Concrete Form. (open access)

Concrete Form.

Patent for a circular concrete form. The form is adjustable and allows nesting for storage and transport.
Date: October 17, 1922
Creator: Harris, John W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Antiskid Device (open access)

Antiskid Device

Patent for reinforcing the hinge of an antiskid device. Long studs on heavy foot plates on tires are used to brace the hinges not allowing them to wear down by dragging on the road surface.
Date: February 17, 1920
Creator: Smith, Ross
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bit Cleaner (open access)

Bit Cleaner

Patent for a device that will clean drill bits used for wells without needing to remove them from the ground. Additional aspects of the patent cover fittings and attachments necessary for better operation of the drill bits and the cleaner.
Date: February 17, 1920
Creator: Robichaux, Sosthene
System: The Portal to Texas History
Compound Air-Compressor. (open access)

Compound Air-Compressor.

Patent for an improved Compound Air-Compressor by having four cylinders, in pairings of a high pressure and a low pressure cylinders. The air from the low pressure cylinder will be fed to the high pressure cylinder. The pistons will work in succession rather than simultaneously.
Date: February 17, 1920
Creator: Jones, Oceola
System: The Portal to Texas History
Adjustable Split Lock-Nut or Union. (open access)

Adjustable Split Lock-Nut or Union.

Patent for an affordable and efficient coupling device for use "on valve rods of internal combustion engines, especially those used in automobiles and aeroplanes or on those motors or engines employing overhead valves and whereby the union or coupling may be readily and securely locked on a valve rod with sufficient resistance to withstand the strain of direct pressure" (lines 14-21).
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Dickinson, Harry E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Maize-Header. (open access)

Maize-Header.

Patent for simple and efficient maize header which is easy to operate by positioning it in a way that it needs minimum effort to operate.
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Jordan, Andrew P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Cultivator. (open access)

Cotton-Cultivator.

Patent for an improved cultivator used for tillage when the plows are not in the ground. The cultivator can also lighten the heaviness felt by the operator while the plow is being used.
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Barnett, James Samuel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bed. (open access)

Bed.

Patent for a bed, specifically the joints of a bedframe. The side rails for a bedframe are joined by tapered connectors.
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Hellweg, Rudolph F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combination Steeper and Dripper. (open access)

Combination Steeper and Dripper.

Patent for improvements of steeper and drippers combinations, specifically for tea or coffee, where a container the same depth of the pot will be provided in order to steep grounds easily and quicker.
Date: May 17, 1920
Creator: Nicholls, George Habberton
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cuff-Link. (open access)

Cuff-Link.

Patent for new and useful improvements in cuff links that do not separate from sleeves and help with any decoration.
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Hall, James L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Holder for Dental X-Ray Films. (open access)

Holder for Dental X-Ray Films.

Patent for dental X-Ray holders that securely hold the film in place and categorize the X-Rays into series that comprise views of the whole mouth.
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Martin, James Madison
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plastic Base for Poles. (open access)

Plastic Base for Poles.

Patent for a plastic base for poles which aims to lengthen the life of the average pole and enable the use of poles of shorter lengths.
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Hoyle, Millard F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gradometer. (open access)

Gradometer.

Patent for a gradometer "which will accurately indicate under the most varying and unstable conditions the inclination and declination at which any moving body is traveling" (lines 10-13). The gradometer is "particularly adapted for use on motor vehicles" (lines 15-16).
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Hall, Sidney Wilson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wheel-Operated Lift Mechanism (open access)

Wheel-Operated Lift Mechanism

Patent for a wheel operated lift mechanism designed for agricultural implements with wheels which can raise the frame of the agricultural implement for easy access to the wheel. This tool is adjustable to raise or lower the frame for easy access to the wheel to disconnect it.
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Altgelt, Herman E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Guide for Drive-Chains. (open access)

Guide for Drive-Chains.

Patent for a mechanism designed to prevent a guide chain from being displaced from the wheel(s) of its parent machine.
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Johnston, Horace G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Draft Attachment for Motor-Vehicles. (open access)

Draft Attachment for Motor-Vehicles.

Patent for a draft attachment by which a motor vehicle may "pull itself free when its traction wheels have become embedded in a soft or muddy road" (lines 14-16).
Date: May 17, 1921
Creator: Worsham, Louis W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automobile Block. (open access)

Automobile Block.

Patent for improvements to automobile blocks, specifically employed for pulling automobiles from muddy or other places where the power of the car cannot be utilized. The patent is for a small, portable device that can be conveniently carried in the vehicle.
Date: January 17, 1922
Creator: Schaudies, Charles E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lawn-Mower Sharpener. (open access)

Lawn-Mower Sharpener.

Patent for a new device that improves lawn mower sharpeners, including illustrations. It is a detachable device that attaches directly to the lawn mower and sharpens the blades while in use.
Date: October 17, 1922
Creator: Lancaster, Edmund Banning
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lock-Nut. (open access)

Lock-Nut.

Patent for a nut lock that secures two nuts of a pair within a tubular casing through opposing threading and rotation, where one nut is immobilized and the other remaining adjustable to meet situational need. Illustrations included.
Date: February 17, 1920
Creator: Greer, Benjamin J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water-Level. (open access)

Water-Level.

Patent for an instrument to determine a level at widely distant points or determining inclinations and which may be correctly read under conditions where a level cannot be held erect. Also known as hydrostatic leveling, this instrument is comprised of flexibly connected liquid containers that are spaced apart at certain distances.
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Kaspar, John & Beran, Rud F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rail-Joint (open access)

Rail-Joint

Patent for an improved rail joint that doesn't need bolts.
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Ryan, George R. & Ryan, William M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tractor Turning Mechanism. (open access)

Tractor Turning Mechanism.

Patent for a tractor turning mechanism that will allow tractors to turn at any angle up to a right angle by locking one of the driving ground wheels into a pivot point for the other wheels of the tractor.
Date: February 17, 1920
Creator: Chenoweth, William B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Trombone. (open access)

Trombone.

Patent, including illustration, for "a musical instrument slide and is more particularly designated as a bearing or stocking for a trombone or other similar instruments in which it is desirable to provide a smooth bearing for the slidable part of the instrument" (page 1, lines 9-13).
Date: February 17, 1920
Creator: Ackley, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sod Cutting and Disintegrating Machine. (open access)

Sod Cutting and Disintegrating Machine.

Patent for a sod cutting and disintegrating machine that has a wheel-supported frame, inclined elevator, plow attached to the elevator, front truck, and disintegrating rollers.
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Thompson, Robert L.
System: The Portal to Texas History