Family legend has it that my grand father Truman Alec Jackson, of Hawesville Kentucky invented the 3 point hitch. He took his idea to Case in the late 30's or early 40's. Case struck a deal with Truman for the manufacturing rights to his invention then made monor changes to his design and effectively stole the idea from him. He fought to retain his rights to this invention for many years but did not prevail with his limited funds and small town attorneys. Any info or help to get further info on this matter would be appreciated greatly. As a matter of fact: I have been told that for many years the old timers in Kentucky and other states all knew of this and commonly referred to the 3 point hitch as the "Jackson Hitch". Thank-you,
I originally posted this 9yrs ago and have since found my Gr-fathers original patent. I now believe that what 'Dad' had done wass to improve on the original Ferguson design by making the hitch Hydraulic? I will see if I can copy the patent pages so that any of you who may be interested can see what I'm trying to convey.
Thanks,
Bobby
 

I could see it being possible. History shows that various inventions were thought up by different people in different parts of the world not a lot of time apart. Harry Ferguson first got his built by David Brown in UK but their relationship fell apart. He then got together with Henry Ford who recognized the utility of it and applied money to get it incorporated into the tractors that they were about to start building.
 
Well Bobby, great story but you've just burst my bubble. My Uncle Ivan from the Ukraine told me that he invented it. Uncle Ivan was always a bit of a BS'er according to a lot of my relatives so maybe he was pulling my leg. That's what a guy gets for visiting the YT forums. You're Grampa Truman was probably a lot brighter and more honest than my Uncle Ivan.
 
Ivan, also - according to family lore - Dad invented the 2pc wheel for tractor trailers. Previously only 1pc and so therefore extremely difficult to change flat tires. As I've been told he was so defeated by the whole 3pt hitch thing that he never pursued it or took it to market and in short order someone else did. A no brainer !!
 
Just post the patent number - no need to scan in the whole thing. Any patent is easy to bring up on-line if you have the number.

Just FYI Ferguson was already marketing his hydraulic 3-point hitch in the early 30's.
 
Sounds like an interesting story.

It sounds like he thought of some improvements to the 3pt hitch maybe, not invented it from scratch?

Would enjoy seeing the patent number you mention.

Paul
 
My dad was always convinced his father had invented the bumper-mounted tow bar. I don't doubt he came up with the idea on his own, but it's a fairly obvious idea and any number of folks probably came up with the same idea at about the same time. There are hundreds of thousands of unenforceable patents in existence. If JIC paid your grandad for rights to his invention, you can be proud of that. If you expect to recover any money, though, I think that ship sailed a long time ago.
 
(quoted from post at 08:14:17 06/23/18) He fought to retain his rights to this invention for many years but did not prevail with his limited funds and small town attorneys.

That is where the patent process is useless.
It carries "no teeth" as the strength of any patent is totally dependent on how much money your willing to spend to defend it.
Over and over again.
 
Interesting discussion.

FWIW, my father designed and fabricated an adjustable wide front end under a Fordson tractor long before the manufacturers came out with them. Formalities like patents never occurred to him. He saw a need for one, so he made one and used it.
 
Bobby, I should add that my Uncle Ivan's third cousin was involved with the original design work and engineering on the infamous Essex Tri-Directional tractor. He disappeared shortly after, never to be heard from again. Some say he surfaced in the Soviet Union and was involved with the 1957 launch of Sputnik. Like I say though, the whole damned family was known for being notorious liars and bull $hitter$. We'll concede this one to your family.
 
(quoted from post at 06:58:32 06/23/18) My dad was always convinced his father had invented the bumper-mounted tow bar. I don't doubt he came up with the idea on his own, but it's a fairly obvious idea and any number of folks probably came up with the same idea at about the same time. There are hundreds of thousands of unenforceable patents in existence. If JIC paid your grandad for rights to his invention, you can be proud of that. If you expect to recover any money, though, I think that ship sailed a long time ago.
Mark, Any $'s recovered would be long over due and undoubtedly run into the high seven figures as the 3pt hitch literally revolutionized agriculture as the workd knows it. Nahh, I'd just like to see Dad get his well deserved credit if so. JIC flew him to Chicago on numerous occasions and - from what I've been told - struck a deal but no $ changed hands and Dad got screwed.
 
Here is the summary of the patent:

A01B59/067 Devices specially adapted for connection between animals or tractors and agricultural machines or implements for machines mounted on tractors of the type comprising at least two lower arms and one upper arm generally arranged in a triangle (e.g. three-point hitches) the lower arms being lifted or lowered by power actuator means internally incorporated in the tractor


Mr. Jackson hitch seems to be a cross of the IH two point hitch, and the Eagle hitch from JI Case. His has slots on the tractor arms to slide over pins on the implement.
a271402.jpg

a271403.jpg

a271404.jpg
 
The drawings do not resemble the Case Eagle Hitch in one bit, but do resemble the Stockton hitch used on earlier Case VA tractors but Stockton Mfg. was not a Case company. Stockton manufactured tillage and other ground engaging tools for Case.
Case was headquartered in Racine Wis. so Chicago meetings don't make sense either, and Stockton Mfg. was in Cal.
Loren
 

My brother & I had a patent on a rubber tired caddy to convert a 3 pt wheel rake into a towed implement but I never recieved any royalties($$$$) from it.
 
