Met the inventor of the bridge hammock...?

**Wentworth** · 07-19-2009, 23:53

Hi All,
I was doing a trip in the Wild Dog Mtns, here in Australia and ran into a fellow who said he was the inventor of the bridge hammock and had fought a legal battle over patents or something.

Does anybody know anything about this? I thought bridge hammocks originated on ships long ago?

Any info on who he might have been fighting this battle against?

**Tiki** · 07-20-2009, 00:13

I think the invention of bridge hammocks comes well before the existence of anyone alive today. I've seen hammocks with bridges from several different cultures. When researching the "hemp" hammocks for another thread I came upon a reference from a slaver that saw Africans using hammocks in the 1500's. These hammocks were later adopted into seafaring.

I think the origin of the hammock and bridge hammocks is similar to stacking rocks or blocks. You get a bunch of blocks in kindergarden.. stack them as high as you can and they fall over... eventually you widen the base.. it's more stable and you have a pyramid. Cultures all over the world from the Mayans, Chinese, Egyptians, etc.. figured this out. No aliens needed.. just good old trial and error.

Next time you see this guy, I'd check out his inventory of "bridges" he's got for sale.

fyi - patents are funny things.. change one thing just a little.. and its a new design. They get stolen and copied all the time. You've also got morons like Trump and Paris trying to trademark/patten phrases like "Your fired!" and "So Hot" I've got a few trademarked phrases for the both of them; but, due to legal issues I am prohibited from using them here.

**turkeyboy** · 07-20-2009, 05:32

Did his name happen to be Al Gore?

**TeeDee** · 07-20-2009, 07:15

Youngblood found a patent for a Bridge Hammock dated approximately 1900, exact date I cannot remember.

Grizz made a copy of the hammock in the hammock competition so maybe he could give you a better date.

So anybody claiming to have patented the Bridge design today hasn't done a proper patent search for prior art. Of course, the patent office doesn't have the manpower to do so either and relies on the honesty of the applicant and figures the courts will settle any mistakes they make.

Also, PM warbonnetguy about his efforts.

**Doctari** · 07-20-2009, 08:06

Originally Posted by TeeDee

Youngblood found a patent for a Bridge Hammock dated approximately 1900, exact date I cannot remember.

Yea, so did he look over 109 years old? I suspect / guess that in 1900 you needed to be at least 20 to file a patant, so if indeed he is the first, he should be around 129.

**gargoyle** · 07-20-2009, 08:18

The guy might have had a bridge to sell you..the Brooklyn Bridge.

**warbonnetguy** · 07-20-2009, 10:55

i think you met the guy that did the australian heritage bridge hammock. that was the first bridge hammock till youngblood discovered the one patented in 1900.

**Coldspring** · 07-20-2009, 11:51

Are you sure it wasn't Tom Hennessy? I understand he spends most of his time in New Zealand now.

**Wentworth** · 07-20-2009, 19:46

Originally Posted by warbonnetguy

i think you met the guy that did the australian heritage bridge hammock. that was the first bridge hammock till youngblood discovered the one patented in 1900.

Thanks Brandon, any more info on this? Is the guy on this site, or did he have a patent battle with youngblood?

**GrizzlyAdams** · 07-20-2009, 20:01

Originally Posted by Wentworth

Thanks Brandon, any more info on this? Is the guy on this site, or did he have a patent battle with youngblood?

He did sign up and post once to say hello. Buried in the "Bridge Hammock" thread somewhere.

Things I do know for sure.

youngblood never laid claim to the bridge hammock concept. He uncovered a treasure trove of patents on hammocks dating from the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the bridge suspension is on a hammock in there. That's the reference being made.
When the JRB BMBH was first announced/advertised, it had a "Patent Pending" label on it. That label disappeared some months later. I don't know what their patent claim was (and the way patents work it could have been just about any detail on the hammock, not necessarily the concept of a bridge suspension), although I've always been curious.
patent discussion on HF is one of the areas (religion being the other) that we've seen it makes sense to steer clear of. Passions run high.
WBG shared with me some of his perspective on patents on the bridge hammock and it is not my place to repeat that. However I think I can say that in his story-line as far as I received it, the fellow who posted the bridge design on the shipping site didn't file a patent. Stands to reason though that if there was some kind of patent dispute on the bridge design that someone would have contacted him about it.

that's my story and I'm sticking to it

Grizz