1850 American Gold Tycoon

The tense expression on Walter's face gradually relaxed after hearing this, and his impression of Liang Yao became better and better.

Being able to accurately say that what he invented was a lock-type single-needle sewing machine shows that Liang Yao has carefully read his drawings.

Walter was relieved and moved that Liang Yao, a rich man and dignitary with many things to do, could carefully examine his patent drawings.

There are still smart people in this world.

"If I accept this award in the name of an improver, I would be more than happy to accept it."

Speaking of this, Walter felt a little sad.

“But you should be aware that I do not own the sewing machine patent, although I had improved the sewing machine before 1834, made a prototype, and completed the drawings and instructions for use.

But at that time, I was worried that the emergence of sewing machines would cause a large number of tailors to lose their livelihoods, so I did not submit a patent to the patent office immediately.

The patent document you got was submitted to the patent office by me in 1849. The patents related to sewing machines submitted by Erics and Yinsak were earlier than mine. In other words, my ownership of the sewing machine patent is in dispute. "

Liang Yao certainly knew this. The five-year sewing machine patent dispute from 1849 to 1854 was one of the famous patent disputes in American history.

This patent dispute directly promoted the revision of the American patent law.

The three important players in the sewing machine patent dispute are Walter, Erics and Yinsak.

The first of the three to be eliminated was Walter. Although Walter had produced a prototype of an improved sewing machine as early as 1834, because Walter did not register a patent with the Patent Office, the Patent Office did not recognize that Hunter owned a patent for sewing machine technology.

After several unsuccessful appeals, a mentally and physically exhausted Walter gave up his appeal in 1854.

Erics and Isaac had already made a small fortune by opening a factory to manufacture sewing machines, and could afford a specialized patent attorney in New York.

In particular, Yin Sak's patent lawyer Edward is a well-known Patent Dispute Pizza Hut in New York.

And Walter had difficulty even supporting his family in Hukou, so naturally he couldn't afford a specialized patent lawyer to help him litigate, so he had to reluctantly give up the sewing machine patent.

The last two players in the battle for sewing machine patents continue to fight for sewing machine patents.

Erics sued Yin Sak for infringement of his lock-stitch patent. Since Walter had given up the patent on the sewing machine, the court held that the lock-stitch patent belonged to Eric. The court ultimately ruled that Yin Sak's infringement was established, and Yin Sak's infringement was established. Compensate Erics with $15,000.

Erics did not have the last laugh. Under Edward's guidance, Yinsak made magical changes to the patented sewing machine technology. The sewing machines produced by Yinsak's Singer Company were still Erics' Bridgeport Machinery. The company's most powerful competitor.

The two sides continued to litigate over the matter, and the court did not make a clear decision until 1869, when the patent expired.

Liang Yao also saw Erics' sewing machine patent in the Patent Office. Erics' sewing machine patent was applied for and approved in 1846. The patented technology is almost exactly the same as Walter's patent.

If the two inventors didn't have a clear understanding of each other, there is only one explanation: Erics plagiarized Walter's patent.

Of course, Erics himself would never admit his plagiarism.

"Do you still have the sewing machine prototype you made?" Liang Yao asked Walter.

"Here, I'll take you to see it."

Walter nodded, and then took Liang Yao up to the attic on the top floor.

Walter's home was very messy. There were more than twenty people living in a four-story building and it was already overcrowded.

In the house, Walter's various inventions were placed everywhere on the walkways, and it was difficult to even find a place to put his feet.

Walter himself was very familiar with these things he invented. He took Liang Yao directly to the top attic and quickly found the sewing machine covered with rags among a pile of messy equipment.

In this era, there are very few people in the United States who are over 6 feet tall. Unfortunately, Walter and Liang Yao are both one of the rare ones.

Especially Walter's huge body, which is over 190 centimeters tall, it is almost difficult to stretch out his limbs in the small attic. If he moves a little larger, his hands will touch the wall and his head will hit the ceiling.

In order to more conveniently view and test Walter's sewing machine, the two decided to move the sewing machine to the more spacious first floor for testing.

After moving the sewing machine to the first floor, Liang Yao finally saw the whole thing clearly.

Different from the pedal sewing machine that Liang Yao was exposed to when he was a child, this is a hand-operated sewing machine. There is a huge metal wheel on the left side of the machine. There is a crank on the metal wheel, which is specially used to hold and rotate the metal wheel to drive the sewing machine. Work.

"Dad, the wooden stand for the sewing machine."

Walter's little son staggered down from the attic with the wooden frame in his arms.

"Just put it on the ground."

Walter smiled with relief and said to his youngest son.

“Will this sewing machine still work?”

Liang Yao held the handle on the runner and tried to turn the sewing machine. Perhaps because it had not been used for many years and the mechanical gears had become rusty, the runner got stuck before it could turn even one turn.

