Car-Coupling (open access)

Car-Coupling

Patent for an improvement in car couplings "whereby the pin-support is operated not by the links but by the impact of the cars themselves and of a yielding link" (lines 55-58).
Date: June 7, 1892
Creator: Young, James D.
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 the draw-heads provided with projections, a coupling-link, an operating-rod loosely connected to each of its ends, and a suitable support or guide through which these rods move . . . The object of [the] invention is to provide a car-coupling in which the two cars are coupled together by means of a link which is provided with an operating rod at each end, both of the rods and the link being attached to one of the cars only" (lines 14-26).
Date: April 29, 1890
Creator: Campbell, Neil Franklin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bicycle. (open access)

Bicycle.

Patent for a bicycle that has a drive wheel, a ratchet wheel attached to the drive wheel, a chain that goes around the ratchet wheel, an apparatus for reciprocating the chain, a guideway from the chain to the ratchet wheel, a knob on the chain that engages the guideway, a pair of levers connected to the chain, and a chord that connects the levers to the chain.
Date: February 19, 1895
Creator: Williams, Elbert D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Violin. (open access)

Violin.

Patent for an improved violin that is meant to "improve the acoustical properties of the instrument whereby it is enabled to give forth a deeper and softer tone, free from the "twang" common in instruments of this character, and second, to improve the mechanical construction of the instrument so that it will be less liable to become split" (lines 26-33).
Date: May 2, 1893
Creator: Clopton, John B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Knee-Pad. (open access)

Knee-Pad.

Patent for "an improved knee pad or cushion formed to properly fit and bend with the knee and to keep its proper shape while on the limb, and one that will be adapted for all persons engaged in occupations requiring a kneeling posting on the part of the operator." (Lines 15-21) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 8, 1896
Creator: Laird, John E. B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pneumatic Cotton-Conveyer. (open access)

Pneumatic Cotton-Conveyer.

Patent for a combined cotton elevator and feeder "having exceedingly few parts and which can be easily operated and kept in running order, and which will be cheap, strong, and durable," (lines 34-40) including illustrations.
Date: November 3, 1891
Creator: Clopton, John B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for an attachment for plows or cultivators "whereby it may be converted into a sweep plow, adapted to be operated between rows of growing crops and capable of being adjusted in width in accordance with the distances apart from said rows" (lines 12-16).
Date: November 8, 1892
Creator: Baggett, Charles L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Paper-File. (open access)

Paper-File.

Patent for improvements in paper-files by using a "combination of a base board and a clamp provided with a jaw, a presser-foot provided with a bearing, a crank-shaft journaled in the bearing with its cranked portion under the clamp, and a hinged support or flap under the presser-foot." (Lines 75-80, p. 2) Papers can be held in position or remove by the raising or lowering the presser-foot. Illustration is included.
Date: August 18, 1891
Creator: Clopton, John B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for certain new and useful improvements in plows.
Date: August 8, 1899
Creator: Muehr, Frank & Frerich, Joseph B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Dish-Washer (open access)

Dish-Washer

Patent fora dishwasher. The object of this invention is to furnish an improved means for washing dishes in such a manner that all foreign substances, greasy matters, and offensive odors may be readily and expeditiously removed and the dishes restored dry and clean by the operation of the machine without handling them.
Date: January 14, 1891
Creator: Hoppe, Frederick William
System: The Portal to Texas History