INVENTOR: John Patch
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
(Patent No. US 6,914, November 27, 1849)
The signed affidavits of 75 residents of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, support the fact that John Patch invented a boat propeller in 1833 and demonstrated it in a small boat in the harbour of that town. Patch described his first propeller as “an instrument acting in the water on the principle of an oar in sculling a boat.” The patent system in Nova Scotia was only in its infancy, so Patch chose to go to Washington, DC, to apply for a patent.
His application was denied because Patch did not meet the residency requirement of the American patent system. Disappointed but undaunted, he returned home and continued to work on improvements to his propeller. Sixteen years later, he invented a second propeller, which he called the “double-action propeller.” This time, the US patent shown here was granted, as residency restrictions had been modified and Patch now had a Boston address on his application. This second invention did not receive much attention from the press, as other inventors in Europe and in the United Sates were then making headlines with other types of propellers that operated very differently. Time has proven that John Patch’s concept was more practical and efficient than the other types. The modern propeller is surprisingly similar to a single pair of the blades in Patch’s double action propeller and fits beautifully the original definition of Patch’s first invention: “an instrument acting in the water on the principle of an oar in sculling a boat.”
INVENTOR: Samuel McKeen,
Mabou, Nova Scotia
(Patent No. NS Archives, RG 5, Series GP, Vol. 13,
item 25, March 31, 1854)
Those who have seen the inside of a modern odometer will realize that, aside from the size and the arrangement of the gears inside the counter mechanisms, it has a remarkable similarity to McKeen’s invention. This early odometer consisted of a series of gear plates mounted on the frame of a horse-drawn carriage to keep track of the distance travelled. The carriage wheel had a circumference of 16 feet and 6 inches, travelling one rod per complete rotation. The first gear plate engaged with a pinion on the hub of the carriage wheel. The gear ratio between the pinion and the first gear plate was 8:1, so that the first gear plate had a full rotation in eight rods. Similar gearing systems were used to rotate the other gear plates. The second gear plate had a full rotation in 80 rods, 1/4 mile. The third gear plate had a full rotation in two miles, and so on, up to the sixth gear plate. An indicator hand encircled by a dial was placed upon the appropriate gear plates to mark off the rods and miles travelled. A hammer and bell were attached to strike off the miles as the carriage rolled along.
INVENTOR: Robert Carr Harris
Dalhousie, New Brunswick
(Patent No. CA 594, September 5, 1870)
Many claim to be the inventor of the snow blower. However, Robert C. Harris seems to have been the first to conceive of a snow removing machine that combined a screw auger and a fan-type blower. He called it the “Railway Screw Snow Excavator.” The screw auger was mounted vertically and fed snow from a scoop area to the blower mounted horizontally above the auger. The machine was mounted on the front of a locomotive and was powered by the engine of the locomotive by way of a shaft, a sheave, and a gearbox set above the blower. This invention is believed to be the precursor of modern snow blowers.
INVENTOR: James H. Miller
Fredericton, New Brunswick
(Patent Nos. CA 2,391, May 28, 1873; US 138,913, May 13, 1873;
US 178,687, June 13, 1876)
James H. Miller was concerned that ice and snow build-up on railway tracks caused loss of power and delays in the running of trains. So he invented a pair of rail scrapers that were attached to the cowcatcher of a locomotive. The metal plates were raised or lowered by the engineer, using levers and rods that extended from the scrapers back to the cab of the engine. This successful innovation remained popular with railway companies for many years.
INVENTOR: John Mitchell Lyons
Moncton, New Brunswick
(Patent No. CA 14,911, June 5, 1882)
This invention consisted of a separable coupon ticket, showing on both halves the name of the issuing station, the destination, and a consecutive number, and a wood or metal holder. The coupon half was torn off and given to the owner of the baggage. The check half was secured to the holder by a strap which was attached to the piece of baggage. Modern baggage checks are not inserted in a brass holder, but otherwise the original concept is still used in bus, train, and plane travel.
