Bale Tie. (open access)

Bale Tie.

Patent for a new and improved bale tie. This design "consists of a short thin plate of metal having two tongues . . . fronting each other, said plate being pivoted at one end to the bale-hoop . . . the other end of the bale-hoop being passed under the tongues and drawn tightly around the bale, the expansion of the bale on the hoop causes the respective ends to pull on the respective ends of the tie-plate . . . so as to grip the edges of the end passed between the tongues and hold it firmly" (lines 7-19).
Date: July 24, 1883
Creator: Arnold, Abbott
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device for the Protection of Vessels. (open access)

Device for the Protection of Vessels.

Patent for a device that protects boats and consists of supporting plates, two of which are firmly secured to the side of the boat, springs between the supporting plates, and chains that limit the movement of supporting plates.
Date: July 24, 1894
Creator: Bailey, William Henry, Sr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Quilting Frame. (open access)

Quilting Frame.

Patent for a new and improved quilting frame. This design "is to improve the means for suspending a quilting-frame, so that a sewing-machine may be more conveniently used in the quilting operation" (lines 7-10).
Date: July 24, 1883
Creator: Bledsoe, Robert B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Non-Refillable Bottle. (open access)

Non-Refillable Bottle.

Patent for a specification to improve the design and function non-refillable bottles.
Date: July 24, 1900
Creator: Bonner, James A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Earth Borer and Excavator (open access)

Earth Borer and Excavator

Patent for an Improvement in Earth Boring and Excavating Machines whereby the machines may operate continuously except for the addition of shaft and belt sections.
Date: July 24, 1880
Creator: Carley, John Wesley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Screening Device. (open access)

Screening Device.

Patent for a screening device that offers "an improved means for imparting motion to and controlling or varying the motion of the screen to affect a separation of the materials undergoing treatment." (lines 10-13).
Date: July 24, 1917
Creator: Cole, David
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Valve-Gear for Steam-Engines. (open access)

Improvement in Valve-Gear for Steam-Engines.

Patent for "an improvement in steam-engines which shall be so constructed as to give a full application of the steam and a free exhaust at regular intervals, which will enable the engine to be easily reversed, can be easily attached to any engine, which will enable an engine to be worked by water-pressure, will run smoothly and with very little friction, and will be very durable." (Lines 11-19) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 24, 1877
Creator: Davis, James H. & White, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Gin-Saw-Filing Machines. (open access)

Improvement in Gin-Saw-Filing Machines.

Patent for a "gin-saw-filing machine consisting, essentially, of a rotary and intermittingly movable file, of an intermittingly-operated feed and check device, and of adjustable reciprocating sharpening-files".
Date: July 24, 1877
Creator: Eastham, Albert S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Coin Controlled Vending Machine (open access)

Coin Controlled Vending Machine

Patent for coin controlled vending machine. Illustration included.
Date: July 24, 1906
Creator: Fender, John Brown
System: The Portal to Texas History
Still for Distillation of Petroleum (open access)

Still for Distillation of Petroleum

Patent for improvements in still design for distillation of petroleum or its products, providing relief for any suddenly formed vapors and preventing the oil from boiling over.
Date: July 24, 1917
Creator: Gallsworthy, Benjamin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Copy Holder. (open access)

Copy Holder.

Patent for a new and improved book holder. This design "consists in the peculiar construction of the main frame or case provided at or near one end with a slot or opening to expose a portion of the blank paper, and a clamping device to hold the copy-slips, and at its opposite end with a tubular instrument and pen-wiper receptacle" (lines 21-27).
Date: July 24, 1883
Creator: Gerard, Alonzo
System: The Portal to Texas History
Watch-Pocket. (open access)

Watch-Pocket.

