One of the Most Profitable Patents In History - Warp Tying Machine
Warp is a verb and noun pertaining to distortion and twisting, and to lines and ropes used in the contexts below.
One of the major problems for the textile industry at the time was the complete automation of the weaving process. The looms were automatic but the knots were hand tied.
Just stop and think a moment how cumbersome it must have been to run a machine only to stop it and hand tie knots! The threads had to be manually pieced together. This is what the original invention Howard Colman created. It took him several years, and then he had patiently waited for a possible competing patent which may have been an infringement to expire! The genius to create an invention, the diligence to keep trying and then the patience to make sure the patents were clear ownership - true genius.
Interestingly, one historian noted that Edison (the inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph among many others) spent the majority of his career fighting for his patents. The number of patents for Edison are stated to be 1093!
Other Inventions
While he was working on this complicated machine, Colman turned to other useful devices such as milk measuring.
Later on in his established career, he wanted to explore electrical devices. His board of directors were not convinced of the profitability of this new area. Colman took his own funds and time and went so heavily into electrical that during the time of the depression, it was the electrical patents that kept this great manufacturing company solvent.
Over the years the Barber Colman Company transitioned from textile to electrical to HVAC. When I worked for them in Loves Park, IL they had an aircraft division and was concentrating on controllers for heating and air conditioning. The best way for me to describe the devices is everything in the ceiling and walls for commercial heating and ventilation - they manufactured the pieces that controlled the vents and ducts - from temperature gauges to sensors for temperature and humidity to valves to regulate the flow of energy.
Original Inventor of the Computer Binary Bit System
In his book "The Master Inventor", one engineer credited Howard Colman with the original binary bit technology that lead to the modern day computer. Remember Colman worked on a full spectrum of devices - not limited to just mechanical, just electrical, he also has over 40 patents related to the automobile! One of the inventions was in regards to the telegraph system - yes, this gives us a better perspective of the age that Colman was invention in - no cell phone - not even a telephone - he literally lived and invented during the horse and buggy area and was a pivotal force in the industrial revolution.
It was the groundwork on the telegraph system that Colman discovered and refined what has become the foundation of the computer system.
Proper Place In History - Pivotal to the Industrial Revolution
After reading Jon Lundin's book, I had a better understanding of many of Colman's master pieces but the volume of work just completely astounded me. If you review the breadth and depth of his work and how each piece touched all of us from the electrical switches to the clothing that we wear to the automotive to the garage door opener and the oscillating fan, this man was not just a master inventor, this man was pivotal to the industrial revolution. He set the stage for the entire world to follow. The ground european patent breading inventions took civilization leaps and bounds into the many conveniences that we now enjoy.
Warp is a verb and noun pertaining to distortion and twisting, and to lines and ropes used in the contexts below.
One of the major problems for the textile industry at the time was the complete automation of the weaving process. The looms were automatic but the knots were hand tied.
Just stop and think a moment how cumbersome it must have been to run a machine only to stop it and hand tie knots! The threads had to be manually pieced together. This is what the original invention Howard Colman created. It took him several years, and then he had patiently waited for a possible competing patent which may have been an infringement to expire! The genius to create an invention, the diligence to keep trying and then the patience to make sure the patents were clear ownership - true genius.
Interestingly, one historian noted that Edison (the inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph among many others) spent the majority of his career fighting for his patents. The number of patents for Edison are stated to be 1093!
Other Inventions
While he was working on this complicated machine, Colman turned to other useful devices such as milk measuring.
Later on in his established career, he wanted to explore electrical devices. His board of directors were not convinced of the profitability of this new area. Colman took his own funds and time and went so heavily into electrical that during the time of the depression, it was the electrical patents that kept this great manufacturing company solvent.
Over the years the Barber Colman Company transitioned from textile to electrical to HVAC. When I worked for them in Loves Park, IL they had an aircraft division and was concentrating on controllers for heating and air conditioning. The best way for me to describe the devices is everything in the ceiling and walls for commercial heating and ventilation - they manufactured the pieces that controlled the vents and ducts - from temperature gauges to sensors for temperature and humidity to valves to regulate the flow of energy.
Original Inventor of the Computer Binary Bit System
In his book "The Master Inventor", one engineer credited Howard Colman with the original binary bit technology that lead to the modern day computer. Remember Colman worked on a full spectrum of devices - not limited to just mechanical, just electrical, he also has over 40 patents related to the automobile! One of the inventions was in regards to the telegraph system - yes, this gives us a better perspective of the age that Colman was invention in - no cell phone - not even a telephone - he literally lived and invented during the horse and buggy area and was a pivotal force in the industrial revolution.
It was the groundwork on the telegraph system that Colman discovered and refined what has become the foundation of the computer system.
Proper Place In History - Pivotal to the Industrial Revolution
After reading Jon Lundin's book, I had a better understanding of many of Colman's master pieces but the volume of work just completely astounded me. If you review the breadth and depth of his work and how each piece touched all of us from the electrical switches to the clothing that we wear to the automotive to the garage door opener and the oscillating fan, this man was not just a master inventor, this man was pivotal to the industrial revolution. He set the stage for the entire world to follow. The ground european patent breading inventions took civilization leaps and bounds into the many conveniences that we now enjoy.