Car Truck. (open access)

Car Truck.

Patent for a new and improved car-truck. This design "relates to railway-car trucks; and it consists in providing the axle inside the wheel with a supplementary journal and shoulder and a supplementary journal-box supported above the inside journal by the truck-frame, said supplementary journal-box being immediately over the inside journal and arranged so as to support the truck on the inside journal should the outside journal become broken or inoperative by means of a hot box or otherwise" (lines 10-20).
Date: September 11, 1888
Creator: Tull, Francis Shalis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Coin Sorter. (open access)

Coin Sorter.

Patent for a new and improved coin sorter. This design "consists of a cabinet or coin-receptacle divided horizontally by a vertical series of drawers, each of which, except the lower one, is formed with a bottom that is provided with closely-set rows of circular openings that communicate with the drawers beneath, the openings in the bottom of each drawer being smaller than those in the bottom of the next drawer above, whereby the larger coins are retained in the upper drawer or drawers, while the smaller coins will pass successively through the several drawers to the bottom" (lines 15-27).
Date: September 22, 1885
Creator: Harcourt, Guy M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Berth. (open access)

Car Berth.

Patent for a new and improved car berth. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a car formed with an opening, recess, or compartment, of a berth consisting of a series of parallel slats connected together by flexible connections and adapted to be rolled up . . . and end supports adapted to be independently folded each upon itself, so that they may be concealed below the rolled berth, the inner side of the berth and the inner ends of the supports being secured within the opening" (lines 49-58).
Date: September 27, 1887
Creator: Tull, Francis Schales
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lock (open access)

Lock

Patent for "improvements in locks, having special reference to locks for the doors of freight-cars; and it has for its object to provide a strong lock so constructed as to be comparatively safe from the attacks of lockpickers" (lines 8-13).
Date: September 11, 1888
Creator: Bergman, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ventilating Apparatus. (open access)

Ventilating Apparatus.

Patent for a new and improved ventilator. This design consists in "a fan casing, constructed and arranged . . . of the fan arranged therein, the gearing placed above the fan, the air-ducts leading to the fan-chamber, the endless weighted chain or cord, and drums and pulleys . . . [and] an open bottom secured to a ceiling and communicating with air-ducts passing between the floor and ceiling of a building" (lines 80-90).
Date: September 21, 1886
Creator: Garfield, John Morris
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spark Arrester. (open access)

Spark Arrester.

Patent for a new and improved spark arrester. This design "consists in the construction and arrangement of devices by means of which the sparks are extinguished and the cinders distributed on the road-bed, while the fine dust is delivered into the ash-box" (lines 19-23).
Date: September 12, 1882
Creator: Nichols, George B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sleeping-Car (open access)

Sleeping-Car

Patent for a combined train car that can "be adapted for day use a parlor or chair car, and may be readily converted into a sleeping-car with independent state-rooms, thus insuring privacy and comfort to passengers" (lines 16-20) thus saving achieving maximum efficiency of space.
Date: September 11, 1888
Creator: Tull, Shalis Francis
System: The Portal to Texas History
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
Safety-Guard for Railway-Trucks. (open access)

Safety-Guard for Railway-Trucks.

Patent for a new design of a guard-rail to make train wheels move more safely, with illustrations.
Date: September 6, 1887
Creator: Tull, Francis Shalis.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Reversible Harness Hame. (open access)

Reversible Harness Hame.

Patent for a new and improved hame. This design consists "of wood, properly curved to conform to the configuration of a horse-collar, and having their front and rear sides shaped alike, so that they may be applied interchangeably to the right or left sides to the collar. To accomplish such result [the design] provide[s] each hame with a swiveling trace attachment" (lines 7-14).
Date: September 29, 1885
Creator: Lewis, Lewis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Abdominal Supporter. (open access)

Abdominal Supporter.

Patent for a new and improved supporter for the abdomen during pregnancy. This design "consists of an abdominal sack for the support of the abdomen in pregnancy, which is contrived with supporting-bands adapted for supporting it from the shoulders of the wearer, where the weight can be best sustained, and so as to entirely avoid the belt commonly used, and thus relieve the stomach and liver from the pressure and irritation which it produces" (lines 7-15).
Date: September 11, 1883
Creator: Galney, Augustus
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bale-Ejector for Presses. (open access)

Bale-Ejector for Presses.

Patent for new and useful Improvements in Bale-Ejectors for Presses
Date: September 21, 1880
Creator: Riesel, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History