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Who made the lubricator?
Elijah McCoy
The U.S. Patent and Trademark office in Detroit bears the name of Elijah McCoy, a pioneering African-American inventor. McCoy was born in the mid-1840s, nearly 170 years before the office opened. McCoy had more than 50 patents to his name. He’s best known for inventing an automatic lubricator that was used on trains.
When did Elijah McCoy invent a device for oiling machines?
1872
Elijah McCoy received his first patent for an automatic lubricating device in 1872. Previously, engines had to be stopped before necessary lubrication could be applied. McCoy’s invention allowed engines to be lubricated while they ran, saving precious time and money.
Did Elijah McCoy invent the lawn sprinkler?
In 1899, again solving a problem at home, McCoy invented and patented the first lawn sprinkler. He continued to work on lubricating inventions for the railway.
Where does the phrase The real McCoy come from?
The phrase “The real McCoy” may be a corruption of the Scots “The real MacKay”, first recorded in 1856 as: “A drappie o’ the real MacKay” (“a drop of the real MacKay”). This appeared in a poem Deil’s Hallowe’en published in Glasgow and is widely accepted as the phrase’s origin.
When did Elijah McCoy invent the lubricator?
McCoy improved his invention throughout his life and would be used on steam engines, naval vessels, drills, mining equipment, factories and construction sites, as well as trains with intense overheating thanks to his lubricator graphite he invented in 1920.
When did Elijah McCoy invent the oil drip cup?
In 1872, he invented and patented his first and most famous invention: an automatic lubricator for oiling the moving parts of steam locomotives. The “oil-drip cup,” as it was colloquially known, distributed oil evenly over the engine’s parts while the train was still in motion.
When did Elijah McCoy start his own company?
In 1920, McCoy opened his own company, the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company, to produce his products himself rather than licensing his designs to existing companies (many of the products he designed did not feature his name).
How old was Elijah McCoy when he died?
McCoy died in 1929, 7 years after a car accident which had seen the death of his wife Mary and which left him with after-effects. The world has inherited Elijah McCoy’s revolutionary inventions that have made a major leap in technology and his name has remained associated with quality, Real McCoy.