Inventing Modern Medicine, Black History Month Series: Patricia Bath

The use of lasers in medicine has revolutionized treatment in many fields, including eye and vision care. Ophthalmologist and inventor Patricia Bath developed a surgical tool called the Laserphaco Probe, which employs a laser to vaporize cataracts. The device uses a small, 1-millimeter insertion into the patient’s eye, allowing surgeons to treat the blemishes faster, more accurately, and less invasively. Bath held five U.S. patents related to her methods to remove cataract lenses. 

 

While working in New York City following her graduation from medical school in 1968, Bath conducted a study showing that blindness among her African American patients was nearly double the rate among whites. Citing lack of ophthalmic care as a central cause, Bath established the now widely-studied discipline of Community Ophthalmology. In 1976, she co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness. She became a global advocate for healthy vision and achieved many firsts throughout her career. 

 

Read more about Patricia Bath and her trailblazing career: http://bit.ly/3atXI7Z  

#BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

 

U.S. Patent no. 4,744,360

Title: Apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses

Patened: May 17, 1988

U.S. Patent no. 5,843,071

Title: Method and apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses

Patented: December 1, 1998

U.S. Patent no. 5,919,186

Title: Laser apparatus for surgery of cataractous lenses

Patented: July 6, 1999 

U.S. Patent no. 6,083,192

Title: Pulsed ultrasound method for fragmenting/emulsifying and removing cataractous lenses

Patented: July 4, 2000

 

U.S. Patnet no. 6,544,254

Title: Combination ultrasound and laser method and apparatus for removing cataract lenses

Patented: April 8, 2003

Inventing Modern Medicine, Black History Month Series: Charles Drew

Medical science of the early 20th century revolutionized the healing arts, but the unprecedented violence of the world wars still strained doctors’ and nurses’ ability to save lives. Charles R. Drew’s work in blood plasma preservation not only saved lives during World War II, but set precedents for blood collection, processing, and storage still used today. 

 

Drew began his research in blood transfusions as an undergraduate and continued through his postgraduate work at Columbia University and subsequent medical training. In 1940, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Drew administered Blood for Britain, a storage and preservation program for blood plasma distribution in the United Kingdom. This project was the prototype for bloodmobiles and the modern blood collection process. 

 

In 1941, Drew was appointed the director of the first American Red Cross blood bank. However, Drew resigned from his post one year later in protest against the segregationist process of storing blood donated by African-Americans separately from blood donated by whites. 

 

Drew held U.S. Patent No. 2,389,355. Learn more about Charles Drew: http://bit.ly/3qvmn1w #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

 

 U.S. Patent No. 2,389,355

Title: Surgical Needle

Patented: November 20, 1945

inventing Modern Medicine, Black History Month Series: Bessie Blount

At the age of seven, Bessie Blount was reprimanded for writing with her left hand. In response, she taught herself to write with her teeth and feet. As an adult in the health care field, this ingenuity and determination would lead her to inventive solutions that made life better for thousands of amputees. 

 

Blount began her career studying nursing and physical therapy. Many of her patients were veterans of World War II who had lost arms in the conflict, and Blount was able to teach them how to write using the same techniques she learned as a child. Wishing to do more to help veterans remain autonomous in their daily lives, Blount developed a design to allow double-amputees to feed themselves, receiving U.S. patent number 2,550,554 in 1951. The person using the device would first bite down on a tube, activating a motor that would dispense a portion of food through a spoon shaped mouthpiece, at which point the motor would shut off, allowing for time to chew, swallow, rest, and repeat. 

 

Although Blount’s invention was received with enthusiasm from the medical community and from abroad, she was not as successful in the commercial market of the United States. She eventually signed the rights to the patent over to the French government for use in their military hospitals. Explaining her decision to give up on seeking monetary reimbursement for her patent, Blount stated, “It’s what we as a race have contributed to humanity—that as a black female we can do more than nurse their babies and clean their toilets.” 

