Lamp or Lantern. (open access)

Lamp or Lantern.

Patent for a new and improved oil lamp. This design calls for transparent material (e.g., glass) to be installed on the top of the oil chamber, so one can better predict the fullness, which prevents overflowing. Additionally, a second opening to the side of the main opening allows the oil chamber to be safely refilled while already lit.
Date: December 21, 1880
Creator: Eason, Bolivar
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn Power. (open access)

Churn Power.

Patent for a new and improved churn-power. This design "consists in the combination, with a vertically-moveable carriage provided with a drum, of a rope wound on the same, and having its upper end secured, from which drum a wheel on the carriage is operated by suitable gearing, the said wheel being connected with the dasher-staff. When the carriage descends under the action of its own weight and of the weight of the parts on it, the drum is revolved and the dasher rod or staff operated" (lines 11-21).
Date: December 2, 1884
Creator: Williams, Fredrick Fitz
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device for Packing Cotton. (open access)

Device for Packing Cotton.

Patent for an improvement in devices for packing and compressing cotton in press-boxes. This patent is an improvement on the inventor's previous Letters Patent of the United States granted June 26, 1883, No. 280,333.
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Summer, Dewitt C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Weight Motor. (open access)

Weight Motor.

Patent for a new and improved weight-motor. This design consists in "the drum having the ratchet-wheel, the gear-wheel having the pawl engaging the ratchet-wheel, the lever extending from the track and adapted to be operated by the wheels of a passing train, the push-rod attached to the said lever and adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel to rotate the latter, the rope attached to the drum and having the weights, the trip-lever to move the push-rod out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel, and the rod attached to the said trip-lever and having an arm extending in the path of the weight" (lines 48-59).
Date: December 7, 1886
Creator: Spencer, Hiram A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Chopper (open access)

Cotton-Chopper

Patent for improvements in the construction and design of cotton-choppers.
Date: December 27, 1887
Creator: Schofield, James Drommond
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in "the combination of the beam, the parallel horizontal arms pivoted to the top and bottom of the beam and projecting beyond the sides of the same, the vertically-slotted brackets secured between the beams at the ends of the same, the cultivator-beams arranged between the upper and lower horizontal arms, and the securing bolts inserted transversely through the beams and the slots of the brackets" (lines 59-68).
Date: December 17, 1889
Creator: Walton, Sam Houston
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine. (open access)

Washing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved washing machine. This design consists in "the combination, with a receptacle having a flange on one end, of a pump, a collar surrounding the said pump and carrying claws which engage and a cam which bears upon the said flange, a perforated tray resting upon the bottom of the receptacle, and perforated pipes connected with the said pump, the said pump and pipes being contained in the said receptacle" (lines 4-12).
Date: December 24, 1889
Creator: McCausland, William I.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Piano Attachment. (open access)

Piano Attachment.

Patent for "an attachment for upright pianos designed to produce a harp, mandolin, of cithern tone, and the object in view is to provide an attachment having an improved construction of strikers." (Lines 8-12) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 22, 1896
Creator: Moyer, Jesse Hechler
System: The Portal to Texas History
Knee-Pad. (open access)

Knee-Pad.

Patent for knee pads that are "simple, inexpensive, and durable, and which is so constructed as to hold the knee of the user in an elevated position above the ground or other surface upon which the pad may be placed, thereby preventing the knee contacting with the ground or other surface and causing injury to the knee (lines 10-17).
Date: December 29, 1897
Creator: Rice, John T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press. (open access)

Baling-Press.

Patent for improvement to cylindrical baling-press for packing cotton, cotton-seed hulls, bran and similar objects into cylindrical bales, including illustrations.
Date: December 24, 1901
Creator: Jones, Isaac Van Zandt
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harvester Attachment. (open access)

Harvester Attachment.

Patent for an attachment that cleans and scrapes the drive wheels of mowing machines and harvesters, to keep them free of accumulated mud and running smoothly.
Date: December 24, 1901
Creator: Marshall, John Henry.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hydrocarbon-Burner for Stoves or Furnaces (open access)

Hydrocarbon-Burner for Stoves or Furnaces

Patent for invention that relates to improvements in hydrocarbon-burner for stoves or furnaces or the like, the same being more especially intended for the consumption of crude oils... Among other things the invention has for its object the provision of an improved burner in which the liquid is vaporized within a confined space by causing it to splash upon a suitable obstacle and against the inner surface of a heated air-tube; to heat the air as it passes to the burner and to commingle the vapor and heated air so as to obtain an economical and combustible mixture (Greene, 1902).
Date: December 27, 1901
Creator: Greene, George A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Press. (open access)

Cotton-Press.

Patent for an improvement in cotton-press to form cylindrical cotton bales, including illustrations.
Date: December 31, 1901
Creator: Bessonette, William T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wheel Cultivator and Planter Attachment Therefor. (open access)

Wheel Cultivator and Planter Attachment Therefor.

Patent for an improved wheel cultivator, which includes a planter attachment, a hopper, a seed-dropping and fertilizer distributing mechanism, and covering plows.
Date: December 31, 1901
Creator: Bigler, B. J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Capsule Filler (open access)

Capsule Filler

Patent for a device that fills capsules with medicine. Illustration included.
Date: December 15, 1908
Creator: Brown, Patrick Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Valve (open access)

Valve

Patent for a "blow-off valve" (line 16). Illustrations included
Date: December 29, 1908
Creator: Koch, Rudolph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Air-Brake System (open access)

Air-Brake System

Patent for an air brake system for trains which does not require waiting between uses for the brakes to recharge with air.
Date: December 6, 1910
Creator: Dillander, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Locking Device for Lubricating-Cups. (open access)

Locking Device for Lubricating-Cups.

Patent for a locking device for lubricating cups that prevents the plug from coming out of the cup.
Date: December 27, 1910
Creator: Anderson, Kos M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Knee-Protector. (open access)

Knee-Protector.

Patent for a durable, sleeve-like knee protector which contours the knee for comfort and allows for easy application and removal. Includes instructions and an illustration.
Date: December 9, 1913
Creator: McCall, Dougald Bell
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk-Cutting Attachment for Plows (open access)

Stalk-Cutting Attachment for Plows

Patent for Stalk-Cutting attachment for Plows. Device is connected to machine to cut or chop stalks ahead of plow
Date: December 16, 1913
Creator: Sumrall, Navada W. & Bigham, Robert C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Doffing Brush (open access)

Doffing Brush

Patent for providing "a brush the doffing elements of which are held firmly between the saws and the gin". (Lines 10-12).
Date: December 5, 1918
Creator: Wooldridge, John
System: The Portal to Texas History