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.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| RE42989 | Method and apparatus for applying liquid compositions in rail systems A method for applying a liquid composition to a rail surface is provided. This method involves supplying a liquid composition in one or more reservoirs on a rail car (revenue generating car), and applying the liquid composition from the one or more reservoirs to the... | 12/06/2011 |
| 7784840 | Apparatus and method for lubricating railroad tracks A system for increasing the efficiency of the movement of a railroad car over a length of rail, including a fluid reservoir for containing a quantity of efficiency enhancing fluid, a fluid dispensing member, a fluid pump connected in fluidic communication between th... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7357427 | Method and apparatus for applying liquid compositions in rail systems A method for applying a liquid composition to a rail surface is provided. This method involves supplying a liquid composition in one or more reservoirs on a rail car (revenue generating car), and applying the liquid composition from the one or more reservoirs to the... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7322772 | Surface seeded fine aggregate concrete simulating quarried stone A method and a surface seeded exposed aggregate concrete product are provided that precisely simulate the appearance and qualities of various types of natural quarried stone, such as granite, marble, rhinestone, bluestone, and brownstone, to name a few. Implementati... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7311274 | Antislip material ejector An antislip material ejector comprises an antislip material container 12 which stores antislip material, an air inlet pipe 13 which is arranged in the antislip material container, a compressed air supply pipe 14 which supplies compressed air to ... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7234730 | Traction control system The present invention provides a traction control system for a vehicle. The traction control system includes an energy radiator positionable in proximal relation to at least one of the vehicle tires. The traction control system further includes a control system havi... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7152888 | System and method for improved detection of locomotive friction modifying system component health and functionality A system and method for assessing a health and functionality of a locomotive friction modifying system wherein the locomotive has a friction modifying applicator associated with a wheel of the locomotive for applying a friction modifying agent to a rail on which the... | 12/26/2006 |
| 6991065 | Main line wayside rail lubricating system with feedback To lubricate a length of track, a plurality of lubricating nozzles are provided. Each nozzle is fed by the output of a single positive displacement pump, and all the pumps are controlled by a computer. Vibration sensors, sound sensors, or L/V ratio sensors detect ph... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6976713 | Apparatus for use in applying granular material to a rail An apparatus for applying granular material to a rail adjacent to a wheel of a train includes a granular supply material container to which a granular material injection assembly is connected. The granular material injection assembly includes a housing having a mixi... | 12/20/2005 |
| 6954690 | Vehicle movement stabilizing device A vehicle movement stabilizing device is provided which in effectively functioning braking, acceleration and turning movement during travel of the vehicle by activating the frictional force adding device, reliably controls the start and end of the operation of the f... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6946621 | Automotive safety device for melting snow and ice from roadways An automotive vehicle safety device for melting ice and snow on roadways and in areas immediately adjacent the vehicle tires includes ductwork extending from a heater mounted adjacent the vehicle engine with the ductwork terminating at front and rear undercarriage m... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6926314 | Mudguard gritter A mudguard gritter that can be easily installed on trucks, school buses, delivery trucks and semitrailers. It can be fixed to supports of existing mudguards. The mudguard gritter comprises a container forming a hopper having the shape of a conventional aileron, with... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6848726 | Traction enhancing system A the traction enhancing system for melting snow and ice around the tires of a vehicle to increase the traction between the wheels and the road. The the traction enhancing system includes a fluid control assembly being designed for being in fluid communication with ... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6722589 | Slip prevention particle injection device Problems are posed by slip prevention particle injection devices by wheels of railway rolling stock. Namely, if the injected quantity of slippage-preventing particles is adjusted so as not to be excessive and to be a suitable quantity, it is not possible to obtain a... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6629709 | Wheel/rail adhesion enhancement If the wheel/rail adhesion for a railway vehicle is insufficient then the wheels may slip when braking. If slipping is detected, a control system may reduce the brake pressure to permit a controlled level of slip and so to optimize the braking force for t... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6488217 | Anti-hydroplane system for tires An anti-hydroplane system for tires that includes a blower assembly in front of each of the tires of a vehicle. Each blower assembly discharges a high pressure stream into a water dispersal area in front of a respective one of the vehicle tires.... | 12/03/2002 |
