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 |
| 7316621 | Police baton A handheld device for incapacitating dangerous suspects without endangering nearby civilians. The user holds the handgrip which has a trigger connected to a source of thrust, such as an air cartridge. When the user pulls the trigger, the air cartridge is fired and e... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7029397 | Nightstick with handcuff A device useful as a nightstick includes a generally linear long member and an attached short member. The short member can be curved or otherwise disposed so as to define a slot with a single open end. The device includes a handcuff clasp for closing the open end an... | 04/18/2006 |
| 5482271 | Human restraint or hobble for catching and holding A human restraint or hobble includes an elongated rigid pole having a handle at one end and a clasp at the other end. The clasp is operative to provide a locking grip upon a targeted subject's appendage such as a hand or ankle and once locked thereon, pro... | 01/09/1996 |
| 5067445 | Device for capturing and restraining animals A device for capturing and restraining animals. The device includes a staff having a main body, a handle portion and a crook portion that terminates in a crook end. A restraining loop is pivotally secured to and carried by the body portion substantially o... | 11/26/1991 |
