Patents and Technology

 This week’s #52 Ancestors topic is technology – and technology produces patents. 

My father-in-law, John Gregory Naborowski, held Patent 3,016,477, issued 9 January 1962 for an ignition System. The patent read: “John G. Naborowski, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The Electric Auto-Lite Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio.” He was working for this company when he filed the patent application in January 1960. By the time the application was approved, John had moved on and was working for Westinghouse. 

Electric Auto-lite was a company founded in 1911 that produced generators to power buggy lamps. The company started making spark plugs and, eventually, starter motors and ignition systems. About the time of the patent, Ford acquired Auto-lite, and its history after that is one of mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts. 

The patent description reads: “ This invention relates to electrical apparatus, and more particularly to devices and circuit arrangements adapted for use in ignition systems for internal combustion engines and the like.” After that, there are paragraphs and paragraphs of details about the system, more of which can be read at: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/79/36/dd5aa57833576f/US3016477.pdf. 

None of it is decipherable to the average person, but electrical engineers would surely understand it. Several diagrams were included. This is Figure I in the application.

John was also involved in an earlier patent #2,966,615, received on December 27, 1960. It was filed by Earl W. Meyer, jr., John Gregory Naborowski, and Robert J. Latorre, Toledo, Ohio, assignors to The Electric Auto-Lite Company, Toledo, Ohio. It is either an earlier version of the Ignition system or something related to the ignition system. Information on this patent can be found at: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/2a/eb/9e/860c8c7164ca5c/US2966615.pdf. 

Both patents were also filed in Germany and Canada and were cited in later patents submitted by others. John G. Naborowski continued working as an electrical engineer all his working life but didn't file any further patents.