when did elijah mccoy invent lubricator.
In his home based machine shop, McCoy invented an automatic lubricator cup for oiling steam engines. This was his first patent, âImprovement in Lubricators for Steam-Enginesâ granted on July 23, 1872. It is believed this was the origin of the term âthe Real McCoyâ because engineers would ask if it was âthe real McCoy, when buying lubricator cups for trains. Elijah McCoy held some 60 patents by the time of his death in 1929.