patents

USPTO issues 8,000,000th patent on August 17, 2011.

The first patent granted by the USPTO was in 1836 and 175 years later, the government body now has a database that is eight million strong.

 

On August 16, 2011, patent number 8,000,000 received the rubber stamp of approval. This patent was granted to Second Sight Medical for a prosthetic device that restores the sight of patients blinded by retinal degeneration.

Other notable millions describe computing devices, tires and even our favorite bacteria E. Coli. Check out numbers one to eight million.

Patent no. 1 – July 13, 1836

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The Patent Act of July 4, 1836 established a numbering system for patents and patent No. 1 was issued on July 13, 1836. This patent was awarded to John Ruggles for his invention of traction wheels. Previous patents, over 10,000 or them, were renumbered with the suffix “X” so they would not be confused with the newer patents.

Patent no. 1,000,000 – August 8, 1911

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Patent number 1,000,000 was issued to Francis H. Holton of Akron, Ohio for his improvement in vehicle tires to make them more durable and puncture resistant.

Patent no. 2,000,000 – April 30, 1935

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Like patent number 1,000,000, patent number 2,000,000 was related to tires and it was granted to Joseph Ledwinka of Philadelphia for the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company. The focus for Ledwinka’s patent was for rail cars and consisted of a pneumatic tire, used in combination with a rail wheel provided with a retaining flange. Light in weight, Ledwinka claimed that a rail car provided with wheels and tires of this type could attain exceptional high rates of speed, be braked as severely as desired, and do so safely.

Patent no. 3,000,000 – September 12, 1961

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Patent number 3,000,000 reflected an entry into the Information Age. Kenneth Eldredge’s Automatic Reading System allowed conversion of human language into machine language. The invention, which was assigned to General Electric, was a means to improve the efficiency and use of automatic data-processing machines.

Patent no. 4,000,000 – December 28, 1976

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As patent numbers 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 revolved around wheels, patent number 4,000,000 is where wheels met the road. Robert Mendenhall’s Process for Recycling Asphalt-Aggregate Compositions mixed used roadway surfaces with chemicals bringing us, literally, a road to recycle.

Patent no. 5,000,000 – March 19, 1991

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The roots of patent number 5,000,000 could be found in biochemistry. A trio of scientists, Lonnie O. Ingram, Tyrrell Conway, and Flavio Alterthum, created a means of using E. coli bacteria to produce ethanol. The patent was assigned to the University of Florida.

Patent no. 6,000,000 – December 7, 1999

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If you use a smart phone or many other types of handheld computer equipment, it should be relatively easy to spot elements of patent number 6,000,000. Inventors Jeffrey C. Hawkins and Michael Albanese developed a means that with the press of a single button, a person could synchronize files found on one computer with those found on another. The patent was assigned to 3M.

Patent no. 7,000,000 – February 14, 2006

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Barely six years after patent number 6,000,000 was issued, John P. O’Brien received patent number 7,000,000 for the strong, biodegradable, low-cost, polysaccharide fibers he invented for use in textile applications.

Patent no. 8,000,000 – August 16, 2011

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The USPTO issued patent number 8,000,000 to Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., for a visual prosthesis apparatus that enhances visual perception for people who have gone blind due to outer retinal degeneration. The invention uses electrical stimulation of the retina to produce the visual perception of patterns of light.

Photo credit: Enterprise Irregulars

USPTO via Gizmodo