Wave-Motor. (open access)

Wave-Motor.

Patent for a simple and effective apparatus that utilizes wave power. It consists of a frame with a casing on the top that extends from the normal trough to crest lines of waves, a float, a pump with the center below the float, a discharge pipe connected to the pump, anchors and braces for the pump, a joint that connects the pump with a pile, guide rolls, and inlets and outlets on opposite sides of the pump.
Date: December 12, 1893
Creator: Walker, James C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Ice-Machines. (open access)

Improvement in Ice-Machines.

Patent for improvements to the construction of "of the various parts of the [ice machine], whereby the reconversion of the ether into liquid before it reaches the freezing-vessel or chamber is better assured" (para. 3).
Date: December 12, 1871
Creator: Mühl, Andrew
System: The Portal to Texas History
Means for Ventilating Grain, &c. (open access)

Means for Ventilating Grain, &c.

Patent for a new and improved ventilator for grain, etc. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the tubes, of the protecting end caps, consisting of a base-plate, by which it may be secured to the structure, and provided with a central opening, in which the ends of the tubes are adjusted, and a semi-cone . . . [also] [t]he combination, with the structure provided, with transverse ventilating-tubes projecting on the outside of the structure, of the . . . protecting caps" (lines 88-97).
Date: December 12, 1882
Creator: Street, John Kennedy
System: The Portal to Texas History
Switch and Signal System (open access)

Switch and Signal System

Patent for a switch and signal system to be used for railroad signaling and to prevent trains on different tracks from colliding. (lines 12-22)
Date: December 12, 1905
Creator: Adams, Edwin J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
End Cap, Tie, and Seal for Cylindrical Cotton-Bales. (open access)

End Cap, Tie, and Seal for Cylindrical Cotton-Bales.

Patent for an end cap, tie, and seal for cylindrical cotton-bales. The cap has a flat end with cylindrical edges and a draw wire in its hem. It extends nearly to the ends of the bale, and the edges go over the ends of the bale.
Date: March 12, 1895
Creator: Campbell, Louis Wilbur
System: The Portal to Texas History
Drill-Holder. (open access)

Drill-Holder.

Patent for a drill holder that may be adjusted to automatically drill forward when manually rotated.
Date: October 12, 1915
Creator: Lawson, Harry C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Air-Ship. (open access)

Air-Ship.

Patent for a self-propelled, navigable air ship. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: June 12, 1891
Creator: Walker, James C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Film Actuating Mechanism For Motion Picture Cameras. (open access)

Film Actuating Mechanism For Motion Picture Cameras.

Patent for useful improvement in Film Actuating Mechanism for Motion-Picture cameras and cinematograph motion picture cameras. This invention simplifies and improves on the construction and capacity of film.
Date: May 12, 1917
Creator: Gildersleeve, Fred E. & Trice, William L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oil Burning Apparatus. (open access)

Oil Burning Apparatus.

Patent for a new and improved oil-burner. This design "is in oil burners intended for heating purposes, the combustion being, as in Bunsen burners, so complete as to afford little or no light. The apparatus involves constriction of the flame from a burner to arrest combustion and the admixture of air therewith as the gas rises while still heated through a laterally-perforated tube, at the top of which it is either ignited or conveyed away for subsequent consumption" (lines 11-21).
Date: November 12, 1889
Creator: Streeter, George D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Marking Attachment. (open access)

Marking Attachment.

Patent for certain new and useful improvements in marking attachments, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 12, 1898
Creator: Lane, Sampson W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harness Fastner (open access)

Harness Fastner

Patent for a harness fastener. Illustration included.
Date: April 12, 1904
Creator: Cornitius, Ermst
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railroad-Bicycle. (open access)

Railroad-Bicycle.

Patent for certain new and useful improvements in railroad bicycles, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 12, 1899
Creator: Turner, William B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nutcracker. (open access)

Nutcracker.

Patent for a nutcracker, which does not crush the nut inside.
Date: July 12, 1910
Creator: Fort, Foster W. & Cruger, Harry T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ironing-Board. (open access)

Ironing-Board.

Patent for an ironing board that has no legs or braces, but is securely held and provided with a cabinet that can be attached to the side of a wall or built into a wall to not take up space in the room by being placed out. Makes for easier ironing of garments, such as dresses and skirts, by allowing them to be inserted on the board.
Date: July 12, 1921
Creator: Trammell, Earl, M. & Carothers, Willam C.
System: The Portal to Texas History