INVENTOR: J. Roswell Sederquest
St. Stephen, New Brunswick
(Patent No. CA 45,592, March 20, 1894)
At a time when the bicycle was a primary mode of transportation, this invention must have been a great success. It provided a way of getting around in winter that was as easy, safe, and speedy as bicycling in summer. This cycle was easy to propel in snow, with a front runner mounted in place of the front wheel. According to the inventor, the runner made it possible to pedal the cycle with not more than half the power needed to pedal a two-wheeler through snow. The main advantage of the runner was that, in snow two or three inches deep, it cleared a track for the rear wheel and made travelling easy where it would have been impossible with the two wheels attached. An improved version of this winter bicycle is still marketed worldwide under the trademark Snowbike by Corimba S.N.C., an Italian corporation.
INVENTOR: William T. Chestnut
Fredericton, New Brunswick
(Patent Nos. CA 91, 848, February 23, 1905; CA 93,181, May 11, 1905;
CA 117,374, March 23, 1909)
The Chestnut Canoe Company was the pride of Fredericton for over 80 years (1897-1979). The company maintained an average employment of 60 craftsmen and contributed greatly to the local economy. Because of the first patent listed above, the inventor and his brother Harry obtained the exclusive right in Canada to manufacture and sell their famous wood and canvas canoes. Chestnut soon became, and still remains, a symbol of quality and excellence in canoes; by 1915, the Hudson’s Bay Company was buying all the canoes the company could make, and the Chestnut Canoe Company became the largest canoe manufacturer in Canada. The manufacturing of these canoes was described in the first patent document as “bending a plurality of transverse ribs about a suitable wooden form, securing the ends of the ribs to a suitable gunwale, covering the ribs with a plurality of longitudinal slats, covering the slats with a covering of canvas, and treating the canvas cover with an impervious filling material.”
(QUICK-RELEASE BUCKLE)
INVENTOR: Arthur Davy
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
(Patent No. CA 134,438, May 18, 1911)
When Arthur Davy came up with this invention, he probably did not imagine that it would be used, some 90 years later, on articles of clothing, school bags, packsacks, car seats, harnesses, and carry cases of all sorts. This quick-release buckle was invented as a connector for horses’ reins. The inventor said: “The objects of my invention are to provide a simplified and effective form of device for connecting the extremities of two reins to replace the ordinary buckle, and such a device as will permit the ready and rapid attachment and detachment of the extremities of the reins. My invention consists essentially of two members adapted to be connected to the extremities of the rein, one member of which carries a pair of spring actuated dogs adapted to extend into and engage slots in the other member. It will be seen that when connected there are no protruding parts on the device likely to catch on anything during movement of the rein. The device is extremely simple in construction and will be found to possess considerable advantages over the ordinary buckle. When once locked, it securely retains the ends of the reins together, and detachment can only be made by pressing the dogs inwardly.”
INVENTOR: John D. MacGillivray
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
(Patent No. CA 192,304, August 26, 1919)
John D. MacGillivray’s invention of the position indicator was an important step in the development of modern aircraft instrumentation. He designed a gauge that would indicate the precise attitude of the plane when flying above the clouds. The gauge was affixed to the frame of the airplane, in sight of the pilot. It consisted of a pair of balls placed inside a cylindrical cage. The positions of the balls along the cylindrical cage and against one of its four bars indicated whether the plane was flying upright, upside down, tilted to one side, climbing, or descending.
INVENTOR: Stephen Leonard Chauncey Coleman,
Fredericton, New Brunswick
(Patent No. CA 189,894, April 22, 1919)
S.L.C. Coleman was the first to propose the use of stabilizer bars on the suspensions of motor vehicles. This patent describes the equalizer bars attached to the vehicle’s springs and to pivot brackets on its front and rear. This allowed the equalizer bars to work with the springs to reduce the lateral rolling of the vehicle when driving on rough surfaces and around curves. The stabilizing bars on modern vehicles are of simpler construction but are nonetheless still very similar to the original concept.
Stephen Leonard Chauncey Coleman was a prolific inventor whose ideas added to the advancement of automotive technology. In a business proposal to Lord Beaverbrook, in 1949, he described himself as an engineer, and he wrote, “For the past 35 years I have engaged in inventing and patenting improvements in the construction of automobiles, and was ably assisted by the late Professor John Stevens of UNB [the University of New Brunswick], who was a mechanical genius.” For a list of some of Coleman’s patents, along with those of other Maritimers who contributed in various ways to the automotive field,.
