Bridle Bit. (open access)

Bridle Bit.

Patent for a new and improved bridle bit. This design "consist[s] of curb-plates provided with the mouth-bar and having the upper ends provided with slots and the lower ends formed with longitudinal slots, and the cheek-plates loosely fitted to the outer ends of the mouth-bar and having their opposite ends formed with openings for the attachment of the head-stall and reins" (lines 72-79).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Allen, John Hudson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Folding Frame or Support for Mosquito Canopies. (open access)

Folding Frame or Support for Mosquito Canopies.

Patent for a new and improved frame for mosquito canopies. This design consists in "the combination, with the fixed standards and the forwardly-projecting bearings, of the braces pivoted to [the] bearings and united by cross-bar, the short arms pivoted to the upper ends of the fixed standards, and parallel side-bars connected by cross-bars to form a rectangular frame to support the canopy or curtain and pivoted intermediate, respectively, in the outer ends of the short arms and brace" (lines 22-31).
Date: March 25, 1890
Creator: Bailey, Alfred Holt
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Distributing Poison on Plants. (open access)

Machine for Distributing Poison on Plants.

Patent for a new and improved machine for distributing poison on plants. This design consists in "the combination, with a wheeled-frame, a counter-shaft thereon driven from the wheels, a poison-hopper, an air and discharge pipe communicating therewith, a fan giving air-blast through said pipe, and an agitator in the poison-hopper, of wheel and belt-gearing operating the fan and agitator from the counter-shaft on the frame" (lines 112-119).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Brown, George R. & Brown, John W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Agricultural Implement. (open access)

Agricultural Implement.

Patent for a new and improved sweep. This design consists "in a sweep of a suitable shape and construction having attached to each of its rear corners a vertical bar or wings, which extends parallel to the course of the plow and backward a suitable distance beyond the sweep proper . . . The object of [the] invention is to attach to the rear corners or wings of a sweep bars or runners, which rest upon the ground and steady the sweep and prevent it from wabbling or dodging while in use" (lines 14-25).
Date: March 4, 1890
Creator: Cameron, Hugh L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Conveying and Cleaning Apparatus. (open access)

Cotton Conveying and Cleaning Apparatus.

Patent for a new and improved conveyer and cleaner of cotton. This design consists, "with the cotton pneumatic tube and the fan for producing an air-current therein, of the branch-tubes connecting the segments of the tube first named, the cotton-arresting screens, the enlarged mouth upon the tube-segment opposite the fan, the rotating cylinder mounted between said branches, the wings thereon completely filling, with the cylinder, the upper portion of the mouth and sweeping over the faces of the screens, the flexible valve, and the spring-actuated gate closing that part of the mouth" (lines 14-25).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Elam, William E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse Detacher. (open access)

Horse Detacher.

Patent for a new and improved horse-detacher. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the axle, of the arms attached to the front face thereof and inclined downward and toward each other, the spring-actuated pins within said arms, and the cord attached to adjacent ends of the said pins and passed beneath the axle over guide-rollers and connected with a lever pivoted upon the under side of the reach, said lever being arranged to be actuated from the vehicle" (lines 43-52).
Date: March 18, 1890
Creator: Harper, Henry Hughes
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wagon (open access)

Wagon

Patent for "relates to the construction of wagon beds or bodies; and it has for'its object to provide a simple means for bracing such beds-or bodies to prevent the sides thereof from spreading under a load, and whereby the heavy standards usually employed may be dispensed with" (lines 23-30).
Date: March 18, 1890
Creator: Haupt, William W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Jack Wrench for Oiling Vehicle Wheels. (open access)

Jack Wrench for Oiling Vehicle Wheels.

Patent for a new and improved jack-wrench. This design consists "of the flat bar which has its inner end bent into a hook, so as to catch over the top of the axle, and which has secured to its outer end a rod, upon which the wheel is to be moved, and a handle which has a wrench formed in its outer end, with a slide which is adjustable . . . a screw-rod which passes through the slide and has its upper end bent so as to catch underneath the axle, and a thumbscrew . . . The object of [the] invention is to provide a combined wrench and jack" (lines 15-29).
Date: March 4, 1890
Creator: Henshaw, Fred M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bank-Punch (open access)

Bank-Punch

Patent for "a punch for the use of banks, counting-houses, &c., which will cut figures and characters out of the material of la check or other paper, and which will cut in the said paper before and after the figures representing the value of the check a star or other character to prevent the raising of the check by the addition of other figures" (lines 21-28).
Date: March 18, 1890
Creator: Lane, Alvin V.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gunpowder Can. (open access)

Gunpowder Can.

Patent for new container for holding and dispensing gunpowder with illustrations consisting of "glass vessel incased within a metallic jacket and having an exteriorly-screw-threaded neck, in combination with a cap or cover" (page 2, lines 1-3) to increase safety and prevent corrosion of vessel.
Date: March 25, 1890
Creator: Lee, Newton M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Submarine Channel Protection. (open access)

Submarine Channel Protection.

