States

Carrier Iron for Draw Bars. (open access)

Carrier Iron for Draw Bars.

Patent for a new and improved carrier iron for draw-bars. This design "is to provide an improved draw-bar support exceedingly strong and durable in construction and very cheap and simple which will prevent spreading of the draft-timbers or sagging of the draw-bar and which can be reversed" (lines 19-24). It consists in "[t]he combination, in a car, of the draft-timbers, the draw-bar between the same, and the loop-shaped carrier-iron in one piece embracing said timbers and passing above and below and supporting the draw-bar and secured to said timbers by bolts" (lines 78-83).
Date: September 27, 1892
Creator: Minton, William Dryden & Douglas, Alexander Stewart
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for a mixing machine designed for churns, but can also be used in ice cream freezers. It works by producing a partial vacuum, forcing the liquid to go from the bottom to the top of the vessel. Blades force the liquid to go against "the centrifugal action" (line 21) and towards the center of the vessel.
Date: April 27, 1897
Creator: Norcross, George A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Picking Machine. (open access)

Cotton-Picking Machine.

Patent for improvements to cotton picking machines "of that class in which the cotton-boll is caught on the end of a revolving picker" (lines 11-12). Improvements include a combination of a revolving drum with hollow tubular arms attached to the drum, as well as revolving pickers attached to those arms. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 27, 1897
Creator: Haring, Peter Paul.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Burning Garbage. (open access)

Apparatus for Burning Garbage.

Patent for an apparatus for burning garbage that is made up of a roasting chamber, a grate to hold the garbage, two furnaces, a passage for the ashes, a third furnace connected to the passage, flues, a smokestack, non-combustible absorbent material around the flues and beneath the grate, and flues beneath the grate.
Date: March 27, 1894
Creator: Risley, Ward
System: The Portal to Texas History
Artificial Tooth. (open access)

Artificial Tooth.

Patent for an artificial tooth with an improved crown so that "it can be attached to the gold cap that has been made to fit the end of the root that is to be crowned, the manner of attaching being materially facilitated" (lines 15-19).
Date: February 27, 1894
Creator: Harrell, Hardy B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Band-Brake for Railway-Cars (open access)

Automatic Band-Brake for Railway-Cars

Patent for "a brake of simple and inexpensive construction, that may be readily attached to steam or tramway cars, that is automatic in its working, and to do away with the brake-beams now employed, which through their breaking down are two-thirds of the causes of car derailments" (lines 19-26).
Date: January 27, 1891
Creator: Inglis, Thomas & Schiermann, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for improvements on a churn design, in particular for churns with a vertical dasher that have reciprocating motion.
Date: October 27, 1891
Creator: Henderson, Henry Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Baling Machine. (open access)

Cotton-Baling Machine.

Patent for an effective cotton-baling machine that improves on how cotton is compressed and fed into the rotary, that stretches the cotton to its thinnest, that improves on how the core is carried, that raises and lowers the compressor roller, that improves on the rack-and pinion mechanism, that improves on how the ends of the cotton roll are pressed, and that quickly and easily finishes each bale.
Date: November 27, 1894
Creator: Smith, Hamilton E. & Dare, Benjamin A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press. (open access)

Baling-Press.

Patent for a baling press made up of a vertically movable core that moves up as it gets wrapped up in the internet, supporting drums, a feed apron that presses the material to the core, a pivoted swinging frame with a compression roller, a bale support, a mechanism that lifts the frame when the bale is finished, and a rack-and-pinion mechanism that raises the compression roller that moves up to let the bale get bigger, and a mechanism that rotates the rack-and-pinion.
Date: November 27, 1894
Creator: Smith, Hamilton E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Baling Machine. (open access)

Cotton-Baling Machine.

Patent for a cotton-baling machine that compresses cotton between two pressure-rolls and rolls it around a core. This invention improves "the mode of applying pressure to the pressure rolls, and [improves] the manner of mounting the core-roll in position within the compress, and for facilitating the removal of said core-roll; and the elevation therefrom of the compress-roll" (lines 15-21).
Date: November 27, 1894
Creator: Bessonette, Charles Lewis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Cooking Cotton-Seed Meal. (open access)

Apparatus for Cooking Cotton-Seed Meal.

Patent for an apparatus for cooking cotton-seed meal meant to get the maximum amount of oil for the meal used and puts moisture into dry meal and evaporates excess moisture in meal. Meal is continuously supplied through the machine and water-bath. The steam does not burn or harm the meal.
Date: August 27, 1895
Creator: Dabney, Benjamin & Yopp, William I.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Animal-Stock. (open access)

Animal-Stock.

Patent for an improved animal-stock that holds animals during branding, dehorning, castrating, &c. It looks like an open-topped cage where the operator puts the animal, and the animal cannot move. The invention is on a platform and can tip to one side and a chain is tied from the top of the machine to the bottom of the frame.
Date: August 27, 1895
Creator: Schecher, Conrad
System: The Portal to Texas History
Body-Armor. (open access)

Body-Armor.