"It hasn't been used for too long. The mechanical parts inside may have rusted. Please wait."

Walter turned and took down a bottle of whale oil from the bottles on the shelf behind him.

He skillfully disassembled the sewing machine, carefully lubricated the sewing machine, then installed the wooden frame and fixed the sewing machine on the wooden frame.

Liang Yao opened the cover of the pocket watch, and it took Walter only 35 minutes in total, from disassembling the oiling installation to fixing the sewing machine on a special wooden frame, which was extremely fast.

"Now you try again." Walter said to Liang Yao.

Liang Yao tried to turn the handle again, and it turned out much smoother.

"How many stitches can this sewing machine sew in one minute? How many times can it be sewn by hand?" This is the question that Liang Yao is most concerned about.

"If I remember correctly, about 300 stitches can be sewn in one minute, which is about five times more efficient than manual sewing.

This is only compared with a very skilled old tailor. If it is a new tailor, a sewing machine can do at least eight or nine new tailors' work.

I myself was frightened by the sewing efficiency of the sewing machine at the beginning. I was worried that the introduction of this kind of thing would make those poor tailors unemployed, so I put it on the shelf. Only today can it be seen again. "

As he spoke, Walter looked around the sewing machine, seeming to be looking for something more, mumbling.

"Damn it, the needle's gone."

Walter couldn't find a needle, so he made one on the spot, installed it on the sewing machine, and threaded it.

After the preparations were completed, Walter reached out and pulled off the diaper from his grandson's crotch.

Walter pressed the diaper on the sewing machine and said to Liang Yao.

"Sir, please time me."

Liang Yao nodded and looked at the time on his pocket watch.

A minute later, Liang Yao shouted: "It's time."

Walter stopped what he was doing, Walter handed over the diaper, Liang Yao said to Kony.

"Kony, count the stitches in the diaper."

Kony had no choice but to take the diaper, lower his head and carefully count the stitches on the diaper.

"307 stitches, sir."

"It seems that my memory is pretty good." Walter moved his aching arms.

"This sewing machine can be faster! It saves effort!" Liang Yao said.

"Faster and less laborious?" Walter was puzzled, "Do you have any better ideas?"

Liang Yao didn't say much, asked Walter for a piece of white paper, took out a pen and started drawing on the white paper.

Hand-operated sewing machines are great, but there is an even better option, and that is a pedal-operated sewing machine.

This hand-operated sewing machine is mature enough that it can be converted into a pedal-operated sewing machine with only a few modifications, directly bypassing the disputed patent.

What Liang Yao wanted was to quickly put into production to achieve productivity and efficiency. He was not in the mood to fight a patent lawsuit with Erics and Yin Sak.

Liang Yao relied on the memory of later generations to draw a sketch of a pedal sewing machine on white paper.

Liang Yao is no stranger to pedal-operated sewing machines. In his last life, his mother married from Fujian to Zhuhai and received a Minjiang brand sewing machine as a dowry.

When he was a child, Liang Yao was very handy and liked to touch everything. He secretly played with the sewing machine when the adults were not around. He often messed up his mother's semi-finished products and was often beaten.

He even tried to die by putting his finger on the sewing machine and pricked his finger.

Liang Yao followed the memory of his childhood and drew the pedal sewing machine.

A layman might not be able to understand what Liang Yaohua is, but Kony looked confused when he looked at Liang Yao's sketch.

Walter just stared for a moment, suddenly enlightened, excitedly shook Liang Yao's shoulders and shouted.

"Genius design! Genius design! Mr. Liang, you are really a genius!

Use the foot pedal to drive the sewing machine to work more effortlessly! No need to worry about sore hands!

let me think

If we follow the design in your drawing, the runner can be made smaller and the conveyor belt can be used to connect the runner drive.

Totally doable! Totally doable! This pedal-operated sewing machine has more potential than a hand-operated sewing machine! Efficiency should also be higher! "

Walter is indeed a genius inventor. He figured out the working principle of a pedal sewing machine through just a very simple drawing.

“Can a prototype of this sewing machine be manufactured?”

Liang Yao put the pen back in his pocket coolly and asked Walter.

"Absolutely!" Walter looked at the drawings on the table in ecstasy and said confidently.

With the foundation of a hand-operated sewing machine and ready-made drawings, it is not difficult to make a pedal-operated sewing machine.

Liang Yao also believed that Walter had this ability.

"How long will it take to make it?" Liang Yao asked.

"Give me a quiet working environment and enough tools and materials, and I can make it within a week!" Walter promised, patting his chest.

"Mr. Vanderbilt's manor is quite quiet. I asked Mr. Vanderbilt to vacate a quiet room for you to use as a studio. If you need anything, just tell me." Liang Yao said to Walter.

“I needed an artist to assist me with sketches for a patent application,” Walter said.

"No problem." Liang Yao readily agreed to Walter's request.

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