Hints Page for
Retrieving the Ephraim Bowen Patent Images from the USPTO Web Site.

GOAL:  Use as few of the hints as possible.

Hint # 1:  You need a .tiff Image Viewer installed on your Internet Browser.

Images on the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") Web Site are stored in .tiff format.  Your Web Browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) probably will not display such images.  You will need to get a .tiff viewer plug in  to see the images.  Otherwise you will be rewarded with a blank page when you get there.

The USPTO Web Site provides information on getting a viewer.  See if you can find it.  If not, go here to find your way to a .tiff viewer you can easily install.

Now see if you can find the Patent.

Go here if you are having trouble finding the search page.

Hint #2 (THE BIG HINT):

You have to search for X5442.  If you search for 5442, you get an unrelated patent.  If you search for 5442X, you get an error.  One of the USPTO help pages hints at this in explaining prefixes.  This one killed me for awhile.

Hint #3:  Don't forget to select the right date range.  All of the defaults are to current date ranges.

Hint #4:  If you get here, click the button that says "images".

Hint #5:  If all else fails, click here to go to the images of Ephraim Bowen's Patent of Truck for Moving Buildings.