gap closing device for closing the air gaps between the sidewall panels and the floor and/or the gaps between the sidewall panels and auxiliary floor panels or plates in an auto rack railroad car comprising an elongated strip of flexible extruded plasti... | 11/18/1997 |
| 5579697 | Auto rack panel gap sealing device An improved gap sealing device for covering the gaps between horizontally extending and vertically spaced apart sidewall panels on auto rack railroad cars and between sidewall panels and supporting members. The gap sealing device is a single piece of extr... | 12/03/1996 |
| 5527139 | Vehicle door protection system The vehicle door protection system is comprised of a frame having a support portion and an attachment portion, a shock absorbent member and normally removable fasteners for attaching the frame to a vehicle wall section.... | 06/18/1996 |
| 5415108 | Auto rack panel gap sealer A gap sealer for covering the gaps between horizontally extending and vertically spaced apart sidewall panels on auto rack railroad cars and between sidewall panels and the floor, roof or vertical posts. The gap sealer is a single piece of extruded plasti... | 05/16/1995 |
| 5239933 | Auto rack panel gap sealer and bumper A gap sealer for covering the gaps between horizontally extending and vertically spaced apart sidewall panels on auto rack railroad cars and between sidewall panels and the floor, roof or vertical posts. The gap sealer is a single piece of extruded plasti... | 08/31/1993 |
| 4773802 | Freight cover A freight cover for use in a box of a truck is disclosed herein which includes a panel of flexible material, a rigid bottom strip secured to the bottom edge of the panel and mounting straps secured to the top corners of the panel. The panel is rigidly mou... | 09/27/1988 |
| 4438968 | Deflecting device for truck load A deflecting device for deflecting the load of a trailer, consisting of a plate vertically positioned across the front of a trailer for pivotal movement about a vertical pivot at one side of the trailer.... | 03/27/1984 |
