...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6397984 | Automatic clearance compensator for a drum brake for a motor vehicle In a clearance compensator, a rod (12) is fixed to one of the shoes of the brake and is slidable in an intermediate element (13) threadably engaged in another rod (11) secured to the other shoe. A heat-sensitive bi-metallic strip (18) projects from a leaf... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6213258 | Drum brake using automatic compensation for clearance and selective inhibition A drum brake having an adjustable-length strut (6) to compensate for clearance due to wear between first (21a) and second (22a) friction members and a drum (1). The adjustment being achieved by the rotation of a toothed wheel (7) driven by an adjustment b... | 04/10/2001 |
| 4895226 | Vehicle automatic slack adjuster An automatic slack adjuster for over-the-road vehicle brakes is adapted to be mounted between the brake chamber and brake operating shaft, for example an operating shaft known as an S cam shaft. The slack adjuster includes a body having a lever arm pivota... | 01/23/1990 |
| 4749063 | Brake clearance sensing and control system A brake clearance sensing and control system (60) is provided for controlling brake released clearance (c) between a frictional braking member (6) and a rotary brake surface (15). System (60) includes an air flow rate sensor (18) operative to provide a si... | 06/07/1988 |