The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-07
INVENTIVE MINDS.
PECULIAR INVENTIONS FROM ALL
PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.


the Grave-Pumps and Windmills to
Furnish Their Own Motive Power
How to Get Up Early in the Morning.
From the Washington Star.
Eyes, SIR said prominent patent at
torney of the city to reporter, patent So
letting is an interesting as well as lucra-
tive business Some time ago l received
from man at G. and Rapids, Mich, a box
carefully packed with what appeared to be
q doll-baby house, and which for a time
puzzled me. In the course of week l re-
ceived letter explaining the device and
supplemental part of the invention in the
shape of miniature coffin. The DEVICE
was intended and especially designed for
those who were unfortunate enough to be
buried alive, and was what he termed
grave escape The miniature house was
provided with uprights secured at it's four
corners, and the coffin, which was, as the
inventor termed it, only a supplemental
mart of the great invention, proved to be
the principal part 1t consisted of an ordi-
nary coffin, provided on each of its sides
with elongated air receptacles secured there
TO. and having communication with the in
terror of the coffin by means Of rubber
",
twas, that after the four uplightS had been
planted in the grave already dug, until the
floor of the house came on a level with the
surface of the ground, the coffin contain
ing the body was lowered and the door of
the hut locked and the key dropped through
an aperture in the door. Well" continued
the attorney, when the unfortunate inmate
should discover he was alive, ne was to seize
either of the tubes, consume as much air as
Il. Nk,. t.,T~
described, lift the lid, which was only held
in place by it's own weight and climb up a
ladder which connected the grave with the
hut, and finding a suit of c'OlheS previously
placed there, don them, open the door, and
go home to give his family surprise party.
"When | wrote and told him that his de-
vice didn't possess patentable novelty-in
fact, wasn't practicable became indig-
nant, and voted US snides.
ANOTHER GRAVE ESCAPE.
"But had another case" continued the
attorney, in which a man connected the
head OF the coffin with the air, by means of
a metallic tube, and had bell connected
wit the top of the tube which was
operated by rope passing through the
tube y
Can you recall any inventions whose
practicaDility and unIqueness are subjects
# commentT asked the reporter.
well, | should say So said the attor
ney; for instance, there's the combined
bedstead and al .rm clock by which the
dropping of a bolt as the hour hand
reaches the appointed hour let's loose a set of
bars holding the mattress in place, which,
IN turn, swings on its center pivOts and
throws the sleeper on the floor at the very
moment he wishes to be awakened. There
again is the
ISpRTNETER AWAKrNEp
as the inventor termed it. A fower-pot is
upset on the sleeepe. by bolt worked by
clock
II suppose you've heard of the Pioneer
Plow,'" said the attorney, and upon being
informed that the reporter had not, he pro-
eeded: well. sir, the range contrivance
was first thought out by an Eastern man,
and was adapted especially for the Western
farmer. the beam of the plOw was a small
cannon, and when attacked by the Indians,
all he had to do was to cut the horses loose
and slaughter the Indians right and left.
TO FURNISH MILK.
Ibid you ever hear of that man who had
a scheme for supplying districts with milk2
You didn't! Well, his idea was to build
large reservoir and have service pipes con-
nected herewith, which ran into the
peoples houses and supplied them with milk
at their command The inventor said 1T
was grand scheme, and it only needed
sort of contrivance to measure the milk
drawn to make 1t complete success. Then
again there was the refrigerator hat, hav-
ing waterproof receptacle i'll the top,
which was filled with ice to keep the wear
erS head cool"
How about perpetual-notion devicesW
asked the reporter, do you receive manyIn
Not now, answered the attorney, but
some years ago applications for patents on
devices Of that sort were numerous. | re-
member two in particular. The inventor
OF the first was Pennsylvania by birth,
and resided in a small town not far from
Pittsburg."
A WONDERFUL PUMP.
"His device was pump, which, when once
set going, would continue to pump ad in
tinitum. The model was simple in its con-
. struction, so he said, but the mechanism
/ employed to produce the result he wished
was wonderful. He provided the spout of
the pump with an overshot wheel, having
a crank secured thereto which in turn con-
nected with numerous other arms, employ
/ ing thlrty-six joints to move upon, until it
/ reached the sucker rod, which it lifted and
lowered as the wheel operated by the water
from the spout turned. This man couldn't
be convinced that his device was worth
less, and after several interviews with the
examiner in the Patent Office having in
charge that class of inventions known as a
converting motion he came to the conclu-
sion, as he said, that the Patent Office was
no good, and that he intended to destroy
MS model, and thus deprive the world of
4 Ihe greatest invention ever heard of. Poor
Fellow, he died last year in an insane asy-
!um among the results of his wasted eff
1ortS, with which his room was strewn.
WIND FOR A WINDMILL.
The other case was somewhat like the
one Just described, excepting, perhaps, it
was more interesting, as 1t could readily be
made to run for few minutes and made
quite an ingenious toy. 1t was a wind
+ mill, having suitable arms connected to the
wheel and secured to a bellows placed in a
convenient position to operate the wheel.
by starting the wheel the bellows would be
operated to furnish more air to the wheel ;
out, Of course, it would stop soon on ac-
count of the friction
But the funniest patent ever issued, ="
continued the attorney, was the one TO a
man by the name of Meyers, of Philadel-
phla. 1t was tape-worm trap, and con-
sisted OF two gold spring jaws, having SER
rated teeth and operated by trigger. The
patent was supposed to be starved for three
or Tour days until the tape worm was very
hungry, when the trap was inserted in his
throat, being previously baited with n
Isweetmeat The worm would make strike
lor the candy and the jaws would spring,
VCdUChlng him IV tha baa1 Xvhpu ha ron Ia