If you find a patent number or patent date by this manufacturer that is not on this
list, please contact the Site Historian.
Key to Links for Patent Information
USPTO = U.S. Patent Office .
Images of the actual patent can be viewed on the U.S. Patent Office web site but
a special TIFF viewer must be installed with your browser in order properly work.
More information on how to configure your computer to view these patents can be
found at TIFF image Viewers
for Patent Images.
DATAMP = Directory of American Tool And
Machinery Patents . A sister site to VintageMachinery.org with information
on patents related to machinery and tools. A much easier user interface than the
USPTO's for finding information on machinery patents.
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123,971
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Feb. 27, 1872
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Improvement in Piston Packing
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George R. Babbitt |
Providence, Providence County, RI |
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136,405
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Mar. 04, 1873
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Improvement in piston-packings
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William A. Harris |
Providence, RI |
Co-inventor William A. Harris was a steam-engine manufacturer in Providence, and Babbitt was his employee, who began as a machinist and worked his way up to superintendent. This piston packing, which used a spring to tension the rings, remained popular for many years. Other manufacturers, e.g., Atlas Engine Works of Indianapolis, mention their use of this piston packing; we don't know if Harris was supplying the packing or licensing the design. From an 1896 (i.e., post-patent-expiry) catalog of Atlas Engine Works: "The well known Babbitt & Harris Patent Automatic Spring Packing is used. The self-adjusting loose Packing Rings are held to a bearing in the bore of the cylinder by German Silver Springs, forming the best known Piston joint. This form is so generally understood that it scarcely calls for description here. It is a standard for the majority of high grade Engines, and this Company has much pleasure in recommending it." |
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Improvement in piston-packings
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George R. Babbitt |
Providence, RI |
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