Bee Feeder. (open access)

Bee Feeder.

Patent for a new and improved bee feeder. This design consists in "the vertically oblong box or case having an opening in one side of its lower end, a trough or basin projecting in front of said lower opening, and lateral attaching flanges or wings" (lines 68-72).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: McWilliams, Wright H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blind Stop. (open access)

Blind Stop.

Patent for a new and improved blind-stop. This design consists "of a corrugated flange or plate connected with the frame thereof, a spring-retaining strip, a corrugated bar arranged between the retaining strip and the corrugated flange, a socket formed upon the corrugated bar and adapted to receive the slat-bar, and a set-screw carried by the retaining strip" (lines 77-84).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Gulick, Lizzie Talley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Book Adjuster. (open access)

Book Adjuster.

Patent for a new and improved book-adjuster. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the holder having the horizontal longitudinal recess and the vertical screw-threaded aperture, of the base-piece, the adjusting-screw swiveled at its lower end in the said base-piece, and the spring-catch" (lines 3-8).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Adair, Irvine James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists in "[t]he combination, in a coupling for air-brakes, of the movable arm having the recess or socket, and the pivoted arm having the shoulder or offset adapted to fit the recess and provided with the [other] arm to direct the said shoulder or offset to the said recess when the coupling-arms come together, the said shoulder and recess forming the terminals of the air-pipes at the ends of the cars" (lines 92-100).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Haltom, Samuel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists in "the combination, with a draw-bar, a sliding box, a movable eccentric secured therein, a coupling-rod, and a pivoted locking-jaw, of a locking-plate secured to said box and adapted to lock the jaw against movement" (lines 84-89).
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: Zedler, Fridrick
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists "in combination with the jaws . . . which are arranged to move laterally and simultaneously . . . each having two side hooks combined with the bar and springs . . . the levers, shaft, pulleys, and the chains which pass over the pulleys and connect the rollers with the jaws" (lines 86-96).
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: Neal, Adam Sylvester
System: The Portal to Texas History
Electric Arc Lamp. (open access)

Electric Arc Lamp.

Patent for a new and improved electric-arc lamp. This design consists in "the combination of a single horseshoe electro-magnet in the circuit of a main line, connected on the positive side to a binding-post having shunt material as a bushing around it, an armature hinged at its center and free to vibrate throughout its length with a carbon-rod holder, which it is adapted to clutch at the hinged part, said magnet acting upon the ends of the armature only, and an adjustable trip and limiting-stops, and means permitting both to be readily adjusted upon the outside of the casing to regulate the lamp" (lines 46-58).
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: McDill, Henry C. & Gaston, James E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Electrical Fare-Box. (open access)

Electrical Fare-Box.

Patent for device "to improve the illumination and increase the efficiency and subserviency of street-care fare-boxes. To these ends the source of light is located in the interior of the box, instead of being placed in a separate chamber at the outside of the box, as is now done, and electrical agency is utilized to produce the light and also to notify the driver that a passenger requires change and when a fair has been deposited in the box" (lines 8-17).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Crowdus, Walter A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Farm Gate. (open access)

Farm Gate.

Patent for a new and improved gate. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the posts having therein the pulleys . . . at the upper part, and one of them the notches, the cord, the weight attached thereto and to the gate, the gate, and the bolt in the post extending on either side of the gate and provided with a lug adapted to be moved over the gate and hold it down, or to be removed therefrom at will" (lines 72-80).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Ellis, Benjamin F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire-Arm. (open access)

Fire-Arm.

Patent for an improvement to adjusting rifle barrels and holding those adjustments in place. Includes illustrations.
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: Alston, William F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hoeing Machine. (open access)

Hoeing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved hoeing machine. This design is "first, to provide a joint between the handle and the gage-wheel, and to insure such arrangement of parts as will enable the operator, by raising and lowering one hand, to give the blade an oscillating motion or swing it from right to left with the greatest ease, and without tipping or turning the wheel or changing too much the position of the blade in respect to the surface of the ground; second, to provide a double gage-wheel that will have all the advantages of a leaning gage-wheel and will also stand firmly by itself" (lines 14-26).
Date: November 8, 1887
Creator: Hurd, Judson B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lever Scraper for Cleaning Plows. (open access)

Lever Scraper for Cleaning Plows.

Patent for a new and improved lever scraper for cleaning plows. This design "relates to improvements in plows, the object being to remove quickly and readily from the mold-board the earth which, in plowing stiff, waxy, or greasy soils, adheres thereto; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of a scraper-blade and of the actuating mechanism therefor" (lines 9-15).
Date: November 8, 1887
Creator: Tucker, Argyle W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design "is capable of vertical adjustment, so that the plowshare and landside will be elevated out of contact with the ground in order to prevent the point from wearing out in transporting or moving it from one field or place to another; and it is furthermore provided with an improved fender and scraper, which prevents the dirt from clogging up and wearing the axle, and keeps the periphery of the wheel clear of mud or other matter that is liable to adhere thereto" (lines 27-37).
Date: February 8, 1887
Creator: Grimm, Frederick
System: The Portal to Texas History
Process of Making Electric Gold Pictures (open access)

Process of Making Electric Gold Pictures

Patent for a "process whereby pictures may be reproduced on any hard white surface" (lines 22-23) by treating the surface so gold adheres to it, with description of process.
Date: November 8, 1887
Creator: Tucker, Argyle W. & Tucker, Elihu M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spring Saddle. (open access)

Spring Saddle.

Patent for a new and improved spring-saddle. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the saddle-tree, the spiral springs secured in pairs under the lateral halves of the saddle-tree, and the stirrup-straps, of the metallic plates each provided with a series of holes about its edge for securing padding thereto, and with a notch and a slit at the middle of one side for the passage of the stirrup-straps" (lines 57-64).
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: Quintero, Antonio Hidalgo
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk Knocker. (open access)

Stalk Knocker.

Patent for a new and improved stalk knocker. This design consists in "the combination, with the running-gear of a wagon, of a frame-work mounted thereon and provided with vertically-adjustable hangers at its rear end carrying stalk-knockers and their shaft, a diagonal adjustable brace connecting the hanger and the frame-work, and a driving-pulley formed in sections, having spoke-embracing lugs, and connected to the knocker-shaft by means of a belt" (lines 10-18).
Date: November 8, 1887
Creator: Allen, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wagon-Body (open access)

Wagon-Body

Patent for "an improvement in extensible wagon-bodies," (lines 8-9) including illustrations.
Date: November 8, 1887
Creator: Stumpf, Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Fluid (open access)

Washing-Fluid

Patent for invention has relation to improved detergent and it consists in combining certain ingredients and the manner and proportions as will be here in after fully set forth, and particular pointed out in the claim appended.[10]
Date: March 8, 1887
Creator: Mnnick, Maggie, E.
System: The Portal to Texas History