Opening day of the fall tour, Here we go. Fun fact: cruise control was invented by a blind man. Ralph Teetor, a prolific (and blind) inventor, invented cruise control. Teetor spent his whole life inventing things to make cars better. Teetor was blinded in a shop accident at age five, but his disability couldn’t stop his endeavor to make cars better and in contrast Teetor’s blindness actually improved his ability to invent new things. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Pennsylvania. His first job after post-graduation was to develop technology for steam turbine rotors used in torpedo used in torpedo boat destroyers during W.W.I. Later Teetor became an mechanical engineer for the Light Inspection Car Company, a company founded by his family that later was renamed the Perfect Circle Corporation. The company provided piston rings to car companies such as Packard, General Motors, Chrysler and Studebaker. He soon became the Vice President of Engineering for Perfect Circle and later the President. Story of Invention : Ralph Teetor, was inspired to invent cruise control one day while riding with his lawyer. The lawyer would slow down while talking and speed up while listening. This rocking motion so annoyed Teetor that he was determined to invent a speed control device. Cruise control debuted in 1958 on the Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker and Windsor models. In 1945, Ralph Teetor received his first patent on a speed cruise control device. Early names for his invention included “Controlmatic”, “Touchomatic”, “Pressomatic” and “Speedostat” and finally the familiar name of “Cruise Control”.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 12:26:10 +0000
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