On
the other hand, some of the variations are significant, even now.
The initial patent may have been for a design that was difficult to
machine;
or awkward to use; or quickly wore out. The second patent
introduced
a new way that not only avoided interference with the first patent, but
also produced a
better
article of commerce. Never mind that the mechanism's basic
operation
was the same. My best guess is that there were so many unpatented
mechanisms in common use (in the public domain) that if the concept was
unpatentable, the execution was. Witness the little rail road car wheel that
keeps the bevel gears of a No.2 Millers Falls eggbeater
drill in near-perfect mesh on the pitch lines of the mating
gears.
No one ever found a better way; yet the only patent which illustrates
this
mechanism (that I have been able to find) uses an instantly
recognizable
rendition of that model as an example of the quintessential geared bit
driver: George L. Wilcox, Locking
Device for Hand Drills, US
Patent
No.
1,083,784, January 6, 1914 - It
is understood that the hand drill so
far
described is of the standard type of drill now generally in use.
Mr.
Wilcox's
witnesses were Theo. G. Hoster and Philip D. Rollhaus.
Sometimes it's difficult to imagine
the circumstances
under
which such tools as these were used. The image, Uncle Mark,
gives a hint.
Some of the firms making braces had
complex
histories.
I have tried to tie some of them together by examining the patent
papers, using the working assumption that the attorneys who handled the
patent applications must have avoided conflicts of interest by working
for only one firm at a time in a given field. Thomas
Earle, Attorney, [see Note 2] and Wilhelm
& Bonner, Attorneys, [see
Note 1] were two such commonalities.
Ronald
W. Pearson, D.O., wrote the definitive book on patented braces: The American Patented Brace 1829-1924
(Astragal Press, Mendham, NJ, 1994)
and he maintains at the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association website a current
database on the patents, covering the periods:
The
database is also indexed alphabetically by patentee:
I've arranged all of the documented
braces in the georgesbasement.com
archives according to their inventors/makers in the following table.
The link at each inventor's/maker's name points to another page at
which I have described their versions of the wide variety of
carpenters' braces that I've gathered. |
Amidon | Backus | Chantrell | Davis
L.&T. |
Fray | Goodell | Generic |
German | Holt | Ives | L.M. & K. Wks. | Millers Falls | North Bros. | Wm. Peck |
Other | PEXTO | Spofford | Stanley | Taylor | V & B |
Filename |
Patentee |
Patent |
Patent date(s) |
Notes |
Pfleghar v. Amidon |
Pfleghar Amidon |
175,151 283,844 |
March 21, 1876 August 28, 1883 |
Recognizing Pfleghar vs. Amidon ratchets: Look for the slotted element. |