Resource Type

Combined Ruler and Blotter (open access)

Combined Ruler and Blotter

Patent for a ruler that can also be used as a blotter. Illustrations included.
Date: July 25, 1911
Creator: Muller, Frederick William, Jr.
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
Bobbin Winder for Sewing Machines. (open access)

Bobbin Winder for Sewing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved bobbin winder. This design consists in "the combination, with the main driving-shaft carrying a disk and rotated by the driving-belt of the sewing-machine, of a second shaft in axial line with the said driving-shaft and having a longitudinal movement, a disk held on the said second shaft, a bobbin held by its flanges in said disks, and rollers pressing against the bobbin in the front and rear" (lines 50-58).
Date: October 30, 1888
Creator: Lewis, Annie
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Uncoupling Device. (open access)

Car Uncoupling Device.

Patent for a new and improved uncoupling device for railroad cars. This design consists in "a draw-head provided with a vertically-movable coupling-pin support and lifting frame, a spring holding the coupling-pin support in raised position, a catch for holding the pin-support in lowered position, and a lever mechanism for releasing the catch and effecting the uncoupling of a car" (lines 7-14).
Date: December 11, 1888
Creator: Rutledge, William O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Book Carriage and Protector. (open access)

Book Carriage and Protector.

Patent for a new and improved mobile bookcase. This design is "composed of a base-piece having a longitudinally-central raised table-piece adapted to support the leaves of the book, and a depressed-ledge portion outside thereof adapted to support the cover of the book" (lines 20-25).
Date: March 19, 1889
Creator: Leith, Lawrence C.
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
Composition For Roofing And Paving. (open access)

Composition For Roofing And Paving.

Patent for a process "to produce a compound which is strong, tenacious, and pliable, which will not be affected by climatic changes, and which will resist the corrosive action of acids and alkalies; and to this end my invention consists in a compound composed of asphaltum, pine-tar, and oxide of iron, as will more fully hereinafter appear.” (Lines 8-15) Includes instructions.
Date: May 9, 1882
Creator: Lee, Archibald K.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Circular Railroad or Round About. (open access)

Circular Railroad or Round About.

Patent for novel improvements on circular railroads, and also to means for propelling a turn-table on which the carriages are secured.
Date: August 22, 1882
Creator: Sturm, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Breakwater, &c. (open access)

Breakwater, &c.

Patent for an improved way of constructing piers, jetties, breakwaters, and similar structures. "It can be constructed from boats, barges, or from a trestle, or can be built continuously from a starting-point on shore to the objective point in the lake, bay, gulf, or other body of water" (lines 17-21). This invention is especially useful for places that don't have banks or ledges.
Date: August 9, 1892
Creator: Shannon, Alexander M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Record, Diary, and Ledger (open access)

Combined Record, Diary, and Ledger

Patent for improvements to books by combining "a general record, a diary, a ledger, and index leaves, including the months and days of the week and alphabetical and numerical indices" (lines 10-12).
Date: August 30, 1892
Creator: Meyer, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Composition of Matter for Manufacturing Calcium Carbid. (open access)

Composition of Matter for Manufacturing Calcium Carbid.

Patent for a compound for use in commercial manufacturing of the product calcium sodic carbid claiming to reduce time and expense of production process.
Date: November 10, 1896
Creator: Eldridge, Hilliary; Clark, Daniel Johnson & Wambaugh, Mahlon W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Type-Writing Machine. (open access)

Automatic Type-Writing Machine.

Patent for improvements to the type writer which allow for automatic, proper spacing between letters and words; will automatically return the carriage to the beginning of the page; and will automatically feed the inking ribbon so that the entire surface is used. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: April 13, 1897
Creator: Templeton, Allison
System: The Portal to Texas History
Back-Band Buckle. (open access)

Back-Band Buckle.

Patent for an improved back-band buckle and an improved hook that connects the buckle with the trace-chain. The lever-hook snaps "into position and is held secure in a pane substantially flush with the lower portion of the buckle-frame when the buckle is closed by the forcing down of the lever" (lines 15-19).
Date: April 20, 1897
Creator: Brown, John Staddart
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bottle. (open access)

Bottle.

