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Lloyd Groff Copeman, born in 1881, was an American inventor from Flint, Michigan, who contributed significantly to contemporary technologies. In 1912, he founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in Flint, Michigan, to produce the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the fireless cooker. The company was formed thanks to stockholders, including J. Dallas Dort, who raised $500,000. In 1917, Copeman sold the company to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which moved production to Mansfield, Ohio.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the company | Copeman Electric Stove Company |
| Year founded | 1912 |
| Location | Flint, Michigan |
| Founder | Lloyd Groff Copeman |
| Product | Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the "fireless cooker" |
| Backed by | J. Dallas Dort |
| Sold to | Westinghouse Electric Corporation |
| Year sold | 1917 |
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What You'll Learn
- Lloyd Groff Copeman was an American inventor born in 1881
- Copeman Electric Stove Company was founded in 1912 in Flint, Michigan
- The company produced the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the fireless cooker
- In 1917, the company was bought by Westinghouse Electric Corporation and moved to Ohio
- Copeman's other inventions include a toaster, a rubber ice cube tray, and a microwave oven
Lloyd Groff Copeman was an American inventor born in 1881
Lloyd Groff Copeman, born on 28 December 1881 and raised in Hadley Township, Michigan, was an American inventor who contributed significantly to contemporary technologies. He studied engineering at Michigan State University and began his career as an apprentice at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Copeman also worked for electric utilities companies in Philadelphia, Spokane, Detroit Edison, and Consumers Power, where he learned about electrical, marine, and mechanical engineering.
In 1904, Copeman married his childhood sweetheart, Hazel Dawn Berger, and they had three children: Lloyd Berger Copeman, Ruth Mary Copeman Ronstadt, and Elizabeth Jane Copeman Gerlach. His daughter, Ruth Mary Copeman Ronstadt, was the mother of the famous singer, Linda Ronstadt.
Copeman founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in 1912 in Flint, Michigan, to produce the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the "fireless cooker". The company was backed by J. Dallas Dort, the partner of automobile pioneer William Durant. The Copeman Electric Stove was the first heat-regulated electric stove, with round, removable hot plates that could be plugged into outlets located on the top and inside the small ovens.
Before starting his company, Copeman had already made significant contributions to the development of electric stoves. While working for the Washington Electric Company in 1906, he created a design for an electric version of the gas stoves that were commonly used in Britain and the US. In 1909, he patented an electrothermostatic heat regulator for more effective control of stove and toaster heating elements, as well as a thermostat for high-tension power cables.
In addition to his work on electric stoves, Copeman had a wide range of inventions to his name, with nearly 700 patents. Some of his notable inventions include a toaster with an automatic bread turner, the flexible rubber ice cube tray, and the Flexor-Line clothesline made of braided rubber surgical tubing. He was particularly interested in creating user-friendly technologies that would improve people's daily lives.
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Copeman Electric Stove Company was founded in 1912 in Flint, Michigan
In 1912, Lloyd Groff Copeman founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Copeman was an inventor who created the first heat-regulated electric stove, which he called a "fireless cooker". The stove's design featured old-fashioned, heavily insulated, oak-clad iceboxes with round, removable hot plates that plugged into outlets on the top and inside the small ovens.
Copeman's journey to becoming an inventor began when he was just ten years old, with his first invention being "a clock-like instrument that turned his father's grindstone automatically". As a young man, he studied engineering in East Lansing at what is now Michigan State University. He furthered his knowledge by working for various electric companies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Spokane, Washington, and locally at Detroit Edison and Consumers Power.
Copeman's first successful patented inventions were an electrothermostatic heat regulator for more effective control of stove and toaster heating elements and a thermostat for high-tension power cables, patented in 1909. Before this, while working for the Washington Electric Company in 1906, he had already developed a design for an electric version of the gas stoves that had been available in Britain and the US for several decades.
The formation of the Copeman Electric Stove Company was made possible by 23 stockholders, including J. Dallas Dort, who raised $500,000 to bring Copeman's idea to market. The company's early products included the Copeman Electric Stove and, from 1913, an automatic toaster with a bread turner, inspired by Copeman's wife, Hazel.
