US Patent: 2,180,795
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| Packing
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Patentee:
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| Niels Anton Christensen (exact or similar names) - South Euclid, OH |
| USPTO Classifications: |
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277/448, 277/449, 277/582, 277/634, 277/909, 277/910, 285/106, 285/302, 285/918, 92/168, 92/170.1
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| Manufacturer: |
| Not known to have been produced |
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Patent Dates:
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| Applied: |
Oct. 02, 1937 |
| Granted: |
Nov. 21, 1939 |
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Jeff Joslin
Wikipedia biography of Niels A. Christensen
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Description: |
| The 74 year old inventor was an important innovator in vehicle brake systems, but he is best remembered for this invention, which is the O-ring, especially when used as a hydraulic seal. He developed this idea while working on braking systems (see also patent 2,197,068). The present invention was licensed to United Aircraft in 1941 but when the USA joined the war that same year, his patent was co-opted by the government as part of the war effort; Christensen was paid $75,000. He sued for more money and eventually, in 1971, was awarded an additional $100,000, when Christensen would have been 106; he had died in 1952, age 87. Much earlier, he had had a drawn-out legal battle with George Westinghouse for allegedly infringing on Westinghouse's air-brake patents (see, e.g., patent 117,841). That battle spanned 1906 to 1930 and reached the US Supreme court three times. |
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