Resource Type
States
Car-Replacer.
Patent for a car-replacer that has a stronger construction and is more efficient than other car-replacers. It has two skids, one on each side of the rail, the inside skid meant to deflect car-wheels to the rail, and the outside skid meant to slu "the truck in line with the track, and at the same time cause the wheels to be forced sideways on the rails" (lines 27-29).
Date:
August 11, 1896
Creator:
Ragan, John
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Churn.
Patent for an apparatus for operating churns and ice-cream freezers. To operate, one turns a handle, and through a series of gears, pulleys, and wheels, the cream is stirred. The churn container rotates and sits in a frame where the apparatus is fixed above it.
Date:
August 11, 1896
Creator:
Martin, James W.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Coach and Car Step.
Patent for an attached coach and car step "to render it unnecessary to carry stools or stepping-boxes, as are now used to facilitate passengers to get on or off the car or coach from an extra height between the ground or depot-floor and the main bottom tread of the step, thus avoiding dangerous and fatal results from overturning of stools and boxes." (Lines 14-21) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date:
August 11, 1896
Creator:
Taylor, Frederick A.; Farrell, Patrick W. & Quebe, Wesley S.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Axle-Skein.
Patent for an axle-skein. Its purpose is "to improve the construction of axle-skeins, to increase their strength and durability, and to decrease the wear of the same at the bottom thereof" (lines 10-14).
Date:
August 11, 1896
Creator:
Finley, Robert L.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Churn.
Patent for a churn that can be easily disassembled and cleaned easily. The churn is a circular chamber with a tube in its center. The tube has a fan around it at the top of the chamber, and the air goes through the fan, is sucked into the tube, and is released at the bottom of the chamber in order to agitate the cream.
Date:
August 11, 1896
Creator:
Walker, Ben, Jr.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Crate for Shipping Bananas.
Patent for a crate for shipping bananas that does not hurt the fruit during shipping. The crate separates the bunches so the bananas do not get crushed, and the crate is ventilated to prevent decay.
Date:
August 11, 1896
Creator:
Andrews, Otis
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Combined Air-Hose Coupling and Stop-Valve.
Patent for a combined air-hose coupling and stop-valve. One must shut off the cut-off valve before the coupling can be disconnected. When the valve is closed, air pressure is balanced so the couplings can be safely disconnected, and prevents dirt from getting into the train-pipe.
Date:
August 18, 1896
Creator:
Heidelburg, Samuel R.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Combined Cigar-Clipper and Match-Box.
Patent for a combined cigar-clipper and match-box "in which the matches will be delivered with a regular feed, so that it will be highly inconvenient for persons to carry away more than one or two matches" (lines 10-13).
Date:
August 18, 1896
Creator:
Campo, Ysidro Del
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Combined Trunk and Dressing-Case.
Patent for a combined trunk and dressing-case. The trunk has drawers, and the lid of the trunk has a mirror in its lid. "The lid is connected at one end by a hinged strap with one end of the body of the trunk, so as to be adapted to be moved into position for closing the body and to be supported in upright position on the same in line with the bottom, so that it forms a proper support for a looking-glass, shelf, and the like" (lines 19-26).
Date:
August 18, 1896
Creator:
Witteborg, Ernest
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Angle-Cock.
Patent for "a new and improved angle-cock so constructed that the plug cannot be turned by an unauthorized person without the knowledge of the engineer in charge of the train." (Lines 8-12) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date:
August 25, 1896
Creator:
Waldron, William J.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Broom or Mop Holder.
Patent for a wire folded so that it firmly clamps "broom-corn, corn-shucks, mops, and feathers, or other material for brushes" (lines 10-11).
Date:
September 1, 1896
Creator:
McIlhany, Joseph W.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Combined Flour and Meal Bin and Sifter.
Patent for a combined flour and meal bin sifter meant for the kitchen. The amount of flour or meal put into the machine does not matter, and the sifter may be removed when desired. The sifted material is directed into a container, and the end of the chute can be closed when not in use.
Date:
September 1, 1896
Creator:
Alexander, Charles P.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Car-Coupling.
Patent for a pin-and-link car-coupling that allows "cars to be readily coupled and uncoupled without going between them, and by which a link may be readily guided into the mouth of a draw-head without necessitating a person going between the cars" (lines 11-16). It also has a durable link lifting or guiding device.
Date:
September 1, 1896
Creator:
Orr, Thomas J.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Composition for Concrete Tombstones.
