Household items
Posted by Mary Helen Stoltz
Take a look around your house. How many things you see were patented by Miner alumni? Maybe more than you think. Here are just a few examples of household Miner inventions.
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- Dan Wunderlich, ME’70, holds 19 patents on domestic and commercial laundry equipment — everything from installation systems for a stacked washer and dryer to a bulk detergent dispenser. Wunderlich worked for Maytag Co. for 36 years.
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- A discussion about how a Chrysler logo was formed into the plastic dashboard of a late ’80s vehicle led Larry Luebbert, ME’68, to modify the process used to thermoform a pre-printed plastic web of images into a retail package. His invention was used in the packaging of the Cross-Action toothbrush made by Oral-B Laboratories.
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- Tom Hawkins, ME’93, holds 12 patents, including eight related to vacuum cleaners. The other four relate to electrical distribution equipment. His favorite is a low-voltage switchgear safety accessory called a Remote Breaker Racking Device. It is used to insert and remove circuit breakers that can weigh up to 350 pounds. He likes that it improves operator safety — and gives his company, Siemens, a good profit margin.
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- The late Robert L. Banks, ChE’44, invented high-density polyethylene plastic — the material milk jugs, plastic grocery bags and countless other plastic goods are made of. Banks held 64 U.S. patents and more than 140 in other countries.
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- Paul Abney, EE’76, invented a device that automatically slows and then stops a sewing machine motor. Designed for the apparel manufacturing industry, the device allows operators to sew at full speed without going over a predetermined stopping point.