 

Blount later worked as a forensic handwriting analyst, having picked up these skills by noticing trends in the handwriting of her patients. Learn more about Blount and her innovations: http://bit.ly/2Nibgun #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

Wine & IP

On Thursday, February 25 at 3 p.m. ET, join us for the first installment of our “Wine & IP” series to explore the intersection of #wine and #IntellectualProperty. USPTO’s Valencia Martin Wallace will join Julia Coney of

Black Wine Professionals

and the

Association of African American Vintners

to discuss efforts to create a fair and equitable future for all innovators and entrepreneurs.

Learn more and register for this free, virtual event: http://bit.ly/3dExGRf #WineIP

National Engineers Week -- Marshall Jones

“If you are truly following your passion, it’ll be easy to never give up.” 

 

On #NationalEngineersWeek, we are highlighting the work of mechanical engineer Marshall Jones. Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2017, Jones is a pioneer in the field of industrial lasers. His inventions include several novel methods to weld together dissimilar metals such as copper and aluminum, and he holds over 50 U.S. patents. Learn more about his work as an engineer in this short video: https://bit.ly/3dbaB8v

 

In challenging times, what inspires you to persevere? #FeaturedInductee #MotivationMonday

Inventing Modern Transportation, Black History Month Series--Frederick McKinley Jones

In modern America, the efficient movement of goods is vitally important to our ability to thrive. Frederick McKinley Jones’ invention of a portable air-cooling unit for trucks allowed produce to be shipped safely across the country, fostering healthier eating habits for Americans. Jones received several patents and co-founded the U.S. Thermo Control Company, which grew into the Thermo King Corporation. He was the first African American to be awarded the National Medal of Technology, which was posthumously presented to his widow in 1991. 

 

Jones’ mechanical skills in the fields of automobile and sound mechanics were mostly self-taught. A veteran of World War I, Jones also recognized the life-saving potential of his invention. The U.S. military used his portable cooling units to preserve food, blood, and medicine during World War II. His technology is still used on trucks, railroad cars, ships, and planes. #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

Learn more about Frederick McKinley Jones: http://bit.ly/2OA5vCL

 

 

U.S. Patent no. 2,303,857

Title: Air Conditioner for Vehicles

Patented: December 1, 1942

Inventing Modern Agriculture, Black History Month Series--Ned

For Ned, the inventor of an effective and innovative cotton scraper, the path from invention to patent led to foundational questions of legality and citizenship in early America. An enslaved blacksmith on a plantation in Pike County, Mississippi, Ned created a novel machine that could “scrape both sides of the cotton ridge at the same time, and plough out the middles or spaces between the ridges.” In 1857, Ned’s enslaver sought a patent in Ned’s name, seeing commercial opportunity in both the invention itself and the precedent of claiming ownership over the inventions of enslaved innovators. 

 

The Patent Commissioner required a sworn affidavit from Ned declaring that he was both the inventor and a citizen of the United States. Yet, in Dred Scott v. Sandford, decided earlier that year, the Supreme Court had determined that the rights of citizenship did not extend to Americans of African descent, whether enslaved or free. A non-citizen by law, Ned was ineligible for a patent, according to the U.S. Attorney General. This precedent limited innovation opportunities for Black Americans until the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870. 

 

Ned’s motivations, process, and hopes for his invention are unknown. But descriptions of the cotton scraper itself reveal his ingenuity and artisan skills. Ned’s story is representative of both the contribution of enslaved people to the creation of modern America and the potential for progress lost to the inhumane institution of slavery.

#BlackHistoryMonth 

#InventingModernAmerica

Inventing Modern Transportation, Black History Month Series: Garrett Morgan

Imagine making a left turn on a busy city street without the benefit of a traffic signal, an experience that may induce feelings of anxiety, frustration, and even fear. For Garrett Morgan, the growing need for traffic control in the early 20th century inspired his most well-known invention. With automobiles, horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and pedestrians all sharing the same roads, traffic accidents were a growing and deadly problem, and traffic signals lacked standardization. Morgan developed a traffic control device with a third “warning” position, and received patent number 1,475,024 in 1923. He subsequently sold the rights for his patent to General Electric.

