Air Compressor for Deep Well Pumps. (open access)

Air Compressor for Deep Well Pumps.

Patent for a new and improved air-compressor. This design "relates to improvements in air-compressing mechanism for the purpose of pumping for forcing from deep wells and performing similar work; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of a larger and smaller air-cylinder, and the combination therewith of mechanism to force the air from the larger into the smaller cylinder to increase the air-pressure in the latter" (lines 22-30).
Date: August 2, 1887
Creator: Adams, John R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Making Soap. (open access)

Apparatus for Making Soap.

Patent for a new and improved soap-making machine. This design "consist[s] of grease and soda tanks, the latter tank having a diaphragm . . . a register-tank, pipes leading from said grease and soda tanks to said register-tank, a pivoted converter, a rotary shaft in said converter and blades, a shaft journaled in uprights attached to said converter and provided with a crank and a bevel wheel, the latter gearing with a bevel-wheel on said rotary shaft in the converter, and removable furnaces for said grease tank and converter" (lines 21-32).
Date: September 20, 1887
Creator: Grant, William A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Process of Curing Moss (open access)

Process of Curing Moss

Patent for invention relates to new and improved process of curing Spanish moss object of the invention being to shorten the time here to fore deemed necessary to properly cure the moss, second to obtain a larger percentage of higher grades of fiber will not be injured but will appear in a sound healthy condition, and fourth to so treat the moss that any desired grade of fiber may be obtained. [5-15]
Date: April 17, 1887
Creator: Lottman, Charles F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railway Signal. (open access)

Railway Signal.

Patent for a new and improved railroad signal. This design consists in "[a] continuous electric conductor extending beside a railroad, a contact-maker borne by a train, an electric galvanic battery, a stationary transmitter, and a train provided with transmitting and receiving instruments on two or more members of the train and connected with the electric circuit in multiple arc . . . whereby a message can be sent to each member simultaneously" (lines 8-17).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Armstrong, James Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mosquito Net Frame. (open access)

Mosquito Net Frame.

Patent for a new and improved mosquito-net frame. This design consists in "the combination, with the standards provided with detachable heads, horizontal bars, and a detachable bracket, and downwardly-inclined pins secured to the standards, adapted to enter a diagonal aperture at the upper ends of the bedstead, and an angular bar pivoted to the lower ends of the standards to be passed under the edge of the head-board" (lines 1-10).
Date: July 26, 1887
Creator: Lottman, Albert C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Door Hanger. (open access)

Door Hanger.

Patent for a new and improved hanger for doors and gates. This design consists in "the brackets secured to a door or gate way at intervals apart and having the horizontal supporting arms, the track made of angle-iron and having the horizontal treadway secured to the arms of the brackets, and the upwardly-extending flange at the outer edge of the treadway, and the hangers secured to the door or gate and having their upper portions bent to form an inverted U-shaped yoke or frame, and rollers journaled between the sides of the frame" (lines 80-91).
Date: May 17, 1887
Creator: Charlton, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton or Hay Press. (open access)

Cotton or Hay Press.

Patent for a new and improved baling press. This design consists in "the combination, with the follower-screw, the worm and worm-shaft, the combined worm-gear and nut, and the base-plate having a peripheral ledge . . . of the plate having bearings for said worm shaft and an annular portion which encircles said base-plate, and the bolts which pass through both such annular portion and base-plate for securing them together and to the base-timbers of the press" (lines 73-82).
Date: May 3, 1887
Creator: McGowen, Allexander
System: The Portal to Texas History