Bicycle-Frame. (open access)

Bicycle-Frame.

Patent for a new and useful bicycle frame, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 23, 1899
Creator: Mills, Virgel H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Clothes-Pounder. (open access)

Clothes-Pounder.

Patent for improvements in atmospheric clothes pounders: "Dividing the outer section into compartments so that air in escaping is distributed evenly from all sides of the pounder instead of escaping in a body from one side, whenever the pounder strikes a wad or knot of cloths and is tipped sidewise; it also makes the suction better" (lines 49-55).
Date: May 2, 1893
Creator: Allgaier, George E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Clothes-Pounder. (open access)

Clothes-Pounder.

Patent for a simple and inexpensive clothes pounder that has a conical casing, interior concentric partition, and equal draft and suction. The casing is divided into two compartments, but the divider has openings for air and suds.
Date: July 18, 1893
Creator: Ware, William P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Advertising Device. (open access)

Advertising Device.

Patent for "a simple and inexpensive advertising device adapted to be placed on street corners and other public places and capable of exciting the curiosity and attracting attention, and thereby directing the attention of persons to the advertisement" (lines 11-16).
Date: March 20, 1894
Creator: Attaway, Henry F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Elevator, Cleaner, Distributer, and Feeder for Seed-Cotton. (open access)

Combined Elevator, Cleaner, Distributer, and Feeder for Seed-Cotton.

Patent for a "simple and efficient apparatus for conveying seed-cotton from a wagon or other source of supply, to one or more gins or gin feeders, said apparatus being adapted, at the same time, to thoroughly clean the seed-cotton and to deliver it to the gins or feeders in the desired quantities in a uniform manner, and in loose and uncompacted condition" (lines 14-21).
Date: April 10, 1894
Creator: Littlefield, Thomas E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Elevator, Cleaner, Distributer, and feeder for Seed-Cotton. (open access)

Combined Elevator, Cleaner, Distributer, and feeder for Seed-Cotton.

Patent for Combined Elevator, Cleaner, Distributer, and feeder for Seed-Cotton: "provide a simple, cheap and efficient apparatus for taking seed cotton from a wagon, or other source of supply cleaning it, and delivering it in the desired quantity and in a suitable condition for ginning to one or more gins or gin feeders" (lines 13-18).
Date: April 10, 1894
Creator: Littlefield, Thomas E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Car Coupling and Bumper. (open access)

Combined Car Coupling and Bumper.

Patent for a combined car coupling and bumper. It has a draw-head with a throat, mouth, recess, and coupling pin hole; the recess has a slot that opens into the front of the draw-head; a lock-block that fits in the slot; a pin-seat that receives the lock-block; a spiral spring that holds in the pin-seat; and a coupling pin in the pin seat and a link.
Date: October 2, 1894
Creator: Wallace, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Clothes-Pounder. (open access)

Clothes-Pounder.

Patent for a clothes pounder "which will inclose a body of air and expel the same when it is brought down upon the clothes forcing water through the clothes and filling with water an upper chamber, and which when lifted from the clothes will release a body of water at the top of the pounder and cause water to pass through the clothes" (lines 12-19).
Date: March 7, 1893
Creator: Beaver, William G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn-Planting Attachment for Plows. (open access)

Corn-Planting Attachment for Plows.

Patent for improvement in corn planting attachment for plows in which the “attachment can be conveniently attached to any plow or furrow-opener” (lines 11-12) as a seed-dropping device. “This device may be retained in a raised or inoperative position.” (Lines 85-86) Illustration is included.
Date: July 14, 1891
Creator: Green, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Autographic Register. (open access)

Autographic Register.

Patent for a device to register fares in situations where passengers pay to be transported from one location to another, specifically by train. The fare-collector needs a way to have accurate receipts as fares are collected. The invention is a "small portable ticket-holder and registering device (lines 38-39), that issues valid tickets "which will enable a conductor to keep a correct current amount of fares as received as well as a record of tickets sold and mileage traveled on same" (lines 41-45), and prevents dishonesty in fare-collectors.
Date: November 3, 1896
Creator: Bond, George D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire-Stretcher. (open access)

Wire-Stretcher.

Patent for wire-stretching levers, with instructions and levers.
Date: October 20, 1891
Creator: Richardson, Jerome Shipley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Machine. (open access)

Washing-Machine.