Born in Kentucky at the end of the Reconstruction era, Morgan had little formal education but an innate curiosity about how things worked. In addition to the traffic signal, he experimented with inventions in several different fields, including hair care products and a precursor to the gas mask. Morgan was also a community leader and an advocate for racial equality in his adopted city of Cleveland, an active member of the NAACP, and the founder of the “Cleveland Call,” a weekly newspaper. #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

Learn more about Garrett Morgan: http://bit.ly/2MOvqfg

 

U.S. Patent no. 1,090,936

Title: Breathing Device

Patented: March 24, 1914

 

U.S. Patent no. 1,475,024

Title: Traffic Signal

Patented: November 20, 1923

Inventing Modern Transportation, Black History Month Series--Benjamin Montgomery

Steamboats powered the movement of people and goods in the mid-19th century, with many communities still depending on the nation’s waterways for the necessities of everyday life. Inventor Benjamin Montgomery designed a steamboat propeller that could cut through shallow waters at different angles, limiting disastrous delays in shipments. 

 

Despite this clear improvement in existing technology, Montgomery never received a patent for his invention. Born into slavery in 1819, Montgomery’s patent application was denied in 1858 due to his legal status as a non-citizen. His enslaver then attempted to patent the propeller under his own name, but was denied on the basis of not being the true inventor. Despite not having intellectual property protection, Montgomery’s invention became a commercial success. 

 

Obtaining his freedom following the Civil War, Montgomery amassed significant wealth and worked to establish a prosperous community for newly free African Americans. Although Montgomery did not live to see this dream town become a reality, his son Isaiah purchased 840 acres of land in 1887 and founded the town of Mount Bayou, Mississippi. #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

Inventing Modern Agriculture, Black History Month Series-- Andrew J. Beard

A prolific inventor, two of Andrew J. Beard’s patents were improvements in agriculture. His first patent, received in 1881, was for a double plow design that allowed farmers to adjust the distance between plow plates. Beard’s second patent, issued in 1887, was for a plow that allowed for pitch adjustment, enabling farmers to further customize the equipment. 

 

Born on a small farm in Eastlake, Alabama, Beard was enslaved for the first 15 years of his life. After his emancipation during the American Civil War, he began working in flour mills and eventually built his own. This entrepreneurial spirit also led Beard to sell both his agricultural patents and invest the money in real estate. He continued to invent until almost the end of the 19th century. 

 

Beard is most well-known for his patents improving railroad coupling, revealing the close links between agriculture and transportation, a subject we will explore further next week. Read more about Beard’s inventions here: http://bit.ly/36RndNi #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

U.S. Patent no. 594,059

Title: Car-Coupling

Patented: November 23, 1897

Tomorrow and Friday: USPTO Black History Month celebrations

Tune in tomorrow to learn from groundbreaking innovators Aprille Ericsson, Ayanna Howard, and Arlyne Simon. The panelists will share firsthand accounts of their amazing career paths and game-changing inventions during the USPTO’s Black History Month celebration, “Three contemporary Black women inventors.” Don’t miss your chance to gain valuable insights—register today for this free special event.

On Friday, don’t miss “A focus on business—The collaboration between cartoonist and illustrator Liz Montague and Google art director Angelica McKinley” to learn firsthand how large scale creative projects are produced from concept to launch. Get a behind-the-scenes view of how Montague and McKinley created the first guest artist Google Doodle slide show featuring groundbreaking Black cartoonist and activist Jackie Ormes. Register today for this free special event.

For more information, please email InnovationOutreach@uspto.gov.

Inventing Modern Agriculture, Black History Month Series--Henry Blair

Inventor Henry Blair’s two patents helped increase agricultural efficiency and output in early America. His first invention was a seed-planter that enabled farmers to plant more corn in a shorter period of time. Drawn by a horse, the device planted corn in a checkerboard pattern, which was good for weed control. He received Patent No. X8447 on October 14, 1834. Blair then devised a similar device for planting cotton, which he patented on August 31, 1836. That he signed both patents with the letter “x,” rather than his name, suggests that Blair probably couldn’t read or write and reflects the serious difficulty African Americans faced in trying to obtain formal educations in the early 19th century. 

