Bag Holder and Filler. (open access)

Bag Holder and Filler.

Patent for a new and improved bag holder and filler. This design "consists of an expansible bag holding and filling funnel composed of a metallic strip having overlapping edges and provided with attached spring-wires, such funnel being capable of contraction to enter a bag, and of expanding therein for the purpose of holding and filling the bag" (lines 13-19).
Date: February 6, 1883
Creator: Adkisson, Duncan Rudolph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Beer Cooler. (open access)

Beer Cooler.

Patent for a new and improved beer cooler. This design "consists in the detailed construction and arrangement of a cooling-chamber or refrigerator which is adapted to be attached to the faucet of the keg or barrel containing the beverage" (lines 24-28).
Date: September 12, 1882
Creator: Newman, George Morton
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blasting Cartridge. (open access)

Blasting Cartridge.

Patent for a new and improved blasting-cartridge. This design is "composed of two similar semi-cylindrical sections having flat smooth faces their entire length, adapted to rest or bear against each other and grooved to form the cylindrical fuse-opening" (lines 94-98). It further consists in the "bore tapering from said fuse-opening to the bottom or inner end of the shell, said semi-shells being provided on their outer sides and at their front ends for a portion of their lengths only with sharp-pointed spurs or projections having vertical front walls and sharp inclined rear edges" (lines 1-7).
Date: July 2, 1889
Creator: Todd, James Polk & Welch, John Steel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blasting Plug. (open access)

Blasting Plug.

Patent for a new and improved blasting plug. This design is "to improve the usefulness and efficiency of the device, to render it capable of more general application, to provide a construction whereby a given charge is rendered more powerful and effective, and to provide a divided blasting-plug . . . The invention consists more particularly in a cylindrical blasting-plug divided longitudinally into two separate or independent sections, one of which is formed with a disk-head having a vent orifice and made coextensive with the external caliber of the plug when the two sections are placed together" (lines 12-29).
Date: November 5, 1889
Creator: Holsey, Julius H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blind Stop. (open access)

Blind Stop.

Patent for a new and improved blind-stop. This design consists "of a corrugated flange or plate connected with the frame thereof, a spring-retaining strip, a corrugated bar arranged between the retaining strip and the corrugated flange, a socket formed upon the corrugated bar and adapted to receive the slat-bar, and a set-screw carried by the retaining strip" (lines 77-84).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Gulick, Lizzie Talley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cantalever. (open access)

Cantalever.

Patent for a new and improved cantilever. This design consists in "the combination of the central post or column supported upon a pier or tower, the upwardly-inclined struts or beams bearing with the inner ends against the base of the post or column, the rods or cables extending from the top of the post to the ends of the struts, the rods or cables extending from the middle of the post to near the inner ends of the struts, the rods or cables extending from the ends of the struts to the middle of the post" (lines76-86).
Date: January 20, 1885
Creator: Davis, Benjamin F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the draw-heads provided with projections . . . each having at its inner-portion a horizontally-elongated slot, and at its outer portion a vertically-elongated slot, of the horizontally-slidable coupling-pins, for respectively engaging the said slots" (lines 82-88).
Date: March 16, 1886
Creator: Sessions, Egbert G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists of "a yielding draw-head having a horizontally-moveable coupling-pin and a pivoted lever connected to said pin, of a rotatable latching-plate connected with said lever by a rod or chain, a spring for acting on the pin-lever, and a spring-catch for engaging the latch-plate, said catch and latch-plate being disengaged by the pressure of the draw-head in the act of coupling, thereby releasing the retracted coupling-pin and allowing it to automatically engage the opposite draw-head" (lines 14-24).
Date: December 7, 1886
Creator: Sessions, Egbert G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consists in the combination of two draw-heads, in one of which is a spring-actuated jaw, which acts as a support for the coupling-pin until the jaw is pushed back into the coupling-head, and in the other a slotted spring-actuated jaw, which has its end so formed as to support the link in position ready to couple" (lines 11-18).
Date: August 7, 1883
Creator: Learmonth, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton and Corn Planter. (open access)

Cotton and Corn Planter.

Patent for a new and improved planter. This design consists in "the combination of the main wheel and shaft, a dish-shaped disk mounted on the shaft, the inner side of said disk having a series of bolt-heads rigidly secured thereto, the bolts extending inward laterally and being provided with threaded ends, the main wheel being provided with openings for the reception of said bolts ends and the adjusting-nuts on both sides of said wheel" (lines 11-19).
Date: November 30, 1886
Creator: Tyus, Robert M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Sack Holder. (open access)

Cotton Sack Holder.

Patent for a new and improved sack holder. This design "is to provide a simple, inexpensive device for holding sacks or receptacles upon pickers of cotton or other plants or fruits, which will distribute the weight of the sack and contents over the body of the picker and enable him [or her] to work more easily and quickly" (lines 7-13).
Date: October 21, 1884
Creator: Robinson, John Bell
System: The Portal to Texas History
Drag Saw. (open access)

Drag Saw.

