Patent Pending Blog - Patents and the History of Technology

Early Carabiner, 1906

The typical carabiner has a gate that opens inward, which makes it easy to snap a rope through the gate, or to snap the gate over a rope.  This 1906 link has a gate that opens outward, and don't ask me why.  Other than the gate opening outward, this design looks pretty much like a modern carabiner.  The gate has a  spring that locks the gate  shut until the user presses the release, much like a lock back knife.  Pretty ingenious! 

Carabiners

Carabiners got their name from the use on carbine rifles of a clip with a spring loaded gate that connected the strap to the rifle.    The first aluminum carabiners were made during WWII for use by military climbers (the 10th Mountain Division, Rangers, and other specially trained forces).

The first carabiner made specifically for the outdoor sport industry was made in the U.S. by Yvon Chouinard around 1957.   What made Chouninard 'biners great was that they could support a climbers full body weight, and the gate would still open and close.  Earlier carabiners would flex enough under load that the gate would open all the time under load.  Here is a snap link from 1897, which would have worked pretty well for climbing, although a rack of 30 or so of these would be pretty heavy.  The basic carabiner form appears much earlier in an 1868 patent.

An earlier carabiner, made for use with ropes but not for climbing, was one made in 1868 by Pelton.  A form of locking carabiner was made in 1896, as shown in the patent below. 

 

Early Carabiner

Carabiners are used by rockclimbers for a number of tasks, primarily connecting a rope to a piece of protection such as a nut, chock, friend, bolt, or in the old days, a piton.  The protection is generally jammed or wedged into a crack in the rock.  Here is an early carabiner, from 1868.  This was not made for climbing, but for some other use with a rope or chain.  It was probably made of steel, so would have been a little heavy to use in climbing, but it was certainly the same idea.

Down Sleeping Bag

Here is  a pretty warm looking down sleeping bag, patented in 1935.  It included removable down blanket inserts which could be added for use in extra cold weather.

Can Openers Again

This appears to be the WWII era patent for the P-38 can opener.  However, it appears that there were a series of earlier patents for can openers that were pretty darn similar, if not identical.  The earliest seems to be from 1913.  One question that pops to mind, is how could the latter of these patents have been allowed?  My guess is that 1) maybe the examiner for the latter patents didn't know about the existence of the earlier ones, or 2) each of the the latter ones have slight changes to the design, and the claims include the changes.  The changes don't have to be improvements, they just have to be different than the earlier design, and not obvious.  Thanks to my buddy Eric for the in-depth search.

Another post on the P-38 can opener.

The P-38 GI Can Opener

In the early days of WWII, the Army designed C rations.  What they needed to go along with the canned food of C rations was a very small disposable can-opener.  Designed in 30 days by the Subsistence Research Laboratory of Chicago, the tiny folding can opener was perfect.  As the troops used it in field conditions, it was realized that it was the perfect invention.  It was tiny, almost weightless, and it did the job.  Experience proved that 38 punches of the can opener would open a C ration can, and it became the P-38.  It also was perfect as an emergency screwdriver, as a cleaner for boots and a million other tasks. Link to P38 can opener patents. 

   

The Kelty Pack

Apparently Dick Kelty did not patent the original Kelty pack design from 1952.  After an item has been on sale for a year, you can't get a patent on it, and maybe Dick ran over the one year time limit.  However, in 1976 a patent application on a pretty standard looking Kelty pack was filed.  The patent was granted in 1979.  This particular Kelty had a frame that was connected in a way that allowed some flexing of the frame. 

Kelty has always had a reputation for durability and quality, as I tell college students in my backpacking class and winter camping class.  I generally use my 1972 vintage Kelty Tioga for family backpacks, and internal frame packs for trips on which I can go light. 

The Thunderbird, MSR's First Ice Axe

In the early seventies engineer Larry Penberthy invented an improved ice axe.  Penberthy had founded the MSR Corp. (Mountain Safety Research) to sell his inventions, which have been quite innovative. 

The ice axe was called the Thunderbird, and was metal covered with an orange vinyl covering that transferred less heat than painted metal.  The head and shaft were aluminum.  It also had a tip on the pick that was supposed to be a better edge for chopping ice, and to enter the snow better during a self arrest.  However innovative it was, it was so incredibly ugly that it was accused of being a device best suited for assinations.  However, sales were good, and MSR has continued to make innovative and practical products for the hiker and mountaineer.

The abstract of the patent states "Disclosed is an ice axe for use by mountaineers having improved ice chopping action and an increased bite into hard snow and ice during self-arrest. The pick portion of the axe head is provided with a hatchet-like blade having an increased maximum swinging radius. The upper and lower edges of the pick diverge so that the lower edge forms an acute angle with the axis of the shaft for improved hooking capability. The cutting edge of the blade has positive clearance." 

Snow Peak Giga Power Stove

Young Japanese climber Yukio Yamai wanted to build outdoor products that were of a superior design, in which everything worked as needed by climbers in the outdoors.  A dedication to design perfection is seen in the products of Yukio's company, Snow Peak, Inc.

One such product is the Giga-Power Stove, which has a head design for mixing the fuel and air, patented in 1999. The Giga-Power comes in a steel and a titanium version, and has an optional piezo electric sparker.

The stove head fits nicely in one of their titanium pots, as does the small fuel canister, which makes a great package for an ultralight stove package.  Snow Peak is now run by Yukio's son, Tohru Yamai.  The stove and cookset are make to work perfectly together, with parts nesting to make a compact kit.  However, I can live without the folding chopsticks that SnowPeak makes for outdoor use.  Each to his own.

The First MSR Stove

In the mid 70s, Larry Penberthy and his company Mountain Safety Research (MSR) performed studies that showed a big problem in mountaineering was dehydration.  He then figured that what was needed was a better stove for melting snow, so water could be available for drinking.  He studied the stoves available at the time, and came up with a truly innovative design.  His design did away with the built fuel-in tank that other camping stoves had (see the Coleman G.I. Pocket Stove, and Primus, as examples) .  Penberthy's stove used the fuel can that a hiker carried fuel in as the stoves fuel tank.   The patent was issued in 1975, and MSR Model 9 the Expedition XGK look very similar to the drawing in the patent. 

Thus, the stove itself was very light in weight.  The stove was also designed to have quite a flame, and to deliver lots of energy for melting snow.  The early stoves also had a spark generator for starting the gas on fire.  The stove was a huge success, and set the direction for camping stoves for 30 years, until compressed gas stoves became competitive.  MSR now makes many models of stoves and other outdoor products, all of them known for being practical, easy to maintain in the field, and of the highest quality.  Compressed gas stoves still can't compete with liquid fuel stoves for winter use, where MSR liquid gas stoves are still king.