INVENTOR: James A. Ross
Halifax, Nova Scotia
(Patent No. CA 195,537, December 30, 1919)
Early automobiles came equipped with headlights at the front, of course, but these were of no use for observing the roadway at the rear of the vehicle. Aware that nighttime driving was a concern for many, especially when one had to back out of a narrow passageway or turn the vehicle around, James A. Ross came up with a bright idea. He mounted a light at the rear of the vehicle and connected it to a switch affixed to the base of the gearshift lever. The switch activated the light when the gearshift lever was placed in the reverse position. This invention has been in use ever since.
INVENTOR: Robert T. Mawhinney
Saint John, New Brunswick
(Patent No. CA 203,004, August 17, 1920)
This invention was instrumental in the development of our present trucking industry. To create this first dump truck, a mast was mounted between the cab of the vehicle and the dump box. A cable was threaded over a sheave at the top of the mast and was connected to a winch at the base of the mast and to the lower front end of the dump box. The dump box was pivoted at the rear end of the truck frame. A simple crank handle was used to operate the winch, which raised the front end of the dump box, dumped the load, then lowered the box. A hydraulic system has since replaced the crank handle, but the basic concept has remained unchanged.
INVENTOR: Wallace Rupert Turnbull
Rothesay, New Brunswick
(Patent Nos. CA 215,654, February 7, 1922; CA 280,497, May 29, 1928;
CA 281,602, July 10, 1928)
This invention provided a mechanism for varying the pitch of propeller blades to suit flying conditions during the operation of an aircraft. For example, the pitch had to be different for gaining altitude than for flying straight ahead. The variable pitch propeller also allowed the pitch of the blades to be reversed to create a braking effect, allowing for landing in shortened distances. In this sense, the variable pitch propeller does for the airplane what the transmission does for the car. Before this invention, the airplane ran in one gear all the time. It could fly but could not carry a reasonable payload. The variable pitch propeller made it possible for airplanes to get off the ground with larger payloads and carry them to distant destinations. For these reasons, this invention may well be one of the most important developments in the history of aviation.
INVENTORS: Arthur Wesley Hall and William Alexander McVay
St. Stephen, New Brunswick
(Patent No. CA 239,600, April 29, 1924)
Before Hall and McVay’s innovation, sidewalks were made of one continuous strip of concrete that was vulnerable to the cracking and heaving actions of frost. The invention consisted of incorporating soft joints of sand or other loose filling material at intervals along the sidewalk, forming a series of juxtaposed slabs. The soft joints allowed each slab to work with the frost without breaking. The inventors foresaw that, with the disappearance of the frost, the slabs would settle back into their original positions, leaving the sidewalk with a level surface and the slabs intact. Thus, at a minimum cost, they had invented a sidewalk that was practically immune to the effects of the frost. To this day, this invention remains standard practice in building sidewalks.
INVENTOR: Irwin Cameron Mackie
Sydney, Nova Scotia
(Patent No. CA 319,553, February 22, 1932)
Irwin Cameron Mackie, the chief metallurgist for the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation of Sydney, Nova Scotia, developed a process to eliminate shatter cracks in the steel rails of train tracks. Cracks had always been a serious problem, often causing the rails to fail in service. This inventive method for manufacturing rails consisted principally of slowing the rate of cooling of the newly milled rails over a specific temperature range. By the1940s, most rail producers worldwide were using the Mackie cooling method. In recognition of his accomplishment, Mackie was granted honourary membership in the Canadian Standards Association.
INVENTOR: Henry James Phillips
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
(Patent No. CA 321,794, April 26, 1932)
Henry James Phillips was a Prince Edward Island road builder with considerable experience in making pavement. After years of experimenting, he discovered an ideal pavement made with regular asphalt and a mixture of the unique red clay and red sandstone found in the subsoil of Prince Edward Island. Apparently, this was the first time any type of clay was used in an asphalt pavement. Red pavement prepared according to this invention can still be seen on some of the Island’s roads and in southeast New Brunswick.
