Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "form[s] the central opening of the draw-bar with a tup-bar having rearwardly a spiral spring. The forward end of this tup-bar is inclined forwardly somewhat at an angle at the top, so that when the said bar is pushed forward by the spiral spring at its rear end, the coupling-pin will rest upon this forwardly-projecting end of the bar, while the link will rest beneath, so that in dropping the pin will rest within the link, and not on the outer side, which would be the case if this bar were square" (lines 15-26).
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: McAllister, Sanders F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Center and Other Tables. (open access)

Center and Other Tables.

Patent for a new and improved table. This design consists "[i]n a table, stool, or other like article of furniture, the combination, with a slotted standard and rods extending across the slots, of the legs having dowel-pins entering holes in the under side of the table-top, and cam-shaped hooks connected to the legs and engaging with the slots and rods of the standard" (lines 73-79).
Date: September 15, 1885
Creator: Burroughs, William Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device for Packing Cotton. (open access)

Device for Packing Cotton.

Patent for an improvement in devices for packing and compressing cotton in press-boxes. This patent is an improvement on the inventor's previous Letters Patent of the United States granted June 26, 1883, No. 280,333.
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Summer, Dewitt C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk and Clod Cutter. (open access)

Stalk and Clod Cutter.

Patent for a new and improved stalk cutter. This design "consist[s] of . . . any desirable number of cutting-wheels constructed with heavy spherical hubs of cast metal and spokes carrying at their extremities horizontal knives. The said cutting-wheels are mounted . . . on a horizontal shaft provided with a longitudinal key-slot from end to end, so that the cutting-wheels may be adjusted in the desired positions thereon, the said shaft turning in boxes at the rear ends of a pair of longitudinal beams secured in front to an axle provided with two carrying-wheels and a driver's seat" (lines 9-21).
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Farley, John C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Manufacture of Soap. (open access)

Manufacture of Soap.

Patent for a new and improved soap-making process. This process "consist[s] in applying hydraulic pressure to the mass undergoing mixture and steam-heating . . . [and] thoroughly mixing the ingredients . . . in a close vessel by means of rotary blades, heating the same by steam, and at the same time applying pressure by means of a hydraulic pump to the said mixture" (lines 86-95).
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Grant, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Portable Pump, &c. (open access)

Portable Pump, &c.

Patent for improvement to a pump "adapted for attachment to small vessels containing oil, water or any other liquid" (lines 10-12) that includes a better means of securing the pump.
Date: September 15, 1885
Creator: Phillips, Richard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oil Can. (open access)

Oil Can.

Patent for a new and improved oil can. This design "relates to that class of oil-cans which are used for supplying lubricating material to various kinds of machinery, and which usually consists of a can or receptacle having an orifice through which it may be filled, and a tapering spout for supplying the lubricant to the place where it is needed; and the invention has for its object to produce an oil-can which shall be specially designed for lubricating vehicle-axles, and which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability, and general efficiency" (lines 19-30).
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Denton, Winfield Scott
System: The Portal to Texas History
Soap Manufacturing Machine. (open access)

Soap Manufacturing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved soap maker. This design consists in "[t]he charger, having outline-pipe, in combination with [the] compressor having within the same a steam-heated coil and a rotary mixer, a hydraulic pump connected to said compressor, pressure-gage, and safety-valve" (lines 24-29).
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Grant, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motive Power. (open access)

Motive Power.

Patent for a new and improved Motive Power. This design consists "[i]n a motor, the frame, in combination with a windlass or drum, a rope adapted to be wound thereon, a pulley-block provided with a series of pulleys, a weight also provided with pulleys, the rope being passed through the respective pulleys, devices for winding the windlass, and mechanism for transmitting the movement of the windlass while the rope is being unwound" (lines 35-43).
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Brown, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motor. (open access)

Motor.

Patent for "motors designed more particularly running sewing machines and churns and other light machinery" (lines 9-10), including instruction and illustrations.
Date: December 15, 1885
Creator: Harrell, A. Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History