As others have pointed out Harry Ferguson had been making/marketing his version in the 1930's, Ford went into production with their N series tractors using Ferguson's patents in 1939 and in 1948 started making tractors using the 3 point system in 1948 without paying royalties to Ferguson, a contentious law suit followed that was eventually settled, Ford went on making tractors for another 50 years or so Ferguson merged his interests into Massey-Harris forming Massey Ferguson. Also in the 50's Case came out with the Eagle hitch, IH with the fast hitch and Allis Chalmers with the snap coupler. I have heard many say the IH fast hitch was the better design and that Deere had approached IH for a license to use but was rebuked so they went with the conventional 3 point instead. The point to my ramblings is their was a need and several different designs appeared, each with it's own strengths and weaknesses the "winner" wasn't necessarily the best design but the one that was most widely adapted. For a similar situation go back to the 1990's when Apple had their GUI system and Microsoft had DOS, DOS wasn't as good of a product but won the battle and primed Microsoft to come out with Windows, first as an ad-on then as an operating system. Yes Apple has done well for themselves but had they licensed their operating system they could be the dominate influence in the computer world
 
Jim ...... my obvious question would be, you received a patent on the design but was it ever manufactured and sold? If not, would a person
expect royalties? Not sure how all of this usually works, etc.
 
(quoted from post at 08:37:34 06/23/18) Forgot a direct link to the patent page:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US2782704A/en?oq=+2%2c782%2c704
Jackson patent

JD, I cannot thank you enough for this invaluable info! I would not have had any idea how to have found it myself. TY!!
OK so now that I have read some, and have gained more knowledge of the use-fullness and importance of Dads improvements over the original design my memory is now jogged and I can clearly see his farm implements being taken from one place to another lifted and hanging out of harms way. Truly - in my opinion - a historic innovation that evidently changed the conventional 3pt hitch for the better and I gather is still relevant to this day.
JD, was the 3pt hitch 'static' up until this time ? I also remember it being said that this invention also allowed farm implements to 'float' so that they would not turn over when plowing uneven terrain. Thanks again, Bobby
 
(quoted from post at 13:02:28 06/23/18) Jim ...... my obvious question would be, you received a patent on the design but was it ever manufactured and sold? If not, would a person
expect royalties? Not sure how all of this usually works, etc.

Rubber tires on 3 pt rake was my idea & my brother who was a civil engineer blue printed his idea & convinced me to spend $$$$$$ on a patent. No I never manufactured but one that I utilized for several yrs in my custom hay operation. Later wheel rakes with rubber tires starting being manufactured. I really didn't like my brother's design so I didn't ever pursue my patent rights.
 
I guess I fail to see any resemblence of what is pictured in the patent to the three-point hitch
that Ferguson designed that is still in use today. The hitches on modern tractors pull, lift,
carry, and support an implement exactly like the hitch on a Ford/Ferguson tractor from the late
30's. The only real changes have been in the development of different draft control systems and
the scaling up of the original hitch size to accomodate larger tractors.
 
There are only a few ways in which a patent ever provides a financial return to the patent holder. 1) The patent holder is a manufacturer and the patent gives them a competitive advantage in the marketplace with resulting increase in sales. 2) The inventor negotiates a formal contract with a manufacturer to either pay royalties or buy the patent rights so the manufacturer can use the design in their products. 3) The inventor files suit against an entity viotating the patent and wins in court. However, unless the patent holder has very deep pockets and a very strong case scenario #3 is unlikely to occur as defending a patent could easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The thing to understand is that an inventor isn't entitled to any compensation just because they hold a patent. There is nothing criminally illegal about violating a patent so the inventor does not have the law on their side. It is up to the inventor himself to be either a good salesman (ahead of time) or an agressive defender in civil court (after-the-fact) if they ever expect to see a financial reward from their patent.

Above I use the terms "inventor" and "patent holder" sort of interchangeably but there can be a difference. If a private individual invents something and gets a patent the two terms would both refer to the person. On the other hand, if an employee of a company designs something which the company chooses to have patented the individual is listed as the inventor but the company is typically listed as the patent holder. In this case there is no financial benefit available to the inventor beyond any kind of bonus or other reward their employer might provide.
 
The expand on Brandon's post. Most companies handle patents on inventions by employees in their employment contracts. It can be a twisted deal. As in general most contracts read that ALL inventions during your time of employment are property of your employer. A good friend of mine is an engineer and was employed at an aerospace plant. It makes sense that anything related to aerospace stuff would be his employers. The issue came about as he designed agricultural stuff on his time. He had to get exceptions on each and everyone from his employer. They worked with him but many would not. There are instances of where totally unrelated inventions/patents are held by companies that would not sign off on them.
 
I thought up putting the label up side down on the ketchup bottle 40 yrs ago. Never acted on it. Now it is the industry standard. Someone got very rich on my idea.
 
(quoted from post at 15:21:45 06/23/18) I thought up putting the label up side down on the ketchup bottle 40 yrs ago. Never acted on it. Now it is the industry standard. Someone got very rich on my idea.

Belgian, I thought of it 51 years ago. I remember sitting there looking at the bottle that I had set on the table upside down and thinking that they should make the bottle with a wider mouth and turn the label upside down, so that I wouldn't have to wait.
 

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