Re: ViewMaster Viewer patent numbers

[P3D Andrew Woods <andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Zohn wrote:
> Does anyone have a list of the different View Master viewers and their
> patent numbers? I  ask because people often(well not that often) will offer
> me "an old viewmaster viewer" with no other info.  This way I can figure
> out which model they have...Mike

Firstly there won't be be individual patents for each individual
viewer design - that's not how patents work.  The underlying ideas
behind viewmaster reels, images and viewers may be patented
but not individual viewer designs.

The book listed on Dalia's web site "View-Master Viewers" 
would probably be a better way of obtaining the information you need.  
   http://www.cinti.net:2000/~vmmasell/

Interested to see what patents there might be on viewmasters,
I checked out the IBM US patent server:  
   http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/ibm.html

Doing a quick search I came accross patent number 5371562 
"Stereoscopic disk and viewer and method of making" 
by Hahm & Mainco of the Eastman Kodak Company 
issued on Dec 6, 1993.

It appears to be a computer automated way of making viewmaster reels.
i.e. No cutting and pasting.  The individual images are scanned into
a computer and the computer generates a composite image which is exposed
onto a single piece of film.

Full details of the patent (including images of all 13 pages of the
patent) are available from:
   http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/details?patent_number=5371562

I didn't find the original viewmaster patent.  Anyone?

Andrew Woods          http://info.curtin.edu.au/~iwoodsa



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