Patent for new and improved submarine channel protection. This design "consist[s] of two walls approximately parallel with each other extending across the sand-bar, and a barrier consisting of inclined wings extending from the side walls to the center of the channel, and a filling in rear of the wings" (lines 46-51).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Mauermann, Albert J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Fence. (open access)

Wire Fence.

Patent for a new and improved wire fence. This design "relates to wire fencing; and it consists in the construction and combination of devices . . . whereby the wire cables can be conveniently and freely supported at suitable points by spirally-coiled suspension-loops attached to certain fence-posts, so that while securely braced to remain in position the wire cable will not be subjected to chafing or other injury" (lines 8-17).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Moran, Horace S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motor for Operating Churns. (open access)

Motor for Operating Churns.

Patent for a new and improved churn motor. This design "compris[es] the clock-work-like mechanism, the right angle brake-lever engaging the spring-shaft wheel of said mechanism, and itself engaged by a pivoted hook on the supporting closure, the wheel on the driving-shaft having eccentrically connected thereto a stud engaged by a wrist-pin, the pitman loosely connected at one end to said wrist-pin and carrying at its opposite end a split socket provided with jaws having a binding-screw, and the dasher-staff having connection with said pitman-socket" (lines 90-101).
Date: March 18, 1890
Creator: Peggs, Jack
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper and Cultivator (open access)

Cotton Chopper and Cultivator

Patent for "a machine of this class which shall be simple in construction, durable, and effect ive in operation, and which may be easily manipulated" (lines 11-14).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Porter, William Daniel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Quilting Frame. (open access)

Quilting Frame.

Patent for a new and improved quilting frame. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the track-bar having the brackets on its ends, the continuous suspension-wire extending between the extremities of the said brackets and extending longitudinally in the rear of the track-bar, the movable block inserted between the rear portion of the suspension-wire and the rear side of the track-bar, the pulleys mounted on the suspension-wire, and the carrier-bar carrying the quilting-frame and connected to the said pulleys" (lines 62-72).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Raines, Burress Wesley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Poison Distributer. (open access)

Poison Distributer.

Patent for a new and improved poison distributor. This design "relates to improvements in machines for exterminating insects . . . the application of poisons in solutions . . . cannot be brought into contact with every part of an infested plant. They furthermore invariably retard the growth and often kill the plant. . . . The object of [the] invention is to obviate the defects referred to . . . whereby pulverized poisons may be rapidly ejected, not directly upon the plants, but mainly into the surrounding atmosphere. . . . and produce the desired effect upon every object within a wide range" (lines 14-44).
Date: March 18, 1890
Creator: Richards, Henry B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Anal Speculum. (open access)

Anal Speculum.

Patent for a new and improved anal speculum. This design is "to so construct the several parts that there will be no rough or raised edges to interfere with its insertion in the anal passage; secondly, to so construct [the] improved speculum that it may be readily used as a bi-valve or dilator; thirdly, to form a locking-joint on the meeting edges of the shells forming the speculum, whereby the sections are prevented from overlapping each other to avoid pinching or injury to the walls of the anal passage while the instrument is being inserted; fourthly, to provide a plug for [the] improved speculum" (lines 17-29).
Date: March 25, 1890
Creator: Shuford, Quincy Adams
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling Press. (open access)

Baling Press.

Patent for a new and improved baling press. This design is "to place two baling-chambers at a suitable angle to each other and to connect both of the followers to the same sweep; to attach each of the filling-doors of the baling-chambers to the sweep, so that when one door closes from its own weight the other will be opened by the movement of the sweep, and to provide each of the filling doors with an automatically-acting bolt mechanism, whereby the movement of the follower bolts the door, so that it cannot be opened upward by the pressure of hay that is being pressed" (lines 15-26).
Date: March 4, 1890
Creator: Spencer, Anderson Hood
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists, "with the standard and blade, of the removable L-shaped landside bar or plate, having one part or arm secured by a bolt or otherwise between the upper part of the blade and standard and the other part or arm standing at about right angles backward to resist the mold-board thrust as a landside" (lines 5-12).
Date: March 4, 1890
Creator: Stewart, John A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut and Washer for Vehicle Axles. (open access)

Nut and Washer for Vehicle Axles.

Patent for a new and improved nut and washer combination. This design consists, "with a threaded end on an axle-spindle, which is longitudinally grooved on opposite sides of the thread, and a radially-flanged nut made to engage the threaded-end of the spindle, of a cap-ring having an annular recess formed on one side from its inner edge outwardly, said ring being secured upon the radial flange of the nut, and a cylindrical outer shell having an inwardly-extended flange on one end, and ears on the edge of said flange, which hook over the reduced edge of the cap-ring" (lines 20-31).
Date: March 11, 1890
Creator: Sullivan, Jonathan L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Cut-off for Rotary Engines (open access)

Automatic Cut-off for Rotary Engines

Patent for improvements "to the means for actuating the valves controlling the steam supply" (lines 10-12).
Date: March 6, 1890
Creator: Wallerich, Nicholas
System: The Portal to Texas History