Attachment for Laundry-Extractors (open access)

Attachment for Laundry-Extractors

Patent for a time cut-off and brake attachment for laundry extractors for preventing accidents. Illustrations included.
Date: January 23, 1912
Creator: Moore, Robert Marion
System: The Portal to Texas History
Changeable Gearing. (open access)

Changeable Gearing.

Patent for changeable gearing by using an axle, bevel-gears, stub-shafts and a crank-axle to construct the changeable gear, so that the “sprocket is locked to rotate with the crank-axle in one direction, while it may rotate freely of the axle in opposite direction, and, furthermore, that the sprocket may be locked to rotate with the axle or may be caused to rotate at a higher-speed than the axle.” (Lines 8-14.) Illustration is included.
Date: January 8, 1901
Creator: Brady, Alford
System: The Portal to Texas History
Comb Cleaner. (open access)

Comb Cleaner.

Patent for a new and useful comb-cleaner. "This invention is an improved construction of comb-cleaner, the object being to provide an exceedingly cheap, simple, and efficient device by means of which a comb can be quickly and effectively cleaned" (line 10).
Date: January 21, 1902
Creator: Hess, Hugo
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bicycle-Wheel. (open access)

Bicycle-Wheel.

Patent for an improved rear bicycle-wheel. It has one hub, two rims, two sets of spokes and tires. This invention is meant to be safer and has the qualities of a tricycle. It is meant for a woman's bicycle.
Date: January 14, 1896
Creator: Broers, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Frame House. (open access)

Frame House.

Patent for a new and improved frame house. This design consists of "[t]he combination, in a roof, of T-shaped caps or battens having in their depending tongues the transverse dovetail grooves, the roof-boards arranged above the grooves and below the horizontal and lateral arms of the said battens, and the purlins adapted to enter the grooves and grooved longitudinally to engage the said tongues" (lines 23-31).
Date: January 17, 1882
Creator: Boyd, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Mosquito Bar Frame and Canopy. (open access)

Combined Mosquito Bar Frame and Canopy.

Patent for a new and improved mosquito netting. This design "provide[s] a simple and substantial construction of frame for supporting the mosquito-bar that will admit of ready application to and removal from the bedstead, and also to provide a simple and effective arrangement of cords to the mosquito-bar, whereby it may be easily extended over the bed or folded out of the way by the occupant of the bed" (lines 12-20).
Date: January 24, 1882
Creator: Howe, Charles P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Elevator and Distributer. (open access)

Cotton Elevator and Distributer.

Patent for cotton elevators and distributors "whereby the cotton and air shall be separated in a simple and efficient manner and the air discharged from the suction-fan with the least possible degree of friction and back pressure." (Lines 11-15) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 12, 1897
Creator: Griffin, Thomas J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Compound for the manufacture of artificial stone. (open access)

Compound for the manufacture of artificial stone.

Patent for "Compounds for the Manufacture of Artificial Stone...and it consists in composition formed by mixing certain materials in solution and treating them in further solutions" (lines 5-15).
Date: January 2, 1883
Creator: Greer, Joseph A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Baling Cotton. (open access)

Apparatus for Baling Cotton.

Patent for improvements to an apparatus that softens and compresses cotton, and prevents clogging and breakage. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: November 5, 1890
Creator: Goldthwaite, Joseph G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Machine. (open access)

Baling-Machine.

Patent for a "cotton bale provided with a fire-proof covering in the form of a box or casing of sheet metal, and to have the same so applied to the bale in the process of compressing the cotton in forming the bale, that the said covering will of itself form the entire means for holding the bale intact and in its tightly compressed condition, while serving its additional function as a shipping case which will protect the bale of cotton from fire, and from all possible damage incidental to transportation and storage." (Lines 16-27) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 29, 1895
Creator: Hutches, Benjamin F., Jr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Process For Expressing Fluid From Paraffin Compositions. (open access)

Process For Expressing Fluid From Paraffin Compositions.

Patent for using a cooling and heating process to assist with expressing fluids from paraffin compositions.
Date: January 20, 1914
Creator: Hansen, Julius
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Firing Device for Explosive Shells. (open access)

Automatic Firing Device for Explosive Shells.

