who am i kidding, calling Rusty, help please

[1930]

Rusty, why is it that when I enter a patent # for instance found on my zerk gun of 1475980 there are several patents that pop up using the same number but at different dates, one for 1929 and one for 1935 for instance.
Also after that number which is written on the barrel there is what looks like a RE 16787. What is the explanation for this.
Then below that is a 1676626, is it safe to assume that the last patent number might be the latest version as produced on this gun.
The gun that is shown pat # 1676626 looks identical to the guns I have been collecting.
The patent reads Patent filed Jan 2 1924, why so early or why did it take so long as it was petented July 10 1928? Also what is the serial # and lastly why renewed March 12 1926
Thank-you
Ok another ? could this gun have been manufactured prior to the patents issue date or is it safe to assume that this particular series of gun would not have been manufacured for use prior to 1928?
Also why when I type in this patent # 1676626 does it show an option for patent # 1748817 which was issued Feb 25 1930 by the same Oscar U zerk.

[rusty]

> RE 16787

That is a reissue patent, it's the original patent, renewed for another 17 or 20 years. It gets a new number and acts like a new patent (except it covers only what the original patent did), but inventors only get to do this once....

>zerk gun of 1475980 ... 1929 and one for 1935

The first is likely the original patent number/date,the second is the reissue of the patent.
The reissued patent number starts with RE, but that isn't always stamped on things.

You are finding both patents with google because the header in the patent document that says it is a Reissue also gives the number of the patent that it was reissued from, and google is seeing that number. (remember, google isn't all that smart, it just looks for words and numbers, it doesn't know what any of it means)

>The patent reads Patent filed Jan 2 1924, why so early or why did it take so long as it was petented July 10 1928

It is not uncommon in the 20's for it to take several years for the patent to be granted, the patent office has to examine all the older patents similar to the application before deciding it is something never before invented...

> what is the serial #

In the US, patent numbers are assigned when the patent is granted, to keep track of the application, it is given a temporary number, that is the application serial number.
Serial numbers are not unique , they get used over again after a few years, so they aren't very helpfull to us, but they are rather helpfull to the patent office...

1475980/1676626

Inventors have a special privledge no one else has, they may infringe their own patents with an improved  new patent. Assuming there is something additional and novel in the new patent, they get to start the clock again, so it's not uncommon to see multiple overlapping patents on something spread across a length of time...

[rusty]

In a later patent(1748817), Zerk helpfully provides a list of his earlier patents....

1,475,980,   1,619,455,   1,632,985,   1,632,986,
1,632,987,   1,645,888,   1,645,889,   1,645,890,
1,655,213,   1,676,626,   1,679,887,   1,679,888,
1,684,080,   1,692,320,   1,696,217,   1,700,527,
1,703,285,   1,703,286,   1,708,040,   1,708,041,
1,710,719,   1,710,959,   1,711,870,   1,711,871,
1,714,254,   1,720,871,   1,720,872,   1,720,873,
1,720,874.

Oscar was a very busy fellow - P

[1930]

Thank-you very much!!!
I am finally learning something

[1930]

Rusty, maybe I missed it but Pat # 1676626 was originally filed in 1924, and  granted 1928, could this gun have been marketed as early as 1924, this gun meaning the gun they show in the diagram of the patent issued July 10 1928

[rusty]

>could this gun have been marketed as early as 1924

Yes, as soon as it is filed it is somewhat protected. That's what the 'Pat Pending" is all about, patent filed, but not issued and numbered.
Of course, if the Inventor fails to get the patent he is porked...the world now has lots of samples of his unpatented non-invention...

[Bus]

In trying to date an item from the patent date remember that that particular tool could be no older than the latest patent date but could be a lot newer. Companies continued to mark their products with patents dates long after they expired. For example Mason's 1858 patent for screw type zinc lids on fruit jars was used on jars into the 1930's.

As for the time between application and issue date I have read that sometimes the inventor purposely delayed the issue date(and therefore the expiration date) by submitting revisions.

[1930]

quote......remember that that particular tool could be no older than the latest patent date.......thats what I was looking for, thanks guys

[1930]

Rusty, I got down to pat # 655213 and google started showing me unrelated patents to Oscar. Any # after 655213 showed patents issued recently. Is this a glitch somewhere, any idea?