 

Born in Maryland in 1807, Blair was part of a generation of Americans navigating the complexities of a new and growing republic. The rapid expansion of the U.S. population put enormous pressure on the food supply and increased the demand for cotton cloth. Meanwhile, westward expansion and the advent of the railroad opened up new lands and new markets. Blair’s inventions allowed farmers to increase their output to satisfy demand. #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

 

U.S. Patent no. X8447

Title: Seed Planter

Patented: October 14, 1834

U.S. Patent no. 15

Title: Cotton-Planter

Patented: August 31, 1836

 

Inventing the Modern Home, Black History Month Series -- Marie Van Brittan Brown

Everyone wants to feel safe at home. As a nurse living in Queens, New York, Marie Van Brittan Brown often came home after dark to an empty house. This, plus her husband’s long hours away as an electronics technician, drove Brown to invent a security system to see who was knocking at her door. 

 

The system created a closed-circuit television system for surveillance known as CCTV, which included peepholes, a television monitor, and two-way microphones. Brown was subsequently cited on 32 patents, and elements of her system are widely used today. She also served as an inspiration to her daughter, Norma, who grew up to be a nurse and an inventor.

 #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

Read more about Brown and her invention: https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/marie-van-brittan-brown

 

U.S. Patent no. 3,482,037

Title: Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance

Patented Dec. 2, 1969

Inventing the Modern Home, Black History Month Series -- Thomas Jennings

Thomas Jennings’ invention for a method of dry-scouring clothes was groundbreaking in many ways. The predecessor to dry cleaning, the invention was born from necessity. A skilled tailor and successful businessman in New York City, Jennings experimented until he found a method of cleaning that did not harm clothes. He received his patent in 1821, one of the first known African American patent holders in U.S. history.

Although Jennings was a freedman, his wife and children were enslaved. He used the proceeds from his invention to purchase his family’s freedom, and became active in abolitionist and civil rights work. When his daughter Elizabeth was forcibly removed from a “whites only” streetcar, he helped organize a legal defense fund against segregation on public transportation in New York City. Elizabeth won her case in 1855, the same year Thomas helped found the pioneering Legal Rights Association. Jennings’ story represents just one example of innovation driving positive social change. #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

Read more about Jennings: https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-jennings

 

U.S. Patent no. 3306x

Title: Dry Scouring

Patented March 3, 1821

Inventing the Modern Home, Black History Month Series -- Sara E. Goode

Efficient use of space in the home has been a concern for Americans for generations. The design for Sarah E. Goode’s 1885 patent for a folding cabinet bed was an early example of the flexible and modular furniture used in many homes today. A precursor to the Murphy bed, Goode’s design collapsed into a roll-top desk when not in use, a perfect design for the home office.

Goode and her husband, a carpenter named Archibald, owned a furniture store in Chicago. Many of their customers lived in small apartments and benefitted from Goode’s economical design. Despite being one of the first African American women to hold a patent in the United States, not much is known about Goode’s life. Aside from U.S. Census records, the primary official written record of Goode’s movements and career is her patent application. #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

U.S. Patent no. 322177

Title: Cabinet-Bed

Patented July 14, 1885.

Black History Month Celebration: Three Contemporary Black Women Inventors

Don’t miss the USPTO’s free online Black History Month celebration spotlighting three contemporary Black women inventors: Aprille Ericsson, Ayanna Howard, and Arlyne Simon. Slots are limited, so register today for this special event. 

Hear the panelists’ firsthand accounts of their amazing career paths and game-changing inventions:

Dr. Aprille Ericsson was the first woman (and the first African American woman) to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University and the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in engineering as a civil servant at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. As New Business Lead for the NASA GSFC Instrument Systems and Technology Division, she seeks to foster government partnerships that enable industry and small businesses to collaborate with universities to solve strategic R&D challenges faced by United States government agencies. She holds one patent.

Dr. Ayanna Howard is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Zyrobotics, a company that uses machine learning and robots to make educational toys for kids, with a particular emphasis on helping those with special needs. In addition, Howard is a professor at Georgia Tech, specializing in the intersection of machine learning and robotics. She holds three patents.

Dr. Arlyne Simon is a biomedical engineer at Intel’s Health and Life Science business unit and the author of the Abby Invents picture book series. Eager to inspire more girls to become inventors, Simon founded a multicultural children’s products company called Timouns. To date, Timouns has reached more than 3,500 future inventors. She holds two patents.

