Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the rack-bars seated in ways recessed in the sides of the draw-head, toothed segments engaging therewith, a shaft carrying said toothed segments, and also bearing within the cavity of the draw-head a vibratory arm and a setting-lever, from which the coupling-pin is suspended, connected to said vibratory arm" (lines 24-32).
Date: August 16, 1881
Creator: Stephens, Lawrence Earnest & Pool, George Washington
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bridle. (open access)

Bridle.

Patent for a new and improved bridle. This design "consists in a novel manner of constructing driving-bridles, whereby a leverage upon the bit and curb proportionate to the needs of any particular occasion may be drawn up so that it will be impossible to hold the bit out of control of the driver" (lines 7-14).
Date: August 19, 1884
Creator: Roeber, Alexander
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for a new and improved churn. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a removable churn-body, of the frame, with a friction-wheel mounted thereon, a dasher-spindle provided with friction-wheel, movable notched bar, and spring-rod" (lines 79-83).
Date: August 18, 1885
Creator: Conner, Laurence H.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Brick-Machine (open access)

Brick-Machine

Patent for an improvement to the features of Brick Machines, included with detailed illustrations.
Date: August 31, 1886
Creator: Shellenberger, Samuel L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bridge. (open access)

Bridge.

Patent for "improvements in bridges of that class which are used for crossing streams or country roads, and for such other purposes as a bridge may be desired" (lines 15-18), with instructions and illustrations.
Date: August 16, 1887
Creator: Mitchell, Joseph
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Check Hook. (open access)

Check Hook.

Patent for a new and improved check-hook. This design is "composed of the U-shaped frame having a threaded stem projecting from its lower end, and having the lugs extending from its vertical branches, the spring, and the cross-bar pivoted at one end between the lugs, and having side depressions near its other end to receive the lugs, and having its end adapted to be engaged by the spring and provided with the thumb-piece or horse-head" (lines 90-100).
Date: August 14, 1888
Creator: Matchette, James S.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Whip Socket and Rein Holder. (open access)

Combined Whip Socket and Rein Holder.

Patent for a new and improved combined whip socket and rein holder. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the pivoted whip-socket, its serrated eccentric face and bearing-plate, and a spring connected to the socket and bearing-plate, whereby the eccentric face is brought to bear automatically" (lines 20-25).
Date: August 1, 1882
Creator: Bellah, William Newton
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baggage Check and Clasp. (open access)

Baggage Check and Clasp.

Patent for a new and improved baggage check and clasp. This design "consists in a novel construction and arrangement of a check, a direction-plate, and a clasp for securing said parts to an article of baggage" (lines 18-21).
Date: August 1, 1882
Creator: McLeary, James Harvey
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Awning Bracket. (open access)

Awning Bracket.

Patent for a new and improved awning bracket. This design "relates to awning-brackets of that class which are secured to the wall of the building over the sidewalk, and secure themselves without the use of posts, &c. The invention has for its object to provide a self-sustaining bracket possessing superior advantages in point of simplicity, inexpensiveness, durability, and general efficiency" (lines 9-16).
Date: August 14, 1883
Creator: Rodgers, Ranzil H.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Burglar Alarm. (open access)

Burglar Alarm.

Patent for a new and improved burglar alarm. This design "consists in the combination of the door provided with a rod for catching under the spring, a cylinder for receiving powder, a spring-actuated cover for the end of the cylinder, and a spring which explodes the cap . . . The object of [the] invention is to provide a burglar-alarm which will make a loud noise when the door is opened, and in which a spring-actuated cover is made to take the place of a wad or ball" (lines 13-24).
Date: August 10, 1886
Creator: Bray, Horace Bradford
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blacking Brush. (open access)

Blacking Brush.

Patent for a new and improved blacking brush. This design "relates to an improvement in boot-blacking brushes so disposed that fluid blacking may be used; and to this end [the design] provide[s] a reservoir at one end with a forwardly-projecting tube or nozzle therefrom, the said reservoir having a disk at one side, so that when pressed the liquid will be forced through the nozzle upon the boot" (lines 13-20).
Date: August 2, 1887
Creator: England, William
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bill or Paper File. (open access)

Bill or Paper File.