Patent for an improved washing machine that consists of a sheet-metal body with two tubs, rubbing-boards, a fire-box under the body, bails, and springs with hooks.
Date: March 21, 1893
Creator: Conner, Joshua Harley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Kitchen-Cabinet. (open access)

Kitchen-Cabinet.

Patent for a kitchen cabinet that is uniquely constructed and compactly stores condiments and food articles. The food can be easily accessed, and the cabinet has an apparatus for sifting flour "that may be delivered thereby from the sealed bins in the cabinet, in any desired quantity for use" (lines 18-20).
Date: March 13, 1894
Creator: P'Pool, Frank E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Elevator and Carrier. (open access)

Water Elevator and Carrier.

Patent for a water elevator and carrier that is designed to quickly and efficiently transport water from a well, spring, or cistern to the operator. A bucket can be quickly transported to the well, spring, or cistern and be filled also.
Date: August 11, 1896
Creator: Wilkerson, Thomas D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lamp. (open access)

Lamp.

Patent for improvements to headlight lamps used in locomotives, with illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1897
Creator: Pitts, William Wirt
System: The Portal to Texas History
Thill-Support. (open access)

Thill-Support.

Patent for an antirattling attachment for thill-couplings or thill-irons. It can attach to any axle and any thill, and causes the device to put constant pressure on the eye of the thill-iron. This prevents rattling where the iron is connected with the axel-clip and puts tension on the front of the thill-iron in a rearward direction. This tension balances the shafts and thills when the horse is attached to the thill. When the horse is unattached, the thill is held in an upright position by the attachment.
Date: February 18, 1896
Creator: Price, Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tongue Support. (open access)

Tongue Support.

Patent for a new and improved tongue-support. This design "is to provide a simple and inexpensive tongue-support capable of being readily applied to any vehicle" (lines 9-12). It "consist[s] of the two wires provided intermediate their ends with coils and twisted together at opposite sides of the coils to provide the spring-arms" (lines 48-51).
Date: October 25, 1892
Creator: Johnson, William B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Planter Attachment For Cultivators. (open access)

Planter Attachment For Cultivators.

Patent for a new and useful planter attachment for cultivators, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: October 24, 1899
Creator: Collier, Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a plow that has "a mold-board of independently-yielding bars and the upper end thereof mounted upon yielding supports so that better results are attained and the earth broken up as it is thrown up by the point and turned aside and completely over as soon as it comes in contact with the said wires or spring rods" (lines 12-19). The mold board can easily be changed.
Date: December 5, 1893
Creator: Fancher, Alexander R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Portable Furnace. (open access)

Portable Furnace.

Patent for a furnace adapted for camping and general outdoor use. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Underwood, William T. & Underwood, Leroy C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Telephone Attachment. (open access)

Telephone Attachment.

Patent for "a device which will support the weight of the telephone-receiver on the switch-lever whether the receiver be hung on the hooks of said lever or carelessly dropped, [the] object being to provide against the short-circuiting of the local battery when the telephone is not being used, whereby it would become uselessly exhausted, and also to insure that the signal-bell shall at such times always be in operative circuit with the central station, so that the annoyance to a distant exchange or subscriber by a failure of the call-bell to respond is avoided." (Lines 9-21) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 22, 1896
Creator: Christopher, William O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harrow Attachent. (open access)

Harrow Attachent.

Patent for a light, strong, and durable harrow attachment for plows or cultivators that has has harrow or cultivator teeth which can be securely fastened on the harrow-bar.
Date: June 26, 1894
Creator: Mills, Burette M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay-Press. (open access)

Hay-Press.

Patent for a hay-press that has an easily detachable tie-box and power-head, and the plunger-beam has an improved construction. Loose hay "fed into the feed-box [is] gathered or collected by the plunger through the instrumentality of teeth on a peculiarly-formed power-head engaging teeth on the plunger-beam and then compressed by a finger or arm on the power-head baring against the end of the plunger-beam" (lines 22-28). The press does not need to pinned to the ground.
Date: December 22, 1896
Creator: Jones, Charles E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grass and Weed Exterminator. (open access)

Grass and Weed Exterminator.

Patent for a grass and weed exterminator, especially those weeds that roots are a network of runners that can't be pulled up. The destroyer plows them up, ten inches or more, and sifts through the dirt, pulling up the network of plants.
Date: September 29, 1896
Creator: Briggs, George, W.
System: The Portal to Texas History