| 6170594 | Method and apparatus for reducing vehicle rollover A sensor detects force or other indications of an impending rollover of a motorized land vehicle. Upon detection of a threshold force value, the sensor actuates an applicator that delivers traction reducing fluid to the contact patch between at least one ... | 01/09/2001 |
| 5582441 | Device for applying sand to roads for use in vehicles A sand delivery system for use in automobiles, or other vehicles. The device uses the hollow front bumpers found on most modern vehicles today to store bags of sand, which is delivered through a number of nozzles located in the front of the vehicle. A blo... | 12/10/1996 |
| 5580106 | Traction device A method, using pressure air, of delivering sand from a sand box in the trunk of a car to a traction site at the interface of a car drive wheel and an ice or snow covered road surface to achieve car movement therefrom, in which the pressure air, as admitt... | 12/03/1996 |
| 5542719 | Stationary standby sand spreading unit for roadways A standby sanding unit for emergency sanding of icy roadways has a plurality of sand hoppers that are connected to a tank holding air under pressure. The hoppers have hopper type bottoms that have nozzles attached to the bottoms so that when air under pre... | 08/06/1996 |
| 5100175 | Tire traction enhancing kit An apparatus for enhancing traction for two drive wheels of a self-propelled vehicle, wherein the kit includes a reservoir coupled to a primary conduit through selective actuation of a solenoid valve. The primary conduit is in fluid communication with a s... | 03/31/1992 |
| 4968069 | Sand dispensing device having plural compartments A sand dispensing device designed to be carried in the trunk of a vehicle includes a housing having a partition forming two interior compartments. A supply of sand is stored in a first compartment and an electric air compressor is situated in a second com... | 11/06/1990 |
| 4848510 | Snow and ice melting system for automotive vehicles A system for utilizing the waste heat from the exhaust systems of automotive vehicles to provide for increased traction of the drive wheels of such vehicles wherein the exhaust gases and/or air passing in heat exchange relationship with the exhaust gases ... | 07/18/1989 |
| 4747627 | Apparatus for improving adhesion of a railway vehicle A sanding apparatus improves adhesion between a railcar wheel and a rail by supplying adhesion intensifying particles to the contact faces. Sand and/or quartz particles, having diameters such that at least 50% of the particles are 100 to 300 micrometers, ... | 05/31/1988 |
| 4486039 | Increasing traction of rolling wheel A sleeve having a readily removeable attachment to a tank containing gritty particulate supports a piston and cylinder device for opening normally closed valve seats to permit flow of the particulate to the path of a rolling vehicle wheel. The device is a... | 12/04/1984 |
| 4439073 | Filling hole swing valve for sandblasters A pressurized air jet actuated swing valve for sandblasters is hinged with respect to the underside of the inverted head of the sandblaster to fit squarely against the sand filling opening in the tank head whenever the swing valve is maintained in closed ... | 03/27/1984 |
| 4325573 | Device for regulating discharge of sand from a vehicle sander A sanding apparatus for a vehicle, particularly rail vehicles, has a sealed container for sand and the container is provided with a bottom wall which is permeable by air. A sand discharge pipe extends from the container through the bottom wall and has an ... | 04/20/1982 |
| 4324307 | Snow/ice melter for automotive vehicles An improved ice and snow melting system employing motor vehicle hot exhaust gases includes a stub pipe for bolt-on clamping to the rear of a motor vehicle exhaust pipe in parallel-spaced realtion, in forward direction the stub pipe divides in a "Y" shaped... | 04/13/1982 |
| 4316625 | Vehicular salt dispenser A salt dispensing accessory mountable on an automotive vehicle so to dispense salt in front of the rear wheels thereof for traction on ice; the device including a salt storage container with a downward spout underneath, and also a unit for moistening the ... | 02/23/1982 |
| 4203423 | Vehicle safety device A device for diverting exhaust gases from the engine of a vehicle such as an automobile to opposite tread surfaces of the driving wheel tires thereof. The device includes a valve assembly having a body interconnected to the vehicle exhaust system, conduit... | 05/20/1980 |
| 4099688 | Runway sander This invention relates to aircraft and particularly to the landing gear, and specifically to a device for promptly sanding an unexpectedly slippery runway as the aircraft is in the process of landing thereon so that the aircraft can be controlled and safe... | 07/11/1978 |
| 4063606 | Anti-hydroplaning device An Anti-Hydroplaning Device System for a vehicle comprising a blower driven by the engine of the vehicle. A pair of hoses are connected to the blower and each terminate in a nozzle disposed immediately ahead of the traction portion of the vehicle wheel an... | 12/20/1977 |
