Steam-Turbine for Locomotives. (open access)

Steam-Turbine for Locomotives.

Patent for a compact mechanism related to steam turbines, which has positive geared connections with the driving access of the locomotive, resulting in reduced friction. This increases efficiency of the driving action while reduced the expenditure of elastic fluid in order to run smoothly.
Date: December 5, 1911
Creator: Dumas, Joel Benjaman
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spiral Ring. (open access)

Spiral Ring.

Patent for a new and improved lap-ring. This design consists in a "lap-ring for connecting the tree-irons of double-trees and single-trees, consisting of the S-shaped lap-ring having the end curves spread laterally from the stem of the S, and carried round on spiral curves to points ninety degrees beyond a line that would evenly divide the figure thus formed longitudinally" (lines 41-48).
Date: July 8, 1884
Creator: Brooks, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Portable Water-Heater and Steam-Cooker (open access)

Portable Water-Heater and Steam-Cooker

Patent for a portable water-heater and steam-cooker that "can be adapted for heating water for a variety of domestic purposes, such as for washing clothes and the like, and for supplying steam for scalding clothes, for cooking feed for stock, and for operating a churn or similar device" (lines 14-19).
Date: April 12, 1904
Creator: Staton, John William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gin Saw Cleaner (open access)

Gin Saw Cleaner

Patent for a gin saw cleaner. Illustration included.
Date: March 28, 1911
Creator: Pillow, James G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for an automatic gate at railroad crossings, adaptable for use in "farm gates and automatic gates for carriage roads" (page 1, lines 11-12) using "an inclined cam disk, of a spring actuated lever" (page 4, lines 27-28), trip devices, and a bell or other signal, with illustrations.
Date: January 24, 1893
Creator: Neeb, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fred Regulator for Cotton Gins (open access)

Fred Regulator for Cotton Gins

Patent for a feed regulator for cotton gins. This invention is arranged for distributing and guiding cotton into the feeder. Illustration included.
Date: May 12, 1908
Creator: McCreary, Lorenzo A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fish Catching Apparatus (open access)

Fish Catching Apparatus

Patent for a fish catching apparatus which will move artificial bait in the water to attract more fish.
Date: December 29, 1914
Creator: Beyer, Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rein-Holder. (open access)

Rein-Holder.

Patent for a new and useful rein holder, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: February 20, 1900
Creator: Sewell, John S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sheaf-Carrier for Binders (open access)

Sheaf-Carrier for Binders

Patent for sheaf carrier for binders which allows sheaves to be gathered without danger of them being dumped or dislodged and allow for automation of sheaf carrier arms.
Date: July 13, 1909
Creator: Pillow, James Gid
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine. (open access)

Washing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved washing machine. This design consists in "a boiler, a cylinder journaled therein and having closed ends, its outer periphery composed of a series of open troughs arranged in pairs, the troughs in each pair opening toward each other, a series of open-ended funnel-shaped tubes arranged in a line drawn centrally around the periphery of the cylinder, [and] the said tubes extending inwardly from the outer face of the cylinder and having their contracted discharge ends near the center of the cylinder" (lines 22-32).
Date: February 25, 1890
Creator: Rose, Horatio
System: The Portal to Texas History
Folding Box (open access)

Folding Box

Patent for paper box formed from a single blank which can be folded into compact form.
Date: May 8, 1906
Creator: Hale, Lawrence F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pipe-Wrench (open access)

Pipe-Wrench

Patent for a self-adjustable pipe wrench that actively adapts to the material it is applied to by means of a moveable portion of the gripping jaw, with illustrations and instructions.
Date: May 28, 1918
Creator: Moore, Joseph D.
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 of the whiffletree-support, the whiffletree, the hinge connecting such parts having its upper and lower plates secured, respectively, to the whiffletree and its support and jointed at their rear edges, and the arm or lever extended forward from the upper plate, whereby upward draft on said arm or lever will turn the whiffletree backward from its normal position to release the traces" (lines 91-100).
Date: June 10, 1890
Creator: Harrison, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Plow. (open access)

Rotary Plow.

Patent for improvements in rotary plows which can be used as a subsoil-plow or it can be converted into a cultivator. The “purpose is to provide a novel gang-plow capable of cutting the soil at different depths, as circumstances may require, and in which the angle at which the plows enter the soil may be varied.” (Lines 18-23) Illustration is included.
Date: June 30, 1891
Creator: Cleveland, George P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Bag Emptier (open access)

Cotton Bag Emptier

Patent for a portable derrick, that can be easily lifted and emptied.
Date: January 30, 1917
Creator: Brown, Odis A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Plow (open access)

Rotary Plow

Patent for a gang-plow to be used when gangs of disks are used to turn over the soil so that it generates minimal friction and thus increasing efficiency.
Date: November 15, 1892
Creator: Cleveland, George P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Planter Attachment. (open access)

Planter Attachment.

Patent for a planter attachment, which allows seeds to be covered with varying depths of soil, that is operated from the seat of the planter.
Date: October 20, 1908
Creator: O'Brian, John B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gage. (open access)

Gage.

Patent for a measuring gage for measuring rafters that clamps on the wood, has a saw guide line, and eliminates the use of multiple calculation instruments thus making the process simpler.
Date: April 2, 1907
Creator: Morrison, Andrew
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cultivator. (open access)

Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design is "for cultivating stubble, sugar-cane, cotton, corn, and other plants planted in rows or drills, which will remove the soil from the sides of the rows without injuring the roots, and will throw soil around the plants, and which shall be simple in construction and convenient in use" (lines 15-21).
Date: May 10, 1881
Creator: Brenner, August William & Fraser, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Planter (open access)

Cotton Planter

Patent for a cotton planter. Illustrations included.
Date: July 5, 1904
Creator: Guton, Isaac
System: The Portal to Texas History
Attachment for Planters (open access)

Attachment for Planters

Patent for attachment for planters, provides a simple, inexpensive, easily-applied, and effectively operating attachmentc for cotton, corn, or other seed-planting machines in which is included a truck or a carriage whereby a sweep-plow can be connected with the planter truck or carriage for laying out a furrow and covering the seed (Johnson, 1902).
Date: June 14, 1909
Creator: Johnson, Major
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gang-Plow. (open access)

Gang-Plow.

Patent for improvements in gang-plows in which the “disks” would contain a flared annulus and, it is formed by the truncation of a conical shell of large base and small altitude. This disk-plow “will penetrate the soil to the desired depth by its own natural draft with the minimum degree of friction and outlay of force.” (Lines 21-23) Illustration is included.
Date: June 30, 1891
Creator: Cleveland, George P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety-Valve for Pneumatic Tires. (open access)

Safety-Valve for Pneumatic Tires.

Patent for a safety valve for pneumatic tires that prevents the tire from exploding from excess pressure.
Date: October 3, 1911
Creator: Burkett, Bruce
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed-Cotton Cleaner (open access)

Seed-Cotton Cleaner

Patent for a seed cotton cleaner which cleans out foreign matter and defective cotton while the seed cotton is going on a conveyor belt to the cotton gin.
Date: April 23, 1912
Creator: Thompson, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History