Cotton-Chopper. (open access)

Cotton-Chopper.

Patent for an improved design for a cotton chopper. The patent includes two sets of blades with opposite rotation and the ability to be stopped by the control of the operator. The design also includes improvements on cultivation and chopping for a more efficient process. Included are instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1880
Creator: Busch, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Planter Attachment. (open access)

Cotton-Planter Attachment.

Patent for improvements on cotton or other seed planters with a new design that allows for "simultaneously adjusting-i.e., raising and lowering-the plows in front and in rear of the seed-dropping drum " (lines 29-31) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1880
Creator: Willcoxson, Coulmon W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse-Power Machines. (open access)

Horse-Power Machines.

Patent for new and improved cog-wheel designed to improve horse-powered machines that are used in "flouring mills, and agricultural, and other machines" (lines 16-17) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1880
Creator: Hooker, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mechanical Motor. (open access)

Mechanical Motor.

Patent for an improved and efficient "in motors adapted especially for domestic use, its object being to provide a cheap, compact, durable, and efficient automatic motive mechanism which may be utilized for drivers various household apparatus" including instructions and illustration.
Date: May 25, 1880
Creator: Miller, Noah J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vegetable Grater and Slicer. (open access)

Vegetable Grater and Slicer.

Patent for an improvement on vegetable graters or slicers. The design allows for more efficient cutting of the vegetables and allows for gravity to feed the vegetables through the slicer and avoiding injury to the operator. Included are instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1880
Creator: Weitzel, Jacob F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bale Tie Buckle. (open access)

Bale Tie Buckle.

Patent for a new and improved bale tie buckle. This design is for "bale-tie buckles so constructed that the bale can be easily and quickly tied, that will hold the tie securely, and at the same time can be made lighter and neater than ordinary buckles, while having the necessary strength" (lines 11-16).
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Starr, Henry Daniel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bench Clamp. (open access)

Bench Clamp.

Patent for a new and improved bench clamp. This design, "[b]eing made of iron or other suitable material . . . is strong, durable, and inexpensive. It requires no bolts or screws to secure it to the work-bench or other object where its use may be required, and can be put in position and removed easily and quickly. It occupies but little room on account of its compactness, and can be applied to any piece of work without marring it" (lines 72-80).
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Murphy, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Evaporator. (open access)

Evaporator.

Patent for a new and improved evaporator. This design "consists in certain improvements in the construction of . . . sugar boilers or evaporators" (lines 19-21). This design utilizes "[t]he combination, with an evaporating-pan mounted upon wheels or rollers, of a furnace provided with inclined holes adjoining its sides to accommodate the wheels of the evaporator" to make said improvements (lines 57-61).
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Harman, Franklin S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Liquid Cooler. (open access)

Liquid Cooler.

Patent for a new and improved liquid cooler. This design "provide[s] an apparatus by means of which a variety of liquids may be simultaneously cooled as required for use as beverages, and by which the glasses or drinking vessels may be at the same time cooled and protected from dust and insects" (lines 14-20).
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Capps, Matterson F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vehicle Axle Lubricator. (open access)

Vehicle Axle Lubricator.

Patent for a new and improved axle lubricator. This design utilizes threads to allow for removal and reattachment, as well as easy cleaning.
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Rochelle, John Rugeley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Elevator. (open access)

Water Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved water elevator. This design "relates to improvements in water-elevators in which water is made to perform the operations heretofore performed by steam; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts . . . whereby the rarefaction of heated air is employed to raise or set in motion a continuous stream of water" (lines 14-21).
Date: January 25, 1881
Creator: Smith, William A. & Smith, Robert T.
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
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
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
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
Combined Faucet and Automatic Toy. (open access)

Combined Faucet and Automatic Toy.

Patent for a new and improved faucet with a toy attachment. This design "relates to faucets for soda-fountains and the like; and it consists in providing the same with a jointed figure or automaton adapted to be operated by the escaping fluid" (lines 21-25).
Date: April 25, 1882
Creator: Zanetti, Fortonato Clemente
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lamp and Reflector for Same. (open access)

Lamp and Reflector for Same.

Patent for a new combination oil lamp and reflector. This design "has for its object the production of a lamp and a reflector adapted the one to the other, and in such points of construction as shall contribute to the effectiveness of both, in that no part of the former obstructs the rays of light reflected by the other, and both shall be of simple and cheap construction; and [it] consists in certain devices and combinations of devices" (lines 20-28).
Date: April 25, 1882
Creator: Cotton, Patrick H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plaque and Picture Hanger. (open access)

Plaque and Picture Hanger.

Patent for a new and improved holder for plaques and pictures. This design "is to provide a simple and cheap device for conveniently hanging painted or ornamental plaques, plates, tiles, and similar decorative objects" (lines 15-18).
Date: July 25, 1882
Creator: Marucheau, Elizabeth L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rein Holder. (open access)

Rein Holder.

Patent for a new and improved rein-holder. This design "consists of two cuneiform sleeves mounted loosely and eccentrically on two upright shafts inclined toward each other and provided with spiraled grooves, into which pins in the sleeves pass, these sleeves being provided at the bottom with plates engaging with each other, so that both sleeves will move simultaneously, the reins being grasped between these sleeves" (lines 10-18).
Date: July 25, 1882
Creator: Hyde, Leslie Russell
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. With this design, "[w]hen the cars are coupled, the shoulders upon the draw-heads will bear against each other, pressing the spring-bolts forward, which will tilt the free ends of the bails forward over the ends of the opposite draw-heads, thus forming a strong and safe coupling which may be uncoupled in a moment of time" (lines 92-98).
Date: September 25, 1883
Creator: Hathaway, Charles L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn Motor. (open access)

Churn Motor.

Patent for a new and improved churn motor. This design "consists in certain improvements in the construction of [churn motors], having for their object to produce a machine which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability, and general efficiency" (lines 10-15).
Date: September 25, 1883
Creator: O'Bannon, William H. & Snider, John J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Self Packing Cotton Press. (open access)

Self Packing Cotton Press.

Patent for a new and improved self-packing cotton press. This design "consists in a cotton-press constructed with a pivoted double baling-box, a pair of rolls and their driving mechanism for packing the cotton into the baling-box automatically, and a screw-driven follow-block for compressing the cotton into bales" (lines 22-27).
Date: September 25, 1883
Creator: Rummel, Louis C. & Fielder, Emil J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire Kindler. (open access)

Fire Kindler.

Patent for a new and improved fire-kindler. This design is for "[a] fire-kindling torch consisting of two perforated sections, each having an exterior longitudinal ridge, and angular side flanges, and provided at one end with lugs which bear flatly against each other, a pivot-pin passing transversely through the lugs to permanently connect the sections and form a pintle on which they can turn, and a handle connecting the other ends of the sections together, said sections having an interposed filling of mineral wool" (lines 1-11).
Date: December 25, 1883
Creator: Osborn, Adelbert E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insect Destroyer. (open access)

Insect Destroyer.

Patent for a new and improved pest control device. This design "consist[s] of the flexible air-supply funnel, having end-supporting and mouth-distending rim, terminating in vertical bottom legs or branches, the gas generator, the air-inlet tube having the valve, and the rigid gas-discharge tube" (lines 22-28).
Date: December 25, 1883
Creator: Grafton, William
System: The Portal to Texas History