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 |
| 4554526 | Fluorescent lamp with iron-nickel bimetal filament switch An improved thermally responsive switch is provided. The switch has a thermally movable arm which moves a substantial degree at a selected response temperature but which moves only a small degree at higher temperatures and also at lower temperatures.... | 11/19/1985 |
| 4423401 | Thin-film electrothermal device Thin film multilayer technology is used to build microminiature electromechanical switches having low resistance metal-to-metal contacts and distinct on-off characteristics. The switches, which are electrothermally actuated, are fabricated on conventional... | 12/27/1983 |
| 4000484 | Directly heated bimetallic strip for use in a thermal trip A directly heatable bimetallic strip which can be disposed to carry the load current through a thermal trip. The bimetallic strip comprises an elongate member having first and second end portions and an intermediate portion. The intermediate portion compr... | 12/28/1976 |
