Coffee Pot. (open access)

Coffee Pot.

Patent for improvements to coffee pot design including a bagged apparatus to hold grounds that are then steamed through a jet venting apparatus to brew the drink with accompanying illustrations.
Date: December 31, 1889
Creator: Stidham, James Simeon
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cultivator and Planter Combined. (open access)

Cultivator and Planter Combined.

Patent for a new and improved planter and cultivator. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the frame and the axle journaled in boxes on said frame and in bearings on the tongue, of the tongue journaled on the axle, the cross-bar connecting the side bar of the frame and passed through the tongue, and the screw-threaded rod passed through the side bars of the frame and through the rear end of the tongue and provided with adjusting-nut" (lines 53-61).
Date: December 31, 1889
Creator: Green, William R. & Green, James A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Flexible Hoe and Cotton-Chopper (open access)

Flexible Hoe and Cotton-Chopper

Patent for "provide a means by which the swinging blades are made to cut a uniform depth, and do as shallow hoeing as may be required even in rough ground, and also work very close to small plants; second, to provide such gearing and such connection between the driving-wheel and the oscillating blades that the blades maybe readily shifted from right to left to keep them over the row without having to move or change the course of the driving-wheel at the same time" (lines 14-24).
Date: December 31, 1889
Creator: Hurd, Judson B. & McLane, Hiram H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed-Planter and Fertilizer-Distributor (open access)

Seed-Planter and Fertilizer-Distributor

Patent for "a machine of this class which may be used interchangeably for planting different kinds of seeds-such as corn, peas, cotton, or other seeds-or fertilizing material, and which shall be simple in construction, durable, and easily manipulated" (lines 10-15).
Date: December 31, 1889
Creator: Gallaway, John Tyler
System: The Portal to Texas History
Weighing Attachment for Wagons (open access)

Weighing Attachment for Wagons

Patent for improvements in the weighing attachments for wagons so that "the wagon body with its contents may be weighed without removing it from the holsters; and it has for its object to provide a device which shall be simple in construction, accurate, and easily operated" (lines 10-14).
Date: December 31, 1889
Creator: Gragg, Zachry Taylor
System: The Portal to Texas History
Carriage Top Prop. (open access)

Carriage Top Prop.

Patent for a new and improved prop for carriage tops. This design consists in "a prop-joint for vehicles, the combination of the bow, the prop-casting having the circumferential flanges lying against the opposite sides of the bow, and the opposite extension plates lying against and secured by screws to the rear edges of the bow" (lines 70-75).
Date: July 31, 1888
Creator: Jacobs, William Ramsey
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Pen or Pencil Holder and Pin. (open access)

Combined Pen or Pencil Holder and Pin.

Patent for a new and improved writing-utensil holder and pin. This design "not only forms a convenient receptacle for a pen or pencil, but . . . it is also adapted for use as an ornamental scarf or breast pin, and to this end the bands may be appropriately shaped to confine a stone or other setting, which can be held from endwise displacement, if necessary, by means of lugs . . . at each end of the bar" (lines 63-71).
Date: July 31, 1888
Creator: Stewart, Samuel F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
File Case. (open access)

File Case.

Patent for a new and improved file case. This design "[t]he combination, with a case, of the pockets constructed in a series of a single piece of material having partitions formed by long folds connected at the bottom by short folds . . . [and t]he combination, with the folded pockets, of the file case having its sides constructed to overlap a part of the ends of the pockets, and an elastic follower with thumb-pieces arranged to bind with the sides of the case by straightening" (lines 9-24).
Date: July 31, 1888
Creator: Altfather, William F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay-Press (open access)

Hay-Press

Patent for "a simple and effective machine of the character described, which shall possess advantages in point of durability, cheapness of manufacture, and general efficiency" (lines 18-21).
Date: July 31, 1888
Creator: Bigham, Joshua R. & Bigham, Ambrose W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Damper (open access)

Automatic Damper

Patent for "an attachment for stove-dampers whereby said dampers will be automatically moved, in order that the fire may be maintained at a predetermined heat" (lines 9-13).
Date: January 31, 1888
Creator: Beauchamp, William A. J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insect-Destroyer. (open access)

Insect-Destroyer.

Patent for "improvement in machines for destroying bugs and worms that infest cotton and other plants" (lines 8-10), including instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 31, 1888
Creator: Webb, Thomas H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut Lock. (open access)

Nut Lock.

