Arc Lamp (open access)

Arc Lamp

Patent for improvements arc lamps that "will be uninfluenced by the jar of the locomotive" (lines 17-19). Consisting of carbon-carriers rotated by clock-train.
Date: July 10, 1888
Creator: Gaston, E. James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Anti-Freezing Tank Valve. (open access)

Anti-Freezing Tank Valve.

Patent for a new and improved tank valve. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the tank, its valve and lever, and valve-rod, of the frost-chamber having an annular space to receive the non-freezing compound, the stuffing-box around the rod and screw-threaded at the ends, and the screw-threaded caps . . . having necks and flanges" (lines 7-13).
Date: June 11, 1889
Creator: Barrett, William Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Press (open access)

Cotton-Press

Patent for improvements in the construction of steam cotton presses using a change in the frame and use of hydraulic-pressure pumps to operate the press. The pumps are driven by steam
Date: October 15, 1889
Creator: Turnpaugh, James William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn Sheller. (open access)

Corn Sheller.

Patent for a new and improved corn-sheller. This design, "[o]n its rear face, at the upper end of the body of the corn-sheller . . . provide[s] a hinged nubber-plate, which serves as a supporting-arm, and is constructed . . . for use in breaking or cutting off the smaller end of the ear of corn, at which end unsound kernels of corn are frequently found. The nubber-plate is hinged . . . to the upper end of the rear face of the body, and when opened out extends at nearly a right angle from the body and inclines slightly downward. When folded, the nubber-plate rests against the rear face of the body" (lines 39-52).
Date: September 13, 1887
Creator: Price, Benjamin B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Child's Crib (open access)

Child's Crib

Patent for new "suspended cribs or cradles for the use of children" (lines 17-18) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: June 8, 1880
Creator: Brown, Fred Harvey
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wagon Break (open access)

Wagon Break

Patent for improvements in wagon-breaks, with the object of providing simple, effective, and durable means by which the breaks may be applied by either foot or hand power (lines 8-12). Additionally, provides "improved means for altering the power of the breaks" (lines 18-19).
Date: September 18, 1888
Creator: Baker, Owen T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lock Hopple. (open access)

Lock Hopple.

Patent for a new and improved lock-hopple. This design consists in "the combination of the semi-circular section provided at its free end with the latch-hook and concave edge, and the semi-circular section provided with the perforated projection for the attachment of the lap-ring, and with the lock" (lines 95-100). It further consists in "the partition, the cap-piece having the central key-opening, the journaled latch-hook having the end of its journal formed to fit in the recess in the end of the key, the curved double-arm spring, the lid, and the lid-stem having upon it a block provided with the shoulders" (lines 1-8).
Date: December 18, 1888
Creator: White, Elisha Lafayette
System: The Portal to Texas History
Induction Coil. (open access)

Induction Coil.

Patent for a new and improved induction coil. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the bent core, the primary and secondary coils wound thereon, the adjustable armature connected to one pole (to form an extension thereof) and extending over the opposite pole, and the set-screw for moving the free end of the armature toward or from the disconnected pole to establish or break the magnetic circuit" (lines 5-12).
Date: June 11, 1889
Creator: Brown, Fred H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ink Blotter. (open access)

Ink Blotter.

Patent for a new and improved ink blotter. This design "is to facilitate the process and shorten the time of the [writer] in blotting of the ink from his [or her] writing. [The design] attain[s] this object by so constructing the blotter that when in use it is always attached to and worn upon the hand holding the pen" (lines 8-13).
Date: December 30, 1884
Creator: Smith, L. Starr
System: The Portal to Texas History
Magneto-Telephonic Apparatus (open access)

Magneto-Telephonic Apparatus

Patent for an invention to improve transmitting vocals and other sounds. It is a magneto telephonic system based on an magnetic field of high intensity.
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Brown, Fred. H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Elevator. (open access)

Water Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved water elevator. This design "is to provide each bucket with a weighted back; also, in the manner of connecting the chains thereto, so that the necessity of the employment of a weighted wheel is obviated" (lines 20-24). This means that individual buckets may be removed and replaced, and construction becomes more durable and simple.
Date: December 28, 1880
Creator: Mayfield, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Wheel (open access)

Water Wheel

Patent for an "iron water-wheel made in sections, which may be readily taken apart for convenience and transportation" (Lines 10-12).
Date: May 12, 1885
Creator: Dunn, William Washington
System: The Portal to Texas History
Magneto-Electric Telegraphy. (open access)

Magneto-Electric Telegraphy.

Patent for a machine that telegraphs messages between distant points by means of induced currents that produce magnets without the use of battery current, including illustrations.
Date: August 18, 1885
Creator: Brown, Fred H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Elevator Chain. (open access)

Water Elevator Chain.