Patent for a bottle that has a mechanism near its opening, and when the cork is pulled out, it becomes impossible to refill the bottle and use it again. The point of this bottle is so that after it has been sealed, it cannot be opened and emptied without apparent evidence that it has been opened.
Date: May 4, 1897
Creator: Phillips, George C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Freezing Wine. (open access)

Apparatus for Freezing Wine.

Patent for a device that cools wine and liquor. The device "will produce the desired results in much shorter time than is now employed by the common method and apparatus" (lines 11-14).
Date: May 9, 1893
Creator: Wadhams, Arthur
System: The Portal to Texas History
Funnel. (open access)

Funnel.

Patent for an improved funnel that is meant to transfer liquids into receptacles with small openings, "the object being to provide a novel construction whereby a valve is automatically closed when the receptacle is full or the liquid has reached the proper level, so as to cut off the supply and prevent overflow which frequently occurs in using the ordinary funnels, resulting in loss and waste" (lines 16-23).
Date: June 27, 1893
Creator: Wright, George H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blind Slat Adjuster. (open access)

Blind Slat Adjuster.

Patent for a new and improved blind adjuster. This design consists in "[a] shutter-stop consisting of a slotted bar linked to the end of the slat-actuating rod of a shutter, in combination with a plate having a spur on one side and a screw-threaded stud on the other, a washer, and a thumb-nut" (lines 93-97).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Lewis, Paulinus Aloysius
System: The Portal to Texas History
Child's Carriage. (open access)

Child's Carriage.

Patent for a new and improved stroller. This design consists in "[a] running-gear, of the vertical hoop secured thereto, the brackets extending outward and upward from the hoop, and notched in their upper ends, the body, the brackets at opposite sides of the body, and the knife edge projections resting on the upper notched ends of the brackets . . . a vertical encircling hoop carrying buffers, standards, and brackets formed with edges, which rest upon the standards . . . an axle, wheels fitted to the axle, a forwardly extending bracket carrying a fixed wheel . . . and a sunshade" (lines 81-98).
Date: June 22, 1886
Creator: England, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Clasp. (open access)

Clasp.

Patent for a new and improved clasp. This design "consist[s] of the front plate formed with the integral strap loop or slot at its upper end, the teeth at its lower end, and the opening above said teeth, the rear plate formed with integral teeth at its lower end, side ears at its upper end, and the lugs below said ears and projecting beyond the outer face of the plate, the spindle passing through the ears and provided with a spring throwing the plates apart, and the locking-plate pivoted at its upper end to the lugs and having a [different] lug projecting inward from said upper end" (lines 83-96).
Date: March 27, 1888
Creator: Lewis, Annie
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combination-Lock. (open access)

Combination-Lock.

Patent for improvement upon a combination-lock.
Date: May 1, 1888
Creator: Bergman, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "relates to an improvement in car-couplings, and has for its object to provide a coupling by means of which the link will be held up and guided into the draw-head, and the coupling-pin held in position to be coupled and automatically thrown into engagement with the link" (lines 7-13).
Date: June 5, 1888
Creator: Rutledge, William O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
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
Car-Fender. (open access)

Car-Fender.

Patent for a simple car-fender that improves on the types of "fenders which are attached to the front end of street and other car trucks for the purpose of saving human life by preventing a body from being thrown under the car wheels" (lines 10-14). The invention does not let a body under the car wheels.
Date: May 22, 1894
Creator: Rau, William J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cooking Utensil. (open access)

Cooking Utensil.

Patent for a cooking utensil that is used to cook cereal and similar food articles "that are boiled, steamed, or heated by the agency of boiling water, the objects being to provide a sauce-pan or other suitable vessel, with novel interior parts, that will facilitate the cooking of oatmeal, mush, grits, rice, or other cereals, without danger of their burning, dispensing with need of constant attention, and effecting the operation in a speedy, thorough manner" (lines 11-19).
Date: November 14, 1893
Creator: Nicholls, George Habberton
System: The Portal to Texas History