Lap Ring. (open access)

Lap Ring.

Patent for a new and improved lap ring (or link). This design utilizes a hinge to allow for half of the ring to part from the other half, which creates a larger opening and allows for connection with a wider range of things (e.g., larger clevises).
Date: October 25, 1881
Creator: Matthews, James Levi
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk Cutter. (open access)

Stalk Cutter.

Patent for a new and improved stalk cutter. This design "consists in certain improvements in the construction of [devices for cutting corn and cotton stalks] . . . [and] [t]he object of the invention is to simplify and cheapen the construction and arrangement of means for adjusting the pitch of the sides without affecting the usefulness or efficiency of the device; and to that end such means consist, essentially, in a single-rack bar, an operating-lever, and two links connecting said lever with the side bars" (lines 15-28).
Date: October 25, 1881
Creator: Horn, John W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for a new and improved gate. This design "consists in the novel construction and arrangement of the posts, the latch-bar pivoted to the main rail by inclined braces and operated by a rock-shaft and push-arms inclined in a direction opposite to that of the inclined braces, weight-box, and cranks for operating the rock-shaft to open and close the gate" (lines 19-25).
Date: October 25, 1881
Creator: Smith, Robert B. & Curry, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed Planter. (open access)

Seed Planter.

Patent for a new and improved seed planter. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the seed-hopper and seed-slide, of the stationary catch and elastic spring-catch, both secured to the hopper and arranged to grasp the head of the brush" (lines 60-64).
Date: October 25, 1881
Creator: Brooks, James Madison
System: The Portal to Texas History