"Please shut the door" became a very common saying; finally it attracted the inventor's attention. A rope, pulley and weight may have been first; then springs ordinarily applied came, finally the spring was placed in the hinge and later still the spring and air cushion were combined. It closes the door and prevents it from slamming.
I believe in keeping fairly quiet about ideas I am working on. But don't spend your money for a patent too quickly. Many times patents are taken out, and instead of any danger of someone stealing them, they can't be coaxed to buy at mere cost. Unless it is really an important idea, it pays to get them made and see if they will sell before you take out a patent.
In your notebook where you keep a record of novelties and your ideas, from time to time, don't fail to record all costs you can learn of and where different things can be made—the more particular you are about these matters, the more you will improve your ideas and ability to properly promote them. Much vexation and lost time can be avoided in getting up inventions by being exact. "Slipshod" won't do. It defeats many perfectly practical ideas. The parts of a machine must be shaped and fitted to a nicety; "whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well."
It seems to me there is no end to improvement. I heard of a Yankee who was traveling in England. He was somewhat of a blower; no matter what he saw or heard of he claimed they had the same thing in America much more improved. The Englishmen could not stand it, so they thought they would get the best of the Yankee. They told him of a wonderful machine, the most complete ever built. A hog was driven in at one end and came out a cooked sausage at the other. The Yankee took it calmly and said yes, they had it in America, but it was a failure until a fellow-Yankee improved it. "Improve it? a complete machine like that? why, impossible." "Well," said the Yankee, "he put an attachment on so that if you did not like the sausage you simply reversed the machine and the hog walked out again."
Next to the simple or single idea patents: I think the improvements follow, and indeed many of them are exceedingly simple. It is all right to improve old patents and new ones, when the improvement has real merit. I want to take you over an improvement I had patented. I secured an old trick, in the form of a tin box three inches long, having a cap at each end. A cent would be dropped in through an opening in the top. The central portion was double, the outer sleeve was loose and could be pushed up and down; a slot in its side hid by the cap would register, when pushed up, with a slot in the inner part; by tilting the box the cent would drop through these slots into the hand. Then the loose sleeve had to be worked back into position so that the cap hid the slot. The operation was slow and somewhat difficult. It occurred to me to make the box of wood and provide it with a slanting bottom on the inside. This would lead the cent right up to the slot, and it would come out without tilting the box; also by using a spring it became automatic, i. e., the spring would push it back into position.
The trick can be done at least five times while it is done once with the tin box. It made an A1 trick box. It would be a good seller on the street, but in stores they would forget how to work it, and stores can't spare the time to demonstrate, so it did not go well in stores. The boxes were made complete for $4.50 per gross, sold to jobbers at $7 and to retailers at $9. They retailed at 10 cents. They were made on a lathe and nicely polished, packed one dozen in a box. I think in nine cases out of ten it is best to contract with some good firm to make the device. You will have plenty to do selling it. You can easily get some one to make the goods, but it is not so easy to get one who can sell them and push them properly. I tried manufacturing and don't like it.
Ideas are common and belong to all,
The methods to the first should fall.
As a matter of fact, you can't patent an idea. You patent the method, or device. Some patents may perforce virtually cover the idea as a consequence of there being no alternative. A needle for machines with the eye in the point, the wedge adjuster in the linotype machines. Patents of that class, when good, are extra valuable, because they can't be improved. We also can sometimes make an article in common use by a patented machine and have a very secure thing. I think wire nails come under this head. Speaking of wire calls to mind the key ring; many millions have been sold.
Possibly a brake could be made in the form of a wedge suspended in front of the wheel by a chain in a way that it could be moved so that the wheel would run on it and thus stop the vehicle.
I don't know the particulars, and so I only speak in a general way. A patent was procured on a knife with an irregular or sawlike edge. It was recommended to cut bread, cake, etc.; could cut without much downward pressure, which made the bread, etc., soggy. Probably a good thing. A party patented an improvement, making his knife with a wave edge for the same purpose. Well, I would have compelled No. 2 to pay No. 1 a small royalty.