In 1917, Copeman sold the company to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which moved production to Mansfield, Ohio. Copeman's invention would go on to become his most successful and profitable, earning him one million dollars in royalties.
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The company produced the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the fireless cooker
In 1912, Lloyd Groff Copeman founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in Flint, Michigan, to produce the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the fireless cooker. The company was formed to produce the first heat-regulated electric stove, which Copeman had been developing since 1906 while working for the Washington Electric Company. The stove had the appearance of an old-fashioned, heavily insulated, oak-clad icebox, with round, removable hot plates that plugged into outlets on the top and inside the small ovens.
The Copeman Electric Stove Company was backed by J. Dallas Dort, who, along with 22 other stockholders, raised $500,000 to start the company. In addition to the electric stove, the company also produced a toaster with an automatic bread turner, which Copeman invented in 1913. This toaster improved upon the first commercially successful electric toaster, patented in July 1909, which required the bread to be turned manually.
In 1917, Copeman sold the Copeman Electric Stove Company to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which moved production to Mansfield, Ohio, and continued to develop and improve the stove. Copeman went on to establish the Copeman Laboratories Company in Flint in 1918 to focus on his inventing.
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In 1917, the company was bought by Westinghouse Electric Corporation and moved to Ohio
In 1912, Lloyd Groff Copeman founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in Flint, Michigan, to produce the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the "fireless cooker". Copeman, an American inventor, had developed the design for an electric stove several years earlier while working for the Washington Electric Company.
Five years after its founding, in 1917, the Copeman Electric Stove Company was acquired by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and moved to Mansfield, Ohio. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and was headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was a powerhouse in heavy industry, electrical production, and consumer electronics, among other fields.
The acquisition of the Copeman Electric Stove Company allowed Westinghouse to enter the home appliance market. After the acquisition, Westinghouse continued to develop and improve the Copeman Electric Stove, ensuring its place in the market.
The sale of his company allowed Copeman to focus more on inventing. In 1918, he established the Copeman Laboratories Company in Flint, Michigan, which allowed him to dedicate his time to creating new inventions. Copeman had nearly 700 patents to his name, including the first electric stove, a flexible rubber ice cube tray, and an electromagnetic switch.
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Copeman's other inventions include a toaster, a rubber ice cube tray, and a microwave oven
Lloyd Groff Copeman founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in 1912 in Flint, Michigan. The company produced the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the "fireless cooker".
Copeman's other inventions include a toaster, a rubber ice cube tray, and an early form of the microwave oven. In 1913, the Copeman Electric Stove Company began producing a toaster with a bread turner, which toasted bread on both sides without manual intervention. This toaster was invented by Copeman's wife, Hazel Dawn Berger, whose idea allowed the bread to be toasted on both sides without having to flip it manually. Five other toaster-related patents were granted to both Lloyd and Hazel in 1914.
Copeman's most commercially successful invention was the rubber ice cube tray, which earned him approximately $500,000, equivalent to $10 million today. In 1928, he noticed that slush and ice flaked off his rubber boots easily while walking through some woods, and he later conducted experiments using rubber cups. He then designed and patented different types of trays, including a metal tray with rubber separators, a metal tray with individual rubber cups, and a tray made entirely of rubber.
Copeman is also credited with inventing an early form of the microwave oven while living in Flint, Michigan. He had nearly 700 patents to his name and claimed that he could walk into any store and find one of his inventions.
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Frequently asked questions
Lloyd Copeman founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in 1912 in Flint, Michigan.
The company produced the Copeman Electric Stove, also known as the "fireless cooker". The stove was designed to look like an old-fashioned, heavily insulated, oak-clad icebox.
Lloyd Copeman was an inventor with nearly 700 patents to his name. Some of his notable inventions include the first electric stove, a toaster with an automatic bread turner, a flexible rubber ice cube tray, and an early form of the microwave oven.
In 1917, Lloyd Copeman sold the Copeman Electric Stove Company to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which moved production to Mansfield, Ohio.