Patent for "a new and useful composition of matter for concrete tombstones and a process for manufacturing the same whereby a perfectly white substantial rock will be produced that will be very durable, will not be liable to peeling, cracking, or turning dark, but will bleach out in the weather and become very solid, so as to form a permanent and substantial tombstone." (Lines 10-19) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date:
September 8, 1896
Creator:
Belcher, Jeff D. & Hendley, Marion J.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Culvert.
Patent for "a culvert which shall be so constructed that the jarring caused by the passing of trains or wagons will not impair the solidity of the culvert." (Lines 14-17) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date:
September 15, 1896
Creator:
Parker, William Sink
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Churn.
Patent for an automatic churn, which is an improvement to a previous churn, no. 39,532. It has a two-part cabinet, the top part equipped with a hinged top, a crank shaft, ratchet-wheel, spring pawl, and a tubular square pocket at the end of the crank-shaft. The square pocket is where one can attach a handle to operate the churn. The lower half of the cabinet opens on the side and contains the container, dasher-rod, and churn-dashers.
Date:
September 15, 1896
Creator:
Roberts, John A. & Vermillion, William E. C.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Calendar.
Patent for "a perpetual calendar embodying such a construction that the movement of a finger device will turn wheels, so as to successively display the names of the days of the week, the numbers of the days of the months, and the names of the months, the mechanism being such that the name of a month will be displayed until the numbers of all its days have been displayed, when the name of the succeeding month will be displayed, and so on." (Lines 13-22) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date:
September 22, 1896
Creator:
Dickason, Frank B.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Churn.
Patent for a churn with a "perforated dasher and a hollow or tubular dasher-shaft, through which the air passes into the churn-cylinder during the process of churning" (lines 14-17). The churn has a foot-rest and a false-bottom, and is meant to improve on simple and inexpensive churns.
Date:
September 22, 1896
Creator:
Stukes, John Marion
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Combined Door-Bell and Mail-Receiver.
Patent for a door-bell joined with a tray or card-receiver, which is installed in a door. "When pulled out it will bring said tray outside the door to receive a card, letter, or package or any mail-matter, and when released will carry it inside the door again" (lines 11-15). The bell goes off when the tray, which has a toothed edge that engages the bell-hammer, is released.
Date:
September 22, 1896
Creator:
Key, Joseph H.; Brevard, Horace & Purifoy, William R.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Barrel-Washer.
Patent for a machine that cleans barrels. It has "barrel-supporting rollers to rotate the barrel in contact with brushes" (lines 13-15), which are more durable than rollers made from rubber tires. The rollers also each have an inner portion, a detachable annular exterior, and an elastic ring around the outside. Brushes are attached on opposite sides of the barrel, held up by a frame.
Date:
September 29, 1896
Creator:
Herold, Charles
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Car-Coupling.
Patent for an improvement on car-couplers, "especially to the class of hook-and-catch couplers in which the sides of the jaws of the coupler securely hold a link between the same by means of a downwardly-extending hook, the sides of the upper jaw carrying the said hook extending down over the sides of the under jaw, thus protecting the jaws from a lateral jar or pressure, the lower jaw being provided with a series of recesses at different angles, which are designed to receive the end of the link when held in different positions" (lines 16-27). The car-coupler also has a gravity member.
Date:
September 29, 1896
Creator:
Krusinski, Ferdinand
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Autographic Register.
Patent for an autographic register meant "to provide improved means for guiding, printing, cutting, and filling a record-bill and discharging original and duplicate bills" (lines 9-12). The printing and feeding mechanisms operate independently, bills may be any desired length, and checks may be numbered successively and dated.
Date:
September 29, 1896
Creator:
Norcross, George A.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Gin.
Patent for a cotton gin that removes lint-cotton from the saws using an air-suction mechanism instead of a brush, which pose a fire hazard and can impair the gin's effectiveness. An air-blast mechanism is also an ineffective method of cleaning lint-cotton from the saws. The air-suction mechanism sucks "the lint-cotton directly from the rear portions of the saw-teeth independently of and without a brush, and an apparatus for preventing the withdrawn lint-cotton from passing into and through the air-suction apparatus" (lines 84-89).
Date:
September 29, 1896
Creator:
Graber, Henry W.
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Car-Coupling.
Patent for an improved car-coupling that features "a solid block at the back part of the draw-head, which when coupling the cars will come far enough back to hit the solid part in the draw-head and prevent the bent spring from breaking." (Lines 16-21) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date:
October 6, 1896
Creator:
Schneider, Adolph F.
System:
The Portal to Texas History