Reuben Stanley Smith

Reuben Stanley Smith, or Stan as his friends and family called him, was a remarkable American inventor.

Stan is known as the inventor of record for various machines and equipment because of patents he filed during his lifetime. However, he also worked on many other projects whereby patents were either not filed or the U.S. Patent Office has no record. Some of these include the design of a 2-cycle internal combustion engine (1923), motorcycle braking system whereby the front and rear brakes would intermittently engage (1930), a dependable mechanism that would allow machine gun fire through propeller blades (1925), a rotating gun turret (1941), a metering system for grease guns (1931), and many more.

Patent Number Description Year Patent Filed
983,943 Electric hammer. 1909
975,646 Weft fork spring. 1910
1,062,745 Electric heated steering rim. 1912
1,082,830 Electric heated steering wheel. 1913
1,125,889 Electrically heated steering rim. 1913
1,072,667 Roller bearing. 1913
1,373,918 Motor Wheel for Bicycles (known as Smith Motor Wheel). 1914
1,176,931 Motor carrying tractor unit. 1915
1,195,620 Vehicle pusher. 1915
1,188,501 Controlling mechanism for internal combustion engines. 1915
1,295,092 Steering tractor unit. 1915
1,286,438 Roller bearing. 1915
1,340123 Carburetor (for Motor Wheel). 1915
1,347,183 Metal Wheel for automobiles. 1915
1,291,216 Magneto generator for the Smith Motor Wheel. 1916
1,273,943 Internal combustion engine. 1917
1,338,335 Drawing Press. 1917
1,301,331 Electrode for arc welding. 1918
1,453,026 Apparatus for arc welding. 1918
1,453,025 Apparatus for electric arc welding. 1918
1,397,020 Method of and apparatus for forming and assembling metal elements (The Mechanical Marvel) National Historic Landmark designation by ASME in 1979. 1918
1,457,008 Self anchoring rivet. 1919
1,323,556 Process and apparatus for producing electrically welded joints. 1919
1,357,356 Process and apparatus for producing metal blanks. 1919
1,357,357 Cross bar blanking press. 1919
1,357,358 Horizontal piercing press. 1919
1,343,648 Magnetic feeding device for blanking presses. 1919
1,450,339 Intermittently operating motor set. 1919
1,450,340 Intermittently operating motor system. 1919
1,452,224 Punching press and die therefore. 1919
1,343,647 Process for making curved flanged bars. 1919
1,417,579 Tension indicator for drawing press. 1919
1,417,580 Lapping mechanism. 1920
1,417,581 Lapping press. 1920
1,428,716 Machine for pickling metal plates and blanks. 1920
1,433,161 Method of and blank for producing vehicle frame parts. 1920
1,446,354 Process and apparatus for locally annealing metal plates. 1920
1,466,104 Press for offsetting metal plates in the line of their width. 1920
1,477,779 Process and apparatus for making flanged crossbars. 1920
1,477,778 Process and apparatus for making flanged bars. 1920
1,373,572 Drawing press. 1920
1,368,366 Drawing press. 1920
1,421,035 Drawing and lapping press. 1920
1,441,250 Electromagnetic device for serving rivets to nailing machines. 1920
1,347,184 Electric arc welding machine. 1920
1,470,399 Flexible dies for bending thin metal plates; direction of width. 1921
1,473,651 Automobile frame and pressed steel constructional elements. 1921
1,490,347 Roller bearing. 1921
1,628,751 Apparatus for forming metal elements. 1921
1,475,355 Dies for drawing presses. 1922
2,055,710 Piston Meter. 1931
2,207,182 Fluid flow mechanism (meter). 1934
2,207,274 Fluid flow mechanism (meter). 1934
2,207,273 Counter mechanism (for meter). 1936
2,263,145 Fluid flow mechanism (meter). 1937
2,318,264 Air eliminator for fluid flow mechanisms. 1937
2,227,767 Faucet valve (for meter). 1938
2,505,799 Filler head with fluid pressure operated valve. 1945
2,505,800 Filling machine 1945
2,536,322 Transfer and recovery system for volatile liquids. 1945