Combination Heel-Sweep Plow. (open access)

Combination Heel-Sweep Plow.

Patent for an improved plow that can have "either first a whole heel sweep, or a right or left half heel sweep, second a whole solid sweep, or a right or left half solid sweep, third a right and left turn plow, or a right or left half turn plow" (lines 15-19).
Date: February 28, 1893
Creator: Dean, John Rowe
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Boring Artesian Wells. (open access)

Apparatus for Boring Artesian Wells.

Patent for an improved and simple apparatus for boring wells that is easily adjustable. The drill head will stay intact in most drilling situations with this apparatus.
Date: February 28, 1893
Creator: Brown, Frank O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Black-Land Plow. (open access)

Black-Land Plow.

Patent for a plow that operates in mud or sticky dirt without becoming clogged and has an improved share and mold board.
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Vestal, William B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Clothes-Pin. (open access)

Clothes-Pin.

Patent for a simple, metallic, and inexpensive clothes pin that can be used with a rope or wire line. It can be attached easily but will not blow off. It does not rust or tear the clothes.
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Crump, William E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Machine. (open access)

Washing-Machine.

Patent for a practical, simple, and efficient washing machine that cleans soiled fabrics with the minimum amount of labor in a small amount of time, without wearing out the fabrics.
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Snider, Henry C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Invalid-Bed. (open access)

Invalid-Bed.

Patent for an improved, simple, and inexpensive bedstead meant for use by disabled people. "The hinged head section of the bed may be adjusted to any desired angle of elevation" (lines 14-16). The bed can be adjusted with little exertion. The parts can be easily removed and replaced.
Date: November 28, 1893
Creator: Ottinger, Benjamin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine-Brake. (open access)

Machine-Brake.

Patent for a break that "the device may be brought to a stop either gradually or instantaneously as may be desired. The break is a reciprocative one and comprises a rubber or other elastic or yielding wheel designed to engage the periphery of the fly wheel of the motor and a lug, tooth or analogous provision for engagement with a tooth of a ratchet wheel on the said fly wheel; in operating the break the rubber wheel is first brought into contact with the fly wheel and then by continued movement of the brake lever the said lug or projection enters a tooth of the ratchet wheel and stops the revolution of the same" (lines 14-27).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Boulte, Adolph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lumber-Truck. (open access)

Lumber-Truck.

Patent for a simple and durable lumber truck that is "arranged to conveniently load and carry lumber to and from kilns and other places" (lines 9-11). It has double flanged wheels in independent frames that are connected by crossbars.
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Dodge, Edward
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk-Breaker. (open access)

Stalk-Breaker.

Patent for a stalk-breaker that breaks "the stalks into small pieces and which will be under the control of the driver so as to be thrown in and out of gear at will, and in which the breaker mechanism will be so constructed that it will give when an unyielding substance is run against, thereby preventing breakage or damage to the machine" (lines 13-20).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: James, Will S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Trace. (open access)

Trace.

Patent for a trace in which the "portion of the trace in which the eye is located, and which is adapted for engagement with a single tree, will be rendered as durable as any other portion of the trace" (lines 9-13).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Saettler, Ernest S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motor. (open access)

Motor.

Patent for a churn-motor that provides "an improved churn-operating mechanism which shall be cheap and simple in its construction, easy to operate, and readily adjustable for all the purposes for which occasion may require" (lines 15-20).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: McAfee, Henry P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut-Lock. (open access)

Nut-Lock.

Patent for a strong, durable, and inexpensive nut lock that securely locks a nut onto a threaded bolt and can be easily unlocked. It also is simply constructed. It consists of a plank-like spring tongue that fits over the bolt and under the nut.
Date: November 28, 1893
Creator: Taini, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grate. (open access)

Grate.

Patent for an improved grate that is adapted "for use in stoves as well as in fire paces, and which, being composed of separate bars, may be repaired by inserting new bars, thus saving that portion of the grate which remains intact, as cannot be done with grates formed of a single casting" (lines 18-23).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Chollar, Benjamin Franklin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Thatch Roof. (open access)

Thatch Roof.