Patent for a new and improved water-elevator chain. This design "has relation to that class of water-elevators in which the buckets are connected to an endless chain formed of wire, the several links being connected to each other by loops or eyes formed thereon; and the object thereof is to improve the construction of this class of wire chains, whereby the bearings for the links are greatly increased and strengthened and the general construction of the chain rendered more durable, also the links more conveniently coupled together or uncoupled without injury thereto" (lines 17-28).
Date: July 26, 1887
Creator: Mayfield, William Dudley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Shucking and Shelling Corn (open access)

Machine for Shucking and Shelling Corn

Patent for improvements in the design and construction of machines for shucking and shelling corn.
Date: May 1, 1888
Creator: Whiting, Louis Rossell
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ventilating Attachment to Hearths. (open access)

Ventilating Attachment to Hearths.

Patent for a new and improved ventilating attachment for hearths. This design "consists in extending the ventilating box or casing . . . sufficiently below the floor of the room to the hearth to which it is applied to allow it to project into the room below" (lines 19-23).
Date: June 27, 1882
Creator: Howard, Joshua Eaffrom
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tramping Attachment for Baling Presses. (open access)

Tramping Attachment for Baling Presses.

Patent for a new and improved attachment for baling presses. This design "consists of a contrivance of trampers and a crank with power mechanism for working them, in a simple arrangement for beating in the cotton on the follower preparatory to closing the press and completing the pressing by the follower, the device being calculated to enable the bales of full size to be made in a smaller case, and with less range of movement of the follower and more economically than they can be made without the tramper" (lines 8-18).
Date: June 10, 1884
Creator: Thompson, Gedeon Philip
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hydrostatic Indicator for Weighing Scales. (open access)

Hydrostatic Indicator for Weighing Scales.

Patent for a new and improved hydrostatic indicator for scales. This design consists in "a reservoir, an outer cylinder, a hollow inner cylinder, an attached stand-pipe, and registering-dial, said inner cylinder being surrounded by and sliding within said outer cylinder, said outer cylinder being provided with an attached inlet-pipe communicating with said reservoir, said pipe being provided with two valves, in combination with a bearing-bar, side rods, and under bar, forming a frame bearing upon the inner cylinder" (lines 55-65).
Date: February 5, 1889
Creator: Lewis, Henry A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Miner's Lamp. (open access)

Miner's Lamp.

Patent for a new and improved miner's lamp. This design "may be attached to any wooden structure in the mine, to any crevice in the rock, or to the earthen wall of the mine, and when set upon any ledge or flat surface prevented from tipping over, and when attached to the hat or other garment of the miner kept from swinging or turning out of proper position; also, [it] provid[es] the lamp with a rod for adjusting the wick of the lamp for regulating the flame of the lamp" (lines 10-19).
Date: September 11, 1883
Creator: Lee, Charles A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mechanical Dentistry. (open access)

Mechanical Dentistry.

Patent for new and improved mechanical dentistry. This design consists in "[a] dental plate provided with a series of holes or perforations and a continuous groove upon the upper surface of the plate communicating with the holes or perforations therein" (lines 62-65).
Date: May 18, 1886
Creator: Mayfield, William Dudley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Measuring Vessel. (open access)

Measuring Vessel.

Patent for a new and improved measuring vessel. This design consists in "a measuring-vessel provided with a funnel projecting from right angles at the top of it, and a hinged lid wholly covering the opening to the funnel and to the vessel" (lines 54-58).
Date: October 11, 1887
Creator: Reeves, Virgil A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Medicine Dial. (open access)

Medicine Dial.

Patent for a new and improved medicine-dial. This design "consists in the combination of an upright or standard, which is suitably bent, with a revolving dial, which is placed thereon and which can be turned so as to indicate the time when the next dose of medicine is to be taken. The object of [the] invention is to produce a medicine-dial which can be stuck into the cork of the bottle of medicine or cover of any kind and set so as to indicate when the next dose is to be administered" (lines 13-23).
Date: October 30, 1888
Creator: Wesson, Miley B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut Lock. (open access)

Nut Lock.

Patent for a new and improved nut lock. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the end-cleft screw-bolt, of the wedge which is made of the same width as the diameter of the bolt, and provided with serrations corresponding to the screw-thread, and the fastening-wire which is wrapped around both bolt and wedge and lies in their respective grooves and serrations" (lines 72-78).
Date: August 23, 1881
Creator: McAllister, Lewis Campbell
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sulky Carriage for Plows. (open access)

Sulky Carriage for Plows.

Patent for a new and improved sulky plow. This design "furnish[es] a sulky-frame and plow supporting and adjusting devices of a simplified construction, and [provides] more effective means for gaging the depth of the penetration of the plow into the ground, and guiding or steadying the movement thereof" (lines 17-23).
Date: September 20, 1881
Creator: Ward, James & Washburn, Rufus
System: The Portal to Texas History