Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design "relates to an improvement in . . . the construction of the mold-board and to the arrangement thereof relative to the plowshare. The mold-board, instead of being curved or concave, as has usually been the case, is . . . made perfectly flat, and so constructed that it projects at one corner slightly beyond the upper edge of the plowshare. . . . [C]onsequently the plow can be moved through the soil with less difficulty" (lines 13-25).
Date: January 10, 1882
Creator: Domschke, Charles.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grain Heater. (open access)

Grain Heater.

Patent for a new and improved grain heater. This design consists of a "hopper provided with [a] flange and perforations, in combination with the hot-air pipe, provided with the inverted-funnel-shaped mouth having its sides perforated" (lines 59-63).
Date: October 10, 1882
Creator: English, Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Street Car Motor. (open access)

Street Car Motor.

Patent for a new and improved street-car motor. This design consists in "the shaft geared to an axle of the car, the friction-wheels free to slide on the said shaft and having the annular collars, the rods . . . connected to the said annular collars, and the lever connected to the said rods to move the friction-wheels toward or from each other" (lines 16-22).
Date: May 10, 1887
Creator: Sparks, John Parks
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shutter Fastener. (open access)

Shutter Fastener.

Patent for a new and improved shutter fastener. This design "has for its object the production of a simple and efficient device, and one that can be conveniently operated from the inside of the blind, but not readily tampered with or opened from the outside without removing some of the slats of the blind. . . . one part—a bolt—is carried by the blind, and the other part—a catch—is secured to the windowsill and locks the bolt, so as to unfasten the blind both hands are required—one hand to operate the catch, the other hand to operate the bolt" (lines 16-30).
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Bachman, Joseph A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Money Changer and Counter. (open access)

Money Changer and Counter.

Patent for a new and improved money changer and counter. This design "is to provide novel means for automatically assorting coins of different denominations . . . [and] to provide a series of graded pockets for the reception and retention of different coins of different denominations, and which will receive the coin only of the denomination for which it is provided; to provide novel means for discharging a coin of a given denomination from its pocket in order to make the proper change, and which will only discharge one coin at a time to prevent too much money from being delivered" (lines 15-30).
Date: May 10, 1887
Creator: Greer, John William
System: The Portal to Texas History