Annex 2

Curiosities

LENOIR is generally well known for the following inventions:

galvano-plastic processes (Lenoir 2)

gas engines (Lenoir 10, Lenoir 35)

facsimile telegraphic transmission system (électrographe) (Lenoir 17)

leather tanning process (Lenoir 29, Lenoir 38)

process for whitening and reviving foliated glass (Lenoir 26)

The following inventions are also often mentioned, to document his technical versatility:

dough kneading machine (Lenoir 13)

water meter (Lenoir 16)

speed regulators (Lenoir 27, Lenoir 36)

railway brakes (Lenoir 3, Lenoir 4, Lenoir 41)

railway safety devices (Lenoir 6, Lenoir 7)

A number of LENOIR’s invention - which have not retained the attention of his biographers - could be classified under the heading of curiosities or intellectual constructs:

generating electric power through heat (Lenoir 5, Lenoir 20, Lenoir 34)

electric engines (Lenoir 8, Lenoir 9)

propulsion of boats (Lenoir 11, Lenoir 15)

measuring instrument (Lenoir 12)

electric resistance standards (Lenoir 28)

anchor mechanism for clocks (Lenoir 32)

galvano-electric medallions (Lenoir 37)

assembling railway carriages (Lenoir 39)

lenses for photographic apparatus (Lenoir 45)

Surprisingly, LENOIR’s barometer/weather station (Lenoir 18), which was actually commercialised, is not mentioned in LENOIR’s numerous biographies.

On the other hand LENOIR’s design of an inflammateur (spark plug) for combustion engines in 1887, - somewhat hidden as the17th certificat d’addition attached to the main patent of 1883 (Lenoir 35) - deserves a special mention.

LENOIR’s « inventive activity » over the years is illustrated by the following graph which shows the

Number of patents and patents of addition filed per calendar year

The creative peaks coincide with the development of the two LENOIR engines: the gas engine starting in 1860 and the four-stroke engine starting in 1883.

LENOIR kept imagining and creating new objects and processes until almost the end of his life. In 1892, at the age of 70 and after leaving the centre of Paris for nearby La Varenne-Saint Hilaire, he kept filing patent applications on inventions made in a variety of technical fields.

LENOIR’s French patent portfolio also reveals that, on four occasions, he was registered as co-inventor of Pierre-Désiré PRUD’HOMME, fabricant d'appareils électriques and, on one occasion, as co-inventor of André-Etienne POSTEL-VINAY, fabricant d'appareils télégraphiques.

Annex 2

LENOIR is generally well known for the following inventions:

The following inventions are also often mentioned, to document his technical versatility:

A number of LENOIR’s invention - which have not retained the attention of his biographers - could be classified under the heading of curiosities or intellectual constructs:

Surprisingly, LENOIR’s barometer/weather station (Lenoir 18), which was actually commercialised, is not mentioned in LENOIR’s numerous biographies.

On the other hand LENOIR’s design of an inflammateur (spark plug) for combustion engines in 1887, - somewhat hidden as the17th certificat d’addition attached to the main patent of 1883 (Lenoir 35) - deserves a special mention.

LENOIR’s « inventive activity » over the years is illustrated by the following graph which shows the

Number of patents and patents of addition filed per calendar year

The creative peaks coincide with the development of the two LENOIR engines: the gas engine starting in 1860 and the four-stroke engine starting in 1883.

LENOIR kept imagining and creating new objects and processes until almost the end of his life. In 1892, at the age of 70 and after leaving the centre of Paris for nearby La Varenne-Saint Hilaire, he kept filing patent applications on inventions made in a variety of technical fields.

LENOIR’s French patent portfolio also reveals that, on four occasions, he was registered as co-inventor of Pierre-Désiré PRUD’HOMME, fabricant d'appareils électriques and, on one occasion, as co-inventor of André-Etienne POSTEL-VINAY, fabricant d'appareils télégraphiques.

09/01/2022