Patent for a new and improved bill or paper file. This design "relates to hook-files, the object being to so improve their construction as to prevent the bills or papers on the file from working off. The invention consists, essentially, in a file provided with a tongue pivoted near the point of the hook" (lines 7-13).
Date: August 9, 1887
Creator: Gilbert, Frank B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Water Trap for Cisterns and Other Receptacles. (open access)

Automatic Water Trap for Cisterns and Other Receptacles.

Patent for a new and improved water-trap. This design consists in "the combination, with a bent main pipe, of a vessel secured on the said main pipe and connected at its top with the interior of the said main pipe, a pin held on the bottom of the said vessel, a fixed sleeve provided with a spiral groove and engaged by said pin, a grooved pin held in the said fixed sleeve and resting at its top end on the bottom of the said pin, a roped connected with the said grooved pin, and a weight held on the said rope to counterbalance the said main pipe and vessel" (lines 103-114).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Pickering, Charles H.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Attachment for Harness. (open access)

Attachment for Harness.

Patent for a new and improved attachment for harnesses. This design "relates to attachments for harness; and it consists of a plate having a safety-hook, a back-band buckle, and guide-rings" (lines 20-23).
Date: August 30, 1881
Creator: Applewhite, David T.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling Press. (open access)

Baling Press.

Patent for a new and improved baling press. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the rounded meeting ends of the main levers and the equalizing-link connecting the same; the rounded meeting ends of the toggle-levers concentrically arranged with reference to the sill-bearings; the perforated connecting-pin for the upper ends of each pair of toggle-levers, and the securing-bolts thereof passed through the heads of the toggle-levers; the end openings in the lower portion of the baling-box and the vertically-reciprocating doors in connection therewith" (lines 19-30).
Date: August 8, 1882
Creator: Stopple, John J.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press (open access)

Baling-Press

Patent for improvements in construction of cotton baling-presses.
Date: August 29, 1882
Creator: Robburts, George W.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Packer. (open access)

Cotton Packer.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-packer. This design consists "[i]n a press, the combination of a press-operating shaft having a wheel upon its outer end provided with parallel concentric flanges upon its face, a shaft having connection to the driving-power, and having a friction-pulley upon its inner end" (lines 99-104). It further consists in "a bearing for the inner end of the shaft having two longitudinal slots sliding upon bolts, a lever having its end pivoted to the sliding bearing for shifting it, and a brake bearing with its shoe against the wheel" (lines 1-5).
Date: August 31, 1886
Creator: Dulany, John Thornton
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Auger. (open access)

Auger.

Patent for a new and improved auger. This design consists in "[t]he combination of a shank provided with a conveying-screw and the cutters at the lower end of the screw, the sides of the cutters being extended beyond a vertical line drawn across the edges of the screw, and a tube or casing enclosing the screw and connected at its lower end with the cutters, said tube being of less diameter than the cutters and arranged within the outer sides thereof" (lines 56-64).
Date: August 23, 1887
Creator: Tevebaugh, Henry Clay
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Cultivator and Corn-Planter (open access)

Combined Cultivator and Corn-Planter

Patent for "a planter that shall be self-covering and adjustable as to the transverse and longitudinal space between the hills and rows, and which at the same time may be regulated as to the amount of material fed at each throw of the seed-slide, and which will also mark off the adjacent row as the machine advances" (lines 10-16).
Date: August 23, 1887
Creator: Westhoff, Emil
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling Press. (open access)

Baling Press.

Patent for a new and improved baling-press. This design has for its object "to provide a press in which the material to be baled can be compressed into bales of the desired sizes, and then emptied from the baling-box by tilting up the tail-board, which is provided with angle irons to catch under the bale" (lines 15-20).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Hoop, Friedrich W. J. & Isaac, Joseph
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Seed Planter and Cultivator. (open access)

Combined Seed Planter and Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved combined seed planter and cultivator. This design "is to provide combined seed-planters and cultivators constructed in such a manner that the seed-planting mechanism can be readily detached when not required for use, and also in such a manner that each plow can be adjusted independently of the others when desired" (lines 18-24).
Date: August 15, 1882
Creator: Gifford, George L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History