Patent for a new and improved drag-saw. This design "consist[s] of a standard, two beams connected to the standard on opposite sides thereof, a crank-shaft held by the standard, suitable drive-gearing for operating the same, a pitman connecting the crank-shaft and the saw, a pendulum attached to the saw and the pitman at one end and to a sliding head-block at the other end, the head-block sliding in the slotted standards and having a rack-bar extended therefrom, a pawl engaging the rack, the operating-cord attached to the head-block and passing over a guide-pulley on the slotted standards" (lines 4-16).
Date: November 3, 1885
Creator: Boston, Arnet P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Earth Auger. (open access)

Earth Auger.

Patent for a new and improved earth auger. This design "relates to machines for boring post-holes, &c.; and it consists especially in certain improvements in the frame and operating mechanism" (lines 21-24).
Date: December 13, 1881
Creator: Blake, Llewellyn A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Escapement for Torsion Pendulums. (open access)

Escapement for Torsion Pendulums.

Patent for a new and improved escapement for torsion pendulums. This design "consists in one or two weighted levers acting in conjunction with an escape-wheel and a spindle, which levers are used as a medium to carry force from the train of a clock to the pendulum" (lines 12-16).
Date: February 5, 1884
Creator: Stahlberg, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fifth Wheel. (open access)

Fifth Wheel.

Patent for a new and improved fifth wheel for vehicles. This design "consists of improvements in the construction and arrangement of the fifth-wheel apparatus of carriages, the object of which is to enable the parts to be made more cheaply, also to be more readily removable, and also to be more durable in use than as such apparatus is now made" (lines 7-13).
Date: July 11, 1882
Creator: Weber, Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Guard for Gin Saws. (open access)

Guard for Gin Saws.

Patent for a new and improved guard for gin-saws. This design consists in "the combination of the saws, the breast, the grate formed by the ribs and hinged at its upper edge in the frame, guides upon the inner sides of the side pieces of the gin-frame below the saws, and a curved plate or guard hinged to the lower edge of the grate, formed by the ribs, folding inward, and having its edges guided by the guides so that it covers the lower portions of the saws below the lower edge of the breast" (lines 75-84).
Date: September 28, 1886
Creator: Wallace, John C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Kitchen Scale. (open access)

Kitchen Scale.

Patent for a new and improved kitchen scale. This design "introduces a pivoted stirrup into the yoke on the tray-rod, said stirrup being pivoted to and suspended from the beam. By this means, the stirrup and beam can vibrate in the yoke without disturbing the perpendicularity of the tray-rod" (lines 62-67).
Date: June 26, 1883
Creator: Solomon, Thomas Durham
System: The Portal to Texas History
Means for Propelling Railway Cars. (open access)

Means for Propelling Railway Cars.

Patent for a new and improved means for propelling railway cars. This design "relates to motive power for railway-cars, and the purpose thereof is to provide a simple combination of parts whereby each car may be impelled by a separate motor, the entire series throughout a line or train of cars being supplied with energy from a common source, whereby the full horse-power of a steam-boiler may be applied in a manner enabling it to be utilized to the greatest possible advantage and to the utmost extent" (lines 10-20).
Date: May 21, 1889
Creator: Keith, John M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Peach Stoner. (open access)

Peach Stoner.

Patent for a new and improved peach pitter. This design "consist[s], essentially, of the main frame having the part rising from its base, the yielding holding-blades having their upper edges beveled and formed as cutters and overlapping at their side edges . . . the plunger having its lower end recessed and provided with an annular cutting-edge, the crescent-shaped cutting blades secured to said plunger above its cutting point, from their convex edges forming cutters, the operating-lever, and pitman connecting the same with the upper end of the plunger" (lines 24-36).
Date: March 12, 1889
Creator: Ferriott, Charles L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railway Switch Lock. (open access)

Railway Switch Lock.

Patent for a new and improved railway-switch lock. This design "consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby an independent key is used to unlock the latch or bolt of the bolt-case" (lines 14-17).
Date: August 2, 1881
Creator: Angus, Alexander & Phillips, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rock Drilling and Well Boring Machine. (open access)

Rock Drilling and Well Boring Machine.

Patent for improved rock drilling and well boring machine.
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Embry, Leonard B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Umbrella. (open access)

Umbrella.

Patent for a new and improved sun umbrella. This design is "adapted to be attached to the person of the wearer, consisting of the top or cap piece having the projecting studs or pivots, fixed ribs, fastened rigidly in the back part of the cap, fixed supports bent to form the bulge and adapted to be fastened with their lower ends in a suitable brace or support, and moveable ribs arranged in pairs and pivoted upon the studs or pivots" (lines 73-81).
Date: May 26, 1885
Creator: Egan, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine. (open access)

Washing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved washing machine. This design has a reversible trough, "having bearings for the detachable rollers and provided with a pair of flat springs affixed rigidly to opposite sides and at opposite ends of the trough, hooked screw-bolts having thumb-screws, and shaft of the main roller" (lines 1-6).
Date: November 15, 1881
Creator: Blake, Llewellyn A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine. (open access)

Washing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved washing machine. This design "regulate[s] the pressure of the rubber upon the clothes, and thus facilitate[s] the operation of washing the said clothes" (lines 13-16).
Date: September 6, 1881
Creator: Hollis, William Tailler.
System: The Portal to Texas History