According to an estimate by the Commissioner of Patents seven-eighths of the manufacturing capital of the United States, or upwards of $600,000,000 is based upon patents, either directly or indirectly. A very large proportion of all patents prove remunerative; this is the reason so many are applied for, and so many millions of capital invested in their workings. There is scarcely an article for amusement, convenience, or necessity, in use to-day that has not at some time or other been the subject of a patent either in whole or in part. The sale of every such article yields the inventor a profit. If we purchase a box of matches a portion of the price goes to the inventor; if we buy a bicycle the chances are that we pay royalty to a dozen or more inventors at once.
There are gold mines in every walk in life. There are fortunes hid in the smallest and meanest of things. So far from the field being exhausted, more inventions are now being patented than ever before. The world is inexhaustibly full of nuggets for him who can find them. Every sphere of enterprise is like the children’s play of “hide the thimble.” Friend, shall you be the first to spy the golden rim? The cost of a patent in the United States is about $60. This includes the government fee, and that of a patent attorney. The way to get a patent is first to think it out; then make the design and take it to a lawyer who makes a business of procuring patents. The government does not now request a model, but it requires a drawing and a specification, and these must be prepared by some competent attorney, in the legal form prescribed. The following are a few suggestions in the various departments of toil where inventions are needed, or where the pry of the brain will disclose the flashing ore.
Section 1. Money in Bicycles.
372. A Non-Puncturable Bicycle Tire.—Any improvement in the universal wheel means a fortune to the inventor. The Dunlap tire sold for $15,000,000.
373. A Bicycle-Holder Attachment.—One that will make it stand upright when not in use. There is a fortune here.
374. The Bicycle Umbrella-Holder.—It should not be difficult to fit to the wheel a small attachment for holding an umbrella. The device should be made so as to allow the umbrella to turn at an angle. Most bicyclists would want this invention.
375. A Bicycle Cyclometer Clock.—A small clock or a watch to be fixed to the front part of the bicycle with cyclometer attachment, so as to give the time of day, the number of miles traversed, and the rate of speed.
376. The Double-Power Bicycle.—One in which the hand or the foot may be used in propelling, to be employed alternately, the one as a rest for the other, or jointly, as when pedaling against the wind or uphill.
377. The Folding Wheel.—One that can be carried lightly on the shoulder and packed in small space for storage or shipment.
378. A Bicycle Support.—A contrivance for holding the wheel in place when the rider stops but does not wish to dismount. A large sale guaranteed.