For more information, or to ask questions about the program, email InnovationOutreach@USPTO.gov.

Celebrate Black History Month: Granville Woods, the black Thomas Edison

An article written by John Schlipp, (an Intellectual Property Librarian and Professor of Library Science at W. Frank Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University (NKU)), for the Northern Kentucky Tribune newspaper.   www.nkytribune.com

Our Rich History: Granville Woods, the black Thomas Edison, was noted inventor and held many patents

By John Schlipp
Special to NKyTribune

 A note from the “Our Rich History” editor: In celebration of the beginning of Black History Month, we honor the vast achievements of African-American inventor, Granville Woods. Nationally acclaimed as the “Black Edison,” Woods first achieved notable success in the Cincinnati region.

In 1888 Granville Woods, a highly respected Black inventor, was “unmercifully beaten” by Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) employees. Woods had purchased a first-class ticket on the L&N from Cincinnati to Nashville, and during the first leg of that journey to Louisville, sat in relative comfort in first class. Upon arriving in Louisville, however, a new crew “objected to a colored man riding through the ‘Dark and Bloody Ground’ [the South] in first-class style, and attempted to eject him from the car.” When Woods resisted, the crew beat him (“A Colored Man’s Rights,” Cincinnati Post, June 25, 1888, p. 4).

Of all the possible ironies in history, this incident should be recorded in the history books. After all, it was Granville Woods’ many inventions that literally made American railroads safe, fast, and efficient. One of his principal patents, in fact, enabled instantaneous telegraphic communication between the conductors of moving trains and station masters. Thanks to Woods, at any time railroads could keep track of where their trains were, thereby preventing unnecessary collisions.

Granville T. Woods. Source: The Evening Repository, March 12, 1892, p. 12.

By 1904 Granville Woods held 35 patents (“Brain to the Front,” Cleveland Gazette, April 23, 1904, p. 2). In the United States, a patent is a property right granted by the federal government. It gives an inventor the right to the benefits of commercialization of their invention. Patents provides innovators an incentive to invent by owning the fruits of their intellectual labor for a specified period of time.

Despite the huge hurdles........

To read the entire article please click here. 

 

Reserve your slot for the February 10 and 12 USPTO Black History Month celebrations

Slots are limited for the USPTO’s free online Black History Month celebrations, so make sure to register early.

On February 10, learn from inventors Aprille Ericsson, Ayanna Howard, and Arlyne Simon during “Three contemporary Black women inventors.” Their careers include success in areas as varied as mechanical engineering, robotics, writing books for young inventors, and more. Register today.

On February 12, tune in to “A focus on business—The collaboration between cartoonist and illustrator Liz Montague and Google art director Angelica McKinley” to learn firsthand how large scale creative projects are produced from concept to launch. Get a behind-the-scenes view of how Montague and McKinley created the first guest artist Google Doodle slide show featuring groundbreaking Black cartoonist and activist Jackie Ormes. Register today.

For more information, please email InnovationOutreach@uspto.gov.

Mark your calendar: USPTO Black History Month celebrations coming February 10 and 12

Don’t miss the USPTO’s free online Black History Month celebrations coming February 10 and February 12.

On February 10, tune in to “Three contemporary Black women inventors.” Drs. Aprille Ericsson, Ayanna Howard, and Arlyne Simon’s combined careers include success in areas as varied as mechanical engineering, robotics, writing successful books for young inventors, and more. Get valuable insights from firsthand accounts of their amazing careers. Slots are limited, so register today for this free special event.

On February 12, join in for “A focus on business—The collaboration between cartoonist and illustrator Liz Montague and Google art director Angelica McKinley.” Hear how large scale creative projects are produced from concept to launch. Get a behind-the-scenes view of how Montague and McKinley created the first guest artist Google Doodle slide show featuring groundbreaking Black cartoonist and activist Jackie Ormes. This promises to be an inspiring and informative panel discussion about fostering creativity and executing impactful work during a global pandemic. Register early for this free special event.

For more information, please email InnovationOutreach@uspto.gov.