...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 |
| 7121990 | Elastomeric running wheel for platens or the like The invention relates to an elastomeric running wheel for platens or the like, in which the connection between the axle and the running wheel is formed as an elastomerically deformable membrane, and the elastomeric running wheel is made in one piece from a plastic m... | 10/17/2006 |
| 6244768 | Resilient elastomeric line printer platen having outer layer of hard material A line printer with a hammerbank having print hammers with printing tips and a ribbon supported for impact by the tips for printing on media and a metal platen for supporting the media. An elastomer on the metal platen supports the media and has a layer o... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6045276 | Tape cartridges When different tape cartridges accommodating printing tapes having different hardness, thicknesses or widths are exchangeably mounted in the same printing apparatus, excellent printing can be obtained using the present embodiment. In a platen 12 provided ... | 04/04/2000 |
| 5807004 | Roller for image forming apparatus A roller for an image forming apparatus comprises: a core body having a shaft positioned in the center thereof, the core body being formed by solidifying a fluid around an outer circumference of the shaft; and a surface layer formed on a surface of said c... | 09/15/1998 |
| 5106218 | Printer with a substrate support, in particular matrix pin printer The printer with a substrate support (1) is furnished with a layer structure in a print support cross-section (11). The layer structure comprises a metallic print bar (13), a vibration-attenuating damping layer (14), and a metallic intermediate layer (15)... | 04/21/1992 |
| 4984917 | Laminated platen bar for noise attenuation in matrix printers The impact and associated noise of matrix printers is attenuated by a laminated platen bar construction comprising a (steel) platen proper, a bonding adhesive layer, a brass bar and a resilient decoupling layer on the platen carrier.... | 01/15/1991 |
| 4583272 | Platens for printers A platen for printers is disclosed. The platen has a tubular resilient sleeve with an outer cylindrical circumferential surface. Shaft means is contained within the sleeve. The shaft means has portions exposed at the ends of the sleeve which are concentri... | 04/22/1986 |