Sterling Elliott

Sterling Elliott (1852–1922) produced a series of successful inventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He held more than 125 patents, receiving his first at age 22. He was foremost an Inventor but also a successful businessman. His tenacity and determination to improve on everyday objects helped enhance the quality of life for established businesses, as well as the average person. His inventive mind and creative genius developed the first Knot Tying machine (No.237,966 ), the low wheeled trotting sulky (No.494,113), the Elliott addressing machine (No.707,961), the pneumatic tire (No.487,874), the ball bearing (No. 483,836) and last but not least the unequal turning of the front wheels or steering knuckle (i.e.- kingpin) that would turn out to be a critical element in the success of the automobile.

Mr. Elliott’s first well-known invention was the non-turning front axle and self-equalizing brake system he incorporated on his four-wheel quadricycle when he discovered that the wheels on the bike squealed when turning. That is when he realized that you couldn’t just connect the front wheels of a normal pair of bicycles with a tie rod, that somehow the inside wheel must turn at a slower speed than the one on the outside if you were to prevent that squeal. With this in mind, Mr. Elliott went home and into his pantry that was between the kitchen and the dining room, there he fastened a piece of string between the inside surfaces of each door. Then, whether swung to the right or the left, the doors remained parallel and swung exactly the same. Next he shortened the string so that the doors were at an angle, their hinges being further apart than their front edges. Standing in the pantry he pushed the left hand door toward the kitchen and noted that only a small amount of movement in this direction produced considerably more movement to the right hand door. After again closing the doors he pushed the right hand door a small distance into the dining room and noticed that the kitchen door opened again wider than it had before. It didn’t take long for him to convert that principle to his quadricycle. It took an imaginative bicycle manufacturer to come up with the steering solution, so simple, that it has remained to this day the basic system of front wheel steering implemented in automobiles worldwide.

Although this patent expired in 1907, the records show that a number of early automobile manufacturers paid royalties to Elliott for this invention. Among these were the Duryea, Haynes, and Stanley

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