Finger-Exercising Machine. (open access)

Finger-Exercising Machine.

Patent for a finger-exercising machine that is meant to improve the finger strength and flexibility of musicians. "A cylinder provided with friction-rollers imparts motion to a set of keys upon which the fingers are placed; and the object of [the invention] is to impart flexibility to the fingers, and to overcome the otherwise difficult motion" (lines 11-16).
Date: September 14, 1880
Creator: Becker, Francis L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Mixing Mortar. (open access)

Machine for Mixing Mortar.

Patent for a new and improved machine for mixing mortar. This design "consists in a cylinder composed of bars set into open heads and rotating beneath a hopper . . . so that the material to be mixed rests upon the cylinder, and is rasped or grated off by the motion of the cylinder and received on the inside of the cylinder between the bars. . . . When the material is received inside the cylinder it is carried around by the rotary motion, and is turned over and forced out" (lines 7-22).
Date: September 14, 1880
Creator: Schellenberger, Samuel L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Open Link. (open access)

Open Link.

Patent for a new and improved carabiner ("open link"). This design adds a lip to the hinge to enable easier intentional opening and to discourage unintentional opening from striking against a foreign body.
Date: December 14, 1880
Creator: Sanders, John Daniel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Primer for Cannon. (open access)

Primer for Cannon.

Patent for a new and improved primer for cannons. This design corrects the loosening of primers in their vent-holes by way of "a spring combined with the priming tube, which spring expands to the size of the vent" (para. 3). This eliminates blowouts and premature breakage.
Date: September 14, 1880
Creator: Rodman, John Black
System: The Portal to Texas History
Skirt Ironing Board. (open access)

Skirt Ironing Board.

Patent for a new and improved ironing board. This design "consists [of] an ironing-board provided with hinged detachable leaves and with devices for holding said leaves open, which board is hinged or pivoted to the end piece of a frame, the lower part of which forms a box to receive that part of the article that hangs down, while the rest is being ironed, thus protecting it from dust and dirt and keeping it moist" (lines 12-20).
Date: December 14, 1880
Creator: Baldwin, Mary Hensley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spoke Socket. (open access)

Spoke Socket.

Patent for a new and improved vehicle wheel for "preventing the tire from becoming loose" and "preventing the loosening and rattling of the spokes" (lines 8-11). This design achieves these feats with conically-tipped spokes encased by rubber cushions.
Date: September 14, 1880
Creator: Harrington, John A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spring Frame for Freight Cars. (open access)

Spring Frame for Freight Cars.

Patent for new and improved springs for transportation. This design provides "vehicles for the transportation of merchandise . . . with an interior spring-padding, and in some cases with intermediate elastic floors or partitions, by which injury to the load, by jolting while in transit, shall be prevented, and which shall further conduce to the preservation of fruits and other merchandise of a like perishable nature" (lines 22-30).
Date: December 14, 1880
Creator: Shirley, Joseph J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wheel Hub. (open access)

Wheel Hub.

Patent for a new and improved wheel hub. This design consists "[i]n a sectional hub, each spoke-socket having a separate side opening closed by a plate [that] fit[s] into an annular groove . . . of the cylinder . . . and [is] held by bolts passing between the tenons of spokes, to allow each spoke to be separately reached and tightened by a wedge under the end of its tenon" (lines 59-65). This "obviate[s] the necessity of removing the wheel-tire for replacing a broken spoke with a new one" (lines 7-9).
Date: December 14, 1880
Creator: Oualline, Edward Napoleon
System: The Portal to Texas History