| US Patent: 601,451 
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| Lifting-jack | 
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| Patentee: |  |
 | Henry Minor Stevenson (exact or similar names) - Perry, IA |  
 
 
 
 
| Manufacturer: |  | Not known to have been produced |  
 
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| Patent Dates: |  
| Applied: | Apr. 21, 1897 |  
| Granted: | Mar. 29, 1898 |  USPTO (New site tip)
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                        Jeff Joslin
 
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| Description: |  | This patent uses a recirculating-ball mechanism to create a screw-jack. This constitutes the earliest known patent for what is now called a ball screw, an invention that has become very important in the 21st century in the design of high-precision machinery with X-Y positioning, including many CNC machines. Stevenson did not invent the recirculating-ball mechanism; although the patent does not mention it, an earlier patent, Crenshaw's patent 155,862 seems to be the first appearance of recirculating balls in a screw mechanism. |  |