UNITED STATES PATENTS

Patents are very useful tools for collectors who want to know more about the items they collect. When I first started researching patents, before the information was readily available on the internet, I had to travel approximately 100 miles to the closest patent repository.  There I manually reviewed each hard-copy annual index of issued patents to identify patents that I thought were applicable to my research.  After cross-referencing the patent to identify what roll of microfilm the information was located on I checked out the film, loaded it to a reader and manually scrolled thru each frame.  Once I found what I was looking for, if it was related to my research, I printed a hard-copy for my personal reference library.

Times certainly have changed!

Today, you can research patent information online from the comfort of your home.  Additionally, the information can formatted and saved electronically.

Below you will find a table with links to patents I have been able to identify that are related to safe banks.

TYPENUMBERPATENTEDINNOVATIONPATENTED BYOF
DESIGND00054941/23/1872METROPOLITAN SAFEAnthony M. SmithBrooklyn, NY
DESIGND001085110/1/1878EMBELLISHED SAFEAugustus E. TaylorNew Britain, CT
DESIGND00123577/12/1881IXL SAFELouis Kyser
Alfred C. Rex
Philadelphia, PA
DESIGND00131448/8/1882EGYPTIAN SAFELouis Kyser
Alfred C. Rex
Philadelphia, PA
DESIGND00206463/31/1891HEART SAFERussel FrisbieCromwell, CT
DESIGND00224195/9/1893WORLDS FAIR SAFEEugene CharestDetroit, MI
DESIGND00255776/2/1896SAVINGS BANKCharles A BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND00275268/17/1897BURGULAR PROOF SAFECharles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND00275278/17/1897TREASURE SAFECharles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND00275668/24/1897KEY LOCK SAFE #50Charles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND00358644/15/1902COIN DEPOSIT SAFEJohn W. EshlemanMount Joy, PA
DESIGND00374325/16/1905KODAK BANKCharles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND003832611/27/1906MEDALLION SAFEElwood HeadleyNew York, NY
DESIGND0038,8109/17/1907MEDALLION SAFEPeter G. WingChicago, IL
DESIGND003966011/3/1908KLOTZ SAFELouis KrajeskiChicago, IL
DESIGND00413264/25/1911SAFE BANK GRILLCharles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND00416978/22/1911CUPID SAFELewis S. BixlerKenton, OH
DESIGND004194711/28/1911YALE LOCK SAFECharles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
DESIGND004194811/28/1911HORSEHEAD SAFELewis S. BixlerKenton, OH
UTILITY77,5605/5/1868TOY SAFE W/PUZZLE LOCKAbram Wright
Geo. F. Wright
Clinton, MA
UTILITY153,5017/28/1874COMBINATION LOCKAnthony M. SmithBrooklyn, NY
UTILITY229,8297/13/1880PERMUTATION LOCKDaniel J. KennyCincinnati, OH
UTILITY237,7572/15/1881LOCK & ASSEMBLYLouis Kyser
Alfred C. Rex
Rudolph M. Hunter
Philadelphia, PA
UTILITY317,7715/12/1885COIN GUARD & ASSEMBLYHenry C. HartDetroit, MI
UTILITY351,99511/2/1886PERMUTATION LOCKJohn H. Morris
Thomas D. Morris
Seward, NE
UTILITY358,6973/1/1887COIN GUARD & LOCKAlfred C. RexPhiladelphia, PA
UTILITY376,0141/3/1888LOCK SPINDLESAlfred C. RexPhiladelphia, PA
UTILITY451,5295/5/1891PERMUTATION LOCKWilliam P. ShattuckMinneapolis, MN
UTILITY528,01810/23/1894TOY MONEY-BOXRobert Nicol, Jr.Chicago, IL
UTILITY574,17912/29/1896LOCKSwen E. SwensenNew York, NY
UTILITY574,18012/29/1896COIN-BANKSwen E. SwensenNew York, NY
UTILITY589,3278/31/1897COMBINATION LOCKCharles A. BaileyCromwell, CT
UTILITY651,6126/12/1900LOCK RELEASEEmile ReizenstainPhiladelphia, PA
UTILITY668,5792/19/1901TOY SAVINGS-BANKAaron KaufmanBaltimore, MD
UTILITY707,8758/26/1902SAVINGS-BANKCharles B. StilwellPhiladelphia, PA
UTILITY1,168,5121/18/1916LOCK FOR TOY SAFESHarry T. KingsburyKeene, NH

Design Patent:

Issued for a new, original, and ornamental design embodied in or applied to an article of manufacture, it permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the design. Design patents issued from applications filed before May 13, 2015 shall be granted for the term of fourteen years from the date of grant. Design patents are not subject to the payment of maintenance fees.

 

Utility Patent:

Issued for the invention of a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement thereof, it generally permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a period of up to twenty years from the date of patent application filing, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.  Utility patents are also referred to as “patents for invention”.

See U.S. Code Title 35 – Patents, for a full description of patents and patent laws.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers an online patent research tool.

GOOGLE also offers an intuitive patent research tool.