Patent for a holder or pocket for a watch that provides a simple, safe, and handy device which is detachable fastened to a garment.
Date: July 24, 1906
Creator: Greenwald, Louis.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pipe Grip (open access)

Pipe Grip

Patent for pipe grip. Illustration included.
Date: July 24, 1906
Creator: Griffin, Claud Champ
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consist[s] of a draw-head having a spring-actuated sliding piece projecting into the draw-head, with a shouldered end therein, and a hole adapted to register with the coupling-holes in the draw-head, a coupling-link having yielding slotted pieces pivoted at its ends above slots in the ends of the link, and a coupling-pin with reacting spring mounted in a frame having a winding-drum, and a rope connected with the coupling-pin, the latter projecting through and engaging the sliding piece and link" (lines 76-87).
Date: July 24, 1888
Creator: Griffith, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Windmill. (open access)

Windmill.

Patent for a new and improved windmill. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the horizontal wind-wheel, the semi-cylindrical case partly inclosing the same and independently revoluble, the case having the notches in its upper side, the vane having the shaft or port whose lower end forms the upper pivot for the said case, and the lever having its inner end fast to the vane shaft or port, and adapted to engage the said notches, and thereby cause the case to expose any desired area of the wheel to the wind" (lines 89-99).
Date: July 24, 1888
Creator: Hamm, Jordan
System: The Portal to Texas History
Burial-Casket. (open access)

Burial-Casket.

Patent for a burial casket made of plastic and woven wire fabric "of great strength and minimum weight" (lines 20-21) and an air- and water-tight lid, including illustrations.
Date: July 24, 1917
Creator: Hartman, Emanuel W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sulky Cultivator. (open access)

Sulky Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved sulky cultivator. This design consists in "the beam having the cross-bar at its rear end, and the rearward-diverging brace-arms connecting the beam to the ends of the cross-bar, the links hinged to the rear ends of the brace-arms and pivoted to the sulky-frame, the hand lever fulcrumed on the frame, and the rod connecting the hand-lever to the front end of the beam" (lines 40-48).
Date: July 24, 1888
Creator: Hazlewood, James Allan
System: The Portal to Texas History
Belt (open access)

Belt

Patent for an invention that relates to belts. The primary object of the invention is to provide a belt, which includes an outer casing having a buckle attached and a tab slidably positioned within one end of the outer casing for coaction.
Date: July 24, 1917
Creator: Hill, Ulysses H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Neck-Yoke. (open access)

Neck-Yoke.

Patent for "a safety attachment for neck yokes which, if the neck yoke or the straps which connect it to the pole or to the collars break, will come into action and prevent the pole from dropping" (lines 8-13).
Date: July 24, 1894
Creator: Hobron, Charles B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wagon-Bed Elevator (open access)

Wagon-Bed Elevator

Patent for a wagon-bed elevator that "is to provide an elevator for wagon-beds by means of which a single person can raise the bed from the wagon to any desired height and leave it suspended in position where it can be readily lowered upon the wagon again at any time" (p. 2).
Date: July 24, 1888
Creator: Holliday, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Gin. (open access)

Cotton-Gin.

Patent for an improved method of locating the air blast apparatus for cleaning lint from the saw teeth of saw-type cotton gins, so that the cotton lint does not accumulate on the cleaning apparatus and render it inoperative, including illustrations.
Date: July 24, 1917
Creator: Hopper, James F.; Stephens, George B. & Young, Harry F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Reversible Steam-Engine. (open access)

Reversible Steam-Engine.

Patent for "reversible reciprocating steam engines, its objects being to simplify the mechanism for reversing the valve, and to provide a valve in which the area of steam pressure upon its face is reduced to the minimum." (Lines 14-19) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 24, 1894
Creator: Lester, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Car-Couplings. (open access)

Improvement in Car-Couplings.

Patent for improved construction and arrangement of car-couplings.
Date: July 24, 1877
Creator: McCarty, Ezra B. & Heagerty, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Acetylene-Gas-Generating Apparatus. (open access)

Acetylene-Gas-Generating Apparatus.

Patent for "improvements in apparatus for generating acetylene , and comprises the novel features." (lines 8-10) including illustration.
Date: July 24, 1900
Creator: Metcalf, Charles Wesley
System: The Portal to Texas History