Patent for a new and improved nut lock. This design has, "[i]n combination with a bolt having a cylindrical stem and a head beveled on its inner face, a nut tapped to receive the threaded end of the bolt and prevented from turning" (lines 73-77).
Date: January 31, 1888
Creator: Anderson, Lee
System: The Portal to Texas History
Brace for Bedsteads, Gates, &c. (open access)

Brace for Bedsteads, Gates, &c.

Patent for a new and improved brace for bed frames. This design consists in "the posts having the hooks or eyes, the head-board, foot-board, and rails, also provided with hooks or eyes, the swivel, the wires, each having one end secured to one of the corner hooks or eyes, passed through the eye-bolt and screw-bolt, respectively" (lines 97-102). Said wires are further "given a half-turn on themselves, and their other ends secured to the opposite corner hooks, and the [other] wire having one end secured to one of the center hooks or eyes and woven in and out over the hooks or eyes" (lines 1-5).
Date: May 31, 1887
Creator: Lenix, John M. & Swann, George B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Chair and Sleeping Car. (open access)

Combined Chair and Sleeping Car.

Patent for railway passenger train combined chair and sleeping car. The combined chair and sleeping car were designed to utilized less space on the train.
Date: May 31, 1887
Creator: Goelet, Edward B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for an automatically opening and closing gate including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 31, 1887
Creator: Philpott, Horatio V.
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.
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
System: The Portal to Texas History
Folding Lamp Shelf for Pianos. (open access)

Folding Lamp Shelf for Pianos.

Patent for a new and improved lamp shelf for pianos. This design "consists in an arm pivoted to the back of a music-rack and carrying a lamp-shelf, the arm being arranged to swing outward into a horizontal position, and the shelf being connected with the end of the arm by a pivotal connection, which permits of turning it outward and downward into a horizontal position in front of the plane of the music-rack" (lines 22-30).
Date: August 31, 1886
Creator: Prause, Reinhard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ice Machine. (open access)

Ice Machine.

Patent for a new and improved ice machine. This design consists in "[a]n oil-trap for compression ice-machines, consisting of cylinders provided with inclined diaphragms, and having extensions provided with water-chambers and pipes extending down through the same" (lines 96-100). Said pipes are "to communicate with the cylinders, one of said pipes communicating with the extension of one of the cylinders and the other pipe leading from the ammonia-pump, said cylinders having a suitable arrangement of pipes and valves" (lines 1-6).
Date: August 31, 1886
Creator: Diener, Frederic
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut Lock. (open access)

Nut Lock.

Patent for a new and improved nut-lock. This design "consists of a slide or continuous collar or ring, made of lead or other soft or compressible metal or material, having a hole so that it will fit or pass over the end of an ordinary bolt, and adapted to be pressed into the threads of the bolt and against the face of an ordinary nut by a suitable die" (lines 16-23).
Date: August 31, 1886
Creator: Shellenberger, Samuel L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bale Tie. (open access)

Bale Tie.

Patent for a new and improved bale tie. This design "consists of a buckle or tie consisting of a base-plate having one or more projections or hooks on its face, to one of which is permanently secured one end of the wire or band, while the other end is passed around the bale and secured to the opposite hook or projection" (lines 21-27).
Date: March 31, 1885
Creator: Tippit, James A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Band Cutter and Feeder for Thrashers. (open access)

Band Cutter and Feeder for Thrashers.

Patent for a new and improved feeder and band cutter for thrashers. This design consists "[i]n a band-cutter for a thrasher, the combination with the main frame, main shaft, platforms, and mechanism adapted and arranged to cut the bands, of the crank, rod, oscillating shaft provided with the crank arms . . . reciprocating rod, and depending rod" (lines 38-44).
Date: March 31, 1885
Creator: Cook, Emmanuel Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bustle. (open access)

Bustle.

Patent for a new and improved bustle. This design "consist[s] of a single piece of wire bent in spiral form, said bustle being larger in diameter at its center than at its ends, and eyes or loops formed in said ends, in combination with a spiral spring located within said bustle, the ends of said spring being formed with eyes or loops, and cords or tapes secured to the eyes of the bustle and spring" (lines 52-59).
Date: March 31, 1885
Creator: Davis, Charles Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn Power. (open access)

Churn Power.

Patent for a new and improved churn power. This design "relates to improvements in churn powers; and it consists of a plunger-shaft so connected to a wheel by means of a loose rod as to alternately raise or lower said shaft as the wheel rotates. The object of the invention is to accomplish the up-and-down motion and consequent agitation without the usual amount of labor" (lines 9-16).
Date: March 31, 1885
Creator: Patton, Charles W.
System: The Portal to Texas History