Inventors Inventions And Year

[Midas Souza]

Mostpeople have heard about famous inventions like the light bulb, the cotton gin and the iPhone. But there are countless other, often overlooked inventions that make our daily lives easier. Among the creative innovators behind these devices are African American inventors. From the traffic light to the ironing board, see a list of products that have sprung from the minds of Black inventors.

Before security systems became a fixture in homes, an African American nurse Marie Van Brittan Brown, devised an early security unit for her own home. She spent many nights at home alone in Queens, New York while her husband was away, and felt unsafe with high rates of crime in her neighborhood. On top of that, the police were unreliable and unresponsive. So she created a device that would help put her mind at ease.

She added other features to the system, including a microphone to speak to anyone at the door, a button to unlock the door, and a button to contact the police. She and her husband took out a patent for the system in the same year, and they were awarded the patent three years later in 1969. Home security systems commonly used today took various elements from her design.

With only an elementary school education, Black inventor (and son of an enslaved parent), Garrett Morgan came up with several significant inventions, including an improved sewing machine and the gas mask. However, one of Morgan's most influential inventions was the improved traffic light. Morgan's was one of the first three-light systems that were invented in the 1920s, resulting in the widespread adoption of the traffic lights we take for granted today.

If your refrigerator has any produce from your local grocery store, then you can credit African American inventor Frederick McKinley Jones. Jones took out more than 60 patents throughout his life, including a patent for the roof-mounted cooling system that was used to refrigerate goods on trucks during extended transportation in the mid-1930s. He received a patent for his invention in 1940 and co-founded the U.S. Thermo Control Company, later known as Thermo King. The company was critical during World War II, helping to preserve blood, food and supplies during the war.

The use of elevators in everyday life keeps people from facing long climbs up several flights of stairs. However, before the creation of elevator doors that close automatically, riding a lift was both complicated and risky.

Before automatic doors, people had to manually shut both the shaft and elevator doors before riding. Forgetting to do so led to multiple accidents as people fell down elevator shafts. As the story goes, when the daughter of African American inventor Alexander Miles almost fatally fell down the shaft, he took it upon himself to develop a solution. In 1887 he took out a patent for a mechanism that automatically opens and closes elevator shaft doors and his designs are largely reflected in elevators used today.

Along with his German colleague Gerhard Sessler, West invented the foil electret microphone, which was considerably less expensive to produce than the typically used condenser microphones. Two years after it was invented, the final model of the microphone was developed and in 1964 they patented the landmark invention. Only four years later, the new microphone was in wide production and was being used in hearing aids, tape recorders, most telephones and baby monitors.

The light bulb itself was perfected by Thomas Edison, but the innovation used to create longer-lasting light bulbs with a carbon filament came from African American inventor Lewis Latimer. Latimer, the son of formerly enslaved people, began work in a patent law firm after serving in the military for the Union during the Civil War. He was recognized for his talent in drafting patents and was promoted to head draftsman, where he co-invented an improved bathroom for railroad trains.

His successes would garner him further attention from the U.S. Electric Lighting Company, putting him at a company in direct competition with Edison, in 1880. While there, Latimer patented a new filament for the light bulb, using carbon instead of more combustible materials, like bamboo, that was commonly used for filaments. The addition of the carbon filament increased the life span and practicality of light bulbs, which had previously died after just a few days. In 1884, he went on to work with Edison at the Edison Electric Light Company.

These links provide access to the information that is commonly needed for companies or organizations interested in partnering with NIH. The information here covers the process from researching available technologies through fees associated.

Each year, hundreds of new inventions are made at NIH and CDC laboratories. Nine NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs) transfer NIH and CDC inventions through licenses to the private sector for further research and development and eventual commercialization.

The NIH, CDC and FDA Intramural Research Programs are exceptionally innovative as exemplified by the many products currently on the market that benefit the public every day. Reports are generated from the commonly tracked metrics related to these products.

Past videos, lectures, presentations, and articles related to technology transfer at NIH are kept and made available to the public. These topics range from general technology transfer information to processes specific to NIH.

If a company would like to acquire rights to use or commercialize either an unpatented material, or a patented or patent-pending invention, a license is required. There are numerous policies and regulations surrounding the transfer or a technology from the NIH to a company or organization.

The NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) plays a strategic role by supporting the patenting and licensing efforts of our NIH ICs. OTT protects, monitors, markets and manages the wide range of NIH discoveries, inventions, and other intellectual property as mandated by the Federal Technology Transfer Act and related legislation.

Royalty payments to inventors are processed two times in the calendar year. The first payment is generally made from late May to late June. The second payment is generally made from late October to late November. Payments cannot be distributed to inventors until the royalty information is completely reconciled to ensure accurate payouts.

The payments represent the inventor's share of royalty payments from licensees to the NIH during the fiscal year. For example, the first inventor payment is based on money received by the NIH for the period of October 1 through March 31. The second inventor payment is based on money received by the NIH for the period of April 1 through September 30.

In order to ensure that inventor royalty income is deposited into the correct account, inventors are required to complete the ACH VENDOR/MISCELLANEOUS PAYMENT ENROLLMENT FORM and return it by e-mail to the NIH Office of Financial Management (OFM).

Please Note: It is recommended that you provide your personal contact information (including your personal e-mail address), because that typically does not change when you retire, change positions, or relocate.

Royalty payment transactions sent from the NIH to the U.S. Treasury include the words ROYALTY PAYMENT. When the Treasury sends this information to your financial institution, the ROYALTY PAYMENT identification is included with the direct deposit transaction. Most institutions include this information on your monthly account statement. However, some institutions do not interpret or provide the payment description. Others choose not to provide the description. If the deposit identification does not appear on your statement, you should discuss this matter with your financial institution.

If you receive royalty payments of $10.00 or more in the calendar year, you will receive Form 1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income. Payments for less than $10.00 are taxable, but Form 1099-MISC will not be issued. Historically, the Form 1099-MISC is sent to inventor by the end of January.

The U. S. Treasury automatically cancels checks that are not cashed after one year from issuance. When this occurs, funds are returned to the issuing agency. Once returned, the NIH has less than four years to reissue these amounts.

Technology Transfer Matters: For questions concerning technology transfer matters, inventors should contact their Institute Technology Development Coordinator. A list of current Technology Development Coordinators can be found here.

Yes, royalties will continue if an inventor is deceased. The payments will be issued "To The Estate of ...." and forwarded to the bank account or address on record with the Office of Financial Management. The Personal Representative for the Estate should contact Karen Rogers, Senior Royalties Administrator at 301-435-4359, or by e-mail, for assistance regarding probate issues and disposition of future royalties to estate heirs. She will coordinate interactions with the Office of Technology Transfer, Office of Financial Management and the Office of General Counsel.

The Stony Brook Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) got together on May 2 for its ninth annual meeting and induction ceremony. The Stony Brook University innovation community joined to honor new NAI-SBU chapter members and two outstanding early-career researchers receiving the 2024 NAI Young Academic Inventors Award.

Five SBU inventors were invited to join the NAI-SBU chapter this year for their leadership and innovation in their research areas. They have numerous patents for their original and unique research in medicine, radiology, electrical and computer engineering, and biomedical informatics. The chapter also welcomed two honorary members and two senior members in recognition of their support and contributions to the development of the SBU innovation community. Paul Sanberg, president of the NAI, provided a video message congratulating the new members and virtually leading the pinning ceremony.

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