The earliest published mention is “On a string problem of Dirac” by M.H.A. Newman, J. London Math. Soc., vol. 17 (1942). Dirac called it the “scissors puzzle” in a letter to Newman seven years before that. "The Dirac String Trick".
US 3586413, Adams, Dale A., "Apparatus for providing energy communicating between a moving and a stationary terminal", published 25 March 1969, issued 22 June 1971