[rusty]

Is this a glitch somewhere, any idea?

Yes, sort of.

Google, trying to be everything to everybody, has shot themselves in the foot (again).
They gave been including application data in with the patent data, unfortunatly, application numbrs are 6 digit numbers....

try prefixing the number, like "Patent No. 655213"
This will force a match in the header of the patent document....

[1930]

Got it, thanks

[1930]

I am trying to get a date when Dodge went with the Alemite hydarulic fitting shown here. I seem to remember someone telling me at one point that it was sometime in 1929 but  cant verify that yet. I have seen 29 cars with the standard zerk and the alemite hydraulic. It would be safe to say that the standard zerks would be correct because no-one would remove the hydraulic ( which is a superior fitting ) and replace with the zerk unless they thought the zerk was correct and they were a nut for authenticity like me but the examples I have seen were obvious in my mind to be original.
Looking thru google patents the closest I come to possibly picturing  the alemite hydraulic fitting is patent # 1710959. It looks like the fitting that the device is attached to is the same as the alemite hydraulic that I have pictured here.
1711870 and 871 and no other patent after this patent seem to show a clear picture of the bulbed headed grease fitting.
Does anyone have info on when the other two major players in automotive went to the hydraulic fittings?
Can anyone tell me if a gun specifically meant for zerk will work on an alemite fitting without mods and work properly.
Interesting that I look in an Alemite catalog I have dated March of 1930 and clearly they only show the pin-type and the zerk type. Another Alemite book I have dated August of 1933 clearly shows the hydraulic fitting.
I like to update things as I go along because I know some of you guys care, this was wriitten on AACA back in 2006 and I just stumbled across it, it shows the same picture I have given............The ball end grease fitting which most people mistakenly call a Zerk fitting is actually an Alemite Hydraulic fitting. It was developed by Alemite enginners in 1932-33 and was common on most American cars by 1934. Vol.1 #3 Skinned Knuckles, "Everything you always wanted to know about Pressure Lube Systems."........I have contacted the guy and hopefully will get a response, I need to see if I can find this issue of skinned knuckles.
Anyone care to add to this. Thanks again

I have found this same data elsewhere on the web and because it appears identical I would guess it is true and correct. Interesting to me.......Backtracking Through History
Arthur Gulborg was a son of a co-owner of a small die-casting plant in Chicago. His job was to relubricate the die casting machines by refilling their oil cups several times a day. This labor-intensive task led him to invent the grease gun (screw type) and grease fitting in 1916. He invented the fitting, a braided metal hose having a special end connection, and screw-type grease gun. Arthur Gulborg and his father named it "The Alemite High-Pressure Lubricating System" after the Alemite Die Casting and Manufacturing Company where the idea was first formed.

In 1918, the Gulborgs approached the U.S. Army with this invention. Several test installations were made on white trucks in army service. Gulborg's invention vastly simplified the task of lubricating army trucks. On July 10 of that year, it became standard equipment.

By 1922, Alemite introduced the "Button-Head" system to serve on a more rugged, heavy-duty lubricating system for many industrial applications. The "Junior Button-Head" system was used to lubricate motorcycles and "Standard" and "Giant" versions of the button-heads were used in a wide range of industry including heavy construction equipment. The automobile industry, however, was the greatest immediate potential for sales. Within five years of Gulborg's patent, the passenger car became equipped with an Alemite hand grease gun and hose assembly. Grease guns became familiar to the general public, and most automobile lubrication was performed by the car owners. In 1924, the Allyne-Zerk Company of Cleveland, Ohio was purchased by Alemite, and the Zerk line of lubrication fittings and hand grease guns was added to the Alemite line. The Zerk design, named after Oscar Zerk, used a fitting much smaller than the Alemite pin-type and did not lock the hose coupler or hand gun and fitting together. Instead, the seal between them was maintained by the pressure of a pushing action when the operator applied the coupler to the fitting. This became known as a push-type system
I have pict. of the button head fittings inm y catalog as well if anyone is interested.
Just talked with a guy at Alemite, seemed to really appreicate history and he told me that back in the 80s when Stewert and Alemite made their split from Chicago he can remember seeing dumpsters being filled with filing cabinets containing data from long ago. He mentions getting caught dumpster diving and nearly losing his job over it for some odd reason. Nice Huh