Humanities › History & Culture Notable African American Patent Holders With Surnames of O, P, Q, R Share Flipboard Email Print History & Culture Inventions Patents & Trademarks Famous Inventions Famous Inventors Invention Timelines Computers & The Internet American History African American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Mary Bellis Mary Bellis Inventions Expert Mary Bellis covered inventions and inventors for ThoughtCo for 18 years. She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on November 05, 2019 Included in this photo gallery are the drawings and text from original patents of notable African American inventors. These are copies of the original patents submitted by the inventor to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 01 of 12 John W Outlaw - Horseshoe USPTO John W Outlaw's patent for the first horseshoe. 02 of 12 Alice H Parker - Heating furnace USPTO Alice H Parker invented an improved heating furnace and received patent #1,325,905 on 12/23/1919. 03 of 12 John Percial Parker - Portable screw-press USPTO John Percial Parker invented an improved portable screw-press and received patent #318,285 on 5/19/1885. 04 of 12 Robert Pelham - Pasting device USPTO Robert Pelham invented a pasting device and received patent 807,685 on 12/19/1905. 05 of 12 Anthony Phills - KeyRules Anthony Phills Anthony Phills received U.S. patent #5,136,787 on August 11, 1992 for a "ruler template for computer keyboard." Inventor, Anthony Phills was born in Trinidad & Tobago and grew up in Montreal, Canada and now been lives in Los Angles. Presently, Anthony is the Founder and CEO of Blinglets Inc a new mobile service and Chief Creative Officer and Shareholder in Bling Software. KeyRules was Anthony's first patent, which he licensed exclusively to Aldus Software (now known as Adobe) in 1993. Anthony Phills has designed for Adobe (InDesign), RealNetworks (RealPlayer 5), Microsoft, Barry Bonds, Siemens, GM, Banamex, CitiBank, Bell Canada, Tommy Hilfiger, Ricoh, Quicken, Videotron, Mirabel Airport, and other notables. Anthony has a degree in Creative Arts. and has lectured at McGill University in entrepreneurial studies. Patent Abstract - U.S. Patent #5,136,787 There is disclosed a template for a computer keyboard which provides markings constituting a measurement scale. The template provides an aperture therein to thereby permit keys of the keyboard to pass therethrough. The measurement scale has units of measurement which may be in inches, centimeters, millimeters, Pica units, point sizes, and Agate lines. 06 of 12 Willam Purvis - Fountain Pen USPTO Willam Purvis invented an improved fountain pen and received patent #419,065 on 1/7/1890. 07 of 12 William Queen - Guard for Companion Ways or Hatches USPTO William Queen acquired the patent for the guard for companion ways or hatches on August 18, 1891. 08 of 12 Lloyd Ray - Improved Dustpan USPTO Lloyd Ray invented an improved Dustpan and received patent 587,607 on 8/3/1897. 09 of 12 Albert Richardson - Insect Destroyer USPTO Albert Richardson invented an insect destroyer and received patent 620,362 on 2/28/1899. 10 of 12 Norbert Rillieux - Sugar Processing Evaporator USPTO Norbert Rillieux's created the patent for a sugar processing evaporator. 11 of 12 Cecil Rivers - Circuit breaker USPTO Cecil Rivers created the patent for a circuit breaker with a single test button mechanism on May 4, 2004. 12 of 12 John Russell - Prism Mailbox Prism Mailbox John Russell received patent #6,968,993 on 11/17/2003 for a "mailbox assembly." The Prism Mailbox is an adaptation of a simple rural mailbox and a clean box that gives the user an option to collect postal mail the conventional way or to examine and open mail without touching it. Inventor, John Russell is also a Police Officer in Southern California. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Bellis, Mary. "Notable African American Patent Holders With Surnames of O, P, Q, R." ThoughtCo, May. 28, 2021, thoughtco.com/african-american-patent-holders-o-p-q-r-4122635. Bellis, Mary. (2021, May 28). Notable African American Patent Holders With Surnames of O, P, Q, R. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-patent-holders-o-p-q-r-4122635 Bellis, Mary. "Notable African American Patent Holders With Surnames of O, P, Q, R." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-patent-holders-o-p-q-r-4122635 (accessed May 30, 2023). copy citation Featured Video