Air Brake Attachment. (open access)

Air Brake Attachment.

Patent for "mechanism for use in connection with railway cars for automatically controlling the air brakes," including instructions and illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1917
Creator: Flowers, Malon Inghram & Sale, Archie Pierce
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bedstead Fastening. (open access)

Bedstead Fastening.

Patent for connecting legs to side rails of beadsteads.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Rape, Augustus D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Beet Harvesting Machine (open access)

Beet Harvesting Machine

Patent for a machine that will harvest beets with only two operatives and not made of "heavy construction." Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: October 13, 1914
Creator: Stone, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bicycle-Support. (open access)

Bicycle-Support.

Patent for a bicycle support which holds "bicycles in upright position when not in use" (lines 8-9).
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Taylor, James P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Buckle-Hook. (open access)

Buckle-Hook.

Patent for a new buckle hook, specifically a back-band buckle for use with a harness that is "of simple and inexpensive construction designed to firmly grip the back-band or strap of the harness and retain the same in adjusted position" (lines 12-15), including illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1906
Creator: Reid, William W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Calculating-Machine. (open access)

Calculating-Machine.

Patent for an improvement to mechanical calculators by providing the "means for facilitating the addition of successive numbers of the same or different denominations, and also for subtracting and multiplying the same by substantially the means employed in adding" (lines 10-14). It includes a written explanation and illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1894
Creator: Stallard, Sherman R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Collapsible Receptacle for Vehicles. (open access)

Collapsible Receptacle for Vehicles.

Patent for an invention to improve collapsible receptacles for use in vehicles, more specifically wagons. Item is designed to be used on the spring seats of wagons for the purpose of storing items under the seat of wagons. Includes specifications and illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Williams, Anderson D. & Walsh, Charles D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined System of Electric Signaling and Switch Setting for Railroads (open access)

Combined System of Electric Signaling and Switch Setting for Railroads

Patent for improved system of electric signaling and opening and closing rail systems.
Date: April 17, 1906
Creator: Wagner, Bruno Otto
System: The Portal to Texas History
Dehydrator. (open access)

Dehydrator.

Patent for a continuous dehydrator that has specific use for gold and silver ores, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1917
Creator: Biesel, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Dental Dam-Holder. (open access)

Dental Dam-Holder.

Patent for improvement in dental dam-holders.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Myers, Samuel M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Draft Equalizer. (open access)

Draft Equalizer.

Patent for improvement to draft-equalizers.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Billington, Wesley E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Header. (open access)

Header.

Patent for "new and useful improvements in Headers," including illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1917
Creator: Pritchett, William V.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Headlight. (open access)

Headlight.

Patent for improvement to headlights for cars.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Wakefield, Charles L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Apparatus for Boring Artesian Wells. (open access)

Improvement in Apparatus for Boring Artesian Wells.

Patent for improvement in pump-drills for boring artesian wells by “combining pump-valves and pistons with a drill for boring artesian or other wells” (lines 21-23), including illustration.
Date: April 17, 1860
Creator: Taney, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement In Bagasse-Furnaces. (open access)

Improvement In Bagasse-Furnaces.

Patent for improvements in Bagasse Burners or Furnaces.
Date: April 17, 1878
Creator: Littlejohn, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Fire-Escape Ladders. (open access)

Improvement in Fire-Escape Ladders.

This patent was created for the improvent of fire escape ladders. The inventor gives a comprehensive look at his invention via his image.
Date: April 17, 1878
Creator: Morris, James P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Leather-Cutting Gages (open access)

Improvement in Leather-Cutting Gages

Patent for improvement in leather cutting-gages in order to negate the need for the set-screw at the end of the gage handle that is needed to hold the rule. The document contains instructions and illustrations of the device.
Date: April 17, 1877
Creator: Lindsay, George F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insect-Exterminator (open access)

Insect-Exterminator

Patent for an insect exterminator to be transported to and used within crop fields which separates insects from plants by means of brushes and kills the insects by depositing them into a pan containing liquid insecticide. Exterminator also includes a sprayer to deliver insecticide onto crops. Exterminator is designed to be pulled by draft animals.
Date: April 17, 1906
Creator: Thompson, Everett Edward
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ironing-Table. (open access)

Ironing-Table.

Patent for a new ironing table that folds into a compact form. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Beacham, John Brandon
System: The Portal to Texas History
Keyboard for Writing Machines. (open access)

Keyboard for Writing Machines.

Patent for improved keyboards for writing machines "having its keys so arranged that the fingers of the operator may rest upon the keyboard in an easy and natural manner, the keys being so disposed with relation to each other that the fingers of the operator may reach all of them with the least possible strain or exertion" (lines 16-22). This improvement allows the operator to work at maximum speed and efficiency.
Date: April 17, 1917
Creator: Edwards, Alrah B. & Russell, Frank K.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Machine for Handling and Cleaning Seed Cotton. (open access)

Machine for Handling and Cleaning Seed Cotton.

Patent for improvements in machines for handling and cleaning seed cotton: "For uploading cotton from wagons and for transferring it from place to place, for example, from wagon to storehouse or from the wagon or the storehouse to the gin house when it is to be delivered to gins or gin feeders, pneumatic apparatus has advantages over other devices" (lines 12-18).
Date: April 17, 1894
Creator: Elam, William E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Match-Box. (open access)

Match-Box.

Patent for match boxes that automatically opens when unlatched and has a projecting member arm that slides the lid with a match for removal conveniency.
Date: April 17, 1906
Creator: Whiteker, Bosque M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pendulum-Scale. (open access)

Pendulum-Scale.

Patent for "a self-registering scale which shall be composed of but a few parts, and which will be accurate and reliable in use, and not liable to get out of repair from constant employment" (lines 10-14).
Date: April 17, 1894
Creator: Graves, William J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Perforating Mechanism for Cylinder Printing-Presses. (open access)

Perforating Mechanism for Cylinder Printing-Presses.

Patent for a perforating mechanism for cylinder printing-presses that is simple and automatic. It produces "lines of perforations at any required distance apart and of any desired length in paper or cardboard at the time of printing thereon the forms for checks, draft, bills, notes, tickets or other printed or lithographed matter" (lines 12-17).
Date: April 17, 1894
Creator: Kellner, Eugene
System: The Portal to Texas History