Patent for a simple, cheap, and effective thatched roof for temporary storage of goods or animal pens. It has "overlapping layers of straw or like material secured or fastened in place by running wires attached to the foundation on which the said thatching or covering is arranged" (lines 15-19).
Date: November 28, 1893
Creator: Mandeville, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Feed-Regulator for Cotton-Gins. (open access)

Feed-Regulator for Cotton-Gins.

Patent for a simple feed-regulator attachment for cotton gins with circular saws separating the cotton from the seeds. It regulates the rate that cotton is fed into the roll box and automatically stops and starts depending on the size of the roll.
Date: November 28, 1893
Creator: Hollingsworth, Joseph & Banister, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sheep-Dipper. (open access)

Sheep-Dipper.

Patent for a sheep dipper that does not drown the animals. It "may be readily operated without requiring that the entire weight of the sheep under treatment be lifted by the operator; and furthermore to provide a device which may be supported upon wheels and made portable, and which is provided with simple and efficient means for conveying the sheep into and from the vat containing the dip" (lines 12-19).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Sieker, Edward Armin & Schmidt, Adolph H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for a churn that consists of an upright frame, an adjustable central ring, a dasher rod, and devices for operating the rod.
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Martin, William F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fastening for Nailless Horseshoes. (open access)

Fastening for Nailless Horseshoes.

Patent for a detachable nailless horseshoe that consists of a shoe-plate with front and side wings, links attached to the front wings, half-bands that are attached to the side wings, and lugs.
Date: February 28, 1893
Creator: Mayow, Daniel L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Stock-Cutter. (open access)

Rotary Stock-Cutter.

Patent for an improved rotary stock cutters "adapted for use as matcher heads, ship lap heads, and ogee bats" (lines 11-12). It has two disks with several curved blades sticking out from each disk.
Date: February 28, 1893
Creator: Hardee, Isaiah
System: The Portal to Texas History
Electric-Current Meter. (open access)

Electric-Current Meter.

Patent for an electric-current meter that measures "the amount of electricity passing over a given branch of derived or (if desired) line circuit, thereby indicating the amount of electricity used for the translating or other consuming devices in the circuit, having for its object the construction of an apparatus which will respond more accurately to the variations in the said currents and indicate more exactly upon a dial or dials provided for the purpose, the quantity of electricity which passes" (lines 10-20). The meter's range can be extended.
Date: November 28, 1893
Creator: Mottram, William T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Curtain-Fixture. (open access)

Curtain-Fixture.

Patent for a simple, inexpensive, and effective curtain fixture that allows for the curtain to be "easily and quickly raised or lowered bodily so as to admit more or less light through the window, and permit of proper ventilation without the admission of an undesirable amount of light" (lines 14-18).
Date: February 28, 1893
Creator: Villard, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Sack Carrier. (open access)

Cotton-Sack Carrier.

Patent for a carrying sack meant to carry cotton to and from the field. It is not carried on a worker's back or dragged on the ground. The sack is on an adjustable axle and "may be arranged at an inclination to cause the truck to travel upon a curved line to facilitate the guiding of the same in operation; and furthermore, to provide a fender to prevent objects from falling between the cotton sacks and the wheels of the truck" (lines 14-20).
Date: November 28, 1893
Creator: Laird, Archibald F. & Hill, John M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fruit-Press. (open access)

Fruit-Press.

Patent for a device that extracts and strains "the juice of fruits, and it has for its general object to provide such a device of a cheap, simple, and durable construction, and one adapted when not in use to be disconnected and folded back against the wall so as to occupy but a minimum amount of space" (lines 13-18).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Thompson, Sarah Rosaline
System: The Portal to Texas History
Desk or Cabinet. (open access)

Desk or Cabinet.

Patent for a simple and economical desk that is designed to be completely sealed and protected when it is closed. When the cabinet is opened, "the machine may be operated with as much ease as though the machine were placed upon an ordinary table, and whereby further, when the cabinet is opened, an extensive table will be provided at each side of the machine for the reception of work which is to be performed or which has been executed, or for any purpose that the operator may desire" (lines 20-28).
Date: March 28, 1893
Creator: Billington, Theophilus
System: The Portal to Texas History