Patent for automatic firing device where "an explosive shell may be caused to travel any distance within the range of the shell through the air without exploding" (lines 14-17).
Date: January 7, 1919
Creator: McCombs, Orville K.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Pile-Drivers. (open access)

Improvement in Pile-Drivers.

Patent for an improved pile-driver device which automates the release of the pile-driver hammer as well as including a perpendicular device which advances the device longitudinally as the work progresses.
Date: January 22, 1875
Creator: McDermott, Martin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Water-Tanks. (open access)

Improvement in Water-Tanks.

Patent for an improved water-tank built with lumbers that are thoroughly dried and covered with asphaltum as waterproof agent. It includes illustrations.
Date: January 28, 1879
Creator: Bardon, Prosper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Separating Fiber from Stalks. (open access)

Machine for Separating Fiber from Stalks.

Patent for a machine that separates fibers from the stalks and leaves of a variety of plants, including ramie, flax, pineapple, and sisal.
Date: January 7, 1902
Creator: Allison, Samuel B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Weighted Horseshoes. (open access)

Improvement in Weighted Horseshoes.

Patent for improvement in weighted horseshoes, which are used in horse training for gait improvement. The horseshoes have removable weights received by a flange and held in place by screws. The weight may be formed in various shapes to correct different issues.
Date: January 16, 1877
Creator: Seixas, Eugene E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Portable Houses. (open access)

Improvement in Portable Houses.

Patent for improvements in the construction of portable wooden houses, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 8, 1878
Creator: Boyd, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hydraulic Excavating Machine. (open access)

Hydraulic Excavating Machine.

Patent for a new and improved hydraulic excavator. This design "consists in combining a submerged propeller-wheel with a water-jet tube having a flexible connection with the supply-pipe, so as to permit the water-jet tube to rise and fall . . . and also move laterally, whereby the tube will, when it meets an obstruction, yield sufficiently to prevent breaking, jarring, or injuring any of the parts, the water-jet tube and propeller bearing such relative positions to each other that the . . . obstructions disengaged by the jet will be held in suspension . . . and carried off by the natural current" (lines 14-27).
Date: January 15, 1884
Creator: Mansfield, Samuel M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stirrup (open access)

Stirrup

Patent for a stirrup. Illustration included.
Date: January 22, 1907
Creator: Levy, John Victor
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sheet Metal Fireproof Window (open access)

Sheet Metal Fireproof Window

Patent for a sheet metal, fireproof window. The design is a window where the frame and the sash is constructed out of sheet-metal in order for it to be fireproof. The design also allows the sashes to be opened and held in that position but will close automatically when high temperature air comes into contact with them.
Date: January 23, 1906
Creator: Miller, W. H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Regenerator for Compound Engines. (open access)

Regenerator for Compound Engines.

Patent for a new and improved regenerator for compound engines. This design "consist[s] of a casing surrounding a steam-cylinder and connected with the uptake-flue, dampers being provided for closing the uptake and the entrance therefrom to the said casing, whereby the products of combustion may be either directed through the uptake or through the casing around said cylinder" (lines 46-53).
Date: January 13, 1885
Creator: Hulme, Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Flue for Cotton-Condensers (open access)

Flue for Cotton-Condensers

Patent for a flue to be used in the Rembert system of bailing cotton. The flue is comprised of a series of valves to help regulate air flow in the condenser so as to aid in the uniform deposit of fibers maintaining a uniform shape throughout.
Date: January 24, 1893
Creator: Crooks, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shoe Lace (open access)

Shoe Lace

Patent for a shoe lace that does not become loose nor untie accidentally. Illustrations included.
Date: January 17, 1905
Creator: Nicholls, George H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sash Holder. (open access)

Sash Holder.

Patent for a new and improved sash holder. This design "consists in supplying the sash with two spring-actuated cams—one upon each side—which cams in their normal condition press against the frame and hold the sash, but are simultaneously withdrawn and held out of contact with the frame by the partial rotation of a cylindrical operating-handle, with which the cams are connected by suitable rods, said handle also furnishing the means by which the sash is raised and lowered" (lines 41-50).
Date: January 19, 1886
Creator: Cutter, Martin A.
System: The Portal to Texas History