Patent for "an armor adapted to be employed without the use of securing-straps and which, while protecting the shoulders of the wearer, will permit of the use of his arms and shoulders, as, for instance, in executing the manual of arms, without such movement being retarded by the weight of one of the body-plates." (Lines 16-23) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: October 27, 1896
Creator: Stevenson, Robert Ferguson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cabinet. (open access)

Cabinet.

Patent for a cabinet meant to contain "screws, bolts, rivets, and similar articles, and has for its object to provide a case for the storage of such articles by means of which the different articles are kept separate one from another, while at the same time ready access may be had to any one of the storage-compartments" (lines 9-15). It is circular and has a wheeled base.
Date: October 27, 1896
Creator: Caplinger, Joseph E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher and Fastener. (open access)

Wire Stretcher and Fastener.

Patent for a new and improved wire stretcher and fastener. This design consists in "[t]he combination of a bar constructed of metal and provided at one end with a claw and having its other end bent at right angles to form an arm provided with a slot or bifurcation forming prongs, one of the prongs being longer than the other, the stud secured to the bar on the side opposite the arm and arranged adjacent to the same and forming a hammer-head, and a handle arranged on the same side of the stud and located adjacent to the claw" (lines 55-65).
Date: September 27, 1892
Creator: Chamberlain, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insecticide Distributor. (open access)

Insecticide Distributor.

Patent for a new and improved bug sprayer. This design consists in "[t]he combination of a base, a bellows mounted thereon, a receptacle arranged in advance of the bellows and adapted to contain poison to be distributed, a forwardly-projecting discharge-tube, laterally-extending discharge-tubes comprising inner rigid sections, outer rigid sections having series of discharge-nozzles, and flexible couplings connecting the rigid sections, and the braces having their inner ends pivoted to the base and their outer ends pivoted to the outer sections and supporting the same" (lines 75-86).
Date: September 27, 1892
Creator: Talley, Reuben J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Truck for Railway-Carriages. (open access)

Truck for Railway-Carriages.

Patent for an improved truck for railway carriages that is meant "to construct surface-rollers which have their center of bearing above the center of the traction of surface roller, and which have traction rollers bearing upon the upper portion of the main surface-roller, and upon which the load is supported equally upon two points of the surface or traction roller" (lines 17-23).
Date: June 27, 1893
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wind-Wheel. (open access)

Wind-Wheel.

Patent for a wind-wheel "designed to secure a rapid descent of the pump-rod and thus enable the wheel to raise more water in a given time" (lines 8-10). Damaging the wheel proper with the forcefulness of rapidly descending water is avoided in this design.
Date: April 27, 1897
Creator: Pippin, John William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Well-Drilling Machinery. (open access)

Well-Drilling Machinery.

Patent for a mechanism that drills and bores; it attaches to a vehicle so the engine can be used to power the mechanism.
Date: June 27, 1893
Creator: Lee, Joseph G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Driving Horses. (open access)

Machine for Driving Horses.

Patent for an improved, simple, and efficient horse-whipping or driving machine that is meant to whip horses that are connected to machines that are powered by horses, such as thrashers, fans, and bark-mills. "The invention comprises a whip-carrying lever pivotally mounted on one end of the sweep-lever of a draft horse power, and means for moving said lever so that the whip will be caused to strike the draft horses" (lines 18-22).
Date: June 27, 1893
Creator: Williams, Samuel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insecticide. (open access)

Insecticide.

Patent for an insecticide that uses an arsenic compound to kill insects instead of Paris green or London purple, and can easily be made into a beautiful green powder that may be used as a pigment.
Date: November 27, 1894
Creator: Brumleu, Ludwig & Brumleu, Ernest
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lantern. (open access)

Lantern.

Patent for a lantern related to a patent previously granted to the inventor (No. 522,062). This patent has a more simple design and improved means for keeping the chimney on the base of the lantern. The base has a pivoted main-bail that extends above the chimney, and the bail has hinged to a handle-bail.
Date: November 27, 1894
Creator: Jarmin, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Knee-Pad. (open access)

Knee-Pad.

Patent for a simple and efficient knee-pad "made of leather or other pliable material, padded with a yielding lining to give comfort to the wearer" (lines 9-11). It prevents gravel, moisture, and other things from injuring the knee of the user.
Date: August 27, 1895
Creator: Dowling, Stonewall Jackson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vest and Drawers Holder. (open access)

Vest and Drawers Holder.

Patent for new and improved suspenders. This design consists, "[a]s an improved article of manufacture, the vest and drawers holder . . . consisting of the main bar having the arm bent downward from its upper end and provided with a clasp for connecting with the drawers, the main bar being also provided near its upper and lower ends with safety-pins for connection with the vest" (lines 60-67).
Date: September 27, 1892
Creator: Lustig, Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History